We present ground-based optical photometric monitoring data for NGC 5548, part of an extended multiwavelength reverberation mapping campaign. The light curves have nearly daily cadence from 2014 January to July in nine filters (BVRI and ugriz). Combined with ultraviolet data from the Hubble Space Telescope and Swift, we confirm significant time delays between the continuum bands as a function of wavelength, extending the wavelength coverage from 1158 Å to the z band (∼ 9160 Å). We find that the lags at wavelengths longer than the V band are equal to or greater than the lags of high-ionization-state emission lines (such as He II λ1640 and λ4686), suggesting that the continuum-emitting source is of a physical size comparable to the inner broad-line region (BLR). The trend of lag with wavelength is broadly consistent with the prediction for continuum reprocessing by an accretion disk with τ ∝ λ 4/3 . However, the lags also imply a disk radius that is 3 times larger than the prediction from standard thin-disk theory, assuming that the bolometric luminosity is 10% of the Eddington luminosity (L = 0.1L Edd ). Using optical spectra from the Large Binocular Telescope, we estimate the bias of the interband continuum lags due to BLR emission observed in the filters. We find that the bias for filters with high levels of BLR contamination (∼ 20%) can be important for the shortest continuum lags, and likely has a significant impact on the u and U bands owing to Balmer continuum emission.

Recent intensive Swift monitoring of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 yielded 282 usable epochs over 125 days across six UV/optical bands and the X-rays. This is the densest extended AGN UV/optical continuum sampling ever obtained, with a mean sampling rate <0.5-day. Approximately daily HST UV sampling was also obtained. The UV/optical light curves show strong correlations (r max = 0.57 − 0.90) and the clearest measurement to date of interband lags. These lags are well-fit by a τ ∝ λ 4/3 wavelength dependence, with a normalization that indicates an unexpectedly large disk radius of ∼ 0.35 ± 0.05 lt-day at 1367Å, assuming a simple face-on model. The U-band shows a marginally larger lag than expected from the fit and surrounding bands, which could be due to Balmer continuum emission from the broad-line region as suggested by Korista and Goad. The UV/X-ray correlation is weaker (r max < 0.45) and less consistent over time. This indicates that while Swift is beginning to measure UV/optical lags in general agreement with accretion disk theory (although the derived size is larger than predicted), the relationship with X-ray variability is less well understood. Combining this accretion disk size estimate with those from quasar microlensing studies suggests that AGN disk sizes scale approximately linearly with central black hole mass over a wide range of masses.

We present reverberation mapping results from the first year of combined spectroscopic and photometric observations of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project. We successfully recover reverberation time delays between the g+i band emission and the broad Hβ emission line for a total of 44 quasars, and for the broad Hα emission line in 18 quasars. Time delays are computed using the JAVELIN and CREAM software and the traditional interpolated cross-correlation function (ICCF): using well-defined criteria, we report measurements of 32 Hβ and 13 Hα lags with JAVELIN, 42 Hβ and 17 Hα lags with CREAM, and 16 Hβ and eight Hα lags with the ICCF. Lag values are generally consistent among the three methods, though we typically measure smaller uncertainties with JAVELIN and CREAM than with the ICCF, given the more physically motivated light curve interpolation and more robust statistical modeling of the former two methods. The median redshift of our Hβ-detected sample of quasars is 0.53, significantly higher than that of the previous reverberation mapping sample. We find that in most objects, the time delay of the Hα emission is consistent with or slightly longer than that of Hβ. We measure black hole masses using our measured time delays and line widths for these quasars. These black hole mass measurements are mostly consistent with expectations based on the local M BH -* s relationship, and are also consistent with single-epoch black hole mass measurements. This work increases the current sample size of reverberation-mapped active galaxies by about two-thirds and represents the first large sample of reverberation mapping observations beyond the local universe (z<0.3).

Swift intensive accretion disk reverberation mapping of four AGN yielded light curves sampled ∼200-350 times in 0.3-10 keV X-ray and six UV/optical bands. Uniform reduction and cross-correlation analysis of these datasets yields three main results: (1) The X-ray/UV correlations are much weaker than those within the UV/optical, posing severe problems for the lamp-post reprocessing model in which variations in a central X-ray corona drive and power those in the surrounding accretion disk. (2) The UV/optical interband lags are generally consistent with τ ∝ λ 4/3 as predicted by the centrally illuminated thin accretion disk model. While the average interband lags are somewhat larger than predicted, these results alone are not inconsistent with the thin disk model given the large systematic uncertainties involved.(3) The one exception is the U band lags, which are on average a factor of ∼2.2 larger than predicted from the surrounding band data and fits. This excess appears to be due to diffuse continuum emission from the broad-line region (BLR). The precise mixing of disk and BLR components cannot be determined from these data alone. The lags in different 2 Edelson et al.AGN appear to scale with mass or luminosity. We also find that there are systematic differences between the uncertainties derived by JAVELIN vs. more standard lag measurement techniques, with JAVELIN reporting smaller uncertainties by a factor of 2.5 on average. In order to be conservative only standard techniques were used in the analyses reported herein.

Swift monitoring of NGC 4151 with an∼6hr sampling over a total of 69 days in early 2016 is used to construct light curves covering five bands in the X-rays (0.3-50keV) and six in the ultraviolet (UV)/optical (1900-5500Å). The three hardest X-ray bands (>2.5keV) are all strongly correlated with no measurable interband lag,while the two softer bands show lower variability and weaker correlations. The UV/optical bands are significantly correlated with the X-rays, lagging ∼3-4days behind the hard X-rays. The variability within the UV/optical bands is also strongly correlated, with the UV appearing to lead the optical by ∼0.5-1days. This combination of 3day lags between the X-rays and UV and 1day lags within the UV/optical appears to rule out the "lamp-post" reprocessing model in which a hot, X-ray emitting corona directly illuminates the accretion disk, which then reprocesses the energy in the UV/optical. Instead, these results appear consistent with the Gardner & Done picture in which two separate reprocessings occur: first, emission from the corona illuminates an extreme-UV-emitting toroidal component that shields the disk from the corona; this then heats the extreme-UV component,which illuminates the disk and drives its variability.