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Related papers: Optical Variability in Active Galactic Nuclei: Sta…

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Variability of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) has long been servicing as an essential avenue of exploring the accretion physics of black hole (BH). There are two commonly used methods for analyzing AGN variability. First, the AGN…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-07-04 Zhen-Bo Su , Zhen-Yi Cai , Mouyuan Sun , Hengxiao Guo , Wei-Min Gu , Jun-Xian Wang

Disk continuum reverberation mapping is one of the primary ways we learn about active galactic nuclei (AGN) accretion disks. Reverberation mapping assumes that time-varying X-rays incident on the accretion disk drive variability in…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-01-14 Amy Secunda , Yan-Fei Jiang , Jenny E. Greene

The dependence of the long-term optical/UV variability on the spectral and the fundamental physical parameters for radio-quiet active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is investigated. The multi-epoch repeated photometric scanning data in the…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2015-05-18 Y. L. Ai , W. Yuan , H. Y. Zhou , T. G. Wang , X. -B. Dong , J. G. Wang , H. L. Lu

Theory and observations of the dominant thermal continuum emission in AGNs are examined. After correction for reddening, the steady state AGN optical--UV spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are very similar. The SEDs are dominated…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-11-15 C. Martin Gaskell

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are known to exhibit optical/UV variability and most of them can be well modeled by the damped random walks. Physical processes that are not related to the accretion disk, such as tidal disruption events (TDE)…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-04-17 Zhiyuan Zheng , Yong Shi , Shuowen Jin , H. Dannerbauer , Qiusheng Gu , Xin Li , Xiaoling Yu

We report on the case of optical periodic modulation discovered in two Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and one candidate AGN. Analyzing the archival optical data obtained from large transient surveys, namely the Catalina Real-Transient Survey…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2023-05-03 Jie Li , Zhongxiang Wang , Dong Zheng

The characteristic timescale ($\tau$) of continuum variability of the accretion disk in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is known to be related to the thermal timescale, which is predicted to scale with AGN luminosity ($L$) and restframe…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-03-26 Suyeon Son , Minjin Kim , Luis C. Ho

In the standard AGN reverberation-mapping model, variations in broad-line region (BLR) fluxes are predicted from optical continuum variability (taken as a proxy for the ionizing continuum) convolved with a response function that depends on…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2021-12-14 C. Martin Gaskell , Kayla Bartel , Julia N. Deffner , Iris Xia

A supermassive black hole (SMBH) at the core of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) provides room for the elusive ultra-light scalar particles (ULSP) to be produced through a phenomenon called \textit{superradiance}. This phenomenon produces a…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-02-26 Priyanka Sarmah , Himanshu Verma , Kingman Cheung , Joseph Silk

LINER nuclei, which are present in many nearby galactic bulges, may be the manifestation of low-rate or low-radiative-efficiency accretion onto supermassive central black holes. However, it has been unclear whether the compact UV nuclear…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-10 Dan Maoz , Neil M. Nagar , Heino Falcke , Andrew S. Wilson

The variability of the X-ray spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN) usually includes a change of the spectral slope. This has been investigated for a small sample of local AGNs by Sobolewska and Papadakis, who found that slope variations…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2016-03-23 Roberto Serafinelli , Fausto Vagnetti , Riccardo Middei

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) have been observed to vary stochastically with 10-20 rms amplitudes over a range of optical wavelengths where the emission arises in an accretion disk. Since the accretion disk is unlikely to vary coherently,…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2011-01-04 Jason Dexter , Eric Agol

Temporal asymmetry in the flux variability of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) offers key insights into the physical mechanisms driving AGN variability. In this study, we investigated the variability of the torus by analyzing temporal…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2026-01-05 Suyeon Son , Minjin Kim , Luis C. Ho

X-ray variability in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is commonly analysed in terms of the Power Spectral Density (PSD). The break observed in the power spectrum can be interpreted as a characteristic X-ray variability time scale. Here we study…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2015-05-13 W. Ishibashi , T. J. -L. Courvoisier

Using a semi analytic model for galaxy formation we investigate the effects of Black Hole accretion triggered by disk instabilities (DI) in isolated galaxies on the evolution of AGN. Specifically, we took on, developed and expanded the…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-06-22 N. Menci , M. Gatti , F. Fiore , A. Lamastra

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) sources feature supermassive black holes that launch relativistic plasma jets. They are key $\gamma$-ray sources providing a unique laboratory for studying extreme particle acceleration and plasma physics.…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2026-02-03 Luana Passos-Reis , Elisabete M. de Gouveia Dal Pino , Tarek Hassan , Santiago Pita , Alberto Domínguez

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) light curves observed with different wavebands show that the variability in longer wavelength bands lags the variability in shorter wavelength bands. Measuring these lags, or reverberation mapping, is used to…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2023-11-21 Amy Secunda , Yan-Fei Jiang , Jenny E. Greene

We analyse the ultraviolet variability time scales in a sample of 15 Type 1 Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) observed by IUE. Using a structure function analysis, we demonstrate the existence in most objects of a maximum variability time scale…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-11 P. Favre , T. J. -L. Courvoisier , S. Paltani

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…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2016-05-31 Andy Lawrence

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