2015MNRAS.448.1463K -
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 448, 1463-1470 (2015/April-1)
Intranight optical variability of radio-quiet weak emission line quasars - III.
KUMAR P., GOPAL-KRISHNA and CHAND H.
Abstract (from CDS):
This is continuation of our programme to search for the elusive radio-quiet BL Lacs, by carrying out a systematic search for intranight optical variability (INOV) in a subset of `weak emission line quasars' which are already designated as `high-confidence BL Lac candidate' and are also known to be radio quiet. For six such radio-quiet weak emission line quasars (RQWLQs), we present here new INOV observations taken in 11 sessions of duration >3 h each. Combining these data with our previously published INOV monitoring of RQWLQs in 19 sessions yields INOV observations for a set of 15 RQWLQs monitored in 30 sessions, each lasting more than 3 h. The 30 differential light curves, thus obtained for the 15 RQWLQs, were subjected to a statistical analysis using the F-test, and the deduced INOV characteristics of the RQWLQs then compared with those published recently for several prominent active galactic nucleus (AGN) classes, also applying the F-test. From our existing INOV observations, there is a hint that RQWLQs in our sample show a significantly higher INOV duty cycle than radio-quiet quasars and radio lobe-dominated quasars. Two sessions when we have detected strong (blazar-like) INOV for RQWLQs are pointed out, and these two RQWLQs are therefore the best known candidates for radio-quiet BL Lacs, deserving to be pursued. For a proper comparison with the INOV properties already established for (brighter) members of several prominent classes of AGN, a factor of 2-3 improvement in the INOV detection threshold for the RQWLQs is needed and it would be very interesting to check if that would yield a significantly higher estimate for INOV duty cycle than is found here.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2015 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society (2015)
Journal keyword(s):
galaxies: active - BL Lacertae objects: general - galaxies: jet - galaxies: photometry - quasars: emission lines - quasars: general
CDS comments:
Table 2: comparison stars S1 and S2 are not in SIMBAD.
Simbad objects:
19
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