Mrk 382: A Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Galaxy with Recurrent X-ray State Transitions

We report recurrent X-ray state transitions in the nearby narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 382 using multi-epoch observations from Swift, Chandra, XMM-Newton, and eROSITA, together with archival ultraviolet, optical, and infrared data. The 0.3--2 keV flux varies by nearly an order of magnitude over the past about15 yr, with multiple transitions between bright and faint states. The source brightened by a factor of about10 between the 2010 Chandra observation and the 2011 XMM-Newton high state, then declined by about6 --7 to a low state in 2019, followed by renewed brightening in recent Swift monitoring. The X-ray spectrum shows strong state-dependent evolution, changing from a steep high-state continuum (Γ=2.32 plus or minus0.04) to a much harder low-state spectrum (Γ=1.39 plus or minus0.06). The low-state spectrum also exhibits a narrow Fe K α line with an equivalent width of about330 eV. Reflection modeling indicates that the low-flux state is strongly reflection dominated, with the reflection fraction increasing from R refl about4 to about34, consistent with a compact corona subject to strong light-bending effects. The ultraviolet emission broadly follows the long-term X-ray variability but with smaller amplitude, while the optical and mid-infrared bands vary more mildly. Despite the dramatic X-ray variability, Mrk 382 does not enter an extreme X-ray-weak state, and we did not detect clear optical spectral-type changes based on the currently available observations. Mrk 382 is therefore a rare nearby Seyfert galaxy undergoing recurrent X-ray state transitions, providing a valuable laboratory for studying changing coronal geometry and multiwavelength AGN variability.