Clues to the Structure of AGN through massive variability surveys
Abstract
Variability studies hold information on otherwise unresolvable regions in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Population studies of large samples likewise have been very productive for our understanding of AGN. These two themes are coming together in the idea of systematic variability studies of large samples - with SDSS, PanSTARRS, and soon, LSST. I summarise what we have learned about the optical and UV variability of AGN, and what it tells us about accretion discs and the BLR. The most exciting recent results have focused on rare large-scale outbursts and collapses - Tidal Disruption Events, changing-look AGN, and large amplitude microlensing. All of these promise to give us new insight into AGN physics.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1605.09331,
title = {Clues to the Structure of AGN through massive variability surveys},
author = {Andy Lawrence},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1605.09331},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
Review paper in "Astronomical Surveys and Big Data", ASP Conference series, Vol 505, eds A.M.Mickaelian, A.Lawrence, T.Y.Magakian. Proceedings of Symposium held in Byurakan, Armenia, Oct 2015. 10 pages, 2 figures