The Calm Before the (Next) Storm: No Third Outburst in 2019–2020, and Ongoing Monitoring of the Transient AGN IC 3599

Abstract

Abstract We report on follow-up observations of the Seyfert 1.9 galaxy IC 3599 with the NASA Neil Gehrels Swift mission. The detection of a second X-ray outburst in 2010 by Swift after the first discovery of a bright X-ray outburst in 1990 by ROSAT led to the suggestion of two very different explanations. The first one assumed that IC 3599 exhibits outbursts due to repeated partial tidal stripping of a star, predicting another outburst of IC 3599 in 2019/2020. The second, alternative scenario assumed that the event observed in X-rays is due to an accretion-disk instability, which would suggest a much longer period between the large outbursts. Our continued monitoring campaign by Swift allowed us to test the first scenario that predicted a repetition of high-amplitude flaring activity in 2019/2020. We do not find any evidence of dramatic flaring activity with factors of 100 since the last X-ray outburst seen in 2010. These observations support the accretion-disk scenario. Further, while IC 3599 remains in low-emission states, the long-term X-ray light curve of IC 3599 reveals ongoing strong variability of a factor of a few. The most remarkable event is a miniflare of a factor of 10 in X-rays in 2022 December. After that flare, the otherwise supersoft X-ray spectrum shows an exceptional hardening, reminiscent of a temporary corona formation.