Daily variability at milli-arcsecond scales in the radio-quiet NLSy1 Mrk 110

Abstract

The origin of radio emission in the majority of active galactic nuclei is still poorly understood. Various competing mechanisms are likely involved in the production of radio emission and precise diagnostic tools are needed to disentangle them, of which variability is among the most powerful. For the first time, we show evidence for significant radio variability at 5 GHz at milli-arcsecond scales on days to weeks time-scales in the highly accreting and extremely radio-quiet (RQ) Narrow Line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) Mrk 110. The simultaneous Swift/XRT light curve indicates stronger soft than hard X-ray variability. The short-term radio variability suggests that the GHz emitting region has a size smaller than ∼180 Schwarzschild radii. The high brightness temperature and the radio and X-ray variability rule out a star-formation and a disc wind origin. Synchrotron emission from a low-power jet and/or an outflowing corona is then favoured.