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arXiv · 2610.23359

A blazar is a blazar is a blazar ... Comparing long-term varaibility properties of PKS 1510-089 and PKS 2155-304

M. Zacharias·A. Wierzcholska
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Abstract

Blazars are typically divided by spectral appearance; may that be strength of optical emission lines or the frequency of the synchrotron peak. However, this may say nothing about the variability properties of the various types. Here, we study the long-term variability properties with nearly 20 years of multiwavelength data of one flat-spectrum radio quasar, PKS 1510-089, and one high-frequency-peaked BL Lac object, PKS 2155-304. Both exhibit strong variability with an energy-dependent variability amplitude. Using the total data sets, we do not find any correlation between the various bands. While the flux distributions of PKS 2155-304 are compatible with log-normal functions, this is not the case for PKS 1510-089. We conclude that the one-zone model is inadequate to describe the long-term evolution of blazars, requiring multi-zone or stratified models. Nevertheless, the underlying jet physics appear similar between the two types and in both sources the variability is, in fact, variable.

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M. Zacharias, A. Wierzcholska. 2026-10-16. A blazar is a blazar is a blazar ... Comparing long-term varaibility properties of PKS 1510-089 and PKS 2155-304. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.23359

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