A quasi-periodic oscillation in the blazar J1359+4011

TL;DR

This paper reports a persistent quasi-periodic oscillation in the radio flux of blazar J1359+4011, with a period of 120-150 days, suggesting a possible link to accretion disk instabilities or scaled microquasar phenomena.

Contribution

It presents the first detection of a quasi-periodic oscillation in a blazar's radio emission, proposing a new interpretation related to accretion disk dynamics.

Findings

Detected 120-150 day oscillation in radio flux

Oscillation persists over 4 years

Suggests connection to accretion disk instabilities

Abstract

The OVRO 40-m telescope has been monitoring the 15 GHz radio flux density of over 1200 blazars since 2008. The 15 GHz light curve of the flat spectrum radio quasar J1359+4011 shows a strong and persistent quasi-periodic oscillation. The time-scale of the oscillation varies between 120 and 150 days over a $\sim4$ year time span. We interpret this as the active galactic nucleus mass-scaled analog of low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations from Galactic microquasars, or as evidence of modulation of the accretion flow by thermal instabilites in the "inner" accretion disc.