Interstellar Scintillation, ISS, and Intrinsic Variability of Radio AGN

Abstract

We investigate the relationship between the 5 GHz interstellar scintillation (ISS) and the 15 GHz intrinsic variability of the compact, radio-selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) common to the Microarcsecond Scintillation-Induced Variability (MASIV) Survey and the Owens Valley Radio Observatory blazar flux density monitoring program. As part of this investigation, we also re-examine the reported intrinsic nature of the February 1990 VLA observations of the blazar S5 0716+714. We are also examining the presence of IDV/ISS in the Owens Valley 15 GHz flux density monitoring data. We find a significant relationship between the Owens Valley 15 GHz modulation index and the MASIV modulation index. We also discuss the implications of these findings for RadioAstron.

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