The ensemble broad-frequency power spectrum of Stripe-82 quasars from multiple surveys

TL;DR

This study combines multi-survey data to analyze the broad-frequency power spectrum of Stripe-82 quasars, revealing a stationary variability pattern and scaling relations with black hole mass and accretion rate.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive ensemble power spectral density analysis of quasars across multiple surveys over 20 years, highlighting the PSD shape and its dependence on physical parameters.

Findings

PSD shape is consistent with a bending power law.

Long-term UV/optical variability is stationary.

Bending frequency scales with black hole mass as M^{-0.6}.

Abstract

Variability is a striking features of quasars, observed at all timescales wavelengths. Studying its properties and the correlations with the physical parameters (e.g. black hole mass and accretion rate) provides significant insights into accretion physics. However, the detailed picture and the exact interplay between different emitting regions are not yet clear. We combine data from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System 1 (Pan-STARRS1, PS1), the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), and the Gaia space telescope to constrain the power spectrum of quasars in the Stripe-82 region over a broad frequency range, 10^{-1} to 10^{-3} day^{-1}(rest frame). Light curves are matched and cross-calibrated to reach \sim 20 years in the r-band for 4037 quasars. We split the sample into bins of the same black hole mass, accretion rate, and redshift, and measure the ensemble power spectral density (PSD) in each bin. The power spectra of SDSS, ZTF, and Gaia are measured independently. We do not measure it on PS1 data due to more erratic cadence, but we discuss the use of interpolation techniques, eventually allowing us to use the data together. We find significant evidence that the long-term UV/optical variability of quasars is stationary, as the ensemble PSD estimates from SDSS, Gaia and ZTF are consistent within the errors despite coming from different surveys and years. The PSD shape is consistent with a bending power law with spectral indices of -2.7 and -1 at high and low frequencies. A fit with the PSD associated with a damped random walk is significantly worse. The PSD amplitude below the break does not depend on black hole mass, but there is some evidence for anti-correlation with the accretion rate. The bending frequency, instead, scales with the black hole mass as $\nu_b$ \propto M_{\mathrm{BH}}^{-0.6\pm0.1} and does not depend on the accretion rate.