J/other/Sci/373.789 optical variability of AGNs (Burke+, 2021)
A characteristic optical variability time scale in astrophysical accretion
disks.
Burke C.J., Shen Y., Blaes O., Gammie C.F., Horne K., Jiang Y.-F., Liu X.,
McHardy I.M., Morgan C.W., Scaringi S., Yang Q.
<Science, 373, 789-792 (2021)>
=2021Sci...373..789B 2021Sci...373..789B (SIMBAD/NED BibCode)
ADC_Keywords: Active gal. nuclei ; Accretion
Abstract:
Accretion disks around supermassive black holes in active galactic
nuclei produce continuum radiation at ultraviolet and optical
wavelengths. Physical processes in the accretion flow lead to
stochastic variability of this emission on a wide range of time
scales. We measured the optical continuum variability observed in 67
active galactic nuclei and the characteristic time scale at which the
variability power spectrum flattens. We found a correlation between
this time scale and the black hole mass extending over the entire mass
range of supermassive black holes. This time scale is consistent with
the expected thermal time scale at the ultraviolet-emitting radius in
standard accretion disk theory. Accreting white dwarfs lie close to
this correlation, suggesting a common process for all accretion disks.
Description:
To measure the optical variability of AGNs over a large dynamic range
in SMBH mass, we selected our sample to include both distant quasars
with decade-long photometric light curves, as well as nearby AGNs
targeted for reverberation mapping.
File Summary:
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FileName Lrecl Records Explanations
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ReadMe 80 . This file
tables1.dat 159 414 Summary data for the final AGN sample
refs.dat 68 34 References
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Byte-by-byte Description of file: tables1.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 25 A25 --- Name Object Designation
27- 50 A24 --- OName Name in the original light curve
reference
52- 59 F8.4 deg RAdeg Right ascension (J2000)
61- 68 F8.4 deg DEdeg Declination (J2000)
70- 75 F6.4 --- z Redshift
77- 81 F5.2 [Msun] logMBH ?=- Black hole mass
83- 86 F4.2 [Msun] e_logMBH ?=- Black hole mass error
88- 92 F5.2 [10-7W] logL5100 5100Å luminosity
94- 98 F5.2 [10-7W] e_logL5100 5100Å luminosity error
100-106 A7 --- Band Band
108-109 A2 --- n_logMBH [RM SE] Black hole mass method
111-112 I2 --- r_LC Light curve reference, in refs.dat file
114-115 I2 --- r_logL5100 ? logL5100 reference, in refs.dat file
117-118 I2 --- r_logMBH Black hole mass reference,
in refs.dat file
120-123 I4 d Baseline Light curve length
125-130 F6.2 d Cadence Mean cadence
132-135 F4.1 [d] logtauDRWrest DRW model timescale
137-141 F5.1 [d] e_logtauDRWrest DRW model timescale error
143-147 F5.2 --- SNR Signa-to-noise ratio
149-153 A5 --- ACF [False/True ] Autocorrelation function
155-159 A5 --- Valid [False/True ] Valid
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Byte-by-byte Description of file: refs.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 2 I2 --- Ref Reference code
4- 22 A19 --- BibCode BibCode
24- 48 A25 --- Aut Author's name
50- 68 A19 --- Com Comments
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History:
From electronic version of the journal
(End) Patricia Vannier [CDS] 18-Feb-2022