Wenke Ren

Changing-look active galactic nuclei (CL-AGNs) provide a unique opportunity to probe the coupling between accretion flows and relativistic jets in supermassive black holes. We investigate the long-term radio behavior of CL-AGNs over ∼20 yr by combining FIRST and VLASS observations with quasi-simultaneous optical spectroscopy and photometry. From a parent sample of 1092 CL-AGNs, we identify 58 sources with radio detections. Radio-detected CL-AGNs exhibit systematically higher radio kinetic efficiency, quantified by P _j / L _bol , than both typical radio-detected AGNs and radio transients, consistent with their preference for low Eddington ratios. At the population level, the expected anticorrelation between radio emission and accretion rate is weak. However, a clear source-by-source anticorrelation emerges in a small subset of CL-AGNs with continuous multiepoch coverage. We further identify four radio transients, including both radio turn-on and turn-off events, and one source exhibiting a multiwavelength flare that may be indicative of tidal disruption event-like activity. These results suggest that radio activity in CL-AGNs is not governed by instantaneous accretion state changes but is instead regulated by long-term accretion history and jet evolution, with additional stochastic or transient channels contributing in rare cases.

To fully characterize the formation and evolution of galaxies, we need to observe their stars, gas, and dust on resolved spatial scales. We present the ALPINE-CRISTAL-JWST survey, which combines kiloparsec-resolved imaging and spectroscopy from the Hubble Space Telescope, JWST, and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array for 18 representative main-sequence galaxies at z = 4–6 and log ( M * / M ⊙ ) > 9.5 to study their star formation, chemical properties, and extended gas reservoirs. The cospatial measurements resolving the ionized gas, molecular gas, stars, and dust on 1–2 kpc scales make this a unique benchmark sample for the study of galaxy formation and evolution at z ∼ 5, connecting the Epoch of Reionization with the cosmic noon. In this paper, we outline the survey goals and sample selection, and present a summary of the available data for the 18 galaxies. In addition, we measure spatially integrated quantities (such as global gas metallicity), test different star formation rate indicators, and quantify the presence of H α halos. Our targeted galaxies are relatively metal rich (10%–70% solar), complementary to JWST samples at lower stellar mass, and there is broad agreement between different star formation indicators. One galaxy has the signature of an active galactic nuclei (AGN) based on its emission-line ratios. Six show broad H α emission suggesting type 1 AGN candidates. We conclude with an outlook on the exciting science that will be pursued with this unique sample in forthcoming papers.

Context. The single-epoch virial method is a fundamental tool for estimating supermassive black hole (SMBH) masses in large samples of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and has been extensively employed in studies of SMBH–galaxy coevolution across cosmic time. However, since this method is calibrated using reverberation-mapped AGNs, its validity across the entire AGN population remains uncertain. Aims. We aim to examine the breathing effect–the variability of emission line widths with continuum luminosity–beyond reverberation-mapped AGNs, to assess the validity and estimate potential systematic uncertainties of single-epoch virial black hole mass estimates. Methods. We constructed an unprecedentedly large multi-epoch spectroscopic dataset of quasars from Sloan Digital Sky Survey data release 16 (SDSS DR16), focusing on four key broad emission lines (H α , H β , Mg II , and C IV ). We assessed how breathing behavior evolves with the rest-frame time interval between observations. Results. We detect no significant breathing signal in H α , H β , or Mg II at any observed timescale. In contrast, C IV exhibits a statistically significant anti-breathing trend, most prominent at intermediate timescales. Notably, for H β , which has shown breathing in previous reverberation-mapped samples, we recover the effect only in the small subset of quasars with clearly detected broad-line region (BLR) lags and only during the epochs when such lags are measurable–suggesting that both the lag and breathing signals are intermittent, possibly due to a weak correlation between optical and ionizing continua. These results highlight the complex, variable, and timescale-dependent nature of line profile variability and underscore its implications for single-epoch black hole mass estimates.

We introduce an improved method for decomposing the emission of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and their host galaxies using templates from principal component analysis (PCA). This approach integrates prior information from PCA with a penalized pixel fitting mechanism that improves the precision and effectiveness of the decomposition process. Specifically, we have reduced the degeneracy and overfitting in AGN host decomposition, particularly for those with low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), where traditional methods tend to fail. By applying our method to 76,565 Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 16 quasars with z < 0.8, we achieve a success rate of ≈94%, thus establishing the largest host-decomposed spectral catalog of quasars to date. Our fitting results consider the impact of the host galaxy on the overestimation of the AGN luminosity and black hole mass (M _BH). Furthermore, we obtained stellar velocity dispersion (σ _⋆) measurements for 4137 quasars. The slope of the M _BH−σ _⋆ relation in this subsample is generally consistent with previous quasar studies beyond the local Universe. Our method provides a robust and efficient approach to disentangle the AGN and host galaxy components across a wide range of SNRs and redshifts.

Quasars are generally divided into jetted radio-loud and nonjetted radio-quiet ones, but why only 10% of quasars are radio-loud has been puzzling for decades. Other than jet-induced phenomena, black hole mass, or Eddington ratio, a prominent difference between jetted and nonjetted quasars has scarcely been detected. Here we show a unique distinction between them, and the mystery of jet launching could be disclosed by a prominent excess of radio emission in extremely stable quasars (ESQs; i.e., type 1 quasars with extremely weak variability in UV/optical over 10 yr). Specifically, we find that >25% of the ESQs are detected by the FIRST/VLASS radio survey, while only ∼6%–8% of the control sample, matched in redshift, luminosity, and Eddington ratio, are radio-detected. The excess of radio detection in ESQs has a significance of 4.4σ (99.9995%) and predominantly occurs at intermediate radio loudness with R ∼ 10–60. The radio detection fraction of ESQs also tends to increase in the ESQ samples selected with more stringent thresholds. Our results are in contrast to the common view that radio-loud quasars are likely more variable in UV/optical due to jet contribution. New clues/challenges posed by our findings highlight the importance of extensive follow-up observations to probe the nature of jets in ESQs and theoretical studies on the link between jet launching and ESQs. Moreover, our results make ESQs, an essential population that has never been explored, unique targets in the burgeoning era of time domain astronomy, like their opposite counterparts of quasars exhibiting extreme variability or changing-look features.

We previously built a sample of 14,012 extremely variable quasars (EVQs) based on Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Pan-STARRS1 photometric observations. In this work we present the spectral fitting to their SDSS spectra and study the spectral variation in 1259 EVQs with multiepoch SDSS spectra (after prudently excluding spectra with potentially unreliable spectroscopic photometry). We find a clear “bluer-when-brighter” trend in EVQs, consistent with previous findings of normal quasars and active galactic nuclei. We detect significant intrinsic Baldwin effect (iBeff, i.e., smaller line equivalent width at higher continuum flux in individual active galactic nuclei) in the broad Mg ii and C iv lines of EVQs. Meanwhile, no systematical iBeff is found for the broad Hβ line, which could be attributed to strong host contamination at longer wavelengths. Remarkably, by comparing the iBeff slope of EVQs with archived changing-look quasars, we show that the changing-look quasars identified in the literature are most likely a biased (due to its definition) subpopulation of EVQs, rather than a distinct population of quasars. We also found no significant broad line breathing of Hβ, Mg ii, or C iv, suggesting the broad line breathing in quasars may disappear at longer timescales (∼3000 days).

We previously built a sample of 14,012 extremely variable quasars (EVQs) based on SDSS and Pan-STARRS1 photometric observations. In this work we present the spectral fitting to their SDSS spectra, and study the spectral variation in 1,259 EVQs with multi-epoch SDSS spectra (after prudently excluding spectra with potentially unreliable spectroscopic photometry). We find clear "bluer-when-brighter" trend in EVQs, consistent with previous findings of normal quasars and AGNs. We detect significant intrinsic Baldwin effect (iBeff, i.e., smaller line EW at higher continuum flux in individual AGNs) in the broad MgII and CIV lines of EVQs. Meanwhile, no systematical iBeff is found for the broad Hb line, which could be attributed to strong host contamination at longer wavelengths. Remarkably, by comparing the iBeff slope of EVQs with archived changing-look quasars (CLQs), we show that the CLQs identified in literature are mostly likely a biased (due to its definition) sub-population of EVQs, rather than a distinct population of quasars. We also found no significant broad line breathing of either Hb, MgII or CIV, suggesting the broad line breathing in quasars may disappear at longer timescales ($\sim$ 3000 days).

Extremely variable quasars (EVQs) are a population of sources showing large optical photometric variability revealed by time-domain surveys. The physical origin of such extreme variability is yet unclear. In this first paper of a series, we construct the largest-ever sample of 14,012 EVQs using more than 15 yr of photometric data from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Pan-STARRS1. We divide the EVQs into five subsamples according to the relative brightness of each EVQ during SDSS spectroscopic observation compared with the mean brightness from photometric observations. Corresponding control samples of normal quasars are built with matched redshift, bolometric luminosity, and supermassive black hole mass. We obtain the composite SDSS spectra of EVQs in various states and their corresponding control samples. We find EVQs exhibit clearly bluer SDSS spectra during bright states and clearly redder spectra during dim states, consistent with the “bluer-when-brighter” trend widely seen in normal quasars. We further find that the line equivalent widths (EWs) of broad Mg II, C IV and [O III] (but not broad Hβ, which is yet puzzling) gradually decreases from the dim state to the bright state, similar to the so-called intrinsic Baldwin effect commonly seen in normal active galactic nuclei. In addition, EVQs have consistently larger line EWs compared with the control samples. We also see that EVQs show slight excess in the very broad line component compared with control samples. Possible explanations for the discoveries are discussed. Our findings support the hypothesis that EVQs are in the tail of a broad distribution of quasar properties but are not a distinct population.