{
  "abstract": "We investigate whether embedded stellar-mass black holes (sBHs) in active galactic nucleus (AGN) disks can leave observable optical/UV variability signatures through migration-trap-driven magnetic heating. This mechanism operates when sBHs migrating toward torque-balance radii pile up near migration traps, triggering localized, stochastic magnetic reconnection that heats the disk atmosphere. It is potentially important because it provides a physical source of non-coronal disk heating and directly links optical/UV continuum variability to otherwise hidden compact-object populations. By coupling a one-dimensional sBH population synthesis model with a corona-heated accretion-disk reprocessing variability framework, we show that migration traps concentrate sBHs at preferred radii and generate localized, stochastic reconnection heating. The resulting heating is self-regulated: sBH pile-ups enhance the reconnection rate, while gap opening reduces the local gas density and partially suppresses the reconnection power. This heating produces excess short-timescale optical/UV variability, flattened short-term structure functions, and deviations from the standard $τ\\proptoλ^{4/3}$ lag-wavelength relation, which describes the time delay between variability at different wavelengths for a standard thin accretion disk. These signatures are strongest at low-to-moderate Eddington ratios, and related observations could provide indirect evidence for embedded compact-object populations in AGN disks.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2606.22559",
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Jing-Tong Xing"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tong Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mouyuan Sun"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ya-Ping Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shuying Zhou"
    },
    {
      "name": "Zhen-Yi Cai"
    },
    {
      "name": "Da-Bin Lin"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jian-Min Wang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/25pzyggts3mk7.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2606.22559",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "25pzyggts3mk7",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.22559",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "licence_label": "CC0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.GA"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.HE"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.22559",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-20",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/25pzyggts3mk7.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:23:19Z",
      "native_id": "2606.22559",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.22559"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.GA",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    },
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.HE",
      "subfield": "high-energy-astrophysics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Migration Traps as Variability Attractors. I. Optical/UV Signatures of Embedded Stellar-Mass Black Holes in Active Galactic Nucleus Disks",
  "title_text": "Migration Traps as Variability Attractors. I. Optical/UV Signatures of Embedded Stellar-Mass Black Holes in Active Galactic Nucleus Disks",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:23:19Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/25pzyggts3mk7",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}