Dark Energy Survey identification of a low-mass active galactic nucleus at redshift 0.823 from optical variability

Hengxiao Guo; Colin J. Burke; Xin Liu; Kedar A. Phadke; Kaiwen Zhang; Yu-Ching Chen; Robert A. Gruendl; Christopher Lidman; Yue Shen; Eric Morganson; Michel Aguena; Sahar Allam; Santiago Avila; Emmanuel Bertin; David Brooks; Aurelio Carnero Rosell; Daniela Carollo; Matias Carrasco Kind; Matteo Costanzi; Luiz N. da Costa; Juan De Vicente; Shantanu Desai; Peter Doel; Tim F. Eifler; Spencer Everett; Juan Garcia-Bellido; Enrique Gaztanaga; David W. Gerdes; Daniel Gruen; Julia Gschwend; Gaston Gutierrez; Samuel R. Hinton; Devon L. Hollowood; Klaus Honscheid; David J. James; Kyler Kuehn; Marcos Lima; Marcio A. G. Maia; Felipe Menanteau; Ramon Miquel; Anais Moller; Ricardo L. C. Ogando; Antonella Palmese; Francisco Paz-Chinchon; Andres A. Plazas; Anita K. Romer; Aaron Roodman; Eusebio Sanchez; Vic Scarpine; Michael Schubnell; Santiago Serrano; Mathew Smith; Marcelle Soares-Santos; Natalia E. Sommer; Eric Suchyta; Molly E. C. Swanson; Gregory Tarle; Brad E. Tucker; Tamas N. Varga; DES Collaboration

doi:10.1093/mnras/staa1803

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Dark Energy Survey identification of a low-mass active galactic nucleus at redshift 0.823 from optical variability

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Dark Energy Survey identification of a low-mass active galactic nucleus at redshift 0.823 from optical variability

Hengxiao Guo, Colin J. Burke, Xin Liu, Kedar A. Phadke, Kaiwen Zhang, Yu-Ching Chen, Robert A. Gruendl, Christopher Lidman, Yue Shen, Eric Morganson, …

Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol.496(3), pp.3636-3647

08/11/2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa1803

Abstract

Astronomy & Astrophysics

Science & Technology

Physical Sciences

We report the identification of a low-mass active galactic nucleus (AGN), DES J0218-0430, in a redshift z = 0.823 galaxy in the Dark Energy Survey (DES) Supernova field. We select DES J0218-0430 as an AGN candidate by characterizing its long-term optical variability alone based on DES optical broad-band light curves spanning over 6 yr. An archival optical spectrum from the fourth phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey shows both broad MgII and broad H beta lines, confirming its nature as a broad-line AGN. Archival XMM-Newton X-ray observations suggest an intrinsic hard X-ray luminosity of L2-12 keV approximate to 7.6 +/- 0.4 x 10(43) erg s(-1), which exceeds those of the most X-ray luminous starburst galaxies, in support of an AGN driving the optical variability. Based on the broad H beta from SDSS spectrum, we estimate a virial black hole (BH) mass of M-circle approximate to 10(6.43) - 10(6.72) M-circle dot (with the error denoting the systematic uncertainty from different calibrations), consistent with the estimation from OzDES, making it the lowest mass AGN with redshift > 0.4 detected in optical. We estimate the host galaxy stellar mass to be M-* approximate to 10(10.5 +/- 0.3) M-circle dot based on modelling the multiwavelength spectral energy distribution. DES J0218-0430 extends the M-circle-M-* relation observed in luminous AGNs at z similar to 1 to masses lower than being probed by previous work. Our work demonstrates the feasibility of using optical variability to identify low-mass AGNs at higher redshift in deeper synoptic surveys with direct implications for the upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time at Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

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Title: Dark Energy Survey identification of a low-mass active galactic nucleus at redshift 0.823 from optical variability
Creators: Hengxiao Guo - National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Colin J. Burke - National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Xin Liu - Univ Illinois, Dept Astron, 1002 W Green St, Urbana, IL 61801 USA
Kedar A. Phadke - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Kaiwen Zhang - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Yu-Ching Chen - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Robert A. Gruendl - National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Christopher Lidman - Australian National University
Yue Shen - National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Eric Morganson - National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Michel Aguena - Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia
Sahar Allam - Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Santiago Avila - Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Emmanuel Bertin - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
David Brooks - University College London
Aurelio Carnero Rosell - Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas
Daniela Carollo - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino
Matias Carrasco Kind - National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Matteo Costanzi - Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe
Luiz N. da Costa - Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia
Juan De Vicente - Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas
Shantanu Desai - Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
Peter Doel - University College London
Tim F. Eifler - University of Arizona
Spencer Everett - Santa Cruz Inst Particle Phys, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 USA
Juan Garcia-Bellido - Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Enrique Gaztanaga - Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya
David W. Gerdes - University of Michigan
Daniel Gruen - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
Julia Gschwend - Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia
Gaston Gutierrez - Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Samuel R. Hinton - The University of Queensland
Devon L. Hollowood - Santa Cruz Inst Particle Phys, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 USA
Klaus Honscheid - The Ohio State University
David J. James - Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian
Kyler Kuehn - Australian Astronomical Observatory
Marcos Lima - Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia
Marcio A. G. Maia - Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia
Felipe Menanteau - National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Ramon Miquel - Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats
Anais Moller - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Ricardo L. C. Ogando - Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia
Antonella Palmese - Fermilab Natl Accelerator Lab, POB 500, Batavia, IL 60510 USA
Francisco Paz-Chinchon - University of Cambridge
Andres A. Plazas - Princeton University
Anita K. Romer - University of Sussex
Aaron Roodman - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
Eusebio Sanchez - Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas
Vic Scarpine - Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Michael Schubnell - Univ Michigan, Dept Phys, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA
Santiago Serrano - Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya
Mathew Smith - University of Southampton
Marcelle Soares-Santos - Brandeis University, Martin A. Fisher School of Physics
Natalia E. Sommer - Australian National University
Eric Suchyta - Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Molly E. C. Swanson - National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Gregory Tarle - University of Michigan
Brad E. Tucker - Australian National University
Tamas N. Varga - Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
DES Collaboration
Publication Details: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol.496(3), pp.3636-3647
Publisher: Oxford Univ Press
Number of pages: 12
Grant note: European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013); European Research Council (ERC) University of Notre Dame University of Edinburgh New York University Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico University of Chicago Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Smithsonian Institution U.S. Department of Energy; United States Department of Energy (DOE) Kavli Institute of Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; United States Department of Energy (DOE)
Identifiers: 9924552851501921
Academic Unit: Martin A. Fisher School of Physics
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

Dark Energy Survey identification of a low-mass active galactic nucleus at redshift 0.823 from optical variability

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