arXiv subjects

Vivek Kumar Jha

Publications and source records attributed to Vivek Kumar Jha.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Low-Redshift Interlopers in the SDSS DR16 $z > 5$ Quasar Catalogue

High-redshift quasars ($z>5$) are crucial for studying early black hole growth and reionisation. SDSS Data Release 16 catalogues 655 such sources with multiple redshift estimators. We systematically examined this subsample and found 480 sources (73.2\%) where pipeline redshift (Z\_DR16Q) disagrees with the derived estimate (Z\_FIT) significantly. Visual inspection confirms that 125 of these (19.1\% of the total) are actually low-redshift active galactic nuclei. In 114 cases, broad Mg\,{\sc ii} with C\,{\sc iii} and C\,{\sc iv} was misidentified as Ly$α$; in 11 cases, H$α$ was misidentified as Ly$α$. This error is immediately revealed by the absence of Gunn--Peterson trough blueward of Ly$α$. Crucially, Z\_FIT recovers correct redshift in the affected sources where emission lines are prominent, indicating the algorithm is sound; the issue lies in community preference for Z\_DR16Q or Z\_SPEC. We urge caution against uncritical use of pipeline redshifts for $z>5$ DR16Q sources and recommend Z\_FIT as the preferred estimator.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Probing jet-induced optical variability across timescales in radio-loud NLSy1 galaxies

We investigate optical variability across multiple timescales in a sample of radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert~1 (RL-NLSy1) galaxies, including $γ$-ray detected, $γ$-ray undetected, and non-jetted systems along with a comparison set of highly polarised core-dominated quasars (HPQs). Using Zwicky Transient Facility light curves, we measure fractional variability ($F_{\rm var}$) and rest-frame structure functions (SFs) to test whether short-term jet-linked variability is reflected in long-term behaviour. $γ$-ray detected RL-NLSy1s and HPQs show steeply rising SFs, revealing strong long-term coherence despite modest $F_{\rm var}$, consistent with Doppler-boosted synchrotron emission from relativistic jets. Non-jetted RL-NLSy1s exhibit the highest $F_{\rm var}$ but plateauing SFs, indicative of stochastic, disc-driven fluctuations lacking long-term coherence. $γ$-ray undetected RL-NLSy1s show the lowest $F_{\rm var}$ and nearly flat SFs, consistent with weak or absent jet activity across all timescales. Colour-magnitude trends show that jet-dominated sources exhibit redder-when-brighter behaviour, whereas disc-dominated systems exhibit bluer-when-brighter trends. These results show that SF-derived temporal coherence, rather than variability amplitude alone, is a promising diagnostic of jet dominance and orientation, offering a framework for interpreting AGN variability in forthcoming time-domain surveys.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Do Low-Mass, Low-Luminosity AGNs Deviate from the Quasar Main Sequence?

We present a comprehensive spectroscopic and variability-based characterisation of a sample of low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs) hosting low mass black holes, identified by $Hβ$ full width at half maximum (FWHM) $< 2200$ km s$^{-1}$. While the narrow line widths are consistent with the formal definition of narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) galaxies, the broader accretion and emission properties reveal key distinctions. The sample exhibits sub-Eddington accretion rates (median $\log R_{Edd} \approx -0.68$) and comparatively weak FeII emission (median $R_{FeII} \approx 0.61$), in contrast to the strong FeII strengths and high Eddington ratios characteristic of classical NLSy1s. Optical variability amplitudes, derived from Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) light curves, are similar to those typically seen in Seyfert 1 galaxies, with a median $\log(σ) \approx -0.68$, suggesting the AGN component's significant contribution to variability. In the optical plane of the 4D Eigenvector 1 (4DE1) parameter space, these sources occupy a distinct locus in the low-$R_{FeII}$, low-$R_{Edd}$ regime, suggesting a physically distinct accretion state. Our findings indicate that this population may represent a low-accretion analogue within the broader narrow-line AGN family, offering new insights into black hole growth at low mass scales.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Scalable and Robust Multiband Modeling of AGN Light Curves in Rubin-LSST

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will monitor tens of millions of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) for a period of 10 years with an average cadence of 3 days in six broad photometric bands. This unprecedented dataset will enable robust characterizations of AGN UV/optical variability across a wide range of AGN physical properties. However, existing tools for modeling AGN light curves are not yet capable of fully leveraging the volume, cadence, and multiband nature of LSST data. We present EzTaoX, a scalable light curve modeling tool designed to take advantage of LSST's multiband observations to simultaneously characterize AGN UV/optical stochastic variability and measure interband time delays. EzTaoX achieves a speed increase of $\sim 10^2-10^4 \times$ on CPUs over current tools with similar capabilities, while maintaining equal or better accuracy in recovering simulated variability properties. This performance gain enables continuum time-delay measurements for all AGNs discovered by LSST -- both in the Wide Fast Deep survey and the Deep Drilling Fields -- thereby opening new opportunities to probe AGN accretion-flow geometries. In addition, EzTaoX's multiband capability allows robust characterization of AGN stochastic variability down to hourly timescales, facilitating the identification of accreting low-mass AGNs -- such as those residing in dwarf galaxies -- through their distinctive variability signatures.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Exploring the Origins of Optical Variability in AGNs: Correlations with Black Hole Properties, X-ray, and Radio Emission

We study the optical variability characteristics of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) from the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) AGN catalogue by utilising approximately five years of optical light curves from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) survey. We investigate dependencies of the long-term optical variability amplitudes and timescales on (i) supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass, luminosity, and Eddington ratio to explore the influence of accretion disk dynamics and radiative processes; (ii) X-ray properties, such as spectral photon indices and fluxes, to study the effect of high-energy emission mechanisms; and (iii) radio characteristics, such as integrated fluxes and radio loudness, which indicate jet activity. Our findings confirm a positive correlation between the variability time scale and both the SMBH mass and luminosity, suggesting that these physical parameters significantly impact the optical variability timescale. Conversely, no significant dependence is found between optical variability and X-ray properties, indicating that high-energy processes may not substantially influence long-term optical variability. Additionally, a weak anti-correlation between optical variability and radio parameters suggests that jet activity has a negligible effect on causing long-term AGN variability. These results support the hypothesis that long-term optical variability in AGN is primarily governed by thermal emission from the accretion disk. Further investigations with larger samples are essential to refine these correlations and develop robust physical models integrating black hole properties, accretion disk physics, and multi-wavelength radiative transfer.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

IndicEval-XL: Bridging Linguistic Diversity in Code Generation Across Indic Languages

Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable capabilities in code generation from natural language prompts, revolutionizing software development workflows. As we advance towards agent-based development paradigms, these models form the cornerstone of next-generation software development lifecycles. However, current benchmarks for evaluating multilingual code generation capabilities are predominantly English-centric, limiting their applicability across the global developer community. To address this limitation, we present IndicEval-XL, a comprehensive benchmark for code generation that incorporates 6 major Indic languages, collectively spoken by approximately 14\% of the world's population. Our benchmark bridges these languages with 12 programming languages, creating a robust evaluation framework. This work is particularly significant given India's representation of one-eighth of the global population and the crucial role Indic languages play in Indian society. IndicEval-XL represents a significant step toward expanding the linguistic diversity in code generation systems and evaluation frameworks. By developing resources that support multiple languages, we aim to make AI-powered development tools more inclusive and accessible to developers of various linguistic backgrounds. To facilitate further research and development in this direction, we make our dataset and evaluation benchmark publicly available at https://github.com/telekom/IndicEval-XL

cs.SE↗

arXiv2024

Investigating the Nature and Structure of Inner Regions in Active Galactic Nuclei

The innermost regions of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are critical for understanding galaxy evolution and the dynamics of matter near a Supermassive Black Hole (SMBH). Yet, due to smaller angular projections, it is very difficult to resolve these regions. This thesis explores indirect methods to understand these objects. We use the reverberation mapping technique to estimate accretion disk sizes for a sample of AGN, finding that the computed disk sizes are, on average, 3.9 times larger than the Shakura Sunyev (SS) standard disk model predictions. We also find a weak correlation between the obtained accretion disk sizes and the SMBH mass. We present initial results from a new accretion disk monitoring program to probe the accretion disk structure of Super Eddington Accreting AGN. We report that the disk sizes are about 4 times larger than the SS disk model. We calibrate the narrow-band photometric reverberation mapping (PRM) technique to develop tools for a large systematic narrow-band PRM project. We use simulations to test the effect of cadence, variability of the light curves, and the length of light curves in recovering the reverberation lags. We study the dichotomy between AGNs with and without detected jets using the method of microvariability observed in the accretion disk continuum. We find that AGNs with confirmed jets are about 3 times more variable on short time scales than the AGNs without a confirmed jet. By performing statistical analysis on a large sample of low luminosity AGNs, we find that the NLSy1 galaxies are more likely to have outflow signatures than their broad-line counterparts, hinting toward the disk wind origin of the material in BLR. We find that the principal components for NLSy1 galaxies differ from the BLSy1 galaxies, suggesting that the NLSy1 galaxies could be occupying their own parameter space.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Exploring the AGN Accretion Disks using Continuum Reverberation Mapping

In the innermost regions of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), matter is understood to be flowing onto the Supermassive black hole (SMBH), which forms an accretion disk. This disk is responsible for the optical/UV continuum emission observed in the spectra of AGN. Reverberation Mapping of the accretion disk using multiple bands can yield the structure of the disk. The emission is expected to be of the black body type peaking at different wavelengths. Hence, depending on the temperature of the disk, continuous, simultaneous monitoring in multiple wavelength ranges to cover hotter inner regions and cooler outer regions can yield the structure and temperature profile of the accretion disk itself. In this study, we present initial results from our accretion disk reverberation mapping campaign targeting AGN with Super High Eddington Accreting Black Holes (SEAMBH). Our analysis on one of the sources- IRAS 04416+1215; based on the broadband observations using the Growth India telescope (GIT), reveals that the size of the accretion disk for this source, calculated by cross-correlating the continuum light curves is larger than expected from the theoretical model. We fit the light curves directly using the thin disk model available in {\sc javelin} and find that the disk sizes are approximately 4 times larger than expected from the Shakura Sunyaev (SS) disk model. Further studies are needed to understand better the structure and physics of AGN accretion disks and their role in the evolution of galaxies.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Evidence of jet induced optical microvariability in radio-loud Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies

To quantify the role of radio jets for Intra-Night Optical Variability (INOV) in Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 (RLNLSy1) galaxies, we report the first systematic comparative INOV study of 23 RLNLSy1 galaxies, with 15 RLNLSy1s having confirmed detection of jets (jetted) and the remaining 8 RLNLSy1s having no detection of jets (non-jetted) based on their Very Long Baseline Array observations. We have monitored these two samples, respectively, in 37 and 16 sessions of a minimum 3-hour duration each. Based upon F$^η$-test at 99\% confidence level with a typical INOV amplitude ($ψ$) detection threshold of $>$ 3\%, we find the INOV duty cycles of 12\% for the sample of jetted RLNLSy1s, however, none of the sources showed INOV in the sample of non-jetted RLNLSy1s. Among the jetted RLNLSy1s, we find that the Duty Cycle (DC) for jetted $γ$-ray detected ($γ$-ray) RLNLSy1s is found to be 34\% in contrast to null INOV detection in the case of non-$γ$-ray RLNLSy1s. It suggests that instead of the mere presence of a jet, relativistic beaming plays a significant role for INOV in the case of low-luminous high accreting AGNs such as NLSy1s in which dilution of the AGN's non-thermal optical emission by the (much steadier) optical emission contributed by the nuclear accretion disc is quite likely. Our study of jetted $γ$-ray RLNLSy1s shows more frequent INOV detection for sources with higher apparent jet speed. Further, our results also suggest that among the NLSy1s, only jetted $γ$-ray RNLSy1 galaxies DC approaches blazar like DC.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Accretion Disk Sizes from Continuum Reverberation Mapping of AGN Selected from the ZTF Survey

We present the accretion disk size estimates for a sample of 19 active galactic nuclei (AGN) using the optical $g$, $r$, and $i$ band light curves obtained from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) survey. All the AGN have reliable supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass estimates based on previous reverberation mapping measurements. The multi-band light curves are cross-correlated, and the reverberation lag is estimated using the Interpolated Cross-Correlation Function (ICCF) method and the Bayesian method using the {\sc javelin} code. As expected from the disk reprocessing arguments, the $g-r$ band lags are shorter than the $g-i$ band lags for this sample. The interband lags for all, but 5 sources, are larger than the sizes predicted from the standard Shakura Sunyaev (SS) analytical model. We fit the light curves directly using a thin disk model implemented through the {\sc javelin} code to get the accretion disk sizes. The disk sizes obtained using this model are on an average 3.9 times larger than the prediction based on the SS disk model. We find a weak correlation between the disk sizes and the known physical parameters, namely, the luminosity and the SMBH mass. In the near future, a large sample of AGN covering broader ranges of luminosity and SMBH mass from large photometric surveys would be helpful in a better understanding of the structure and physics of the accretion disk.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

A comparative study of the physical properties for a representative sample of Narrow and Broad-line Seyfert galaxies

We present a comparative study of the physical properties of a homogeneous sample of 144 Narrow line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) and 117 Broad-line Seyfert 1 (BLSy1) galaxies. These two samples are in a similar luminosity and redshift range and have optical spectra available in the 16$^{th}$ data release of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-DR16) and X-ray spectra in either XMM-NEWTON or ROSAT. Direct correlation analysis and a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) have been performed using ten observational and physical parameters obtained by fitting the optical spectra and the soft X-ray photon indices as another parameter. We confirm that the established correlations for the general quasar population hold for both types of galaxies in this sample despite significant differences in the physical properties. We characterize the sample also using the line shape parameters, namely the asymmetry and kurtosis indices. We find that the fraction of NLSy1 galaxies showing outflow signatures, characterized by blue asymmetries, is higher by a factor of about 3 compared to the corresponding fraction in BLSy1 galaxies. The presence of high iron content in the broad-line region of NLSy1 galaxies in conjunction with higher Eddington ratios can be the possible reason behind this phenomenon. We also explore the possibility of using asymmetry in the emission lines as a tracer of outflows in the inner regions of Active Galactic Nuclei. The PCA results point to the NLSy1 and BLSy1 galaxies occupying different parameter spaces, which challenges the notion that NLSy1 galaxies are a subclass of BLSy1 galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗