Published September 1, 2020 | Version v1
Journal article

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: Photometric g and i Light Curves

  • 1. Apache Point Observatory/New Mexico State University, 2001 Apache Point Road, Sunspot, NM 88349 (United States)
  • 2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3 (Canada)
  • 3. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065 (United States)
  • 4. Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)
  • 5. Steward Observatory, The University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)
  • 6. Department of Physics, University of Connecticut, 2152 Hillside Road, Unit 3046, Storrs, CT 06269 (United States)
  • 7. Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)
  • 8. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Eberly College of Science, The Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)
  • 9. Pittsburgh Particle Physics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology Center (PITT PACC), Physics and Astronomy Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (United States)
  • 10. SUPA Physics & Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, Fife, KY16 9SS, Scotland (United Kingdom)
  • 11. California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, MC 249-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
  • 12. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, 115 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States)
  • 13. Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)
  • 14. Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

Description

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Reverberation Mapping program monitors 849 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) both spectroscopically and photometrically. The photometric observations used in this work span over 4 yr and provide an excellent baseline for variability studies of these objects. We present the photometric light curves from 2014 to 2017 obtained by the Steward Observatory's Bok telescope and the Canada–France–Hawaii telescope with MegaCam. We provide details on the data acquisition and processing of the data from each telescope, the difference imaging photometry used to produce the light curves, and the calculation of a variability index to quantify each AGN's variability. We find that the Welch–Stetson J index provides a useful characterization of AGN variability and can be used to select AGNs for further study.

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/aba43f

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Astrophysical Journal. Supplement Series
Journal Volume
250
Journal Issue
1
Journal Page Range
[14 p.]
ISSN
0067-0049
CODEN
APJSA2

INIS

Country of Publication
United Kingdom
Country of Input or Organization
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
INIS RN
52057459
Subject category
S79: ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY;
Descriptors DEI
DATA ACQUISITION; GALAXY NUCLEI; PHOTOMETRY; TELESCOPES
Descriptors DEC
DATA PROCESSING; PROCESSING