25 Years of Mrk 421 with XMM-Newton: Unveiling Structured Jets and Energy-Dependent Escape

Abstract

We present a long-term X-ray spectral and timing analysis of the TeV blazar Mrk~421 based on nearly a quarter century of archival \textit{XMM-Newton}/pn observations obtained between 2000 and 2025. Our sample comprises 76 epochs obtained with the pn instrument in both IMAGING and TIMING modes, allowing us to trace the source's variability and spectral evolution. Mrk~421 exhibits flux variations by approximately an order of magnitude, with prominent flaring periods interspersed with low-activity states. A clear harder-when-brighter trend is observed, accompanied by scatter in the hardness ratio (HR), suggesting flux alone does not uniquely determine the spectral state. Fractional variability in the hard band ($2-10$ keV) correlates tightly with that in the soft band ($0.3-2$ keV), with a steeper slope indicating pronounced variability at higher energies. The flux distribution is non-Gaussian and lognormal-like, dominated by moderate flux levels with a tail of bright flares. Spectral analysis shows that power-law model is not sufficient; 59 epochs are best described by a broken power-law (BPL) and 17 by a log-parabola (LP). This fluctuation between BPL and LP models suggests the emission region transitions between a distinct acceleration shockfront and downstream stochastic turbulence. The spectral break energy of BPL remains predominantly clustered around $2$ keV across all flux states, while the average spectral steepening above the break is mild ($ΔΓ\approx 0.19$), inconsistent with standard one-zone cooling models. Our results support structured jet scenarios or energy-dependent electron escape, providing key constraints on the long-term behavior of relativistic jets in high-synchrotron-peaked blazars.