Related papers: Does the AGN Continuum Shape Change with Luminosit…
The physical origin of optical changing-look AGNs (CLAGNs), characterized by the appearance or disappearance of broad emission lines, is thought to be mainly driven by the variation of the black-hole (BH) accretion rate. In this work, we…
NGC 5548 is a very well-studied Seyfert 1 galaxy in broad wavelengths. Previous multiwavelength observation campaigns have indicated that its multiple absorbers are highly variable and complex. A previous study applied a two-zone partial…
We present multi-wavelength observations that trace more than 40 years in the life of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in Mrk 590, traditionally known as a classic Seyfert 1 galaxy. From spectra recently obtained from HST, Chandra, and the…
We discuss about how the relative flux densities among the images of gravitationally-lensed active galactic nuclei, AGN, can be used to study the intrinsic AGN variability with high accuracy. Multi-frequency monitoring observations of…
Two major challenges to unification schemes for active galactic nuclei (AGN) are the existence of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1s (NLS1s) and the existence of changing-look (CL) AGNs. AGNs can drastically change their spectral appearance in the…
In the broad line region of AGN, acceleration occurs naturally when a cloud condenses out of the hot confining medium due to the increase in line opacity as the cloud cools. However, acceleration by radiation pressure is not very efficient…
We present optical spectroscopic observations of the least-luminous known Seyfert 1 galaxy, NGC 4395, which was monitored every half-hour over the course of 3 nights. The continuum emission varied by ~35 per cent over the course of 3…
The physical mechanism for triggering the changing-look phenomenon in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is still unclear. We explore this issue based on the multi-wavelength spectral and flux variations for a changing-look AGN Mrk~1018 with…
We present the results of a long-term (1999--2010) spectral optical monitoring campaign of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) Ark 564, which shows a strong Fe II line emission in the optical. This AGN is a narrow line Seyfert 1 (NLS1)…
We present a detailed analysis of the X-ray spectrum of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC454E, belonging to the interacting system NGC454. Observations performed with Suzaku, XMM-Newton and Swift allowed us to detect a dramatic change in the…
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.…
Changing-look active galactic nuclei (CL AGNs) show large changes in luminosity and optical spectral state on time-scales of a few years, and provide a valuable probe of time-dependent accretion in the disc-BLR-torus system. We present a…
Mrk 590 was originally classified as a Seyfert 1 galaxy, but then it underwent dramatic changes: the nuclear luminosity dropped by over two orders of magnitude and the broad emission lines all but disappeared from the optical spectrum. Here…
Surveys of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in different observational regimes seem to give different answers for the behaviour of the obscured fraction with luminosity. Based on the complex spectra seen in recent studies, we note that partial…
We present a determination of the optical/UV AGN luminosity function and its evolution, based on a large sample of faint (R<24) QSOs identified in the COMBO-17 survey. Using multi-band photometry in 17 filters within 350nm < lambda_obs <…
We present detailed broadband UV/optical to X-ray spectral variability of the Seyfert 1 galaxy 1H 0419-577 using six XMM-Newton observations performed during 2002-2003. These observations covered a large amplitude variability event in which…
We analyse eight XMM-Newton observations of the bright Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxy Arakelian 564 (Ark 564). These observations, separated by ~6 days, allow us to look for correlations between the simultaneous UV emission (from the Optical…
The extremes of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) variability offer valuable new insights into the drivers and physics of AGN. We discuss some of the most extreme cases of AGN variability; the highest amplitudes, deep minima states, extreme…
We present a new scheme for modeling the broad line region in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). It involves photoionization calculations of a large number of clouds, in several pre-determined geometries, and a comparison of the calculated line…
Results of a ground-based optical monitoring campaign on NGC5548 in June 1998 are presented. The broad-band fluxes (U,B,V), and the spectrophotometric optical continuum flux F_lambda(5100 A) monotonically decreased in flux while the…