Colloquium on May. 7, 2026

Multi-band Variability Observation Research of Active Galactic Nuclei

Speaker: Shaoming Hu (SDU)

Venue: SWIFAR Building 2111

Time: 10:00 AM, Thursday, May. 7, 2026

Abstract:

Variability is a crucial tool and probe for studying the physical processes and structures around supermassive black holes at the centers of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Blazars, a class of AGN with jets oriented close to our line of sight, exhibit the most violent multi-band variability. This talk will present our recent research works on the variability characteristics and physical modeling of typical blazars, using observation data from our independently operated 1-meter optical telescopes, combined with multi-wavelength data from other facilities. I will introduce a developed time-evolving multi-zone physical model that simulates shock propagation through turbulent cells in a jet. This model successfully explains the observed multi-band micro-variability phenomena in blazars. Additionally, related work on measuring black hole masses using variability timescales, as well as research plans for AGN variability studies based on the Sitian Sky Survey project, will be introduced. Finally, this talk will present the optical observation telescopes of Shandong University and the progress of the 1-meter wide-field telescope at Lenghu.