Variability in active galactic nuclei: confrontation of models with observations
Variability in active galactic nuclei: confrontation of models with observations
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DOI：
10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.04939.x
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发表时间：
2001-10
影响因子：
4.8
通讯作者：
M. Hawkins
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
M. Hawkins
活动星系核（AGN）的可变性长期以来一直有望揭示其详细结构，并可能揭示其他天体物理现象。不同的排放机制导致不同的通量变化模式，原则上很容易区分。最近对各种模型的预期光谱变化的预测，现在的形式是，它们可以与大规模监测方案观测到的活动星系核光变曲线的统计特性进行比较。在本文中，我们使用的大样本的类星体和塞弗特星系的长期监测计划的结果，以及个人的光变曲线从文献中，区分各种模型的预测。结果支持基于吸积盘不稳定性的模型，而不是星暴模型，其中的变化来自一系列超新星爆发，但也似乎类星体中观察到的大部分变化是由于引力微透镜。
The variability of active galactic nuclei (AGN) has long held the promise of shedding light on their detailed structure, and possibly other astrophysical phenomena. Different emission mechanisms lead to different patterns of variability in flux, which are in principle easily distinguishable. Recent predictions for the expected spectrum of variations for various models are now in such a form that they can be compared with the observed statistical properties of AGN light curves from large-scale monitoring programmes. In this paper, we use the results of a long-term monitoring programme of a large sample of quasars and Seyfert galaxies, as well as individual light curves from the literature, to distinguish between the various model predictions. The results favour a model based on accretion disc instability over the starburst model, where the variation comes from a succession of supernova bursts, but it also appears that much of the observed variation in quasars is due to gravitational microlensing.