Searching for quasar candidates with periodic variations from the Zwicky Transient Facility: results and implications

Journal Article · 27 December 2023 · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad3981 · OSTI ID:2281080

Chen, Yong-Jie ; Zhai, Shuo; Liu, Jun-Rong; Guo, Wei-Jian ; Peng, Yue-Chang; Li, Yan-Rong ; Songsheng, Yu-Yang ; Du, Pu ; Hu, Chen; Wang, Jian-Min

ABSTRACT We conduct a systematic search for quasars with periodic variations from the archival photometric data of the Zwicky Transient Facility by cross-matching with the quasar catalogues of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Véron-Cetty and Véron. We first select out 184 primitive periodic candidates using the generalized Lomb–Scargle periodogram and autocorrelation function and then estimate their statistical significance of periodicity based on two red-noise models, i.e. damped random walk (DRW) and single power-law (SPL) models. As such, we finally identify 106 (DRW) and 86 (SPL) candidates with the most significant periodic variations out of 143 700 quasars. We further compare DRW and SPL models using Bayes factors, which indicate a relative preference of the SPL model for our primitive sample. We thus adopt the candidates identified with SPL as the final sample and summarize its basic properties. We extend the light curves of the selected candidates by supplying other archival survey data to verify their periodicity. However, only three candidates (with 6–8 cycles of periods) meet the selection criteria. This result clearly implies that, instead of being strictly periodic, the variability must be quasi-periodic or caused by stochastic red-noise. This exerts a challenge to the existing search approaches and calls for developing new effective methods.

• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 2281080
• Journal Information: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Journal Name: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 527; ISSN 0035-8711
• Publisher: Oxford University PressCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United Kingdom
• Language: English