We report the first attempt to systematically characterise intra-night optical variability (INOV) of the rare and enigmatic subset of Narrow-Line Seyfert1 galaxies (NLSy1s), which is marked by detection in the $γ$-ray band and is therefore endowed with Doppler boosted relativistic jets, like blazars. However, the central engines in these two types of AGN are thought to operate in different regimes of accretion rate. Our INOV search in a fairly large and unbiased sample of 15 $γ$-ray NLSy1s was conducted in 36 monitoring sessions, each lasting $\geq$ 3 hrs. In our analysis, special care has been taken to address the possible effect on the differential light curves, of any variation in the seeing disc during the session, since that might lead to spurious claims of INOV from such AGN due to the possibility of a significant contribution from the host galaxy to the total optical emission. From our observations, a duty cycle (DC) of INOV detection in the $γ$-ray NLSy1s is estimated to be around 25% - 30%, which is comparable to that known for blazars. This estimate of DC will probably need an upward revision, once it becomes possible to correct for the dilution of the AGN's nonthermal optical emission by the (much steadier) optical emission contributed not only by the host galaxy but also the nuclear accretion disc in these high Eddington rate accretors. Finally, we also draw attention to the possibility that sharp optical flux changes on sub-hour time scale are less rare for $γ$-ray NLSy1s, in comparison to blazars.
SDSS J163401.94$+$480940.2 is a non-jetted radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) galaxy. Optical monitoring of this object was carried out in two intra-night sessions each $\geq$ 3 hrs with 3.6m DOT. Intra-night optical variability (INOV) characterization is presented for the first time for this source. We have detected an unexpected remarkable flare in one of two monitoring sessions of SDSS J163401.94$+$480940.2, whose rapid brightening phase implied a minute like doubling time of $\sim$ 22 minutes, thereby approaching to the extremely fast minute like variability, observed from FSRQ PKS 1…
Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) variability can be used to study the physics of the region in the vicinity of the central black hole. In this paper, we investigated intra-night optical variability of AGN in the COSMOS field in order to understand the AGN instability at the smallest scale. Observations were performed using the KMTNet on three separate nights for 2.5-5 hour at a cadence of 20-30 min. We find that the observation enables the detection of the short-term variability as small as $\sim$ 0.02 and 0.1 mag for $R \sim$ 18 and 20 mag sources, respectively. Using four selection methods (X-r…
For 3 radio-loud $γ$-ray detected Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 ($γ$-ray NLSy1) galaxies, we report optical variability on intra-night and/or week-like time scales, based on five $\geq$ 3 hours long monitoring sessions for each galaxy. The radio-loudness factors (R$_{1.4 GHz}$) for these galaxies, namely 1H 0323$+$342 (z = 0.0629), PKS J1222$+$0413 (z = 0.966) and PKS J1505$+$0326 (z = 0.408) are $\sim$318, $\sim$1534 and $\sim$3364 at 1.4 GHz, respectively. For the most distant $γ$-ray NLSy1, PKS J1222$+$0413, Intra-Night Optical Variability (INOV) characterisation is presented for the first time. Th…
In a first systematic effort to characterize the intra-night optical variability (INOV) of different classes of narrow line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) galaxies, we have carried out observations on a sample of radio-loud (RL) and radio-quiet (RQ) NLSy1 galaxies. The RL-NLSy1 galaxies are further divided into γ-ray loud (GL) and γ-ray quiet (GQ) NLSy1 galaxies. Our sample consists of four sets, each set consisting of a RQ-NLSy1, a GQ-NLSy1 and a GL-NLSy1 galaxy, closely matched in redshift and optical luminosity. Our observations on both RQ and GQ-NLSy1 galaxies consist of a total of 19 nights, whereas t…
SDSS J094857.3+002225 is a very radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy. Here, we report our discovery of the intranight optical variability (INOV) of this galaxy through the optical monitoring in the B and R bands that covered seven nights in 2009. Violent rapid variability in the optical bands was identified in this RL-NLS1 for the first time, and the amplitudes of the INOV reaches 0.5 mag in both the B and R bands on the timescale of several hours. The detection of the INOV provides a piece of strong evidence supporting the fact that the object carries a relativistic jet with a small…
In a systematic program to characterise the intra-night optical variability (INOV) of different classes of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLSy1s), we report here the first comparative INOV study of NLSy1 sets detected in the X-ray and $γ$-ray bands. Our sample consists of 18 sources detected in X-ray but not in $γ$-rays (hereafter x$\textunderscore$NLSy1s) and 7 sources detected in $γ$-rays (hereafter g$\textunderscore$NLSy1s), out of which 5 are detected also in X-rays. We have monitored these two sets of NLSy1s, respectively, in 24 and 21 sessions of a minimum of 3 hours duration each. The …
The nearby dwarf spiral galaxy NGC 4395 contains a broad-lined active galactic nucleus (AGN) of exceptionally low luminosity powered by accretion onto a central black hole of very low mass ($\sim10^4-10^5$ M$_\odot$). In order to constrain the size of the optical continuum emission region through reverberation mapping, we carried out high-cadence photometric monitoring of NGC 4395 in the $griz$ filter bands on two consecutive nights in 2022 April using the four-channel MuSCAT3 camera on the Faulkes Telescope North at Haleakalā Observatory. Correlated variability across the $griz$ bands is clea…
We present a sample of intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) candidates based on the detection of a broad H$α$ emission line and variability, which are selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. By performing spectral decomposition of emission lines as well as visual inspection, we initially identified 131 targets with a broad H$α$ line among a large sample of emission-line galaxies. We further selected 25 IMBH candidates, whose estimated black hole mass (M$_{\rm BH}$) is less than $10^6 \rm M_{\odot}$. To constrain the nature of these candidates, we analyzed X-ray properties and…
We here report a monitor of the BL Lac object 1ES 1218+304 in both B- and R-bands by the GWAC-F60A telescope in eight nights, when it was triggerd to be at its highest X-ray flux in history by the VERITAS Observatory and Swift follow-ups. Both ANOVA and $χ^2$-test enable us to clearly reveal an intra-day variability in optical wavelengths in seven out of the eight nights. A bluer-when-brighter chromatic relationship has been clearly identified in five out of the eight nights, which can be well explained by the shock-in-jet model. In addtion, a quasi-periodic oscilation phenomenon in both bands…
We present results of our intra-night optical flux monitoring observations of S5 0716+714 done simultaneously in gRI filters. The observations were done using Multicolor Imaging Telescopes for Survey and Monstrous Explosions (MITSuME) instrument on the 50 cm telescope at the Okayama Astrophysical Observatory over 30 nights between 11 March 2008 and 8 May 2008. Of these 30 nights, 22 nights have continuous (without any break) observations with duration ranging from 1 to 6 hours and hence were considered for intra-night optical variability (INOV). In total we have 4888 datapoints which were simu…
We monitored BL Lacertae in the B, V, R and I bands for 14 nights during the period of 2016-2018. The source showed significant intraday variability on 12 nights. We performed colour-magnitude analysis and found that the source exhibited bluer-when-brighter chromatism. This bluer-when-brighter behavior is at least partly caused by the larger variation amplitude at shorter wavelength. The variations at different wavelengths are well correlated and show no inter-band time lag.
We report rapid optical variability for the blazar S5 0716+71 during 2010 March 08-10 & 19-20 in the CCD observations made from Mt.Abu Infrared Observatory. The light curves are constructed for the duration longer than 3-hours each night, with very high temporal resolution(~ 45 seconds in R-band). During 2010 March 08 source smoothly decayed by about 0.15 mag in 2.88 hours, apart from a fast flicker lasting about 30 mins. S5 0716+71 brightened up during March 09 and 10 showing high activity while it was relatively faint (> 14 mag in R) albeit variable during March 19-20. During March 9 & 10, r…
We monitored BL Lacertae simultaneously in the optical B, V, R and I bands for 13 nights during the period 2012-2016. The variations were well correlated in all bands and the source showed significant intraday variability (IDV). We also studied its optical flux and colour behaviour, and searched for inter-band time lags. A strong bluer-when-brighter chromatism was found on the intra-night time-scale. The spectral changes are not sensitive to the host galaxy contribution. Cross-correlation analysis revealed possible time delay of about 10 min between variations in the V and R bands. We interpre…
We monitored BL Lacertae for 13 nights in optical B, V, R, and I bands during October and November 2014 including quasi-simultaneous observations in V and R bands using two optical telescopes in India. We have studied multi-band optical flux variations, colour variation and spectral changes in this blazar. Source was found to be active during the whole monitoring period and showed significant intraday variability on 3 nights in V and R filters while displayed hints of variability on 6 other dates in R passband and on 2 nights in V filter. From the colour-magnitude analysis of the source we fou…
Seyfert 1.8/1.9 are sources showing weak broad H-alpha components in their optical spectra. We aim at testing whether Seyfert 1.8/1.9 have similar properties at UV and X-ray wavelengths to Seyfert 2. We use the 15 Seyfert 1.8/1.9 in the Veron Cetty and Veron catalogue with public data available from the Chandra and/or XMM-Newton archives at different dates, with timescales between observations ranging from days to years. Our results are homogeneously compared with a previous work using the same methodology applied to a sample of Seyfert 2 (Hernandez-Garcia et al. 2015). X-ray variability is fo…
We perform quasi-simultaneous optical multi-band monitoring of BL Lac object S5 0716+714 on seven nights from 2013 to 2016. Intra-day variability (IDV) is found on all seven nights. The source was faintest on JD 2456322 with 14.15 mags and brightest on JD 2457437 with 12.51 mags in the $R$ band. The maximum intra-day variation we observed is 0.15 mags in the $B$ band on JD 2456322. Both bluer-when-brighter and achromatic spectral behaviours were observed on the intra-day timescale. On the longer-term scale, the object exhibited a mild bluer-when-brighter behaviour between the $B$ and $R$ bands…
We present results of optical polarimetric and multi-band photometric observations for gamma-ray loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy 1H 0323+342. This object has been monitored by 1.5 m Kanata telescope since 2012 September but following a gamma-ray flux enhancement detected by Fermi-LAT on MJD 56483 (2013 July 10) dense follow-up was performed by ten 0.5-2.0 m telescopes in Japan over one week. The 2-year R_C-band light curve showed clear brightening corresponding to the gamma-ray flux increase and then decayed gradually. The high state as a whole lasted for ~20 days, during which we clearly de…
We have monitored the BL Lacertae object S5 0716+714 simultaneously in the B, R and I bands on three nights in November 2014. The average time resolution is quite high (73s, 34s, 58s for the filters B, R and I), which can help us trace the profile of the variation and search for the short inter-band time delay. Intra-day variability was about 0.1 mag on the first two nights and more than 0.3 mag on the third. A bluer-when-brighter color behavior was found. An clear loop path can be seen on the color-magnitude diagram of the third night, revealing possible time delays between variations at high…
With an aim to explore optical variability at diverse timescales in BL Lac source S5 0716+714, it was observed for 46 nights during 2013 January 14 to 2015 June 01 when it underwent two major outbursts. The observations were made using the 1.2-m Mount Abu InfraRed Observatory telescope mounted with a CCD camera. On 29 nights, the source was monitored for more than two hours, resulting in 6256 data points in R-band, to check for the intra-night variability. Observations in B, V and I bands with 159, 214, and 177 data points, respectively, along with daily averaged R-band data are used to addres…
We have monitored the BL Lacertae object S5 0716+714 in the optical bands during 2012 January and February with long time spans on intraday timescales ($>$5 hr) and high time resolutions. During this monitoring period, the object shows violent flaring activity both in short and intraday timescales. The object has high value of duty cycle. The light curves detected as intraday variability (IDV) show variability of various shapes. The variability amplitude is from 12.81 per cent to 33.22 per cent, and the average value $19.92\pm5.87$ per cent. The overall magnitude variabilities are $\bigtriangl…
We present the results of multiband observations of the blazar S5 0716+714 intra-night variability performed during 23 nights in the period from 04.2014 through 04.2015. The bluer-when-brighter trend is detected in both intra- and inter-night data. We assume that the jet component crossing the region where the medium becomes transparent to the optical radiation forms almost all optical emission of S5 0716+714. Deviations of some parts of the component from the general trajectory of the component can cause the Doppler factor of these parts to increase. Various maximum Doppler factors achieved b…
We present results based on the observations of the blazar 3C 66A from 2005 November 06 to 2016 February 14 in the BVR and I broadbands using 1.2m telescope of the Mt. Abu InfraRed Observatory (MIRO). The source was observed on 160 nights out of which on 89 nights it was monitored for more than 1 hr to check for the presence of any intra-day variability (IDV). The blazar 3C 66A exhibited significant variations in the optical flux on short and long term time scales. However, unlike highly variable S5 0716+71, it showed IDV duty cycle of about 8% only. Our statistical studies suggest the IDV tim…
To quantify the role of radio jets for Intra-Night Optical Variability (INOV) in Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 (RLNLSy1) galaxies, we report the first systematic comparative INOV study of 23 RLNLSy1 galaxies, with 15 RLNLSy1s having confirmed detection of jets (jetted) and the remaining 8 RLNLSy1s having no detection of jets (non-jetted) based on their Very Long Baseline Array observations. We have monitored these two samples, respectively, in 37 and 16 sessions of a minimum 3-hour duration each. Based upon F$^η$-test at 99\% confidence level with a typical INOV amplitude ($ψ$) detection th…
Broad line region echo from highly accreting intermediate-mass black hole candidate SDSS J144850.08+160803.1. The first probe of intra-night variability and reverberation mapping
Multiple Components and Spectral Evolution of BL Lacertae as Revealed by Multiwavelength Variability and SED Modeling
School of Physics and Astronomy, Beijing Normal University（北京师范大学物理与天文学院）；Institute for Frontiers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University（北京师范大学前沿天文与天体物理研究所）；College of Intelligent Systems Science and Engineering, Hubei Minzu University（湖北民族大学智能系统科学与工程学院）
We report on the identification of a new γ-ray-emitting narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy, SDSS J211852.96-073227.5 (hereinafter J2118-0732). The galaxy, at a redshift of 0.26, is associated with a radio source of flat/inverted spectrum at high radio frequencies. The analysis of its optical spectrum obtained in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) revealed a small linewidth of the broad component of the Hβ line (full width at half-maximum = 1585 km s^{-1}), making it a radio-loud NLS1 galaxy -- an intriguing class of active galactic nuclei with exceptional multiwavelength properties. A new γ-…
Blazars, a type of Active Galactic Nuclei, present a particular orientation of their jets close to the line ofsight. Their radiation is thus relativistically beamed, giving rise to extreme behaviors, specially strong variability on very short time-scales (i.e., microvariability). Here we present simultaneous photometric and polarimetric observations of two relatively nearby blazars, 1ES 1959+650 and HB89 2201+044, that were obtained using the Calar Alto Faint Object Spectrograph mounted at the 2.2 m telescope in Calar Alto, Spain. An outstanding characteristic of these two blazars is the prese…
This study aims to characterise, for the first time, intranight optical variability (INOV) of low-mass active galactic nuclei (LMAGN) which host a black hole (BH) of mass $M_{BH} \sim 10^6 M_{\odot}$, i.e., even less massive than the Galactic centre black hole Sgr A* and 2-3 orders of magnitude below the supermassive black holes (SMBH, $M_{BH}$ $\sim$ $10^8 - 10^9 M_{\odot}$) which are believed to power quasars. Thus, LMAGN are a crucial subclass of AGN filling the wide gap between SMBH and stellar-mass BHs of Galactic X-ray binaries. We have carried out a 36-session campaign of intranight opt…
We report the first systematic search for blazars among broad-absorption-line (BAL) quasars. This is based on our intranight optical monitoring of a well-defined sample of 10 candidates selected on the criteria of a flat spectrum and an abnormally high linear polarization at radio wavelengths. A small population of BAL blazars can be expected in the 'polar model' of BAL quasars. However, no such case is found, since none of our 30 monitoring sessions devoted to the 10 candidates yielded a positive detection of intra-night optical variability (INOV), which is uncharacteristic of blazars. This l…
Constraints on the Intranight Optical Variability of Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Candidates
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院上海天文台）；University of Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院大学）；Instituto de Física y Astronomía, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso（瓦尔帕莱索大学理学院物理与天文学研究所）；Millennium Nucleus on Transversal Research and Technology to Explore Supermassive Black Holes (TITANS)（探索超大质量黑洞跨学科研究和技术千年核（TITANS））；Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University（北京大学物理学院天文学系）；Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University（北京大学科维理天文与天体物理研究所）
From Variability to SED Modeling: A Multiwavelength Study of the Neutrino Blazar TXS 0506+056
School of Physics and Astronomy, Beijing Normal University（北京师范大学物理学院）；Institute for Frontiers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University（北京师范大学前沿天文与天体物理研究所）；College of Intelligent Systems Science and Engineering, Hubei Minzu University（湖北民族大学智能系统科学与工程学院）
We have monitored the flat spectrum radio quasar, 3C 279, in the optical $B$, $V$, $R$ and $I$ passbands from 2018 February to 2018 July for 24 nights, with a total of 716 frames, to study flux, colour and spectral variability on diverse timescales. 3C\,279 was observed using seven different telescopes: two in India, two in Argentina, two in Bulgaria and one in Turkey to understand the nature of the source in optical regime. The source was found to be active during the whole monitoring period and displayed significant flux variations in $B$, $V$, $R$, and $I$ passbands. Variability amplitudes …
The gamma-ray blazar OJ 287 was in a high activity state during December 2015 - February 2016. Coinciding with this high brightness state, we observed this source for photometry on 40 nights in R-band and for polarimetry on 9 epochs in UBVRI bands. During the period of our observations, the source brightness varied between $13.20 \pm 0.04$ to $14.98 \pm 0.04$ mag and the degree of polarization (P ) fluctuated between $6.0 \pm 0.3$% and $28.3 \pm 0.8$% in R-band. Focusing on intra-night optical variability (INOV), we find a duty cycle of about 71% using $χ^2$-statistics, similar to that known f…
We present the results from a multiwavelength study of the flaring activity in HBL, 1ES 1959+650, during January 2015-June 2016. The source underwent significant flux enhancements showing two major outbursts (March 2015 and October 2015) in optical, UV, X-rays and gamma-rays. Normally, HBLs are not very active but 1ES 1959+650 has shown exceptional outburst activity across the whole electromagnetic spectrum (EMS). We used the data from Fermi-LAT, Swift-XRT & UVOT and optical data from Mt. Abu InfraRed Observatory (MIRO) along with archival data from Steward Observatory to look for possible con…
We present a study of optical, UV and X-ray light curves of the nearby changing look active galactic nucleus in the galaxy NGC 1566 obtained with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and the MASTER Global Robotic Network over the period 2007 - 2018. We also report on our optical spectroscopy at the South African Astronomical Observatory with the 1.9-m telescope on the night 2018 August 2-3. A substantial increase in X-ray flux by 1.5 orders of magnitude was observed following the brightening in the UV and optical bands during the last year. After a maximum was reached at the beginning of 2018 Ju…
Intraday Optical Variability of BL Lacertae during its Highly Active 2020-2024 Phase
National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG)（国家天文与地球物理研究所）；Istanbul University, Faculty of Science, Department of Astronomy and Space Sciences（伊斯坦布尔大学理学院天文学与空间科学系）；Institute of Astronomy and NAO, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences（保加利亚科学院天文学与国立天文台研究所）；Atatürk University, Faculty of Science, Department of Astronomy and Space Science（阿塔图尔克大学理学院天文学与空间科学系）；Atatürk University, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics（阿塔图尔克大学自然与应用科学学院天文学与天体物理学系）；Pacif Institute of Cosmology and Selfology (PICS)（帕西夫宇宙学与自我学研究所）；Türkiye National Observatories, TUG（土耳其国家天文台）
