Millimeter-Wave Blazar Light Curves from Cosmic Microwave Background Telescopes

South Pole Telescope data provides millimeter-wave light curves for tens of bright active galactic nuclei (AGN) monitored from years to daily timescales. The dataset, proposed by AMD_USAPDC, repurposes observations from CMB experiments like SPTpol to study AGN variability. Data from a pilot project covering 2013 to 2016 was last updated in July 2024.

Use Cases

• Analyze correlated variability between 150 GHz millimeter-wave flux, optical/infrared magnitudes, and gamma-ray observations for blazars like PKS 2326-502.
• Investigate statistical correlations between millimeter-wave blazar flare events and high-energy neutrino detections from IceCube.
• Model blazar light curve behavior using time-series data with signal-to-noise ratios greater than 10 in 36-hour coadds.
• Study AGN population characteristics across a sample covering nearly 70% of the observable sky.

Strengths

• Light curves have high signal-to-noise, with S/N > 10 achieved in 36-hour coadded data.
• Monitoring coverage spans timescales from days to years, enabling study of both short-term flares and long-term trends.
• The proposed program leverages existing and future CMB experiment data, offering a large statistical sample of AGN.

Limitations

• The specific sample size (number of AGN light curves) and temporal coverage for the full dataset are not explicitly stated.
• Data is derived from telescopes designed for CMB studies, so AGN monitoring is within limited fields of view and may not be continuous for all sources.
• Initial pilot study focused on a single blazar (PKS 2326-502), limiting generalizability of early findings.

Provenance

Source

NASA Earthdata (nasa_earthdata), organization AMD_USAPDC.

Collection Method

Millimeter-wave light curves constructed by repurposing data from Cosmic Microwave Background telescopes, primarily the South Pole Telescope (SPT) with its SPTpol camera.

Time Range

Pilot project data spans 2013 to 2016; future data from Advanced ACTPol, Simons Observatory, and CMB-S4 is proposed.

Freshness

Data from a 2013-2016 pilot project; metadata was last updated in July 2024.

Geography

Observations from the South Pole Telescope; the proposed monitoring program covers nearly 70% of the sky.