AGN STORM 2. III. A NICER view of Mrk 817

Early observations with NICER and XMM revealed an X-ray state 10 times fainter than historical observations, consistent with the presence of a new dust-free, ionized obscurer. The following analysis of NICER spectra attributes variability in the observed X-ray flux to changes in both the column density of the obscurer by at least one order of magnitude (NH ranges from 2.85_-0.33_^+0.48^x10^22^cm^-2^ to 25.6_-3.5_^+3.0^x10^22^cm^-2^) and the intrinsic continuum brightness (the unobscured flux ranges from 10^-11.8^ to 10^-10.5^erg/s/cm^-2^).

While the X-ray flux generally remains in a faint state, there is one large flare during which Mrk817 returns to its historical mean flux. The obscuring gas is still present at lower column density during the flare, but it also becomes highly ionized, increasing its transparency. Correlation between the column density of the X-ray obscurer and the strength of UV broad absorption lines suggests that the X-ray and UV continua are both affected by the same obscuration, consistent with a clumpy disk wind launched from the inner broad-line region.