A characteristic optical variability time scale in astrophysical accretion disks
Abstract
Active galactic nuclei contain a supermassive black hole (SMBH) surrounded by an accretion disk. As disk material falls toward the SMBH, it heats up enough to emit optical light. Burke et al . investigated how such optical emission varies over time in a sample of 67 active galaxies (see the Perspective by Lira and Arevalo). They observed a characteristic variability in timing that scaled with the SMBH mass. The results elucidate the physical processes within accretion disks and provide a method to estimate SMBH mass from optical variability observations. —KTS
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Aug 13, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.abg9933
Entities
People
- Charles Gammie
- Christopher W. Morgan
- Colin J. Burke
- I. M. McHardy
- Keith Horne
- Omer Blaes
- Qian Yang
- Simone Scaringi
- Xin Liu
- Yan-Fei Jiang
- Yue Shen
Organizations
- Durham University
- Flatiron Institute
- National Science Foundation
- Science and Technology Facilities Council
- United States Naval Academy
- University of California
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
- University of Southampton
- University of St Andrews