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American Astronomical Society, Astrophysical Journal, 2(956), p. 126, 2023

DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/acf312

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The Disk Reverberation Mapping of X-Ray Weak Quasars: A Case Study of SDSS J153913.47+395423.4

Journal article published in 2023 by Marcin Marculewicz ORCID, Mouyuan Sun ORCID, Jianfeng Wu ORCID, Zhixiang Zhang ORCID
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

Abstract The widely adopted “lamppost” thermal reprocessing model, in which the variable UV/optical emission is a result of the accretion-disk reprocessing of the highly fluctuating X-ray emission, can be tested by measuring interband time lags in quasars spanning a range of X-ray power. This work reports the interband time lag in an apparent X-ray-weak quasar, SDSS J153913.47+395423.4. A significant cross correlation with a time delay of ∼33 days (observed frame) is detected in the Zwicky Transient Facility g and r light curves of SDSS J153913.47+395423.4. The observed X-ray power seems to be too weak to account for the observed interband cross correlation with time delay. Hence the X-ray-weak quasar SDSS J153913.47+395423.4 is either intrinsically X-ray normal (but observationally X-ray weak), or the X-ray emission is not the only mechanism to drive UV/optical variability. In the former case, the required X-ray power is at least 19 times stronger than observed, which requires either an exceptionally anisotropic corona or Compton-thick obscuration. Alternatively, the corona-heated accretion-disk reprocessing or the EUV torus models may account for the observed time lags.