CORRELATION-ANALYSIS OF OPTICAL AND RADIO LIGHT CURVES FOR A LARGE-SAMPLE OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

The Rosemary Hill Observatory has accumulated internally consistent light curves extending over as much as 26 years for a large sample of active galactic nuclei. Forty-six of these optical records have been compared with similar radio records from the University of Michigan Radio Astronomy Observatory and the Algonquin Radio Observatory. For 18 objects, pairs of records were sufficiently long and unconfused to allow reliable application of the Discrete Correlation Function analysis; this group included 8 BL Lacertids, 8 quasars, and 2 Seyfert galaxies. Nine of the 18 sources showed positive radio-optical correlations, with the radio events lagging the optical by intervals ranging from 0 to 14 months. Consistent with the relativistic beaming model of the BL Lacertids, the group displaying correlations was dominated by this type of object. (C) 1995 American Astronomical Society.