Gamma-ray light curves and variability of bright Fermi-detected blazars

A.A. Abdo; Markus Ackermann; Marco Ajello; E. Antolini; Luca Baldini; Jean Ballet; Guido Barbiellini; D. Bastieri; K. Bechtol; R. Bellazzini; B. Berenji; R. D. Blandford; E. D. Bloom; E. Bonamente; A. W. Borgland; A. Bouvier; J. Bregeon; A. Brez; M. Brigida; Pascal Bruel; R. Buehler; T. H. Burnett; S. Buson; G. A. Caliandro; R. A. Cameron; P. A. Caraveo; S. Carrigan; J. M. Casandjian; E. Cavazzuti; C. Cecchi; O. Celik; A. Chekhtman; C. C. Cheung; J. Chiang; S. Ciprini; R. Claus; J. Cohen-Tanugi; L. R. Cominsky; J. Conrad; L. Costamante; S. Cutini; C. D. Dermer; A. de Angelis; F. de Palma; E. Do Couto E Silva; P. S. Drell; R. Dubois; D. Dumora; C. Farnier; C. Favuzzi; S. J. Fegan; W. B. Focke; P. Fortin; M. Frailis; Y. Fukazawa; S. Funk; P. Fusco; F. Gargano; D. Gasparrini; N. Gehrels; S. Germani; B. Giebels; N. Giglietto; P. Giommi; F. Giordano; T. Glanzman; G. Godfrey; I. A. Grenier; M.-H. Grondin; J. E. Grove; S. Guiriec; D. Hadasch; M. Hayashida; E. Hays; S. E. Healey; D. Horan; R. E. Hughes; R. Itoh; G. Johannesson; A. S. Johnson; W. N. Johnson; T. Kamae; H. Katagiri; J. Kataoka; N. Kawai; Jürgen Knödlseder; M. Kuss; J. Lande; S. Larsson; L. Latronico; M. Lemoine-Goumard; F. Longo; F. Loparco; B. Lott; M. N. Lovellette; P. Lubrano; G. M. Madejski; A. Makeev; E. Massaro; M. N. Mazziotta; J. E. Mcenery; P. F. Michelson; W. Mitthumsiri; T. Mizuno; A. A. Moiseev; C. Monte; M. E. Monzani; A. Morselli; I. V. Moskalenko; M. Mueller; S. Murgia; P. L. Nolan; J. P. Norris; E. Nuss; M. Ohno; T. Ohsugi; N. Omodei; E. Orlando; J. F. Ormes; M. Ozaki; J. H. Panetta; D. Parent; V. Pelassa; M. Pepe; M. Pesce-Rollins; F. Piron; T.A. Porter; S. Raino; R. Rando; M. Razzano; A. Reimer; O. Reimer; S. Ritz; A. Y. Rodriguez; R. W. Romani; M. Roth; F. Ryde; H. F.-W. Sadrozinski; A. Sander; J. D. Scargle; C. Sgro; M. S. Shaw; P. D. Smith; G. Spandre; P. Spinelli; Jean-Luc Starck; M. S. Strickman; D. J. Suson; H. Takahashi; T. Takahashi; T. Tanaka; J. B. Thayer; J. G. Thayer; D. J. Thompson; L. Tibaldo; D. F. Torres; G. Tosti; A. Tramacere; Y. Uchiyama; T. L. Usher; V. Vasileiou; N. Vilchez; V. Vitale; A. P. Waite; E. Wallace; P. Wang; B. L. Winer; K. S. Wood; Z. Yang; T. Ylinen; M. Ziegler

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

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Gamma-ray light curves and variability of bright Fermi-detected blazars

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Gamma-ray light curves and variability of bright Fermi-detected blazars

A.A. Abdo, Markus Ackermann, Marco Ajello, E. Antolini, Luca Baldini, Jean Ballet, Guido Barbiellini, D. Bastieri, K. Bechtol, R. Bellazzini, …

The Astrophysical Journal, Vol.722, pp.520-542

10/2010

DOI: https://doi.org/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 α 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

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Title: Gamma-ray light curves and variability of bright Fermi-detected blazars
Creators - without role: A.A. Abdo - National Academy of Sciences
Markus Ackermann - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
Marco Ajello - Stanford University
E. Antolini - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia
Luca Baldini - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
Jean Ballet - Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation
Guido Barbiellini - University of Trieste
D. Bastieri - University of Padua
K. Bechtol - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
R. Bellazzini - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
B. Berenji - Stanford University
R. D. Blandford
E. D. Bloom
E. Bonamente - University of Perugia
A. W. Borgland
A. Bouvier - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
J. Bregeon - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
A. Brez - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
M. Brigida - Polytechnic University of Bari
Pascal Bruel - École Polytechnique
R. Buehler - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
T. H. Burnett
S. Buson - INFN Sezione di Padova
G. A. Caliandro
R. A. Cameron
P. A. Caraveo - Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Milano
S. Carrigan - University of Padua
J. M. Casandjian - Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation
E. Cavazzuti - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
C. Cecchi - University of Perugia
O. Celik - Goddard Space Flight Center
A. Chekhtman - George Mason University
C. C. Cheung
J. Chiang - Stanford University
S. Ciprini - University of Perugia
R. Claus - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
J. Cohen-Tanugi - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
L. R. Cominsky
J. Conrad - Stockholm University
L. Costamante - SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
S. Cutini - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
C. D. Dermer
A. de Angelis - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste
F. de Palma - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari
E. Do Couto E Silva
P. S. Drell
R. Dubois - SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
D. Dumora - Laboratoire de Physique des deux infinis Bordeaux
C. Farnier - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
C. Favuzzi - Polytechnic University of Bari
S. J. Fegan - Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet
W. B. Focke
P. Fortin - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
M. Frailis - Trieste Astronomical Observatory
Y. Fukazawa - Hiroshima University
S. Funk - Stanford University
P. Fusco - Polytechnic University of Bari
F. Gargano - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari
D. Gasparrini - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
N. Gehrels - Goddard Space Flight Center
S. Germani - University of Perugia
B. Giebels - Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet
N. Giglietto - Polytechnic University of Bari
P. Giommi - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
F. Giordano - Polytechnic University of Bari
T. Glanzman - Stanford University
G. Godfrey - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
I. A. Grenier - Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation
M.-H. Grondin - Université de Bordeaux
J. E. Grove
S. Guiriec - University of Alabama in Huntsville
D. Hadasch - Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats
M. Hayashida - Stanford University
E. Hays - Goddard Space Flight Center
S. E. Healey
D. Horan - Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet
R. E. Hughes
R. Itoh - Hiroshima University
G. Johannesson - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
A. S. Johnson
W. N. Johnson
T. Kamae - Stanford University
H. Katagiri - Hiroshima University
J. Kataoka - Waseda University
N. Kawai - RIKEN
Jürgen Knödlseder - Centre National d'Études Spatiales
M. Kuss - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
J. Lande - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
S. Larsson - Stockholm University
L. Latronico - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
M. Lemoine-Goumard - Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules
F. Longo - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste
F. Loparco - Polytechnic University of Bari
B. Lott - Laboratoire de Physique des deux infinis Bordeaux
M. N. Lovellette
P. Lubrano - University of Perugia
G. M. Madejski
A. Makeev - United States Naval Research Laboratory
E. Massaro - Sapienza University of Rome
M. N. Mazziotta
J. E. Mcenery
P. F. Michelson
W. Mitthumsiri - SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
T. Mizuno - Hiroshima University
A. A. Moiseev
C. Monte - Polytechnic University of Bari
M. E. Monzani
A. Morselli - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Roma Tor Vergata
I. V. Moskalenko
M. Mueller - Stanford University
S. Murgia - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
P. L. Nolan
J. P. Norris
E. Nuss - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
M. Ohno - Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
T. Ohsugi - Hiroshima University
N. Omodei - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
E. Orlando - Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
J. F. Ormes
M. Ozaki - Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
J. H. Panetta
D. Parent - Laboratoire de Physique des deux infinis Bordeaux
V. Pelassa - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
M. Pepe - University of Perugia
M. Pesce-Rollins - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
F. Piron - Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules
T.A. Porter - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
S. Raino - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari
R. Rando - University of Padua
M. Razzano - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
A. Reimer - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
O. Reimer - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
S. Ritz - University of California, Santa Cruz
A. Y. Rodriguez
R. W. Romani
M. Roth - University of Washington
F. Ryde - KTH Royal Institute of Technology
H. F.-W. Sadrozinski
A. Sander - The Ohio State University
J. D. Scargle
C. Sgro - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
M. S. Shaw
P. D. Smith
G. Spandre - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
P. Spinelli - Polytechnic University of Bari
Jean-Luc Starck - Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation
M. S. Strickman
D. J. Suson
H. Takahashi - Hiroshima University
T. Takahashi - Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
T. Tanaka - Stanford University
J. B. Thayer
J. G. Thayer
D. J. Thompson
L. Tibaldo - Université Paris Cité
D. F. Torres
G. Tosti - University of Perugia
A. Tramacere - Stanford University
Y. Uchiyama - SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
T. L. Usher
V. Vasileiou - Goddard Space Flight Center
N. Vilchez - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier
V. Vitale - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Roma Tor Vergata
A. P. Waite
E. Wallace - University of Washington
P. Wang - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
B. L. Winer
K. S. Wood
Z. Yang - AlbaNova
T. Ylinen - Fraunhofer Chalmers Research Centre for Industrial Mathematics
M. Ziegler - University of California, Santa Cruz
Publication Details: The Astrophysical Journal, Vol.722, pp.520-542
Identifiers: 9938337009311
Academic Unit: Université de Montpellier
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article
Local Fields: in2p3-00532895