Image Details

Choose export citation format:

Identifying Transitions in Changing-look Active Galactic Nuclei in Light-curve Data with the Zwicky Transient Facility

  • Authors: Margaret E. Verrico, K. Decker French, Vivienne F. Baldassare, Colin J. Burke, Laura Duffy, Nicholas Earl, Megan Harrison, Jason T. Hinkle, Alexander Messick, Samaresh Mondal, Yashasvi Moon, Margaret Shepherd, Zachary Stone

Margaret E. Verrico et al 2026 The Astrophysical Journal 1004 .

  • Provider: AAS Journals

Caption: Figure 9.

Rest-frame transition duration for photometric CL-AGN transitions (i.e., transitions with Δ(g) > 0.4 mag and Δ(g − r) > 0.2 mag) as a function of black hole mass from PyQSOfit. We compare to theoretical timescales invoked for CL-AGN transitions from D. Stern et al. (2018), C. Ricci & B. Trakhtenbrot (2022; dashed lines; timescales for R = 150Rgα = 0.03, and H/R = 0.05), and S. A. Dodd et al. (2025; solid line) and determine that CL-AGN photometric transitions are most consistent with the thermal timescale, the dynamical timescale, or the orbital timescale at ∼10rs, 100rs, 1000rs. However, we are unable to probe timescales longer than the ∼6 yr survey duration of ZTF (e.g., the viscous timescale). We do not detect a significant correlation between black hole mass and transition duration.

Other Images in This Article
Copyright and Terms & Conditions

Additional terms of reuse