A Dual Frequency, Multi-Year Monitoring Program of Compact Radio Sources

Abstract

We present light curves for 149 sources monitored with the Green Bank Interferometer. The light curves are at two radio frequencies (approximately 2.5 and 8.2 GHz) and range from 3 to 15 yrs in length, covering the interval 1979--1996, and have a typical sampling of one flux density measurement every 2 days. We have used these light curves to conduct various variability analysis (rms flux density variations and autoregressive, integrated, moving average modeling) of these sources. We find suggestive, though not unambiguous evidence, that these sources have a common, broadband mechanism for intrinsic variations, in agreement with previous studies of a subset of these source. We also find that the sources generally display a short-term variability (~ 10 d) that arises from radio-wave scattering in an extended medium. These conclusions extend those of Fiedler et al. (1987) who used a sub-sample of these data. The primary motivation for this monitoring program was the identification of extreme scattering events. In an effort to identify ESEs in a systematic manner, we have taken the wavelet transform of the light curves. We find 15 events in the light curves of 12 sources that we classify as probable ESEs. However, we also find that five ESEs previously identified from these data do not survive our wavelet selection criteria. Future identification of ESEs will probably continue to rely on both visual and systematic methods. Instructions for obtaining the data are also presented.

34 pages, LaTeX with AASTeX-5, 7 figures in 20 PostScript files; because of their length, Table 1 and Figures 8 and 9 can be obtained from http://ese.nrl.navy.mil/GBI/GBI.html

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