arXiv subjects

Yuming Fu

Publications and source records attributed to Yuming Fu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Quasicircularity of the Zakeri Curve and Capture Component Boundaries

For a fixed irrational rotation number of bounded type, we prove that the locus of critically marked cubic polynomials whose two critical points lie on the boundary of the fixed Siegel disk is a quasicircle. This locus is known as the Zakeri curve. The main step is a boundary correspondence lemma for holomorphic families of disks with uniformly quasiconformal extensions. We further prove that every capture component in this family is a quasidisk, including components attached to the Zakeri curve.

math.DS↗

arXiv2026

A dust-reddened quasar in a [C II]-luminous host at z=6.55

Most known quasars at $z>6$ were selected through their rest-frame UV emission. Only a small number of reddened quasars have been identified at these redshifts, leaving their nuclear and host-galaxy properties poorly constrained. We present JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy and ALMA band 6 observations of the quasar J1440+0019 at $z=6.5488$, revealing its dust-reddened nature and jointly characterizing its nucleus and host galaxy. The continuum is best described by an SMC-like extinction law with $E(B-V)=0.20\pm0.03$. Three absorption systems detected in N V, Si IV, and C IV are blueshifted by approximately $900$--$3600$ km s$^{-1}$ and likely trace an ionized nuclear outflow. The broad Mg II line and extinction-corrected continuum yield a black-hole mass of $\log(M_{\rm BH}/M_\odot)=9.04\pm0.42$, a bolometric luminosity of $L_{\rm bol}\simeq1.1\times10^{47}$ erg s$^{-1}$, and an Eddington ratio of $λ_{\rm Edd}\simeq0.8$. ALMA observations further reveal its host galaxy to be among the most [C II]-luminous known at $z>6$, with $L_{\mathrm{[C II]}}=(7.21\pm0.25)\times10^9 L_\odot$. For a fiducial dust temperature of 47 K and emissivity index $β=1.6$, the dust continuum implies $L_{\rm TIR}=8.9\times10^{12} L_\odot$ and $M_{\rm dust}=4.0\times10^8 M_\odot$. The inferred dynamical mass places J1440+0019 in the region of the $M_{\rm BH}$--$M_{\rm dyn}$ plane occupied by high-redshift blue quasars. These observations reveal a moderately reddened, rapidly accreting quasar in a luminous, dust-rich host during reionization. Its measured nuclear and host-galaxy properties provide an observational reference for identifying and characterizing similar systems in future systematic searches with wide-area infrared surveys.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

LabInstruct: Benchmarking Situated Instructional Video Generation for Lab Procedures

Self-driving laboratories (SDLs) aim to automate the full experimental loop, from scientific decision-making to physical execution. Ideally, AI-generated plans could be carried out directly by robotic systems, but reliable automation remains difficult in complex, open-world laboratory environments, where experiments often involve fine-grained manipulation, long-horizon procedures, and substantial variation across tasks and setups. Humans therefore remain an important execution interface between AI-generated plans and physical experiments, creating a need for clear and effective human-facing experimental guidance. Because laboratory procedures are inherently visual, spatial, and dynamic, video is particularly well suited to communicating apparatus configurations, manipulation actions, temporal dependencies, and state changes. Recent advances in video generation now make it possible to synthesize experimental demonstrations directly from an initial workspace image and a natural-language instruction. However, whether such models can reliably communicate real laboratory procedures has not been systematically studied. We introduce LabInstruct, a benchmark for situated instructional video generation in real laboratories. LabInstruct contains 204 tasks across 5 scientific disciplines, with real reference executions and structured annotations of objects, actions, contacts, and state transitions. Evaluating 8 frontier image-to-video models, we find that visually plausible generations frequently remain procedurally incorrect, revealing a substantial gap between visual realism and the reliability required for experimental instruction.

cs.RO↗

arXiv2026

Surveying the Universe in 4D: Beating Cosmic Variance with Wide-Field Slitless Spectroscopy from HST, JWST, Euclid, Roman, and Beyond

We summarize strategies, lessons learned, and future directions from the Space Telescope Science Institute workshop Surveying the Universe in 4D: Beating Cosmic Variance with Wide-Field Slitless Spectroscopy from HST, JWST, Euclid, Roman, and Beyond, held August 24--28, 2026. The workshop examined scientific results, observational and data analysis challenges, extraction tools, and future opportunities. Discussions highlighted (1) the transformative potential of WFSS for the study of transient phenomena, galaxy evolution --both spatially-resolved and within the broader context of the cosmic web--, and rare populations and (2) the synergies among Euclid and Roman surveys, Rubin-LSST monitoring, JWST WFSS, and high-resolution integral-field observations. Participants identified advances in forward modeling and physics-informed machine learning as essential for addressing spectral overlap, crowded fields, and upcoming, very large data volumes. Realizing WFSS's full potential will require community-wide infrastructure, science-ready data products, accessible cloud-based analysis tools, and robust benchmarking of reduction pipelines. Crucially, participants called for systemic changes to properly recognize early-career researchers who invest significant efforts in pipeline, code, and calibration developments that enable WFSS science, and stressed that progress requires collaborative, multidisciplinary practices that optimize the participation and benefits of the next generation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

AGVBench: A Reliability-Oriented Benchmark of Data Augmentation for Vein Recognition

Vein recognition is a secure biometric technology often constrained by limited annotated data and imaging variations. While data augmentation mitigates this, strategies designed for natural images may disrupt the fine-grained topology and textures essential for identity discrimination. We present AGVBench, which evaluates 30 representative augmentation strategies on five public palm- and finger-vein datasets with seven backbone architectures, covering classic CNNs, vision transformers, and vein-specific recognition models. Our results show that multi-image mixing methods (e.g., MixUp, PuzzleMix, StarMixup) generally provide the strongest recognition performance. However, they are often poorly calibrated and vulnerable to adversarial perturbations, revealing a clear inconsistency between clean accuracy and adversarial security. We also find that severe geometric transformations frequently degrade recognition, which is potentially due to feature misalignment or spatial cropping, and that augmentation effectiveness varies across palm and finger vein datasets. These findings prove that accuracy-centric evaluation is insufficient for biometric augmentation. AGVBench provides standardized protocols to support reproducible research and guide the design of reliable, secure, and robust vein recognition systems. Our codebase is available at https://github.com/Advance-VeinTech-Innovators/AGVBench.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2026

Far-Infrared Star Formation Rates of Quasar Host Galaxies from Multiwavelength Spectral Energy Distribution Decomposition

Reliable star formation rates (SFRs) are essential for studying the connection between black hole growth and quasar host galaxies. We study the far-infrared (FIR) SFRs and the host galaxy properties of 202 SDSS and PG quasars at $0.02<z\lesssim0.8$, spanning $\log({\rm SFR}_{\rm FIR}/M_\odot\,{\rm yr}^{-1})\simeq-0.45$--$2.76$, using multiwavelength spectral energy distribution (SED) decomposition. The photometry covers wavelengths from the optical to the FIR and is supplemented by JCMT/SCUBA-2 observations at 450 and 850 $μ$m. We model the SEDs with CIGALE and AGNfitter and adopt multiple cold dust templates to quantify systematic uncertainties. The median model-dependent scatter among the five FIR SFR estimates is $0.14$ dex, and AGNfitter gives FIR SFRs lower than the mean CIGALE estimate by a median of $0.09$ dex. For the 58 quasars with SCUBA-2 coverage, including SCUBA-2 data changes the adopted FIR SFR by only $\sim$0.01 dex on average but can affect individual sources with limited Herschel coverage or radio-loud emission. Within our FIR-constrained sample, many quasar hosts lie on or above the star-forming main sequence, but the redshift-dependent FIR selection of the SDSS subsample limits conclusions about the full quasar-host population. We find no clear correlation between the main-sequence (MS) offset and the direct Eddington ratio, while the offset is positively related to the infrared-based $L_{\rm tor}/L_{\rm Edd}$ proxy. The minimum radiation field intensity in the dust model, $U_{\rm min}$, increases with bolometric luminosity and dust temperature. WISE W2 (4.6 $μ$m) and W3 (12 $μ$m) combined with Herschel bands can also provide useful empirical indicators of $f_{\rm AGN}$.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Testing [O II] $\lambda3727$ as a Star Formation Rate Tracer in Quasar Host Galaxies

The [O II] $\lambda3727$ emission line is a widely used star formation rate (SFR) tracer. However, its application to type I quasars is not straightforward, because the line can be affected by dust extinction, metallicity and contamination from the AGN narrow-line region (NLR). We test the reliability of [O II] SFRs using a sample of 202 SDSS and PG quasars, by comparing [O II] SFRs and reference far-infrared (FIR) SFRs derived from multiwavelength SED decomposition. We measure [O II], [O III], and narrow Balmer emission lines by spectral fitting. Then, we calculate [O II] SFRs after correcting dust extinction and metallicity. We then compare these SFRs with the FIR SFRs, both with and without subtracting the AGN contribution estimated from [O III]. After this correction, the median offset between [O II] and FIR SFRs is $-0.20\pm0.72$ dex for the full analysis sample and $-0.17\pm0.69$ dex for sources with S/N $>5$ in both [O II] and [O III]. Without subtracting the AGN contribution, the corresponding offsets are $0.00\pm0.69$ and $0.12\pm0.66$ dex. We conclude that [O II] is useful as a statistical SFR tracer for quasar host galaxies, but individual objects still require careful treatment of AGN contamination, extinction, metallicity, aperture effects, and redshift-dependent systematics.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Physiological Prior-Driven Label Enhancement for Cross-Subject EEG Emotion Recognition

Electroencephalography (EEG)-based emotion recognition captures affective neural signals with high temporal precision, but cross-subject variability and label noise remain critical challenges to its practical healthcare deployment. Existing label-denoising methods lack physiological grounding, while physiology-informed approaches rely on hand-crafted hyperparameters. To bridge these two paradigms, we propose PhyDA, a plug-and-play, tuning-free framework that unifies neurophysiological priors with data-driven label refinement. PhyDA comprises two modules. Since cross-subject variability renders global thresholds suboptimal, the Physiological Noise Quantifier (PhyNQ) exploits a spectral slope} to produce a subject-specific noise score, providing a neurophysiologically interpretable quality assessment {that naturally adapts to each individual. The Data-Adaptive Label Refiner (DALR) directly adopts this noise score as the contamination ratio to drive a label refinement pipeline that requires no additional neural network training, thereby directly mitigating the impact of inter-subject label noise. Extensive experiments on three public datasets (DEAP, SEED, SEED-IV) across seven backbone architectures under strict leave-one-subject-out cross-validation demonstrate that PhyDA consistently and significantly outperforms both general and EEG-tailored label-denoising baselines, achieving average accuracy gains of 2.76%, 2.66%, and 3.32%, respectively. Visualization further confirms its neurophysiological interpretability and practical robustness. The source code is available at: https://github.com/HongyuZhu-s/PhyDA.

cs.HC↗

arXiv2026

Radio-detected Lya emitters at 1.88 < z < 3.52: AGN fraction and Lya emission

Lya emitters (LAEs) are galaxies with strong Lya emission, tracing early star formation and ionizing radiation. Their connection to active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is key to understanding the mechanisms behind (extended) Lya emission. In this work, we measure the fraction of LAEs identified as radio-emitting AGN (fAGN,radio) and the fraction of radio sources that exhibit Lya emission (fLya) to investigate the connection between radio AGN activity and Lya emission at 1.88 < z < 3.52. We identify 928 sources detected in both the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) and the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) surveys. These matches are drawn from 55,109 spectroscopically confirmed LAEs and 27,625 radio sources. After applying completeness corrections, we obtain fAGN,radio = 1.77 $\pm$ 0.04% and fLya = 18.15 $\pm$ 0.14%. The fraction fAGN,radio increases from 0.4 $\pm$ 0.1% to 9.7 $\pm$ 1.3% with increasing Lya luminosity, while fLya rises from 0.7 $\pm$ 0.1% to 55.8 $\pm$ 14.5% with radio luminosity. `LAEs with radio AGN' and `optical AGN with Lya emission' show similar radio luminosities above the AGN threshold, although optical AGN have higher Lya luminosities. We find no significant correlation between Lya luminosity and either radio luminosity or spectral index. Lya line width increases with Lya luminosity but shows no correlation with radio size. Our results show that most Lya emission at 1.88 < z < 3.52 is powered by star formation, with radio AGN activity confined to a small luminous subset (1.77 $\pm$ 0.04%). The absence of correlations between Lya and radio properties suggests that Lya emission is governed primarily by host-galaxy gas properties rather than direct AGN jet coupling.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

X-ray variability of SDSS J000532.84+200717.4: from a normal state to an X-weak state

We present a multi-epoch study of the extreme X-ray variability of the type~1 quasar SDSS~J000532.84+200717.4 using archival observations from \textit{XMM-Newton}, \textit{Swift}/XRT, \textit{EP-FXT}, and \textit{ROSAT}, together with new optical spectroscopy and multi-wavelength photometry. The 0.2--10~keV X-ray flux exhibits a transition from a high state to a subsequent low state, declining by more than an order of magnitude and placing the source in the X-ray--weak regime ($Δα_{\rm ox} \lesssim -0.3$). Significant variability on timescales of days to weeks persists within the low state. In contrast, the optical and mid-infrared emission remain stable over decade-long timescales, while the UV continuum varies only mildly and broadly tracks the X-ray evolution. Multi-epoch optical spectroscopy shows no significant long-term changes in either the continuum shape or the broad emission-line profiles. The \ion{Mg}{2} emission is relatively weak compared with typical quasars, suggesting similarities to weak-line quasars. The pronounced wavelength-dependent variability indicates that the accretion disk remains largely intact while the X-ray emission undergoes dramatic changes. The spectral hardening in the low state and the viability of ionized partial-covering models are consistent with variable, largely dust-free absorbing gas, possibly associated with clumpy inner disk winds, although intrinsic coronal variations cannot be excluded. SDSS~J0005+200717.4 therefore provides evidence that extreme X-ray weakness can arise as a transient phase in otherwise normal quasars.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Probing the environments of FRI and FRII radio galaxies in LoTSS DR2 with galaxy clusters

The origin of the Fanaroff--Riley Class I/II (FRI/FRII) morphological dichotomy remains uncertain. We investigate whether cluster-scale environment contributes to this distinction using a morphologically classified LoTSS DR2 catalogue at $z<0.4$. We construct a volume-limited sample with $L_{144}>4\times10^{24}\,\mathrm{W\,Hz^{-1}}$ and a luminosity--redshift paired sample, and cross-match them with DESI Legacy Imaging Survey galaxy clusters. A radio galaxy is associated with a cluster if $|Δz|<0.01$, projected separation $<2R_{500}$. In the volume-limited sample, $48.6\%$ of FRIs and $30.6\%$ of FRIIs are cluster-associated; in the paired sample, the corresponding fractions are $45.6\%$ and $32.6\%$. The difference is stronger at $L_{144}>10^{26}\,\mathrm{W\,Hz^{-1}}$, where the fractions are $55.6\%$ versus $19.0\%$ in the volume-limited sample and $50.0\%$ versus $6.7\%$ in the paired sample. However, cluster-associated FRIs and FRIIs occupy similar environments: their radio luminosities and stellar masses show similar trends with cluster richness and $M_{500}$, and their radial distributions both peak near $0.5R_{500}$ and decline beyond $R_{500}$. Most cluster-associated sources are brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), with fractions of $74.8\%$ for FRIs and $61.9\%$ for FRIIs in the volume-limited sample, and $78.1\%$ and $65.9\%$ in the paired sample. These results show that FRIIs are less frequently found in clusters, especially at high radio luminosity, consistent with dense intracluster gas disrupting or decelerating jets and suppressing stable FRII structures. Nevertheless, once inside clusters, FRIs and FRIIs inhabit similar large-scale environments, implying that cluster-scale properties alone are unlikely to be the primary driver of the FRI/FRII dichotomy.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

A Rare Eddington-Limited, Heavily Obscured Low-Mass Active Galactic Nucleus Likely Triggered by a Galaxy Merger

We report a detailed analysis of GAMA 376183, a powerful, heavily obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) hosted by a low-mass galaxy ($M_\star \approx 10^{10}~M_{\odot}$) likely experiencing a galaxy merger. The source was initially identified due to its remarkably strong [Ne v] $\lambda3426$ emission, exhibiting a rest-frame equivalent width (EW) of $\approx 48$ A. We present $\sim100$ ks Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array follow-up observations, confirming its heavily obscured nature with a column density (in $\mathrm{cm^{-2}}$) of $\log N_\mathrm{H} = 23.3^{+0.4}_{-1.2}$ and an intrinsic $2$--$10$ keV luminosity (in $\mathrm{erg~s^{-1}}$) of $\log L_\mathrm{X,int} = 42.92^{+0.24}_{-0.20}$. GAMA 376183 thus represents one of the few known heavily obscured AGNs in low-mass galaxies. Its estimated Eddington ratio is $λ_\mathrm{Edd}\approx0.8$, indicative of rapid black-hole growth. High-resolution optical images reveal a disturbed, likely merging morphology, while its multiwavelength spectral energy distribution indicates a recent starburst in its host galaxy. These pieces of evidence suggest that the ongoing merger has triggered both the heavily obscured, Eddington-limited accretion and the starburst, making GAMA 376183 a rare observed case in low-mass galaxies. Overall, this unique source demonstrates that (i) [Ne v] can help identify heavily obscured low-mass AGNs, and (ii) the merger-driven coevolution framework established for massive galaxies may also extend to low-mass galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

The Large Sky Area Multi-object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) Quasar Survey: Quasar Properties from Data Release 10 to 12

We present the quasar catalog from Data Releases 10 to 12 of the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) Quasar Survey, comprising quasars observed between September 2021 and June 2024. We robustly identified $11,346$ quasars, of which $5,386$ are newly discovered objects not present in the Million Quasars catalog. This release brings the total number of quasars identified by the 12-year LAMOST survey to $67,521$, of which $29,513$ are newly discovered. While the absolute flux calibration for LAMOST quasar spectra from Data Releases 6 to 9 was previously performed using the SDSS/PanSTARRS1 multi-band photometric data, the inherent variability of quasars can affect the flux accuracy. To address this limitation, we recalibrated the LAMOST spectra using (quasi-)simultaneous photometric data from Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), which has conducted high-cadence sky monitoring since March 2018. Based on the recalibrated single-epoch spectra, we estimated the emission line fluxes, continuum fluxes, and virial black hole masses. These improved spectra facilitate direct comparison with the spectra of common quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), enabling searches for rare quasars, such as changing-look quasars exhibiting the appearance or disappearance of broad emission lines and broad absorption line quasars. The combined dataset of photometry and multi-epoch spectra will enhance the detections of AGN-related transients, such as Bowen fluorescence flares and extreme variability quasars, thereby improving our understanding of quasar variability.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Finding Quasars behind the Galactic Plane. IV. Candidate Selection from Chandra with Random Forest

Quasar samples remain severely incomplete at low Galactic latitudes because of strong extinction and source confusion. We conduct a systematic search for quasars behind the Galactic plane using X-ray sources from the Chandra Source Catalog (CSC 2.1), combined with optical data from Gaia DR3 and mid-infrared data from CatWISE2020. Using spectroscopically confirmed quasars and stellar-type objects from data sets including DESI, SDSS, and LAMOST, we apply a Random Forest classifier to identify quasar candidates, with stellar contaminants suppressed using Gaia proper-motion constraints. Photometric redshifts are estimated for the candidates using a Random Forest regression model. Applying this framework to previously unclassified CSC sources, we identify 7570 quasar candidates, including 1060 Galactic Plane Quasar (GPQ) candidates at |b|<20°, of which 551 are high-confidence candidates. Relative to the previously known GPQ sample, our selected GPQs reach lower optical and X-ray fluxes, improving sensitivity to low-flux GPQs. In addition, both the GPQ candidates and known GPQs display harder X-ray spectra than the all-sky quasar sample, consistent with increased absorption through the Galactic plane. Pilot spectroscopy confirms two high-confidence GPQ candidates as quasars at spectroscopic redshifts of z=1.2582 and z=1.1313, and further spectroscopic follow-up of the GPQ sample is underway. This work substantially improves the census of GPQs and provides a valuable target sample for future spectroscopic follow-up, enabling the use of GPQs to refine the reference frames for astrometry and probe the Milky Way interstellar and circumgalactic media with the absorption features of GPQs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

CURLING -- III. Identifying Candidates of Wide-separation Gravitationally Lensed Quasars from the CatNorth Catalogue

Wide-separation lensed quasars (WSLQs) are a rare subclass of strongly lensed quasars produced by massive galaxy clusters. They provide valuable probes of dark-matter halos and quasar host galaxies. However, only about ten WSLQ systems are currently known, which limits further studies. To enlarge the sample from wide-area surveys, we developed a catalog-based pipeline and applied it to the CatNorth database, a catalog of quasar candidates constructed from Gaia DR3. CatNorth contains 1,545,514 quasar candidates with about 90% purity and a Gaia G-band limiting magnitude of roughly 21. The pipeline has three stages. First, we identify groups with separations between 10 and 72 arcsec using a HEALPix grid with 25.6 arcsec spacing and a friends-of-friends search. We then filter by intra-group color and spectral similarity, reducing the 1,545,514 sources to 14,244 groups while retaining all known, discoverable WSLQs. Finally, a visual check, guided by image geometry and the presence of likely foreground lenses, yields the candidate list with quality labels. We identify 333 new WSLQ candidates with separations from 10 to 56.8 arcsec. Using available SDSS DR16 and DESI DR1 spectroscopy, we uncover two new candidate systems; the remaining 331 candidates lack sufficient spectra and are labeled as 45 grade A, 98 grade B, and 188 grade C. We also compile 29 confirmed dual quasars as a by-product. When feasible, we plan follow-up spectroscopy and deeper imaging to confirm WSLQs among these candidates and enable the related science.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Exploring the $S_8$ Tension: Insights from the CatNorth 1.5-Million Quasar Candidates

The parameter $S_8$, a key probe of cosmic structure growth, exhibits a persistent $\sim3σ$ tension between high-redshift measurements from cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies and low-redshift weak gravitational lensing observations. This discrepancy may indicate either unaccounted systematic effects or new physics beyond the standard $Λ$CDM cosmology. In this work, we constrain $S_8$ using the high purity CatNorth 1.5 million quasar candidate catalog and the {\it Planck} DR4 CMB lensing data across the broad redshift ranges through auto-correlation and cross-correlation analyses. To address the spatial incompleteness, we develop a machine-learning-based selection function that effectively suppresses the systematics-induced power spectrum excess on large scales. Our robust low-redshift measurements at $z<1.5$ yield $S_8 = 0.844^{+0.058}_{-0.056}$, consistent with the {\it Planck} 2018 CMB anisotropies constraints of $S_8=0.834\pm0.016$ but lower than the $0.879^{+0.055}_{-0.055}$ reported by a previous work using the Quaia quasar candidate catalog. However, for high-redshift faint quasars at $z>1.5$, we find a lower value of $S_8=0.724^{+0.058}_{-0.054}$, likely due to the sample incompleteness and/or the foreground contamination. Further tests on the volume-limited samples exhibit a consistent trend: $S_8 = 0.835^{+0.053}_{-0.049}$ for $z < 2$, $0.824^{+0.061}_{-0.062}$ for $0.4 < z < 1.5$, and a lower value of $0.789^{+0.062}_{-0.062}$ for the higher redshift range of $1.5 < z < 2.5$. While future data may refine these results, our current measurements based on a large sample of quasar candidates show less evidence of the $S_8$ tension.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

QHSC: The Quasar Candidate Catalog for the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program

The Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) is a deep wide-field multi-band imaging survey consisting of three layers (Wide, Deep, and UltraDeep), with the Wide layer covering $\sim 1470$ deg$^2$ to a depth of $i \sim 26$ mag. We present the QHSC catalog, a machine-learning selected sample of quasar candidates with photometric redshifts in the Wide layer of the HSC-SSP survey (Public Data Release 3). The full QHSC catalog contains four distinct samples: a master sample with HSC-only photometry, an HSC+WISE sample, and two samples including near-infrared data from UKIDSS and VISTA, denoted as GoldenU and GoldenV. For each sample, an XGBoost classifier is trained and evaluated using independent spectroscopic test sets from HETDEX, VVDS, and zCOSMOS-bright. The numbers of quasar candidates in the QHSC catalog are 1,184,574 (master), 371,777 (HSC+WISE), 87,460 (GoldenU), and 120,572 (GoldenV), with respective completeness values of 85.3%, 92.7%, 89.8%, and 91.3%. We develop ensemble photometric redshift estimators based on bootstrap aggregating (bagging) of multiple XGBoost regressors, achieving outlier fractions of 21.7%, 13.1%, 9.5%, and 10.7% for these samples. The catalog provides quasar classification probabilities (p_QSO), enabling construction of purer subsamples via thresholding. This work offers a valuable resource for studies of quasars and cosmology, and highlights the effectiveness of machine learning for quasar selection in future wide and deep imaging surveys. The catalog is publicly available at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17515028.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Systematic Analysis of Changing-look AGN Variability Using ZTF Light Curves

Changing-look active galactic nuclei (CLAGNs) are a unique population of AGNs that exhibit the appearance (turn-on) or disappearance (turn-off) of broad emission lines. This study aims to explore the intrinsic mechanisms of CLAGNs by investigating their photometric variability using data from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), which has provided high-cadence observations over the past five years. By visual inspections, we construct a sample of 152 CLAGNs from the literature, all of which show spectral transitions and large optical variability in their ZTF light curves. By analyzing 90 of these CLAGNs and the control samples of Type 1 AGNs, Type 2 AGNs, and extremely variable quasars (EVQs), matched in redshift ($0.2<z<0.8$) and supermassive black hole mass, we compare the color variability, structure function (SF), and variability metric $σ_{\mathrm{QSO}}$, which quantifies how closely the light curves resemble a damped random walk (DRW) model. We find that while CLAGNs and EVQs differ from typical Type 1 and Type 2 AGNs in bolometric luminosity and Eddington ratio, the on/off-state CLAGNs share similar variability patterns with the overall CLAGN population, and distinct from EVQ, Type 1 and Type 2 AGNs. This suggests that 'on' and 'off' CLAGNs are not simply equivalent to Type 1 and Type 2 AGNs, respectively. Instead of undergoing genuine transitions between two AGN types, CLAGNs may inhabit a critical state where moderate fluctuations in accretion rate lead to the temporary spectral changes.

astro-ph.GA↗