Spectral variability studies in Active Galactic Nuclei: Exploring continuum and emission line regions in the age of LSST and JWST

Abstract

The investigation of emission line regions within active galaxies (AGNs) has a rich and extensive history, now extending to the use of AGNs and quasars as "standardizable" cosmological indicators, shedding light on the evolution of our universe. As we enter the era of advanced observatories, such as the successful launch of JWST and the forthcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), the landscape of AGN exploration across cosmic epochs is poised for exciting advancements. In this work, we delve into recent developments in AGN variability research, anticipating the substantial influx of data facilitated by LSST. The article highlights recent strides made by the AGN Polish Consortium in their contributions to LSST. The piece emphasizes the role of quasars in cosmology, dissecting the intricacies of their calibration as standard candles. The primary focus centers on the relationship between the broad-line region size and luminosity, showcasing recent breakthroughs that enhance our comprehension of this correlation. These breakthroughs encompass a range of perspectives, including spectroscopic analyses, photoionization modeling, and collaborative investigations with other cosmological tools. The study further touches on select studies, underlining how the synergy of theoretical insights and advancements in observational capabilities has yielded deeper insights into these captivating cosmic entities.

34 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication as a review in MDPI/Universe

References in corpus (57)

• The James Webb Space Telescope
• A Catalog of Quasar Properties from SDSS DR7
• The Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope I. Overview of the instrument and its capabilities
• Active Galactic Nuclei: what's in a name?
• Radio-Loudness of Active Galactic Nuclei: Observational Facts and Theoretical Implications
• The diversity of quasars unified by accretion and orientation
• The AGN Black Hole Mass Database
• Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. II. Swift and HST Reverberation Mapping of the Accretion Disk of NGC 5548
• Testing thermal reprocessing in AGN accretion discs
• Supermassive Black Holes with High Accretion Rates in Active Galactic Nuclei. IV. H$\beta$ Time Lags and Implications for Super-Eddington Accretion
• A 0.8-2.4 microns spectral atlas of Active Galactic Nuclei
• The Lick AGN Monitoring Project 2011: Spectroscopic Campaign and Emission-Line Light Curves
• The faint radio sky: radio astronomy becomes mainstream
• The Radius-Luminosity Relationship Depends on Optical Spectra in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Radio Loud and Radio Quiet Quasars
• Supermassive black holes with high accretion rates in active galactic nuclei: II. the most luminous standard candles in the Universe
• The Near-Infrared Broad Emission Line Region of Active Galactic Nuclei -- I. The Observations
• Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. V. Optical Spectroscopic Campaign and Emission-Line Analysis for NGC 5548
• A Revised Broad-Line Region Radius and Black Hole Mass for the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 NGC 4051
• On the two main classes of Active Galactic Nuclei
• Self-shadowing Effects of Slim Accretion Disks in Active Galactic Nuclei: Diverse Appearance of the Broad-line Region
• Supermassive Black Holes with High Accretion Rates in Active Galactic Nuclei. III. Detection of Fe II Reverberation in Nine Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Intensive disc-reverberation mapping of Fairall 9: 1st year of Swift & LCO monitoring
• Highly Accreting Quasars: Sample Definition and Possible Cosmological Implications
• Supermassive black holes with high accretion rates in active galactic nuclei. XI. Accretion disk reverberation mapping of Mrk 142
• Modeling the UV/optical continuum time-lags in AGN
• On the multi-wavelength variability of Mrk 110: Two components acting at different timescales
• State-of-the-art AGN SEDs for Photoionization Models: BLR Predictions Confront the Observations
• AGN Continuum Reverberation Mapping Based on Zwicky Transient Facility Light Curves
• Photometric reverberation mapping of 3C120
• Powerful outflows in the central parsecs of the low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus NGC 1386
• A hard look at thermal reverberation and optical/UV lags in NGC 5548
• Delayed Appearance and Evolution of Coronal Lines in the TDE AT2019qiz
• Accretion Disk Size Measurements of Active Galactic Nuclei Monitored by the Zwicky Transient Facility
• GOALS-JWST: Resolving the Circumnuclear Gas Dynamics in NGC 7469 in the Mid-Infrared
• GTC Spectra of z ~ 2.3 Quasars: Comparison with Local Luminosity Analogues
• Metallicity in Quasar Broad Line Regions at Redshift $\sim$ 6
• Chemical Abundance of z~6 Quasar Broad-Line Regions in the XQR-30 Sample
• Revisiting UV/optical continuum time lags in AGN
• Quasars as high-redshift standard candles
• The LSST era of supermassive black holes accretion-disk reverberation mapping
• Optical continuum photometric reverberation mapping of the Seyfert-1 galaxy Mrk509
• Placing High-Redshift Quasars in Perspective: a Catalog of Spectroscopic Properties from the Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph -- Distant Quasar Survey
• Estimating AGN Black Hole Masses via Continuum Reverberation Mapping in the Era of LSST
• Strong Mg II and Fe II Absorbers at 2.2 < z < 6.0
• The miniJPAS survey: AGN & host galaxy co-evolution of X-ray selected sources
• LSST Cadence Strategy Evaluations for AGN Time-series Data in Wide-Fast-Deep Field
• A panchromatic review of thermal and nonthermal active galactic nuclei
• The SOUX AGN Sample: SDSS-XMM-Newton Optical, Ultraviolet and X-ray selected active galactic nuclei spanning a wide range of parameter space -- Sample definition
• Wavelength Dependences of the Optical/UV and X-ray Luminosity Correlations of Quasars
• Continuum reverberation mapping of MCG 08-11-011
• The H$\alpha$ broadband photometric reverberation mapping of four Seyfert 1 galaxies
• First observation of double-peaked O I emission in the near-infrared spectrum of an active galaxy
• Multiple locations of near-infrared coronal lines in NGC 5548
• Dust and the intrinsic spectral index of quasar variations: hints of finite stress at the innermost stable circular orbit
• The Mass Distribution of Quasars in Optical Time-domain Surveys
• On the nature of the continuum reverberation of X-ray/UV and optical emission of IRAS 09149-6206