Are “Changing-look” Active Galactic Nuclei Special in the Coevolution of Supermassive Black Holes and Their Hosts? I.

Abstract The nature of the so-called “changing-look” (CL) active galactic nucleus (AGN), which is characterized by spectral-type transitions within ∼10 yr, remains an open question. As the first in our series of studies, we attempt here to understand the CL phenomenon from the view of the coevolution of AGNs and their host galaxies (i.e., if CL-AGNs are at a specific evolutionary stage) by focusing on the SDSS local “partially obscured” AGNs in which the stellar population of the host galaxy can be easily measured in the integrated spectra. A spectroscopic follow-up program using the Xinglong 2.16 m, Lick/Shane 3 m, and Keck 10 m telescopes enables us to identify in total nine CL-AGNs from a sample of 59 candidates selected by their mid-infrared variability. Detailed analysis of these spectra shows that the host galaxies of the CL-AGNs are biased against young stellar populations and tend to be dominated by intermediate-age stellar populations. This motivates us to propose that CL-AGNs are probably particular AGNs at a specific evolutionary stage, such as a transition stage from “feast” to “famine” fueling of the supermassive black hole. In addition, we reinforce the previous claim that CL-AGNs tend to be biased against both a high Eddington ratio and a high bolometric luminosity, suggesting that the disk-wind broad-line-region model is a plausible explanation of the CL phenomenon.