Kavli Affiliate: Claudio Ricci
| First 5 Authors: Grisha Zeltyn, Benny Trakhtenbrot, Michael Eracleous, Jessie Runnoe, Jonathan R. Trump
| Summary:
We report the discovery of a new `changing-look’ active galactic nucleus
(CLAGN) event, in the quasar SDSS J162829.17+432948.5 at z=0.2603, identified
through repeat spectroscopy from the fifth Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-V).
Optical photometry taken during 2020-2021 shows a dramatic dimming of
${Delta}$g${approx}$1 mag, followed by a rapid recovery on a timescale of
several months, with the ${lesssim}$2 month period of rebrightening captured
in new SDSS-V and Las Cumbres Observatory spectroscopy. This is one of the
fastest CLAGN transitions observed to date. Archival observations suggest that
the object experienced a much more gradual dimming over the period of
2011-2013. Our spectroscopy shows that the photometric changes were accompanied
by dramatic variations in the quasar-like continuum and broad-line emission.
The excellent agreement between the pre- and post-dip photometric and
spectroscopic appearances of the source, as well as the fact that the dimmest
spectra can be reproduced by applying a single extinction law to the brighter
spectral states, favor a variable line-of-sight obscuration as the driver of
the observed transitions. Such an interpretation faces several theoretical
challenges, and thus an alternative accretion-driven scenario cannot be
excluded. The recent events observed in this quasar highlight the importance of
spectroscopic monitoring of large AGN samples on weeks-to-months timescales,
which the SDSS-V is designed to achieve.
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