Unveiling the Evolving Accretion Dynamics of NGC 7314 through X-ray Observations

Debjit Chatterjee^1*, Arghajit Jana⁴, A. Mangalam³, Hsiang Kuang Chang^1,2

¹Institute of Astronomy, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
²Department of Physics, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
³Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, India
⁴Nucleo de Astronomia de la Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile

* Presenter:Debjit Chatterjee, email:debjitchatterjee92@gmail.com

We present an in-depth analysis of the timing and spectral properties of NGC 7314, a Seyfert 1.9 galaxy, using data from XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and RXTE/PCA. Our timing analysis reveals significant variability across multiple energy bands, with fractional variability (F_var). We observe that soft X-ray photons exhibit greater variability compared to harder photons, suggesting distinct emission origins: soft photons likely arise from a hot corona near the central region, while high-energy photons are generated through inverse Compton scattering in a more distant hot plasma. Spectral modeling confirms the presence of a soft excess, Fe Kα line emission, and a notable reflection component. Long-term RXTE/PCA data reveal evolving emission properties, including variability in the photon index (Γ) and power-law flux. The detection of both broad and narrow Fe Kα line features points to a variable broad component originating in the accretion disk (at ~ 10^-5~pc) and an unconstrained narrow line. An absorption feature hints at a highly ionized region, possibly near the broad-line region (BLR). The evolving inner accretion properties of NGC 7314 suggest it may be a candidate for a changing-state active galactic nucleus (AGN).

Keywords: accretion disk, black hole physics, active galactic nuclei, X-ray astronomy