Short term optical variability in broad absorption line QSOs

Abstract

We present the first results from a pilot programme to monitor the short term optical variability in Broad Absorption Line system QSOs. Intra-night optical variations of ~5% were detected on time scales of ~ one hour in QSOs 0846+156 and 0856+172. Further, the mean magnitude level decreased in the two objects by ~0.05 and ~0.15 magnitude respectively during the period of our observations. The observed light curves are quite similar to those previously seem in the flat spectrum radio-loud sources, especially the BL Lacertae objects, and can provide important constraints for the origin of microvariability, and also a possible evolutionary link between the radio-loud and the radio-quiet QSOs.

12 pages Latex file uses AASTEX, 2 Postscript figures. To appear in ApJ Letters

References in corpus (1)

• The FIRST Radio-Loud Broad Absorption Line QSO and Evidence for a Hidden Population of Quasars

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Intra-night Optical Variability of Luminous Radio Quiet QSOs
• The optical variability of flat-spectrum radio quasars in the SDSS stripe 82 region
• The optical variability of steep-spectrum radio quasars in the SDSS Stripe 82 region