Related papers: Periodic optical variability of AGN
The X-ray emission from accreting black hole (BH) systems displays strong variability. Short reverberation lags are expected between the primary hard X-ray continuum and the reprocessed disc emission. These lags depend on light-travel…
We investigate the effect of active galactic nucleus (AGN) variability on the observed connection between star formation and black hole accretion in extragalactic surveys. Recent studies have reported relatively weak correlations between…
Quasars shine brightly due to the liberation of gravitational energy as matter falls onto a supermassive black hole in the centre of a galaxy. Variations in the radiation received from active galactic nuclei (AGN) are studied at all…
Here, we demonstrate that polarization properties show a wide diversity depending on viewing angles. To simulate images of a supermassive black hole and surrounding plasma, we performed a full-polarimetric general relativistic radiative…
This paper summarizes the observations which provide the best evidence for the presence of black holes in active galactic nuclei. This includes: X-ray variability; kinematical studies using optical emission lines as well as the distribution…
We investigate the properties of a variability-selected complete sample of AGN in order to identify the mechanisms which cause large amplitude X-ray variability on time scales of years. A complete sample of 24 sources was constructed, from…
Gravitational microlensing events are powerful tools for the study of stellar populations. In particular, they can be used to discover and study a variety of binary systems. A large number of binary lenses have already been found through…
Optically thick accretion disks are considered to be important ingredients of luminous AGN. The claim of their existence is well supported by observations and recent years brought some progress in understanding of their dynamics. However,…
Determining the frequency and duration of changing--look (CL) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) phenomena, where the optical broad emission lines appear or disappear, is crucial to understand the evolution of the accretion flow around…
Double-peaked \oiii~profiles could potentially indicate kiloparsec-scale dual AGNs. We analyze long-term optical light curves of 35 type 1 AGNs with such features from our recent catalog in Zheng et al. (2025). These light curves are…
There is a large degree of variety in the optical variability of quasars and it is unclear whether this is all attributable to a single (set of) physical mechanism(s). We present the results of a systematic search for major flares in AGN in…
A new approach to the study of the AGN phenomenon is proposed, in which the nucleus activity is related to the metric of the inner massive black hole. The possibility of a Toroidal Black Hole (TBH), in contrast to the usual Spherical Black…
Variable continuum emission from AGN can be used to probe the structure of their accretion disks via reverberation mapping. Assuming a variable, hot inner light source irradiates the surrounding accretion disk, time delays between different…
There is strong observational evidence that AGN, Galactic X-ray transients and (probably) $\gamma$-ray bursts are associated with black holes, and that these sources are able to form collimated, ultrarelativistic outflows. There is much…
Among the most extreme objects in the Universe, active galactic nuclei (AGN) are luminous centers of galaxies where a black hole feeds on surrounding matter. The variability patterns of the light emitted by an AGN contain information about…
This paper aims to investigate/map the effects that perturbations applied to an accretion disk might produce on the registered Light Curves (LC). The case of accretion disks around supermassive active black holes (AGNs) is studied with the…
X-ray reflection generates much of the spectral complexity in the X-ray spectra of AGN. It is argued that strong relativistic blurring of the reflection spectrum should commonly be expected from objects accreting at a high Eddington rate.…
Accreting supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies are the engine of active galactic nuclei (AGN). X-ray light curves of unabsorbed AGN show dramatic random variability on timescales ranging from seconds to years. The power…
Context: Variations in the mass accretion rate appear to be responsible for the rapid transitions in spectral type that are observed in increasingly more active galactic nuclei (AGNs). These objects are now labeled "changing-look" AGNs and…
Accretion flows toward black holes can be of a quite different nature, described as an optically thick cool gas flow in a disk for high accretion rates or as a hot coronal optically thin gas flow for low accretion rates, possibly affected…