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

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The physical origin of active galactic nucleus (AGN) variability remains unclear. Here we propose that the magnetic reconnection induced by the migration of satellite black holes (sBHs) in the AGN disk can be a new plausible mechanism for…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-08-26 Jing-Tong Xing , Tong Liu , Bao-Quan Huang , Mouyuan Sun

A common feature of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is their random variations in brightness across the whole emission spectrum, from radio to $\gamma$-rays. Studying the nature and origin of these fluctuations is critical to characterising…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-10-17 Mehdy Lefkir , Simon Vaughan , Daniela Huppenkothen , Phil Uttley , Vysakh Anilkumar

Recently, nearby active galactic nuclei (AGN) have been subject to long X-rays/UV/optical monitoring campaigns. These campaigns reveal a strong correlation between the various UV and optical bands, with time lags increasing with wavelength.…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2024-03-20 E. Kammoun , I. E. Papadakis , M. Dovčiak , C. Panagiotou

Interband lags in the optical continua of active galactic nuclei (AGN) have been observed over years of monitoring, yet their physical origins remain unclear. While variable interband lags have been found in a few individual AGN…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2025-07-08 Zhen-Bo Su , Zhen-Yi Cai , Hengxiao Guo , Mouyuan Sun , Jun-Xian Wang

We systematically analyze X-ray variability of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the 7~Ms \textit{Chandra} Deep Field-South survey. On the longest timescale ($\approx~17$ years), we find only weak (if any) dependence of X-ray variability…

The possibility that some of the observed X-ray and optical variability in active galactic nuclei and galactic black hole candidates is produced in accretion disks through the development of a self-organized critical state is reconsidered.…

Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-24 Ying Xiong , Paul J. Wiita , Gang Bao

Radiation-pressure instability was identified soon after the seminal classical accretion disk models of Shakura-Sunyaev and Novikov-Thorne, yet its full implications remain an active area of investigation. These models form the backbone of…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-12-10 Agnieszka Janiuk , Bozena Czerny , Pulkit Ojha , Yuri Cavecchi , Federico Vincentelli

We provide evidence for a correlation between the presence of giant clumps and the occurrence of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in disk galaxies. Giant clumps of 10^8-9 Msun arise from violent gravitational instability in gas-rich galaxies,…

A significant number of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are observed to be hidden behind dust and gas. The distribution of material around AGNs plays an important role in modeling the cosmic X-ray background (CXB), especially the fraction of…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2018-02-28 Raj Gohil , David R. Ballantyne

Radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) are among the most luminous objects in the Universe, emitting radiation from low-energy radio waves to high energy $\gamma$-rays. They are well known to exhibit flux variations at nearly all…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2026-03-19 M. Reshma , C. S. Stalin , Amit Kumar Mandal , S. B. Gudennavar , Senorita Benedict , Prajwel Joseph

We introduce a new model for understanding AGN continuum variability. We start from a Shakura--Sunyaev thin accretion disc with a steady-state radial temperature profile $T(R)$ and assume that the variable flux is due to axisymmetric…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2022-05-19 J. M. M. Neustadt , C. S. Kochanek

The scenario of variations in accreting process around central black hole has been widely accepted as the preferred physical origin of changing-look active galactic nuclei (CLAGN), rather than obscuration effects by moving dust clouds. In…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2026-04-30 Zhang XueGuang

Most of the variability studies of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are based on ensemble analyses. Nevertheless, it is interesting to provide estimates of the individual variability properties of each AGN, in order to relate them with…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2020-11-17 M. Laurenti , F. Vagnetti , R. Middei , M. Paolillo

It is established that the ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray emissions in active galactic nuclei (AGN) are tightly correlated. This correlation is observed both in low- and high-redshift sources. In particular, observations of large samples of…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-03-27 E. Kammoun , I. E. Papadakis , M. Dovčiak , E. Lusso , E. Nardini , G. Risaliti

The UV/optical and X-ray variability of active galactic nuclei (AGN) have long been expected to be well correlated as a result of the X-ray illumination of the accretion disk. Recent monitoring campaigns of nearby AGN, however, found that…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2022-12-21 Christos Panagiotou , Erin Kara , Michal Dovčiak

Accretion disks around supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei produce continuum radiation at ultraviolet and optical wavelengths. Physical processes in the accretion flow lead to stochastic variability of this emission on a wide…

Astrophysical events that occur in active galactic nucleus (AGN) disks are believed to differ significantly from the ordinary in the interstellar medium. We show that stars located in the outer region of the AGN disk would explode near the…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2023-06-23 Fu-Lin Li , Yu Liu , Xiao Fan , Mao-Kai Hu , Xuan Yang , Jin-Jun Geng , Xue-Feng Wu

The consistency of the Starburst model for AGN is tested using the optical variability observed in large data bases of QSOs. Theoretical predictions for the variability--luminosity relationship and structure function are presented and…

Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-24 Itziar Aretxaga , R. Cid Fernandes , R. J. Terlevich

We assess the potential of nuclear starburst disks to obscure the Seyfert-like AGN that dominate the hard X-ray background at z~1. Over 1200 starburst disk models, based on the theory developed by Thompson et al., are calculated for five…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-13 D. R. Ballantyne

We present a model that explains some extreme variability phenomena observed in active galactic nuclei (AGN). In this model, an orbiting companion interacts with the accretion disk surrounding the central supermassive black hole (SMBH).…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-06-26 Sierra A. Dodd , Xiaoshan Huang , Shane W. Davis , Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz