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On time dilation in quasar light curves
Article first published online: 9 APR 2010
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16581.x
© 2010 The Author. Journal compilation © 2010 RAS
Issue
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume 405, Issue 3, pages 1940–1946, July 2010
Additional Information
How to Cite
Hawkins, M. R. S. (2010), On time dilation in quasar light curves. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 405: 1940–1946. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16581.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 23 JUN 2010
- Article first published online: 9 APR 2010
- Accepted 2010 February 23. Received 2010 February 19; in original form 2010 January 29
- Abstract
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Keywords:
- quasars: general;
- cosmology: observations
ABSTRACT
In this paper we set out to measure time dilation in quasar light curves. In order to detect the effects of time dilation, sets of light curves from two monitoring programmes are used to construct Fourier power spectra covering time-scales from 50 d to 28 yr. Data from high- and low-redshift samples are compared to look for the changes expected from time dilation. The main result of the paper is that quasar light curves do not show the effects of time dilation. Several explanations are discussed, including the possibility that time dilation effects are exactly offset by an increase in time-scale of variation associated with black hole growth, or that the variations are caused by microlensing in which case time dilation would not be expected.