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We present observations from X-ray to mid-infrared wavelengths of the most energetic non-quasar transient ever observed, AT2021lwx. Our data show a single optical brightening by a factor >100 to a luminosity of 7 × 1045 erg s−1 and a total radiated energy of 1.5 × 1053 erg, both greater than any known optical transient. The decline is smooth and exponential and the ultraviolet–optical spectral energy distribution resembles a blackbody with a temperature of 1.2 × 104 K. Tentative X-ray detections indicate a secondary mode of emission, while a delayed mid-infrared flare points to the presence of dust surrounding the transient. The spectra are similar to recently discovered optical flares in known active galactic nuclei but lack some characteristic features. The lack of emission for the previous 7 yr is inconsistent with the short-term, stochastic variability observed in quasars, while the extreme luminosity and long time-scale of the transient disfavour the disruption of a single solar-mass star. The luminosity could be generated by the disruption of a much more massive star, but the likelihood of such an event occurring is small. A plausible scenario is the accretion of a giant molecular cloud by a dormant black hole of 108–109 solar masses. AT2021lwx thus represents an extreme extension of the known scenarios of black hole accretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this work is to study the obscuration properties of mid-infrared (mid-IR)-selected active galactic nuclei (AGN). For that purpose, we use Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) sources in the Stripe 82– XMM area to identify mid-IR AGN candidates, applying the Assef et al. criteria. Stripe 82 has optical photometry ≈2 times deeper than any single-epoch Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) region. XMM–Newton observations cover ∼26 deg2. Applying the aforementioned criteria, 1946 IR AGN are selected. |${\sim} 78{{\, \rm per\, cent}}$| have SDSS detection, while 1/3 of them are detected in X-rays, at a flux limit of |$\rm {\sim} 5 \times 10^{-15}\, erg\, s^{-1}\, cm^{-2}$|⁠. Our final sample consists of 507 IR AGN with X-ray detection and optical spectra. Applying a |$r-W2 > 6$| colour criterion, we find that the fraction of optically red AGN drop from 43 per cent for those sources with SDSS detection to |$23{{\, \rm per\, cent}}$| for sources that also have X-ray detection. X-ray spectral fitting reveals 40 (⁠|${\sim} 8{{\, \rm per\, cent}}$|⁠) X-ray absorbed AGN (⁠|$N_\mathrm{ H} > 10^{22}\,{\rm cm}^{-2}$|⁠). Among the X-ray unabsorbed AGN, there are 70 red systems. To further investigate the absorption of these sources, we construct spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for the total IR AGN sample. SED fitting reveals that |${\sim} 20{{\, \rm per\, cent}}$| of the optically red sources have such colours because the galaxy emission is a primary component in the optical part of the SED, even though the AGN emission is not absorbed at these wavelengths. SED fitting also confirms that |$12{{\, \rm per\, cent}}$| of the X-ray unabsorbed IR AGN are optically obscured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a large-scale study of the X-ray properties and near-IR-to-radio spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) detected at 1.1 mm with the AzTEC instrument across a ∼1.2 square degree area of the sky. Combining deep 2–4 Ms Chandra data with Spitzer IRAC/MIPS and Very Large Array data within the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey North (GOODS-N), GOODS-S and COSMOS fields, we find evidence for active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity in ∼14 per cent of 271 AzTEC SMGs, ∼28 per cent considering only the two GOODS fields. Through X-ray spectral modelling and multiwavelength SED fitting using Monte Carlo Markov chain techniques to Siebenmorgen et al. (AGN) and Efstathiou, Rowan-Robinson & Siebenmorgen (starburst) templates, we find that while star formation dominates the IR emission, with star formation rates (SFRs) ∼100–1000 M⊙ yr−1, the X-ray emission for most sources is almost exclusively from obscured AGNs, with column densities in excess of 1023 cm−2. Only for ∼6 per cent of our sources do we find an X-ray-derived SFR consistent with NIR-to-radio SED derived SFRs. Inclusion of the X-ray luminosities as a prior to the NIR-to-radio SED effectively sets the AGN luminosity and SFR, preventing significant contribution from the AGN template. Our SED modelling further shows that the AGN and starburst templates typically lack the required 1.1 mm emission necessary to match observations, arguing for an extended, cool dust component. The cross-correlation function between the full samples of X-ray sources and SMGs in these fields does not indicate a strong correlation between the two populations at large scales, suggesting that SMGs and AGNs do not necessarily trace the same underlying large-scale structure. Combined with the remaining X-ray-dim SMGs, this suggests that sub-mm-bright sources may evolve along multiple tracks, with X-ray-detected SMGs representing transitionary objects between periods of high star formation and AGN activity, while X-ray-faint SMGs represent a brief starburst phase of more normal galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]