The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series (Jan 2025)
Changing-look Active Galactic Nuclei from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument. II. Statistical Properties from the First Data Release
- Wei-Jian Guo,
- Hu Zou,
- Claire L. Greenwell,
- David M. Alexander,
- Victoria A. Fawcett,
- Zhiwei Pan,
- Małgorzata Siudek,
- Jessica Nicole Aguilar,
- Steven Ahlen,
- David Brooks,
- Todd Claybaugh,
- Kyle Dawson,
- Axel de la Macorra,
- Peter Doel,
- Andreu Font-Ribera,
- Enrique Gaztañaga,
- Satya Gontcho A Gontcho,
- Gaston Gutierrez,
- Robert Kehoe,
- Theodore Kisner,
- Martin Landriau,
- Laurent Le Guillou,
- Marc Manera,
- Aaron Meisner,
- Ramon Miquel,
- John Moustakas,
- Francisco Prada,
- Graziano Rossi,
- Eusebio Sanchez,
- Michael Schubnell,
- David Sprayberry,
- Jipeng Sui,
- Gregory Tarlé,
- Benjamin Alan Weaver,
- Yun-Ao Xiao,
- Siwei Zou
Affiliations
- Wei-Jian Guo
- ORCiD
- Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100012, People’s Republic of China ; [email protected]
- Hu Zou
- ORCiD
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012, People’s Republic of China ; [email protected]
- Claire L. Greenwell
- ORCiD
- Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, Durham University , South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
- David M. Alexander
- ORCiD
- Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, Durham University , South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK; Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University , South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
- Victoria A. Fawcett
- ORCiD
- School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Newcastle University , Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
- Zhiwei Pan
- ORCiD
- Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University , PKU, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China
- Małgorzata Siudek
- ORCiD
- Institute of Space Sciences , ICE-CSIC, Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans s/n, 08913 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
- Jessica Nicole Aguilar
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Steven Ahlen
- ORCiD
- Physics Dept., Boston University , 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- David Brooks
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London , Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- Todd Claybaugh
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Kyle Dawson
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Utah , 115 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
- Axel de la Macorra
- ORCiD
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Cd. de México C.P. 04510, Mexico
- Peter Doel
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London , Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- Andreu Font-Ribera
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London , Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK; Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
- Enrique Gaztañaga
- Institute of Space Sciences , ICE-CSIC, Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans s/n, 08913 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC) , 08034 Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth , Dennis Sciama Building, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX, UK
- Satya Gontcho A Gontcho
- ORCiD
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Gaston Gutierrez
- Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory , PO Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USA
- Robert Kehoe
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Southern Methodist University , 3215 Daniel Avenue, Dallas, TX 75275, USA
- Theodore Kisner
- ORCiD
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Martin Landriau
- ORCiD
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Laurent Le Guillou
- ORCiD
- Sorbonne Université , CNRS/IN2P3, Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Energies (LPNHE), FR-75005 Paris, France
- Marc Manera
- ORCiD
- Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Física, Serra Húnter, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona , 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
- Aaron Meisner
- ORCiD
- NSF NOIRLab , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Ramon Miquel
- Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats , Passeig de Lluís Companys, 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
- John Moustakas
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Siena College , 515 Loudon Road, Loudonville, NY 12211, USA
- Francisco Prada
- ORCiD
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC) , Glorieta de la Astronomía, s/n, E-18008 Granada, Spain
- Graziano Rossi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Sejong University , Seoul, 143-747, Republic of Korea
- Eusebio Sanchez
- ORCiD
- CIEMAT , Avenida Complutense 40, E-28040 Madrid, Spain
- Michael Schubnell
- Department of Physics, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- David Sprayberry
- ORCiD
- NSF NOIRLab , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Jipeng Sui
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012, People’s Republic of China ; [email protected]
- Gregory Tarlé
- ORCiD
- University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Benjamin Alan Weaver
- NSF NOIRLab , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- Yun-Ao Xiao
- ORCiD
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , A20 Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100012, People’s Republic of China ; [email protected]
- Siwei Zou
- ORCiD
- Chinese Academy of Sciences South America Center for Astronomy , National Astronomical Observatories, CAS, Beijing 100101, People’s Republic of China; Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/adc124
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 278,
no. 1
p. 28
Abstract
We present the identification of changing-look active galactic nuclei (CL-AGNs) from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument First Data Release and Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 16 at z ≤ 0.9. To confirm the CL-AGNs, we utilize spectral flux calibration assessment via an [O iii ]-based calibration, pseudophotometry examination, and visual inspection. This rigorous selection process allows us to compile a statistical catalog of 561 CL-AGNs, encompassing 527 H β , 149 H α , and 129 Mg ii CL behaviors. In this sample, we find (1) a 283:278 ratio of turn-on to turn-off CL-AGNs. (2) The median Eddington ratio for CL-AGNs in the dim state is approximately λ _Edd ∼ 0.01. (3) A strong correlation between the change in the luminosity of the broad emission lines (BELs) and variation in the continuum luminosity, with Mg ii and H β displaying similar responses during CL phases. (4) The Baldwin–Phillips–Terlevich diagram for CL-AGNs shows no statistical difference from the general AGN catalog. (5) Five CL-AGNs are associated with asymmetrical mid-infrared flares, possibly linked to tidal disruption events. Given the large CL-AGN sample and the stochastic sampling of spectra, we propose that some CL phenomena are inherently due to typical AGN variability during low accretion rates, particularly for CL phenomenon only occurring on one BEL. Finally, we introduce a monotonically dimming CL phase for objects characterized by a gradual decline over decades in the light curve and the complete disappearance of entire BELs in faint spectra, indicative of a real transition in the accretion disk.
Keywords
