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The Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) is expected to obtain observations of over ten million quasars. The survey’s exceptional cadence and sensitivity will enable a significant fraction of these objects to be monitored in theugrizybands, spanning observed wavelengths of approximately 0.3 − 1.0 μm. The unprecedented number of sources makes spectroscopic follow-up for the vast majority of them unfeasible in the near future, so most studies will have to rely on photometric redshift estimates which are traditionally much less reliable for Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) than for inactive galaxies. This work presents a novel methodology to constrain the photometric redshift of AGNs that leverages the effects of cosmological time dilation, and of the luminosity and wavelength dependence of AGN variability. Specifically, we assume that the variability can be modeled as a damped random walk (DRW) process, and we adopted a parametric model to characterize the DRW timescale (τ) and asymptotic amplitude of the variability (SF_∞) based on the redshift, the rest-frame wavelength, and the AGN luminosity. We constructed variability-based photometric redshift (photo-z) priors by modeling the observed variability using the expected DRW parameters at a given redshift. These variability-based photo-z(VAR-PZ) priors were then combined with traditional spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting to improve the redshift estimates from SED fitting. Validation was performed using observational data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), demonstrating significant reduction in catastrophic outliers by more than 10% in comparison with SED fitting techniques and improvements in redshift precision. The simulated light curves with both SDSS and LSST-like cadences and baselines confirm thatVAR-PZwill be able to constrain the photometric redshifts of SDSS-like AGNs by bringing the outlier fractions down to below 15% from 32% (SED alone) at the end of the survey. 

ABSTRACT The attenuation of Lyα photons by neutral hydrogen in the intergalactic medium (IGM) at z ≳ 5 continues to be a powerful probe for studying the epoch of reionization. Given a framework to estimate the intrinsic (true) Lyα emission of high-z sources, one can infer the ionization state of the IGM during reionization. In this work, we use the enlarged XQR-30 sample of 42 high-resolution and high signal-to-noise quasar spectra between $$5.8\lesssim \, z\lesssim \, 6.6$$ obtained with VLT/X-shooter to place constraints on the IGM neutral fraction. This is achieved using our existing Bayesian QSO reconstruction framework which accounts for uncertainties such as the: (i) posterior distribution of predicted intrinsic Lyα emission profiles (obtained via covariance matrix reconstruction of the Lyα and N v emission lines from unattenuated high-ionization emission line profiles; C iv, Si iv  + O iv], and C iii]) and (ii) distribution of ionized regions within the IGM using synthetic damping wing profiles drawn from a 1.63 Gpc3 reionization simulation. Following careful quality control, we used 23 of the 42 available QSOs to obtain constraints/limits on the IGM neutral fraction during the tail-end of reionization. Our median and 68th percentile constraints on the IGM neutral fraction are: $$0.20\substack{+0.14 -0.12}$$ and $$0.29\substack{+0.14 -0.13}$$ at z = 6.15 and 6.35. Further, we also report 68th percentile upper limits of $$\bar{x}_{\mathrm{H\, {\small I}}{}} \lt 0.21$$, 0.20, 0.21, and 0.18 at z = 5.8, 5.95, 6.05, and 6.55. These results imply reionization is still ongoing at $$5.8\lesssim \, z\lesssim \, 6.55$$, consistent with previous results from XQR-30 (dark fraction and Lyα forest) along with other observational probes considered in the literature. 

Constraining the co-evolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies in the first billion years after the Big Bang is essential for understanding the formation of the earliest cosmic structures. Here, we present IRAM/NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) observations of thez ≈ 7.7 quasar EUCL J125308.55+705432.3, recently discovered in the first data release of the Euclid Wide Survey. We report the most distant detections of [C II]158 μm and cold dust emission in a quasar host to date. The [C II]emission line sets the systemic redshift atz = 7.6980 ± 0.0004. The source exhibits luminosities ofL_FIR = 3.6 × 10¹² L_⊙andL_[C II]= 2 × 10⁹L_⊙, respectively, a dust mass of 1.4 × 10⁸ M_⊙, and a dynamical mass in the range 0.33 − 1.3 × 10¹⁰ M_⊙. Remarkably, despite being nearly two magnitudes fainter in the rest-frame UV (M₁₄₅₀ = −24.06) than previously knownz ≈ 7.5 quasars (⟨M₁₄₅₀⟩ ∼ − 26.5), EUCL J125308.55+705432.3 exhibits the brightest [C II]emission among them. This indicates that the host galaxy is actively star-forming, with a star-formation rate > 250M_⊙yr⁻¹, consistent with recent findings that UV-faint quasars atz > 6 preferentially reside in [C II]-luminous galaxies. The UV-faintness likely reflects dust obscuration or sub-Eddington accretion, rather than lower host mass, suggesting these systems are at a different stage in their evolution compared to UV-bright quasars. These IRAM/NOEMA observations highlight the power of combiningEuclid’s wide-area quasar discovery potential with submillimetre follow-up observations to characterise the host galaxies of early supermassive black holes across a broader redshift and luminosity range than previously accessible. 

We report the discovery of 31 new high-zquasars in the redshift range 6.6 < z < 7.8. These quasars were selected from approximately 3000 deg²of sky covered during the first 1.5 years of the Euclid Wide Survey, representing the initial results of theEuclidhigh-zquasar search. Our candidate selection employed multiple machine-learning and probabilistic techniques applied to theEuclidI_E,Y_E,J_E, andH_Eimages, supplemented by ancillaryz-band data when available. Spectroscopic follow-up observations were carried out with Keck, Magellan, and the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). Among the new discoveries, there are 12 quasars atz ≥ 7, more than doubling the number of previously known quasars atz ≥ 7. The newly discovered quasars exhibit 21.2 < J_E < 23.2 (−25.5 < M₁₄₅₀ < −23.6), extending quasar studies to the faint end of the quasar luminosity function (QLF) atz ≳ 7. The quasar with the highest-z, EUCL J172902.75+641018.1 atz ≈ 7.77, sets the new redshift record for the most distant quasar ever reported. These discoveries demonstrateEuclid’s transformative role in high-zquasar discovery and set the stage for future follow-up studies of the early galaxies hosting quasars, supermassive black hole growth, and the intergalactic medium in the epoch of reionisation.