Publication Abstracts

Stothers and Sillanpää 1997

Stothers, R.B., and A. Sillanpää, 1997: Test of periodicity in the quasar OJ 287. Astrophys. J., 475, L13-L15, doi:10.1086/310465.

OJ 287 displays an apparent periodicity in its violent optical light variations. By applying a progressively brighter faint-magnitude cutoff of the data when preforming time series analyses of the light curve, the best-fit period is found to increase from 11.7-12.1 yr (depending on the method used) to 12.4 yr (based on an analysis of ony the times of light maximum). In comparison, the average time interval between large outbursts is 11.7 yr. The derived period exhibits noticeable instability, which cannot be caused by the very slow modulation of the light curve or by the double-peak structure of the light maxima. Moreover, the probability of obtaining such a preiodicity by chance in the 105 years of past observation is at least 0.02. Nevertheless, arguments based on the observed repetition of structure in the light curve, combined with a binary black hole model, suggest that a real underlying periodicity does exist.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{st01100t,
  author={Stothers, R. B. and Sillanpää, A.},
  title={Test of periodicity in the quasar OJ 287},
  year={1997},
  journal={Astrophysical Journal},
  volume={475},
  pages={L13--L15},
  doi={10.1086/310465},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - st01100t
AU  - Stothers, R. B.
AU  - Sillanpää, A.
PY  - 1997
TI  - Test of periodicity in the quasar OJ 287
JA  - Astrophys. J.
JO  - Astrophysical Journal
VL  - 475
SP  - L13
EP  - L15
DO  - 10.1086/310465
ER  -

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