Table · dataset · 2025
Optical variability of ~700 low mass AGNs
Listed in IVOA Registry (Virtual Observatory)
We present a sample of 706, z < 1.5 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) selected from optical photometric variability in three of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) deep fields (E2, C3, and X3) over an area of 4.64 deg^2^.
Description
We construct light curves using difference imaging aperture photometry for resolved sources and non- difference imaging PSF photometry for unresolved sources, respectively, and characterize the variability significance.
Our DES light curves have a mean cadence of 7 d, a 6-yr baseline, and a single-epoch imaging depth of up to g ~ 24.5. Using spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting, we find 26 out of total 706 variable galaxies are consistent with dwarf galaxies with a reliable stellar mass estimate (M* < 10^9.5^M_{Sun}_; median photometric redshift of 0.9). We were able to constrain rapid characteristic variability time-scales (~ weeks) using the DES light curves in 15 dwarf AGN candidates (a subset of our variable AGN candidates) at a median photometric redshift of 0.4.
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This rapid variability is consistent with their low black hole (BH) masses. We confirm the low-mass AGN nature of one source with a high S/N optical spectrum. We publish our catalogue, optical light curves, and supplementary data, such as X-ray properties and optical spectra, when available.
We measure a variable AGN fraction versus stellar mass and compare to results from a forward model. This work demonstrates the feasibility of optical variability to identify AGNs with lower BH masses in deep fields, which may be more 'pristine' analogues of supermassive BH seeds.
Links
Where it is published
- Reference page cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/MNRAS/516/2736 ↗
landing page · from IVOA Registry
Documentation and papers
- ADS 2022MNRAS.516.2736B ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2022MNRAS.516.2736B ↗
publication · from IVOA Registry
Catalogue records · 2
- VOResource record dc.g-vo.org/oai.xml?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=ivo_vor&identifier=ivo%3… ↗
metadata API · from IVOA Registry
- Registry record (GAVO) dc.g-vo.org/I/cds.vizier/j/mnras/516/2736 ↗
catalogue entry · from IVOA Registry
Topics
- From keywords
- Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Inferred from text
- Galactic astronomy 77% · Imaging 75%
Provenance · 1 source records, 12 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| IVOA Registry (Virtual Observatory) | ivo://cds.vizier/j/mnras/516/2736 | 14 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| access_level | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].anzsrc:field:510104 | enrichment · IVOA Registry | taxonomy-embedding@1.1.0 | title+keywords+description (77%) |
| concepts[field].local:field:astronomy | mapping · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[modality].ivoa_waveband:infrared | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[modality].ivoa_waveband:optical | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[modality].ivoa_waveband:x-ray | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[modality].local:modality:imaging | enrichment · IVOA Registry | keyword-concept-rules@1.0.0 | title+description (75%) |
| description | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | rr.resource.res_description |
| license_text | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| publication_date | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 | rr.resource.res_title |
| updated_date | source · IVOA Registry | connector:ivoa_registry@1.0.0 |