Recurrent multiyear Mg II broad absorption line variability in SDSS J1333+0012

Abstract

We present a long-term spectroscopic study of broad absorption line (BAL) variability in the quasar J1333+0012 (zem = 0.9197) using an extensive multiepoch dataset spanning nearly two decades. The dataset comprises multiepoch observations from multiple observatories, delivering nearly uniform temporal coverage of the Mg II BAL profile, with close to one spectroscopic observation per year spanning the period from 2008 to 2025. We identify recurrent multiyear variability in the BAL absorption strength, characterized by a rest-frame timescale of ∼4 yr. Because the well-sampled baseline covers only a small number of candidate cycles, we present J1333+0012 as a candidate quasiperiodic BAL system. In contrast, contemporaneous optical photometric light curves from CRTS, Pan-STARRS, and Zwicky Transient Facility show no statistically significant correlated variability on comparable timescales. However, ionization-driven variability cannot be ruled out, as the observed optical continuum does not directly trace the unobserved extreme-UV ionizing continuum. The coherence of the variability across distinct velocity components, coupled with the absence of large-scale profile reshaping, is consistent with a geometric origin. We interpret the observed behavior as modulation of the line-of-sight absorption by the rotation of an inhomogeneous shielding-gas structure.