Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
We present the results of an analysis of the UV and X-ray variability of the broad-line radio galaxy 3C 390.3 over 15 years. The UV continuum of 3C 390.3 showed large variations with amplitudes of up to a factor of 10. The variations of C IV and Lyα are highly correlated with the UV continuum, and are delayed with respect to the continuum variations by 65-120 days with the red wing of both C IV and Lyα leading the blue wing, implying that the C IV and Lyα-emitting gas is infalling towards the center. The C IV/Lyα ratio is positively correlated with both the continuum flux and UV line strength. The overall UV/optical to X-ray spectrum can be described by a single power law with αuvx = 0.90. The behavior of C IV/Lyα variations might be related to this hard ionizing continuum in 3C 390.3.
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and National PanDeng Project of China.