English

The dynamic central environment of NGC 3516 revealed by XRISM

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2025-12-10 v1

Abstract

We present a detailed, time-resolved analysis of the Fe K band of the Seyfert 1.5 galaxy NGC 3516 observed with XRISM. The 249 ks observation spanning \sim310 ks in elapsed time reveals an exceptionally rich and time-variable absorption spectrum. Six distinct absorption components are detected across multiple ionization states, spanning more than an order of magnitude in ionization parameter and a wide range of systemic velocities, from a potential inflow (+4300 km s1+4300~\rm km~s^{-1}) to a mildly relativistic ultra-fast outflow (9800 km s1-9800~\rm km~s^{-1}). Despite their diversity, the components exhibit relatively small broadening (\lesssim400 km s1400~\rm km~s^{-1}), implying comparable internal dynamics within a medium of a complex structure. Time-resolved spectroscopy reveals pronounced variability in three highly ionized absorbers, with Fe XXV-Fe XXVI features that appear and disappear on timescales of tens of kiloseconds. This behavior likely reflects a combination of geometrical transits of clumpy gas and ionization-state changes driven by continuum variability. An additional temporary absorption feature in the red wing of the Fe Kα\alpha line, consistent with Fe XXV absorption, indicates a possible transient ultra-fast inflow at \sim15000 km s115\,000~\rm km~s^{-1} (\sim5% cc). Finally, the continuum light curve exhibits a tentative \sim40 ks oscillatory pattern, accompanied by correlated shifts of a weak, narrow Fe Kα\alpha emission feature, suggesting dynamic coupling between the continuum and the line-emitting region. Together, these results reveal that the nuclear environment of NGC 3516 is dominated by rapidly evolving, multi-phase gas flows, where accretion, ejection, and ionization processes are tightly coupled on sub-parsec scales.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2512.07950,
  title  = {The dynamic central environment of NGC 3516 revealed by XRISM},
  author = {Anna Juráňová and Erin Kara and Ehud Behar and Elisa Costantini and Jon M. Miller and Daniele Rogantini and James N. Reeves and Valentina Braito and Jacobo Ebrero and Luigi Gallo and Noa Keshet and Gerard A. Kriss and Missagh Mehdipour and Hirofumi Noda and Atsushi Tanimoto and Francesco Tombesi and Tracey J. Turner and Satoshi Yamada},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.07950},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

21 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to ApJ