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Related papers: Periodic optical variability of AGN

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Periodic variability in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is a promising method for studying sub-parsec supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs), which are a challenging detection target. While extensive searches have been made in the optical,…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2024-11-13 Di Luo , Ning Jiang , Xin Liu

The spectral variability of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is one of their key features that enables us to study in more details the structure of AGN emitting regions. Especially, the broad line profiles, that vary both in flux and shape,…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2016-01-20 D. Ilic , L. C. Popovic , A. I. Shapovalova , A. N. Burenkov , V. H. Chavushyan , A. Kovacevic

The spectra of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) are often characterized by a wealth of emission lines with different profiles and intensity ratios that led to a complicated classification. Their electro-magnetic radiation spans more than 10…

The regions around massive black holes can show X-ray variability on timescales from seconds to decades. Observing many black holes over different timescales can enhance our chances of detecting variability coming from (partial) tidal…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-11-24 Natalie A. Webb , Vincent Foustoul , Robbie Webbe , Matteo Bachetti , Erwan Quintin , Laurent Michel

Number of monitoring observations of continuum emission from Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) have been made in optical--X-ray bands. The results obtained so far show (i) random up and down on timescales longer than decades, (ii) no typical…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 T. Kawaguchi , S. Mineshige

The cores of active galactic nuclei (AGN) harbor some of the most extreme conditions of matter and energy in the Universe. One of the major goals of high-energy astrophysics is to probe these extreme environments in the vicinity of…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-10-31 K. A. Weaver

We discuss a model of X-ray variability of active galactic nuclei (AGN). We consider multiple spots which originate on the surface of an accretion disk following intense irradiation by coronal flares. The spots move with the disk around the…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-10 B. Czerny , A. Rozanska , M. Dovciak , V. Karas , A. -M. Dumont

Multi-frequency observations are a powerful tool of astrophysical investigation. Not only is data in each wavelength band providing different clues to the objects nature, but taken simultaneously, these data can reveal the mechanisms at…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2019-08-14 Martin Tluczykont

We present the results from a detailed X-ray variability analysis of 66 AGN in the Lockman Hole, which have optical spectroscopic identifications. We compare, quantitatively, their variability properties with the properties of local AGN,…

Although blazar variability is probably dominated by emission from relativistic jets, accretion disks should be present in all blazars. These disks produce emission over most of the electromagnetic spectrum; various unstable processes…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 Paul J. Wiita

X-ray observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) show variability on timescales ranging from a few hours up to a few days. Some of this variability may be associated with occultation events by clouds in the broad line region. In this…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2018-08-08 E. S. Kammoun , F. Marin , M. Dovciak , E. Nardini , G. Risaliti , M. Sanfrutos

A key feature of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is their variability across all wavelengths. Typically, AGN vary by a few tenths of a magnitude or more over periods lasting from hours to years. By contrast, extreme variability of AGN -- large…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2024-03-12 Summer A. J. McLaughlin , James R. Mullaney , Stuart P. Littlefair

High cadence, high quality observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) clearly show continuum variations with lags, relative to the shortest observed variable UV continuum, that increase with wavelength ("lag spectra"). These have been…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2021-11-17 Hagai Netzer

The barycenter of a massive black hole binary will lie outside the event horizon of the primary black hole for modest values of mass ratio and binary separation. Analagous to radial velocity shifts in stellar emission lines caused by the…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2015-05-18 B. McKernan , K. E. S. Ford

Black holes and weakly-magnetic accreting neutron stars show strong quasi-periodic variability over timescales that span a very wide range. This property offer us a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of basic physical processes…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-10-31 Dimitrios Psaltis

We analyze the X-ray properties for a sample of 23 high probability AGN candidates with ultraviolet variability identified in Wasleske et al. (2022). Using data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the XMM-Newton Observatory, we find…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-05-31 Erik J. Wasleske , Vivienne F. Baldassare

Optical quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) with periodicity around hundreds to thousands of days have been accepted as an efficient indicator for sub-pc binary black hole systems (BBHs) in broad line active galactic nuclei (BLAGN). However,…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-10-17 Zhang XueGuang

Supermassive binary black holes (SBBHs) are a natural outcome of galaxy mergers. Here we show that low-frequency ($f \leq 10^{-6}$ Hz) quasi-periodic variability observed from cosmic blazar sources can provide substantial inductive support…

Astrophysics · Physics 2008-11-26 Frank M. Rieger

We use long-run, high-resolution hydrodynamics simulations to compute the multi-wavelength light curves (LCs) from thermal disk emission around accreting equal-mass supermassive black hole (BH) binaries, with a focus on revealing binary…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2022-11-14 John Ryan Westernacher-Schneider , Jonathan Zrake , Andrew MacFadyen , Zoltán Haiman

Optical variability is a key observational probe for studying the accretion dynamics and central engine physics of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). The quality and completeness of light curves have a direct impact on variability studies,…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-10-31 Jiaqi Lin , Zhen-Ya Zheng , Bin Ma , Lin Long , Yangfan Xie , Pu Lin , Ruqiu Lin , Xiang Ji