The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping project: photometric g and i light curves

K. Kinemuchi, Patrick B. Hall, Ian McGreer, C. S. Kochanek, Catherine J. Grier, Jonathan Trump, Yue Shen, W. N. Brandt, W. M. Wood-Vasey, Xiaohui Fan, Bradley M. Peterson, Donald P. Schneider, Juan V. Hernández Santisteban, Keith Horne, Yuguang Chen, Sarah Eftekharzadeh, Yucheng Guo, Siyao Jia, Feng Li, Zefeng LiJundan Nie, Kara A. Ponder, Jesse Rogerson, Tianmen Zhang, Hu Zou, Linhua Jiang, Luis C. Ho, Jean Paul Kneib, Patrick Petitjean, Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille, Christophe Yeche

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Article number10
Number of pages14
JournalAstrophysical Journal, Supplement Series
Volume250
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Sept 2020

Keywords

  • SDSS
  • Active galactic nuclei
  • Reverberation mapping
  • Photometry

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