Follow-up spectroscopy of SDSS changing-look QSOs Virtual Observatory Resource

Authors
  1. MacLeod C.L.
  2. Green P.J.
  3. Anderson S.F.
  4. Bruce A.
  5. Eracleous M.
  6. Graham M.,Homan D.
  7. Lawrence A.
  8. Lebleu A.
  9. Ross N.P.
  10. Ruan J.J.
  11. Runnoe J.,Stern D.
  12. Burgett W.
  13. Chambers K.C.
  14. Kaiser N.
  15. Magnier E.
  16. Metcalfe N.
  17. Published by
    CDS
Abstract

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that show strong rest-frame optical/UV variability in their blue continuum and broad line emission are classified as changing-look AGN, or at higher luminosities, changing-look quasars (CLQs). These surprisingly large and sometimes rapid transitions challenge accepted models of quasar physics and duty cycles, offer several new avenues for study of quasar host galaxies, and open a wider interpretation of the cause of differences between broad and narrow-line AGN. To better characterize extreme quasar variability, we present follow-up spectroscopy as part of a comprehensive search for CLQs across the full Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) footprint using spectroscopically confirmed quasars from the SDSS DR7 catalog. Our primary selection requires large-amplitude (|{Delta}g|>1mag, |{Delta}r|>0.5mag) variability over any of the available time baselines probed by the SDSS and Pan-STARRS 1 surveys. We employ photometry from the Catalina Sky Survey to verify variability behavior in CLQ candidates where available, and confirm CLQs using optical spectroscopy from the William Herschel, MMT, Magellan, and Palomar telescopes. For our adopted signal-to-noise ratio threshold on variability of broad H{beta} emission, we find 17 new CLQs, yielding a confirmation rate of >~20%. These candidates are at lower Eddington ratio relative to the overall quasar population, which supports a disk-wind model for the broad line region. Based on our sample, the CLQ fraction increases from 10% to roughly half as the continuum flux ratio between repeat spectra at 3420{AA} increases from 1.5 to 6. We release a catalog of more than 200 highly variable candidates to facilitate future CLQ searches.

Keywords
  1. Quasars
  2. Optical astronomy
  3. Spectroscopy
  4. Redshifted
  5. Sloan photometry
Bibliographic source Bibcode
2019ApJ...874....8M
See also HTML
https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJ/874/8
IVOA Identifier IVOID
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/874/8
Document Object Identifer DOI
doi:10.26093/cds/vizier.18740008

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History

2020-09-07T08:29:46Z
Resource record created
2020-09-07T08:29:46Z
Created
2021-03-23T13:03:21Z
Updated

Contact

Name
CDS support team
Postal Address
CDS, Observatoire de Strasbourg, 11 rue de l'Universite, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
E-Mail
cds-question@unistra.fr