TALKS Title: Plenary Talk Presenter: Aneta Siemiginowska Institution: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Abstract: Active Galactic Nuclei vary on many timescales, over an entire spectral energy distribution and a wide range of amplitudes. This variability provides critical information about the processes involved in generating the AGN radiation and therefore on the nature of the AGN. I will review physical processes that can cause the observed variations. Title: Optical Variability of AGNs Presenter: Szymon Kozlowski Institution: Warsaw University Observatory Collaboration: OGLE Abstract: I will briefly review basic analysis methods used to describe the typical optical variability of AGNs - structure functions and the damped random walk model - their applicability, usage, biases and caveats, and limitations. I will present some of the results for the SDSS Stripe82 and OGLE AGNs. Title: Variable and Changing Look AGN as probes of accretion physics Presenter: Jason Dexter Institution: MPE Abstract: I will review ordinary and extreme variability in the context of AGN and black hole X-ray binaries, focusing on challenges in explaining changing look AGN and future observations that could distinguish between possible physical scenarios. Title: Reverberation Mapping of Luminous Quasars at High-z Presenter: Paulina Lira Institution: Universidad de Chile Coauthors: Ismael Botti, Hagai Netzer, Shai Kaspi Abstract: Reverberation Mapping (RM) provides the only tool to determine Black Holes (BH) masses directly, but so far this method has been applied only to small and intermediate luminosity systems (L<10^46 ergs/s). We are extending these studies by two orders of magnitude, probing the BH-mass of luminous AGN at redshift 2-3, obtaining the measurement of the largest BHs and extending our knowledge of the physics of AGN and their hosts into the most crucial epoch in galaxy evolution. Since 2005 we have been monitoring very luminous Quasars using broad-band imaging with the SMARTS telescopes and in 2007 we started the RM campaign of our most variable targets obtaining spectroscopic follow-up with the du Pont telescope. Here we will present results for 17 quasars with good quality R-band and emission line light curves. For several of them we are able to measure lags for the Lya and CIV lines, in this way updating the CIV radius-luminosity relation of Kaspi (2007) and providing for the first time a Lya radius-luminosity relation for low and high luminosity AGN. Title: Long-term variability of SDSS-RM quasars Presenter: Ian McGreer Institution: Steward Observatory Coauthors: Yue Shen, Niel Brandt, Pat Hall, Qian Yang, Kate Grier, Karen Kinemuchi Collaboration: SDSS Reverberation Mapping Project Abstract: The SDSS Reverberation Mapping campaign has monitored a sample of 850 quasars both photometrically and spectroscopically over a span of 3 years. Including data from the CFHTLS provides a 15 year baseline for examining quasar variability over a wide range of redshift, luminosity, and time. We will present early results on the variability properties of SDSS-RM quasars, and demonstrate the success of the project in meeting its primary goal of measuring broad emission line time lags from multi-object spectroscopy. Title: The Origin and Utility of Changing-Look Quasars Presenter: John Ruan Institution: University of Washington Abstract: Recent discoveries of changing-look quasars have revealed new properties of AGN accretion on timescales of months to years. I will discuss current evidence for these various scenarios for the origin of this phenomenon, including tidal disruption events and rapid changes in accretion rate, as well as possible links between these scenarios. I will also describe ongoing observational programs to utilize changing-look quasars to understand accretion physics and AGN feedback, with particular focus on X-ray and optical wavelengths. Title: The Extreme AGN Zoo: a CRTS perspective Presenter: Matthew J. Graham Institution: California Institute of Technology Coauthors: S. George Djorgovski, Daniel Stern, Ashish Mahabal, Andrew Drake Abstract: The availability of large collections of astronomical time series is now supporting systematic analyses of both the normal stochastic variability of quasars, as well as of the rare and extreme behaviors. This allows us to distinguish between a heavy-tailed distribution or different populations of behavior. In this talk I will review the different extreme categories we have so far identified in the Catalina Real-time Transient Survey: close (subparsec) supermassive black hole binaries, flaring sources suggestive of explosive stellar-related activity in the accretion disk, microlensed sources, and (dramatic) spectral variability coupled with strong, persistent changes in luminosity. I will also consider upcoming possibilities for further detection, characterization and modeling of these objects. Title: Extremely Variable Quasars from CRTS and WISE Presenter: Daniel Stern Institution: JPL/Caltech Coauthors: Matthew Graham, Nick Ross, Aaron Meisner, Hyunsung Jun, Arjun Dey Abstract: I will present deep dives on a few examples of highly variable quasars identified from the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey (CRTS) and WISE/NEOWISE, complimenting more general talk(s) on variable AGN identified in these surveys presented by collaborators (e.g., Matthew Graham). In particular, I will focus on a CRTS-identified iron low-ionization broad absorption line (FeLoBAL) quasar which, over the past decade, has transformed into a more typical BAL quasar (Stern et al. 2017a, in press) and a WISE-identified quasar that has shut off in the past decade (Stern et al. 2017b, in prep.). I will focus on what we learn about the physics of these systems from the multiwavelength imaging and spectroscopy. Given the pace of discovery, additional interesting examples are expected to be discovered before the conference. Title: Spectroscopic Followup of Changing-Look Quasar Candidates Presenter: Chelsea MacLeod Institution: CfA Coauthors: Paul Green Collaboration: TDSS Abstract: In the era of time domain astronomy, repeat spectroscopic observations spanning over a decade are revealing intriguing variability in Type I quasars. I present results from a spectroscopic follow-up program of changing-look quasars, which exhibit large changes in the broad components of Balmer emission lines. Such sources highlight the importance of obtaining large samples of quasars with repeat spectroscopy, one of the goals of the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey of SDSS-IV.