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Related papers: Colour changes in quasar light curves

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Quasars serve as important cosmological probes and constructing accurate luminosity relations for them is essential for their use in cosmology. If the coefficients of quasar's luminosity relation vary with redshift, it could introduce…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2025-04-16 Jiayi Wu , Yang Liu , Hongwei Yu , Puxun Wu

"Changing-look" quasars are a new class of highly variable active galactic nuclei that have changed their spectral type over surprisingly short timescales of just a few years. The origin of this phenomenon is debated, but is likely to…

Context. Lightcurve variability is well-suited for characterising objects in surveys with high cadence and long baseline. This is especially relevant in view of the large datasets to be produced by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2023-08-23 S. H. Bruun , A. Agnello , J. Hjorth

In this paper, we used the database of the university of Michigan Radio Astronomy Observatory (UMRAO) at three (4.8 GHz, 8.0 GHZ, and 14.5 GHz) radio frequency to analyze the radio light curves by the power spectral analysis method in…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-13 J. H. Fan , Y. Liu , Y. H. Yuan

Proceeding of the "HACK100" Conference, 6-10 June 2022, Trieste, Italy - In recent years, quasars have been shown to be reliable standardizable candles, thanks to the non-linear relation between their X-rays and ultraviolet luminosity.…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2024-01-17 Matilde Signorini , Guido Risaliti , Andrea Sacchi , Elisabeta Lusso , Emanuele Nardini

Multicolor (UBVRIJHK) observations of the blazar AO 0235+16 are analyzed. The light curves were compiled at the Turin Observatory from literature data and the results of observations obtained in the framework of the WEBT program…

We extend the gr-band time coverage of the gravitationally lensed double quasar Q0957+561. New gr light curves permit us to detect significant intrinsic fluctuations, to determine new time delays, and thus to gain perspective on the…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-13 V. N. Shalyapin , L. J. Goicoechea , E. Koptelova , A. Ullan , R. Gil-Merino

Context. X-ray spectral variability analyses of active galactic nuclei (AGN) with moderate luminosities and redshifts typically show a softer when brighter behaviour. Such a trend has rarely been investigated for high-luminosity AGNs ($…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2017-04-12 R. Serafinelli , F. Vagnetti , R. Middei

Brightness variability of QSOs is associated with variations of the spectral energy distribution in the optical-UV range. The observed change of the spectral shape depends on the contribution of the host galaxy. Simulations, taking into…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 Fausto Vagnetti , Dario Trevese

Changing-look quasars challenge many models of the quasar central engine. Their extreme variability in both the continuum and broad emission-line fluxes on timescales on the order of years is difficult to explain. To investigate the cause…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-07-02 Laura Duffy , Michael Eracleous , John J. Ruan , Qian Yang , Jessie C. Runnoe

(Abridged) We study the link between quasars and the red galaxy population using a model for the self-regulated growth of supermassive black holes in mergers involving gas-rich galaxies. Using a model for quasar lifetimes and evolution…

There are two possible causes of variability in gravitationally lensed quasars: intrinsic fluctuations of the quasar and ``microlensing'' by compact objects along the line of sight. If disentangled from each other, microlens-induced…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-10-31 Joachim Wambsganss

We use 62,185 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR5 sample and standard virial mass scaling laws based on the widths of H beta, Mg II, and C IV lines and adjacent continuum luminosities to explore the maximum mass of quasars as a…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2015-05-14 Charles L. Steinhardt , Martin Elvis

A tight non-linear relation between the X-ray and the optical-ultraviolet (UV) emission has been observed in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) over a wide range of redshift and several orders of magnitude in luminosity, suggesting the existence…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2019-11-06 Francesco Salvestrini , Guido Risaliti , Susanna Bisogni , Elisabeta Lusso , Cristian Vignali

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 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…

We present monitoring observations of quasar microlensing in the quadruple quasar HE0435-1223. The microlensing-induced light curves of the quasar images are chromatic, i.e. they depend on the applied filter band. Comparison with…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-11-19 Christian Sorgenfrei , Robert W. Schmidt , Joachim Wambsganss

We present the results of a systematic search for quasars in the Catalina Real-time Transient Survey exhibiting both strong photometric and spectroscopic variability over a decadal baseline. We identify 73 sources with specific patterns of…

Fourier power spectra and phases of a signal from a large number of radiating sources orbiting around a black hole are investigated. It is assumed that the individual sources (bright spots) are located in an accretion disc and their…

Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-24 V. Karas