- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/488/73
- Title:
- Variability-selected AGN in Chandra DFS
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/488/73
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Variability is a property shared by virtually all active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and was adopted as a criterion for their selection using data from multi epoch surveys. Low Luminosity AGNs (LLAGNs) are contaminated by the light of their host galaxies, and cannot therefore be detected by the usual colour techniques. For this reason, their evolution in cosmic time is poorly known. Consistency with the evolution derived from X-ray detected samples has not been clearly established so far, also because the low luminosity population consists of a mixture of different object types. LLAGNs can be detected by the nuclear optical variability of extended objects. Several variability surveys have been, or are being, conducted for the detection of supernovae (SNe). We propose to re-analyse these SNe data using a variability criterion optimised for AGN detection, to select a new AGN sample and study its properties. We analysed images acquired with the wide field imager at the 2.2m ESO/MPI telescope, in the framework of the STRESS supernova survey. We selected the AXAF field centred on the Chandra Deep Field South where, besides the deep X-ray survey, various optical data exist, originating in the EIS and COMBO-17 photometric surveys and the spectroscopic database of GOODS.
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AcA/63/339
- Title:
- Variability Survey in Stock 14 cluster
- Short Name:
- J/AcA/63/339
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the results of a photometric variability survey in the young open cluster Stock 14 and the surrounding fields. In total, we detected 103 variable stars of which 88 are new discoveries. We confirm short-period, low-amplitude light variations in two eclipsing members of the cluster, HD 101838 and HD 101794. In addition, we find two new {beta} Cep stars of which one, HD 101993, is also a member. The sample of pulsating cluster members is supplemented by one multimode slowly pulsating B-type star and several single-mode candidates of this type. The other pulsating stars in our sample are mostly field stars. In particular, we found 14 {delta} Sct stars including one {gamma} Dor/{delta} Sct hybrid pulsator.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/598/A108
- Title:
- Variability survey of brightest stars
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/598/A108
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The stellar evolution theory of massive stars remains uncalibrated with high-precision photometric observational data mainly due to small number of luminous stars monitored from space. Automated all-sky surveys have revealed numerous variable stars but most luminous stars are often overexposed. Targeted campaigns can improve the time base of photometric data for those objects. The aim of this investigation is to study the variability of luminous stars at different time-scales in young open clusters and OB associations. We monitored 22 open clusters and associations from 2011 to 2013 using a 0.25-m telescope. Variable stars were detected by comparing the overall light-curve scatter with measurement uncertainties. Variability was analysed by the light curve feature extraction tool FATS. Periods of pulsating stars were determined using the discrete Fourier transform code SigSpec. We then classified the variable stars based on their pulsation periods and available spectral information. We obtained light curves for more than 20000 sources of which 354 were found to be variable. Amongst them we find 80 eclipsing binaries, 31 {alpha} Cyg, 13 {beta} Cep, 62 Be, 16 slowly pulsating B, 7 Cepheid, 1 {gamma} Doradus, 3 Wolf-Rayet and 63 late-type variable stars. Up to 55% of these stars are potential new discoveries as they are not present in the Variable Star Index (VSX) database. We find the cluster membership fraction for variable stars to be 13% with an upper limit of 35%.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/487/4285
- Title:
- Variable AGN candidates catalog
- Short Name:
- J/MNRAS/487/4285
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Identifying active galactic nuclei (AGNs) through their X-ray emission is efficient, but necessarily biased against X-ray-faint objects. We aim to characterize this bias by comparing X-ray-selected AGNs to the ones identified through optical variability and mid-infrared (mid-IR) colours. We present a catalogue of AGNs selected through optical variability using all publicly available z-band Hubble Space Telescope images in the GOODS-South field. For all objects in the catalogue, we compute X-ray upper limits or discuss detections in the deepest available ~7 Ms Chandra Deep Field South images and present the Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) mid-IR colours. For the variability study, we consider only sources observed over at least five epochs and over a time baseline of up to 10yr. We adopt the elevated median absolute deviation as a variability indicator robust against individual outlier measurements and identify 113 variability-selected AGN candidates. Among these, 26 have an X-ray counterpart and lie within the conventional AGN area in the FX/Fopt diagram. The candidates with X-ray upper limits are on average optically fainter, have higher redshifts compared to the X-ray-detected ones and are consistent with low-luminosity AGNs. Out of 41 variable optical sources with IR detections, 13 fulfill the IR AGN colour selection criteria. Our work emphasizes the importance of optical variability surveys for constructing complete samples of AGNs including the ones that remain undetected even by the deepest X-ray and IR surveys.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/731/97
- Title:
- Variable AGNs in GOODS fields
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/731/97
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We identify 85 variable galaxies in the GOODS North and South fields using five epochs of Hubble Space Telescope Advance Camera for Survey V-band (F606W) images spanning 6 months. The variables are identified through significant flux changes in the galaxy's nucleus and represent ~2% of the survey galaxies. With the aim of studying the active galaxy population in the GOODS fields, we compare the variability-selected sample with X-ray and mid-IR active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidates. Forty-nine percent of the variables are associated with X-ray sources identified in the 2Ms Chandra surveys. Twenty-four percent of X-ray sources likely to be AGNs are optical variables and this percentage increases with decreasing hardness ratio of the X-ray emission. Stacking of the non-X-ray-detected variables reveals marginally significant soft X-ray emission. Forty-eight percent of mid-IR power-law sources are optical variables, all but one of which is also X-ray detected. Thus, about half of the optical variables are associated with either X-ray or mid-IR power-law emission. The slope of the power-law fit through the Spitzer IRAC bands indicates that two-thirds of the variables have BLAGN-like spectral energy distributions. Among those galaxies spectroscopically identified as AGNs, we observe variability in 74% of broad-line AGNs and 15% of NLAGNs. The variables are found in galaxies extending to z~3.6.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/742/49
- Title:
- Variable and transient radio sources in FIRST
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/742/49
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- A comprehensive search for variable and transient radio sources has been conducted using ~55000 snapshot images of the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm survey (Cat. VIII/90). We present an analysis leading to the discovery of 1627 variable and transient objects down to mJy levels over a wide range of timescales (a few minutes to years). Variations observed range from 20% to a factor of 25. Multi-wavelength matching for counterparts reveals the diverse classes of objects exhibiting variability, ranging from nearby stars and pulsars to galaxies and distant quasars. Interestingly, more than half of the objects in the sample have either no classified counterparts or no corresponding sources at any other wavelength and require multi-wavelength follow-up observations. We discuss these classes of variables and speculate on the identity of objects that lack multi-wavelength counterparts.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/737/45
- Title:
- Variable 1.4GHz radio sources from NVSS and FIRST
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/737/45
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We augment the two widest/deepest 1.4GHz radio surveys, the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) and the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty centimeters (FIRST), with the mean epoch in which each source was observed. We use these catalogs to search for unresolved sources that vary between the FIRST and NVSS epochs. We find 43 variable sources (0.1% of the sources) that vary by more than 4{sigma}, and we construct the mean structure function of these objects. This enables us to explore radio variability on timescales between several months and about five years. We find that, on these timescales, the mean structure function of the variable sources is consistent with a flat structure function. A plausible explanation to these observations is that a large fraction of the variability at 1.4GHz is induced by scintillations in the interstellar medium, rather than by intrinsic variability. Finally, for a subsample of the variables for which the redshift is available, we do not find strong evidence for a correlation between the variability amplitude and the source redshift.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/250/3
- Title:
- Variable MgII NALs in SDSS DR14
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/250/3
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Compared to high ionization CIV absorption lines, variable MgII absorption lines are rare. Using spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we investigate the variations in MgII narrow absorption lines (NALs) for quasars with multi-epoch observations. We have compiled 8958 MgII NALs in the spectral regions from the red wings of CIV emission lines to the red wings of MgII emission lines. Among these 8958 MgII NALs, 22 variable NALs are detected with |{Delta}W_r_^{lambda}2796^|>=3{sigma}_W_ and with velocity offsets ranging from {upsilon}_r_=522 to 145513km/s. We find that: (1) the detected frequency of MgII NALs with {upsilon}_r_<=10000km/s is significantly larger than the uniformly random value expected for the MgII NALs with {upsilon}_r_>10000km/s, (2) the incidence rates of the variable MgII NALs with {upsilon}_r_<=10000km/s are much larger than those with {upsilon}_r_>10000km/s, (3) the velocity offsets of variable MgII NALs with {upsilon}_r_<=10000km/s are much smaller than the maximum velocities expected from radiation-driven outflows, and (4) the variations of variable MgII NALs with {upsilon}_r_<=10000km/s are obviously correlated with the changes in the quasar radiative output. Therefore, the 16 variable MgII NALs, whose velocities are smaller than the maximum velocities expected from radiation-driven outflows, are likely related to quasar outflows, while the 6 variable MgII NALs, whose velocities are much larger than the maximum velocities expected from radiation-driven outflows, possibly originated in intervening gas. We also find that both the variations and fractional variations in absorption strengths are not related to the velocity offsets of MgII NALs and the time intervals between the two epochs of observations. Also, the fractional variations in absorption strengths are inversely correlated with absorption strengths. In addition, both the associated and intervening MgII NALs can significantly vary on a timescale of days.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/186/233
- Title:
- Variable point sources in SDSS stripe 82. I.
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/186/233
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We report the first results of a study of variable point sources identified using multi-color timeseries photometry from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82, including data from the SDSS-II Supernova Survey, over a span of nearly 10 years (1998-2007). We construct a light-curve catalog of 221842 point sources in the R.A. 0-4hr half of Stripe 82, limited to r=22.0mag, that have at least 10 detections in the ugriz bands and color errors <0.2mag. These sources are then classified by color and by cross matching them to existing SDSS catalogs of interesting objects. Inhomogeneous ensemble differential photometry techniques are used to greatly improve our sensitivity to variability and reduce contamination by sources that appear variable due to large photometric noise or systematic effects caused by non-uniform photometric conditions throughout the survey. We use robust variable identification methods to extract 6520 variable candidates from this data set, resulting in an overall variable fraction of ~2.9% at the level of ~0.05mag variability. Despite the sparse and uneven time sampling of the light-curve data, we discover 143 periodic variables in total. Due to period ambiguity caused by relatively poor phase coverage, we identify a smaller final set of 101 periodic variables with well-determined periods and light curves. Among these are 55 RR Lyrae, 30 eclipsing binary candidates, and 16 high-amplitude Delta Scuti variables. In addition to these objects, we also identify a sample of 2704 variable quasars matched to the SDSS Quasar Catalog, which make up a large fraction of our variable candidates. An additional 2403 quasar candidates are tentatively identified and selected by their non-stellar colors and variability. A sample of 11328 point sources that appear to be nonvariable given the limits of our variability sensitivity is also briefly discussed. Finally, we describe several interesting objects discovered among our eclipsing binary candidates, and illustrate the use of our publicly available light-curve catalog by tracing Galaxy halo substructure with our small sample of RR Lyrae variables.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/633/638
- Title:
- Variable quasar sample from SDSS
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/633/638
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- SDSS repeat spectroscopic observations have resulted in multiepoch spectroscopy for 2500 quasars observed more than 50 days apart. From this sample, calibrating against stars observed simultaneously, we identify 315 quasars that have varied significantly between observations (with respect to assumed nonvariable stars observed concurrently). These variable quasars range in redshift from 0.5 to 4.72. This is the first large quasar sample studied spectroscopically for variability and represents a potentially useful sample for future high-redshift reverberation mapping studies. This also marks the first time the precise wavelength dependence of quasar variability has been determined, allowing both the continuum and emission-line variability to be studied.