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arXiv · 2604.07561

Tracing Active Galactic Nuclei Properties Through a Changing-look Event

Joel Carpenter·Sandra Raimundo·Charlotte Angus·Katie Auchettl
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Abstract

Changing-look transitions challenge our understanding of active galactic nuclei (AGN), exhibiting dramatic changes in broad-line emission and continuum flux on timescales of months to years. We present a detailed study of the spectroscopically confirmed changing-look AGN ZTF18abuamgo. Combining photometric survey data with spectroscopy spanning three epochs over 20 years, we identify a turn-on transition from a Type 1.5 to Type 1.2 AGN and estimate the timescale of this change to be as short as four years. Spectral analysis indicates that this transformation is driven by a rapid increase in accretion rate, with the Eddington ratio rising from $0.032 \pm 0.005$ in the dim state to $0.08 \pm 0.01$ in the bright state. For the first time in a changing-look AGN, we apply the Boltzmann plot method to the visible Balmer series emission, deriving broad line region electron temperatures of $11,800 \pm 900$ K and $11,900 \pm 2,400$ K in 2022 and 2024, respectively. Applying single-epoch black hole mass estimation to the brightening H$\alpha$ emission, we find a mass of $(5.0 \pm 0.4) \times 10^7 M_\odot$. The consistency in this estimate across all spectroscopic epochs suggest that even highly variable broad lines in CL-AGN do not bias the results derived using this method. Our results demonstrate that objects like ZTF18abuamgo provide a unique laboratory to study extreme AGN variability, probe the physical conditions in the broad line region, and assess the limitations of widely used black hole mass estimation methods.

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Joel Carpenter, Sandra Raimundo, Charlotte Angus, Katie Auchettl. 2026-04-08. Tracing Active Galactic Nuclei Properties Through a Changing-look Event. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras%2Fstag607

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