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arXiv 0810.5159astro-ph
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类星体的时变:结构函数方差

Time Variability of Quasars: the Structure Function Variance

C. MacLeod, Z. Ivezic, W. de Vries, B. Sesar, A. Becker

摘要:

SDSS和POSS数据在描述类星体光变方面取得了重大进展。大多数研究的共同点是一个基本假设,即大量类星体在两个时期的光度观测将揭示与单个物体的良好采样光变曲线相同的统计特性。我们严格测试这一假设使用样本的光变曲线$\sim$ 2,600光谱证实类星体观察约50倍,平均超过8年的SDSS条纹82调查。我们发现,为单个类星体计算的平均结构函数对光度,静止帧波长和时间的依赖性是定性和定量的结构函数的行为来自一个更大的样本的两个历元观测相似。我们还重现了射电和X射线选择子样的光变特性不同的结果。然而,对于光度、静止帧波长和时间的固定值的变异性结构函数的散射类似于由分析样本中的这些量的方差引起的散射。因此,我们的研究结果表明,虽然使用两个历元数据推断的类星体变率的统计特性捕获了一些潜在的物理,但可以从单个物体的采样光变曲线中提取重要的额外信息。

英文摘要:

Significant progress in the description of quasar variability has been recently made by employing SDSS and POSS data. Common to most studies is a fundamental assumption that photometric observations at two epochs for a large number of quasars will reveal the same statistical properties as well-sampled light curves for individual objects. We critically test this assumption using light curves for a sample of $\sim$2,600 spectroscopically confirmed quasars observed about 50 times on average over 8 years by the SDSS stripe 82 survey. We find that the dependence of the mean structure function computed for individual quasars on luminosity, rest-frame wavelength and time is qualitatively and quantitatively similar to the behavior of the structure function derived from two-epoch observations of a much larger sample. We also reproduce the result that the variability properties of radio and X-ray selected subsamples are different. However, the scatter of the variability structure function for fixed values of luminosity, rest-frame wavelength and time is similar to the scatter induced by the variance of these quantities in the analyzed sample. Hence, our results suggest that, although the statistical properties of quasar variability inferred using two-epoch data capture some underlying physics, there is significant additional information that can be extracted from well-sampled light curves for individual objects.

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