Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2011-01-04
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
20 Pages, 9 Figures, 4 Tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS
Scientific paper
We have carried out optical (R band) intraday variability (IDV) monitoring of a sample of ten bright low energy peaked blazars (LBLs). Forty photometric observations, of an average of ~ 4 hours each, were made between 2008 September and 2009 June using two telescopes in India. Measurements with good signal to noise ratios were typically obtained within 1-3 minutes, allowing the detection of weak, fast variations using N-star differential photometry. We employed both structure function and discrete correlation function analysis methods to estimate any dominant timescales of variability and found that in most of the cases any such timescales were longer than the duration of the observation. The calculated duty cycle of IDV in LBLs during our observing run is ~ 52%, which is low compared to many earlier studies; however, the relatively short periods for which each source was observed can probably explain this difference. We briefly discuss possible emission mechanisms for the observed variability.
Ganesh Shashi
Gupta Alok C.
Joshi Umesh C.
Rani Bindu
Wiita Paul J.
No associations
LandOfFree
Optical Intraday Variability Studies of Ten Low Energy Peaked Blazars does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Optical Intraday Variability Studies of Ten Low Energy Peaked Blazars, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Optical Intraday Variability Studies of Ten Low Energy Peaked Blazars will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-74741