GAMMA-RAY LIGHT CURVES AND VARIABILITY OF BRIGHT FERMI-DETECTED BLAZARS

Abdo AA, Ackermann M, Ajello M, Antolini E, Baldini L, Ballet J, Barbiellini G, Bastieri D, Bechtol K, Bellazzini R, Berenji B, Blandford RD, Bloom ED, Bonamente E, Borgland AW, Bouvier A, Bregeon J, Brez A, Brigida M, Bruel P, Buehler R, Burnett TH, Buson S, Caliandro GA, Cameron RA, Caraveo PA, Carrigan S, Casandjian JM, Cavazzuti E, Cecchi C, Celik O, Chekhtman A, Cheung CC, Chiang J, Ciprini S, Claus R, Cohen-Tanugi J, Cominsky LR, Conrad J, Costamante L, Cutini S, Dermer CD, De Angelis A, De Palma F, Do Couto E Silva E, Drell PS, Dubois R, Dumora D, Farnier C, Favuzzi C, Fegan SJ, Focke WB, Fortin P, Frailis M, Fukazawa Y, Funk S, Fusco P, Gargano F, Gasparrini D, Gehrels N, Germani S, Giebels B, Giglietto N, Giommi P, Giordano F, Glanzman T, Godfrey G, Grenier IA, Grondin MH, Grove JE, Guiriec S, Hadasch D, Hayashida M, Hays E, Healey SE, Horan D, Hughes RE, Itoh R, Johannesson G, Johnson AS, Johnson WN, Kamae T, Katagiri H, Kataoka J, Kawai N, Knoedlseder J, Kuss MW, Lande J, Larsson S, Latronico L, Lemoine-Goumard M, Longo F, Loparco F, Lott B, Lovellette MN, Lubrano P, Madejski GM, Makeev A, Massaro E, Mazziotta MN, Mcenery JE, Michelson PF, Mitthumsiri W, Mizuno T, Moiseev AA, Monte C, Monzani ME, Morselli A, Moskalenko IV, Mueller M, Murgia S, Nolan PL, Norris JP, Nuss E, Ohno M, Ohsugi T, Omodei N, Orlando E, Ormes JF, Ozaki M, Panetta JH, Parent D, Pelassa V, Pepe M, Pesce-Rollins M, Piron F, Porter TA, Raino S, Rando R, Razzano M, Reimer A, Reimer O, Ritz S, Rodriguez AY, Romani RW, Roth M, Ryde F, Sadrozinski HFW, Sander A, Scargle JD, Sgro C, Shaw MS, Smith PD, Spandre G, Spinelli P, Starck JL, Strickman MS, Suson DJ, Takahashi HH, Takahashi T, Tanaka T, Thayer JB, Thayer JG, Thompson DJ, Tibaldo L, Torres DF, Tosti G, Tramacere A, Uchiyama Y, Usher TL, Vasileiou V, Vilchez N, Vitale V, Waite AP, Wallace E, Wang P, Winer BL, Wood KS, Yang Z, Ylinen T, Ziegler M (2010)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2010

Journal

Book Volume: 722

Pages Range: 520-542

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/722/1/520

Abstract

This paper presents light curves as well as the first systematic characterization of variability of the 106 objects in the high-confidence Fermi Large Area Telescope Bright AGN Sample (LBAS). Weekly light curves of this sample, obtained during the first 11 months of the Fermi survey (2008 August 4-2009 July 4), are tested for variability and their properties are quantified through autocorrelation function and structure function analysis. For the brightest sources, 3 or 4 day binned light curves are extracted in order to determine power density spectra (PDSs) and to fit the temporal structure of major flares. More than 50% of the sources are found to be variable with high significance, where high states do not exceed 1/4 of the total observation range. Variation amplitudes are larger for flat spectrum radio quasars and low/intermediate synchrotron frequency peaked BL Lac objects. Autocorrelation timescales derived from weekly light curves vary from four to a dozen of weeks. Variable sources of the sample have weekly and 3-4 day bin light curves that can be described by 1/f(alpha) PDS, and show two kinds of gamma-ray variability: (1) rather constant baseline with sporadic flaring activity characterized by flatter PDS slopes resembling flickering and red noise with occasional intermittence and (2)-measured for a few blazars showing strong activity-complex and structured temporal profiles characterized by long-term memory and steeper PDS slopes, reflecting a random walk underlying mechanism. The average slope of the PDS of the brightest 22 FSRQs and of the 6 brightest BL Lacs is 1.5 and 1.7, respectively. The study of temporal profiles of well-resolved flares observed in the 10 brightest LBAS sources shows that they generally have symmetric profiles and that their total duration vary between 10 and 100 days. Results presented here can assist in source class recognition for unidentified sources and can serve as reference for more detailed analysis of the brightest gamma-ray blazars.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory United States (USA) (US) Stanford University United States (USA) (US) Università degli Studi di Perugia Italy (IT) National Institute for Nuclear Physics / Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Italy (IT) University of Paris 7 - Denis Diderot / Université Paris VII Denis Diderot France (FR) Politecnico di Bari Italy (IT) École Polytechnique - Université Paris-Saclay France (FR) University of Washington United States (USA) (US) Spanish National Research Council / Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) Spain (ES) University of Padua / Universita degli Studi di Padova Italy (IT) Italian Space Agency / Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) Italy (IT) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) United States (USA) (US) University of Montpellier / Université Montpellier France (FR) Sonoma State University United States (USA) (US) Stockholm University / Stockholms universitet Sweden (SE) University of Udine / Università degli Studi di Udine Italy (IT) Université Bordeaux 1, Sciences et Technologies France (FR) Hiroshima University Japan (JP) Waseda University / 早稲田大学 Japan (JP) Tokyo Institute of Technology Japan (JP) Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier France (FR) Università degli studi "La Sapienza" Italy (IT) Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA) / Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies Spain (ES) Purdue University Northwest / Purdue University Calumet United States (USA) (US) Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC) Spain (ES) Ohio State University United States (USA) (US) AlbaNova University Centre / Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan AlbaNova Universitetscentrum Sweden (SE) University of California Santa Cruz United States (USA) (US) University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) United States (USA) (US) University of Denver United States (USA) (US) Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) Japan (JP) Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (MPE) / Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Abdo, A.A., Ackermann, M., Ajello, M., Antolini, E., Baldini, L., Ballet, J.,... Ziegler, M. (2010). GAMMA-RAY LIGHT CURVES AND VARIABILITY OF BRIGHT FERMI-DETECTED BLAZARS. Astrophysical Journal, 722(1), 520-542. https://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/722/1/520

MLA:

Abdo, A. A., et al. "GAMMA-RAY LIGHT CURVES AND VARIABILITY OF BRIGHT FERMI-DETECTED BLAZARS." Astrophysical Journal 722.1 (2010): 520-542.

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