Kavli Affiliate: Michael Fausnaugh
| First 5 Authors: Jason T. Hinkle, Christopher S. Kochanek, Benjamin J. Shappee, Patrick J. Vallely, Katie Auchettl
| Summary:
We analyze high-cadence data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
(TESS) of the ambiguous nuclear transient (ANT) ASASSN-18el. The optical
changing-look phenomenon in ASASSN-18el has been argued to be due to either a
drastic change in the accretion rate of the existing active galactic nucleus
(AGN) or the result of a tidal disruption event (TDE). Throughout the TESS
observations, short-timescale stochastic variability is seen, consistent with
an AGN. We are able to fit the TESS light curve with a damped-random-walk (DRW)
model and recover a rest-frame variability amplitude of $hat{sigma} = 0.93
pm 0.02$ mJy and a rest-frame timescale of $tau_{DRW} = 20^{+15}_{-6}$ days.
We find that the estimated $tau_{DRW}$ for ASASSN-18el is broadly consistent
with an apparent relationship between the DRW timescale and central
supermassive black hole mass. The large-amplitude stochastic variability of
ASASSN-18el, particularly during late stages of the flare, suggests that the
origin of this ANT is likely due to extreme AGN activity rather than a TDE.
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