griz light curves of Mrk 335

Despite dramatic suppression of the X-ray variability, we still observe UV-optical lags as expected from disk reverberation. Moreover, the UV-optical lags are consistent with archival observations when the X-ray luminosity was >10 times higher.

Interestingly, both low- and high-flux states reveal UV-optical lags that are 6-11 times longer than expected from a thin disk. These long lags are often interpreted as due to contamination from the broad line region; however the u-band excess lag (containing the Balmer jump from the diffuse continuum) is less prevalent than in other active galactic nuclei. The Swift campaign showed a low X-ray-to-optical correlation (similar to previous campaigns), but NICER and ground-based monitoring continued for another 2 weeks, during which the optical rose to the highest level of the campaign, followed ~10 days later by a sharp rise in X-rays.