Browsing by Author "LaMassa, Stephanie"

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    A Transient "Changing-look" Active Galactic Nucleus Resolved on Month Timescales from First-year Sloan Digital Sky Survey V Data
    (2022) Zeltyn, Grisha; Trakhtenbrot, Benny; Eracleous, Michael; Runnoe, Jessie; Trump, Jonathan R.; Stern, Jonathan; Shen, Yue; Hernandez-Garcia, Lorena; Bauer, Franz E.; Yang, Qian; Dwelly, Tom; Ricci, Claudio; Green, Paul; Anderson, Scott F.; Assef, Roberto J.; Guolo, Muryel; MacLeod, Chelsea; Davis, Megan C.; Fries, Logan; Gezari, Suvi; Grogin, Norman A.; Homan, David; Koekemoer, Anton M.; Krumpe, Mirko; LaMassa, Stephanie; Liu, Xin; Merloni, Andrea; Martinez-Aldama, Mary Loli; Schneider, Donald P.; Temple, Matthew J.; Brownstein, Joel R.; Ibarra-Medel, Hector; Burke, Jamison; Pellegrino, Craig; Kollmeier, Juna A.
    We report the discovery of a new "changing-look" active galactic nucleus (CLAGN) event, in the quasar SDSS J162829.17+432948.5 at z = 0.2603, identified through repeat spectroscopy from the fifth Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-V). Optical photometry taken during 2020-2021 shows a dramatic dimming of Delta g approximate to 1 mag, followed by a rapid recovery on a timescale of several months, with the less than or similar to 2 month period of rebrightening captured in new SDSS-V and Las Cumbres Observatory spectroscopy. This is one of the fastest CLAGN transitions observed to date. Archival observations suggest that the object experienced a much more gradual dimming over the period of 2011-2013. Our spectroscopy shows that the photometric changes were accompanied by dramatic variations in the quasar-like continuum and broad-line emission. The excellent agreement between the pre- and postdip photometric and spectroscopic appearances of the source, as well as the fact that the dimmest spectra can be reproduced by applying a single extinction law to the brighter spectral states, favor a variable line-of-sight obscuration as the driver of the observed transitions. Such an interpretation faces several theoretical challenges, and thus an alternative accretion-driven scenario cannot be excluded. The recent events observed in this quasar highlight the importance of spectroscopic monitoring of large active galactic nucleus samples on weeks-to-months timescales, which the SDSS-V is designed to achieve.
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    Exploring Changing-look Active Galactic Nuclei with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey V: First Year Results
    (2024) Zeltyn, Grisha; Trakhtenbrot, Benny; Eracleous, Michael; Yang, Qian; Green, Paul; Anderson, Scott F.; LaMassa, Stephanie; Runnoe, Jessie; Assef, Roberto J.; Bauer, Franz E.; Brandt, W. N.; Davis, Megan C.; Frederick, Sara E.; Fries, Logan B.; Graham, Matthew J.; Grogin, Norman A.; Guolo, Muryel; Hernandez-Garcia, Lorena; Koekemoer, Anton M.; Krumpe, Mirko; Liu, Xin; Martinez-Aldama, Mary Loli; Ricci, Claudio; Schneider, Donald P.; Shen, Yue; Sniegowska, Marzena; Temple, Matthew J.; Trump, Jonathan R.; Xue, Yongquan; Brownstein, Joel R.; Dwelly, Tom; Morrison, Sean; Bizyaev, Dmitry; Pan, Kaike; Kollmeier, Juna A.
    "Changing-look" active galactic nuclei (CL-AGNs) challenge our basic ideas about the physics of accretion flows and circumnuclear gas around supermassive black holes. Using first-year Sloan Digital Sky Survey V (SDSS-V) repeated spectroscopy of nearly 29,000 previously known active galactic nuclei (AGNs), combined with dedicated follow-up spectroscopy, and publicly available optical light curves, we have identified 116 CL-AGNs where (at least) one broad emission line has essentially (dis-)appeared, as well as 88 other extremely variable systems. Our CL-AGN sample, with 107 newly identified cases, is the largest reported to date, and includes similar to 0.4% of the AGNs reobserved in first-year SDSS-V operations. Among our CL-AGNs, 67% exhibit dimming while 33% exhibit brightening. Our sample probes extreme AGN spectral variability on months to decades timescales, including some cases of recurring transitions on surprisingly short timescales (less than or similar to 2 months in the rest frame). We find that CL events are preferentially found in lower-Eddington-ratio (f Edd) systems: Our CL-AGNs have a f Edd distribution that significantly differs from that of a carefully constructed, redshift- and luminosity-matched control sample (Anderson-Darling test yielding p AD approximate to 6 x 10-5; median f Edd approximate to 0.025 versus 0.043). This preference for low f Edd strengthens previous findings of higher CL-AGN incidence at lower f Edd, found in smaller samples. Finally, we show that the broad Mg ii emission line in our CL-AGN sample tends to vary significantly less than the broad H beta emission line. Our large CL-AGN sample demonstrates the advantages and challenges in using multi-epoch spectroscopy from large surveys to study extreme AGN variability and physics.
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    On the Cosmic Evolution of AGN Obscuration and the X-Ray Luminosity Function: XMM-Newton and Chandra Spectral Analysis of the 31.3 deg2 Stripe 82X
    (2023) Peca, Alessandro; Cappelluti, Nico; Urry, C. Megan; LaMassa, Stephanie; Marchesi, Stefano; Ananna, Tonima Tasnim; Balokovic, Mislav; Sanders, David; Auge, Connor; Treister, Ezequiel; Powell, Meredith; Turner, Tracey Jane; Kirkpatrick, Allison; Tian, Chuan
    We present X-ray spectral analysis of XMM-Newton and Chandra observations in the 31.3 deg(2) Stripe-82X (S82X) field. Of the 6181 unique X-ray sources in this field, we analyze a sample of 2937 candidate active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with solid redshifts and sufficient counts determined by simulations. Our results show an observed population with median values of spectral index gamma = 1.94(-0.39) (+0.31), column density log N-H/cm(-2) = 20.7(-0.5) (+1.2) and intrinsic, de-absorbed, 2-10 keV luminosity log L-X/ erg s(-1 ) = 44.0(-1.0)(+0.7), in the redshift range 0-4. We derive the intrinsic, model-independent, fraction of AGNs that are obscured (22 <= log N-H / cm(-2) < 24), finding a significant increase in the obscured AGN fraction with redshift and a decline with increasing luminosity. The average obscured AGN fraction is 57% +/- 4% for log L-X/erg s(-1) > 43. This work constrains the AGN obscuration and spectral shape of the still uncertain high-luminosity and high-redshift regimes (log L-X/erg s(-1) > 45.5, z > 3), where the obscured AGN fraction rises to 64% +/- 12%. We report a luminosity and density evolution of the X-ray luminosity function, with obscured AGNs dominating at all luminosities at z > 2, and unobscured sources prevailing at log L-X/erg s(-1) > 45 at lower redshifts. Our results agree with the evolutionary models in which the bulk of AGN activity is triggered by gas-rich environments and in a downsizing scenario. Moreover, the black hole accretion density (BHAD) is found to evolve similarly to the star formation rate density, confirming the coevolution between AGN and host galaxy, but suggesting different timescales in their growing history. The derived BHAD evolution shows that Compton-thick AGNs contribute to the accretion history of AGNs as much as all other AGN populations combined.
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    The Accretion History of AGN: The Spectral Energy Distributions of X-Ray-luminous Active Galactic Nuclei
    (2023) Auge, Connor; Sanders, David; Treister, Ezequiel; Urry, C. Megan; Kirkpatrick, Allison; Cappelluti, Nico; Ananna, Tonima Tasnim; Boquien, Médéric; Baloković, Mislav; Civano, Francesca; Coleman, Brandon; Ghosh, Aritra; Kartaltepe, Jeyhan; Koss, Michael; LaMassa, Stephanie; Marchesi, Stefano; Peca, Alessandro; Powell, Meredith; Trakhtenbrot, Benny; Turner, Tracey Jane
    Spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from X-ray to far-infrared (FIR) wavelengths are presented for a sample of 1246 X-ray-luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs; L0.5–10 keV > 1043 erg s−1), with zspec < 1.2, selected from Stripe 82X, COSMOS, and GOODS-N/S. The rest-frame SEDs show a wide spread (∼2.5 dex) in the relative strengths of broad continuum features at X-ray, ultraviolet (UV), mid-infrared (MIR), and FIR wavelengths. A linear correlation (log–log slope of 0.7 ± 0.04) is found between LMIR and LX. There is significant scatter in the relation between the LUV and LX owing to heavy obscuration; however, the most luminous and unobscured AGNs show a linear correlation (log–log slope of 0.8 ± 0.06) in the relation above this scatter. The relation between LFIR and LX is predominantly flat, but with decreasing dispersion at LX > 1044 erg s−1. The ratio between the "galaxy-subtracted" bolometric luminosity and the intrinsic LX increases from a factor of ∼10 to 70 from log Lbol/(erg s−1) = 44.5 to 46.5. Characteristic SED shapes have been determined by grouping AGNs based on relative strengths of the UV and MIR emission. The average L1μm is constant for the majority of these SED shapes, while AGNs with the strongest UV and MIR emission have elevated L1μm, consistent with the AGN emission dominating their SEDs at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. A strong correlation is found between the SED shape and both the LX and Lbol, such that Lbol/LX = 20.4 ± 1.8, independent of the SED shape. This is consistent with an evolutionary scenario of increasing Lbol with decreasing obscuration as the AGN blows away circumnuclear gas.