Quasi-periodicities of BL Lac Objects

Abstract

We review the reports of possible year-long quasi-periodicities of BL Lac objects in the $\gamma$-ray and optical bands, and present a homogeneous time analysis of the light curves of PKS2155$-$304, PG1553+113, and BL Lac. Based on results from a survey covering the entire Fermi $\gamma$-ray sky we have estimated the fraction of possible quasi-periodic BL Lac objects. We compared the cyclical behaviour in BL Lac objects with that derived from the search of possible optical periodicities in quasars, and find that at z$\lesssim$1 the cosmic density of quasi-periodic BL Lac objects is larger than that of quasi-periodic quasars. If the BL Lac quasi-periodicities were due to a supermassive binary black hole (SBBH) scenario, there could be a tension with the upper limits on the gravitational wave background measured by the pulsar timing array. The argument clearly indicates the difficulties of generally associating quasi-periodicities of BL Lac objects with SBBHs.

arXiv commentIn publication on A&A, 6 pages, 4 figure (11 plots). Minor corrections added

References in corpus (30)

• Understanding the Lomb-Scargle Periodogram
• Active Galactic Nuclei: what's in a name?
• The 2dF QSO Redshift Survey - XII. The spectroscopic catalogue and luminosity function
• Turbulent, Extreme Multi-Zone Model for Simulating Flux and Polarization Variability in Blazars
• A simple test for periodic signals in red noise
• A systematic search for close supermassive black hole binaries in the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey
• The Cosmic Evolution of Fermi BL Lacertae Objects
• Flexible and Scalable Methods for Quantifying Stochastic Variability in the Era of Massive Time-Domain Astronomical Data Sets
• SMARTS optical and infrared monitoring of 12 gamma-ray bright blazars
• Multiwavelength Evidence for Quasi-periodic Modulation in the Gamma-ray Blazar PG 1553+113
• A Population of Short-Period Variable Quasars from PTF as Supermassive Black Hole Binary Candidates
• A Bayesian test for periodic signals in red noise
• Blazar spectral variability as explained by a twisting inhomogeneous jet
• An Optical View of BL Lacertae Objects
• Quasi-periodicities at year-like timescales in Blazars
• A model for periodic blazars
• Testing the binary hypothesis: pulsar timing constraints on supermassive black hole binary candidates
• Revisiting Quasi-Periodic modulation in $\gamma$-ray Blazar PKS 2155-304 with Fermi Pass 8 data
• Maximum likelihood fitting of X-ray power density spectra: Application to high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations from the neutron star X-ray binary 4U1608-522
• Quasi-periodicities of PKS 2155-304
• Gamma-ray and Optical Oscillations of 0716+714, MRK 421, and BL Lac
• Long and short term variability of seven blazars in six near-infrared/optical bands
• A search for cyclical sources of gamma-ray emission on the period range from days to years in the Fermi-LAT sky
• Gamma-ray and optical oscillations in the blazar PKS 0537-441
• Jet precession driven by a supermassive black hole binary system in the BL Lac object PG 1553+113
• A $\gamma$-ray Quasi-Periodic modulation in the Blazar PKS 0301$-$243?
• Individual power density spectra of Swift gamma-ray bursts
• Optical quasi-periodic oscillation and color behavior of blazar PKS 2155-304
• Long-term optical variability of PKS 2155-304
• Blazar Jets Perturbed by Magneto-Gravitational Stresses in Supermassive Binaries

Cited by in corpus (43)

• The Quest for Dual and Binary Supermassive Black Holes: A Multi-Messenger View
• Systematic search for gamma-ray periodicity in active galactic nuclei detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• A 34.5 day quasi-periodic oscillation in gamma-ray emission from the blazar PKS 2247-131
• The Unanticipated Phenomenology of the Blazar PKS~2131$-$021: A Unique Super-Massive Black Hole Binary Candidate
• Gamma-ray quasi-periodicities of blazars. A cautious approach
• Quasi-periodic behaviour in the optical and γ-ray light curves of blazars 3C 66A and B2 1633+38
• Quasi-periodic oscillations in the $\gamma$-ray light curves of bright active galactic nuclei
• Pulsar Timing Constraints on the Fermi Massive Black-Hole Binary Blazar Population
• Looking at Blazar Light Curve Periodicities with Gaussian Processes
• Gaussian Process Modeling $Fermi$-LAT $\gamma$-ray Blazar Variability: A Sample of Blazars with $\gamma$-ray Quasi-periodicities
• The NANOGrav 11yr Data Set: Limits on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries in Galaxies within 500Mpc
• Multiwavelength periodicity search in a sample of $\gamma$-ray bright blazars
• Electromagnetic signatures from accreting massive black hole binaries in time domain photometric surveys
• Variability studies and modeling of the blazar PKS 2155-304 in the light of a decade of multi-wavelength observations
• Multi-band behaviour of the TeV blazar PG 1553+113 in optical range on diverse timescales
• Searching for Quasi-Periodic Modulations in $\gamma$-ray Active Galactic Nuclei
• A statistical study of the optical spectral variability in gamma-ray blazars
• The gamma-ray and Optical Variability Analysis of the BL Lac Object 3FGL J0449.4-4350
• Periodic Gamma-ray Modulation of the blazar PG 1553+113 Confirmed by Fermi-LAT and Multi-wavelength Observations
• The X-ray outburst of PG 1553+113: A precession effect of two jets in the supermassive black hole binary system
• Optical follow-up of the tick-tock massive black hole binary candidate
• Two Transient Quasi-periodic Oscillations in $\gamma$-Ray Emission from the Blazar S4 0954+658
• A 6.4yr optical quasi-periodic oscillations in SDSS J075217.84+193542.2: a new candidate for central binary black hole system
• Optical Quasi-periodic Oscillations in the TESS light curves of three blazars
• Detection of Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the Blazar S4 0954+658 with TESS
• The detection of possible transient Quasi-Periodic Oscillations in the $\gamma$-ray light curve of PKS 0244-470 and 4C+38.41
• The SDSS-V Black Hole Mapper Reverberation Mapping Project: Unusual Broad-Line Variability in a Luminous Quasar
• A 3.8yr optical quasi-periodic oscillations in blue quasar SDSS J132144+033055 through combined light curves from CSS and ZTF
• Singular Spectrum Analysis of Fermi-LAT Blazar Light Curves: A Systematic Search for Periodicity and Trends in the Time Domain
• Search for periodicities in High Energy AGNs with a time-domain approach
• ESPRESSO reveals a single but perturbed broad-line region in the supermassive black hole binary candidate PG 1302-102
• The variability patterns of the TeV blazar PG 1553+113 from a decade of MAGIC and multi-band observations
• A fast test for the identification and confirmation of massive black hole binaries
• Intra-day variability of BL Lacertae from 2016 to 2018
• Multi-band Optical Variability of the TeV Blazar PG 1553+113 in 2019
• Polarization of Astrophysical Events with Precessing Jets
• Long-term multi-wavelength variations of Fermi blazar 3C 279
• A relativistic orbit model for temporal properties of AGN
• Optical monitoring in southern blazars. Analysis of variability and spectral colour behaviours
• About 300 days optical quasi-periodic oscillations in the long-term light curves of the blazar PKS 2155-304
• Searching for unresolved massive black hole pairs through AGN photometric variability
• PKS 2155-304: Long-Term Optical Photometric Monitoring and Variability Analysis
• Binary black hole signatures in polarized light curves