Exploring Multiwavelength AGN Variability with Swift Archival Data

TL;DR

This study utilizes archival Swift data to analyze multiwavelength variability in active galactic nuclei, aiming to understand their central structures and processes through a comprehensive catalog and variability characterization.

Contribution

It introduces a new catalog of type 1 AGN with time-resolved multiwavelength data and assesses variability across optical, UV, and X-ray bands.

Findings

Identified calibration issues affecting UV flux measurements.

Characterized variability patterns across multiple wavelengths.

Quantified the impact of variability on AGN properties.

Abstract

We are conducting an archival Swift program to measure multiwavelength variability in active galactic nuclei (AGN). This variability information will provide constraints on the geometry, physical conditions and processes of the structures around the central black holes that emit and reprocess the observed flux. Among our goals are: (1) to produce a catalog of type 1 AGN with time-resolved multi-wavelength data; (2) to characterize variability in the optical, UV and X-ay bands as well as changes in spectral slope; (3) to quantify the impact of variability on multi-wavelength properties; and (4) to measure correlated variability between bands. Our initial efforts have revealed a UVOT calibration issue that can cause a few percent of measured UV fluxes to be anomalously low, by up to 30%.