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I. Andruchow

Publications and source records attributed to I. Andruchow.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

New constraints on the binary system HD 327083 and its gaseous and dusty environments

Binary systems with circumbinary molecular and dust rings are of great interest because they provide insights into the dynamics and evolution of stellar systems and the chemistry of the surrounding material. We aim to elucidate the nature of the B[e] binary system HD 327083 and the physical properties of its circumstellar and circumbinary envelopes. We combined multi-epoch high-spectral resolution optical and near-IR observations with VLTI/MIDI observations and ASAS-3 photometry. The data were analysed to obtain the orbital parameters, study individual members of the system, and derive the properties of the atomic and molecular gas and the dusty components of the complex environment of HD 327083. We improved the orbital solution of HD 327083 and derived a period of P = 107.699 d. Most optical lines display variations in shape and intensity when folded with the orbital motion. We assigned F6 II-III and B1 spectral types respectively to the cool and hot components. A ring of molecular gas revolves around the system and varies with the orbital phase. The MIDI data show a silicate band in absorption at 9.7 micron and indicate that the dust distribution has an elliptical shape, with its inner edge varying with orbital phase between 12.5 and 44 AU. We conclude that the B[e] binary system HD 327083 comprises a B-type massive accreting star, and an F-type companion filling over 60% of its Roche lobe and evolving towards the red supergiant stage. The deformed shape of the F-type star causes a broad minimum in the light curve. The hot companion (26 000 K, log g = 3.0) is hidden by a compact disc and shows a bi-polar outflow. The entire binary system presents an O-rich environment. It is surrounded by warm CO and SiO molecular rings, which are enclosed by an elliptical dust structure. All these components were formed by the evolved donor star during its evolution towards the red supergiant phase.

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PKS 2155-304: Long-Term Optical Photometric Monitoring and Variability Analysis

Through the detailed study of the optical flux behaviour in blazars over time, it is possible to infer the conditions responsible for their observed emission. PKS 2155-304, a BL Lac object detected from radio to TeV energies, is among the brightest blazars in the southern hemisphere. We present optical monitoring spanning over two decades using telescopes at Complejo Astron\'omico El Leoncito and Estaci\'on Astrof\'isica de Bosque Alegre, Argentina. Differential light curves in the B, V, R, and I bands reveal significant variability on weekly and longer timescales, with occasional changes on sub-four-hour scales. The optical spectral index remained negative, consistent with non-thermal emission, and hardened over the past nine years. Evidence for quasiperiodic behaviour on 20-30 day timescales was found, while correlations with X-ray fluxes were weak, suggesting distinct emission components in the two bands. These results highlight the pronounced optical variability of PKS 2155-304 and provide insight into its multi-band emission mechanisms

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Powerful Radio Sources in the Southern Sky. IV. Observations of the G4Jy-3CRE Catalog with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder

A recent 2023 paper by Massaro et al. introduced the G4Jy-3CRE, a new catalog of the brightest radio sources in the southern hemisphere that serve as a southern equivalent to the Third Cambridge Catalog Revised (3CR). The G4Jy-3CRE catalog selected 264 sources from the GLEAM-4Jy survey based on the same criteria used to select the sources in the 3CR. In this paper, we present new Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) continuuum imaging of the G4Jy-3CRE catalog. We use the three most recent data releases from the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS), covering the sky south of +30{\deg}decl.: RACS-low1, RACS-mid, and RACS-high. Together, these data releases cover a range of frequencies from 600 to 1800 MHz. The RACS surveys have improved spatial resolution and sensitivity over archival surveys at the same frequency, enabling us to classify 173 sources (66% of the sample) with morphologies indicative of the presence of jets, 37 of which did not show jet activity on archival radio maps. We were able to effectively classify FRI/FRII galaxies up to a redshift of z = 1.35. Moreover, we identified six optical counterparts for sources that were either previously unidentified or ambiguous.

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The faint voice of a radio-weak BL Lacertae: modeling the broadband emission of WISE~J141046.00+740511.2

The WISE source, J141046.00+740511.2, has been recently observed from radio to $\gamma$ rays. Although the optical spectrum is consistent with a BL Lacertae (BL Lac) object, the source displays unusually weak radio emission, which challenges standard interpretations. Our aim is to understand the origin of the broadband emission from J141046.00+740511.2, using a leptonic model of an extended jet. To obtain the distribution of electrons along the conical jet, we solved a steady-state convective transport equation. Emissivities were computed along the jet and integrated over the cone volume to obtain the observed flux. Our model successfully reproduces the observed multiwavelength spectral energy distribution from radio to $\gamma$ rays and naturally accounts for the source's low radio flux without invoking extra emission zones. We also reproduce the mid-IR emission within the same framework. These results demonstrate that extended jet leptonic models can robustly describe the broadband physics of radio-weak BL Lacs.

astro-ph.HE

The S-PLUS Fornax Project (S+FP): Mapping H$\alpha$+[NII] emission in 77 Fornax galaxy members reaching $\sim$4 Rvir

The Fornax cluster, the second-largest galaxy cluster within 20 Mpc, presents an ideal environment for studying environmental effects on galaxy evolution. Utilizing data from the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS), this study explores the H$\alpha$+[NII] emission maps across an area of approximately 208 square degrees around NGC 1399. For such, a dedicated semi-automated pipeline, Pixel-to-Pixel Emission Line Estimate (PELE), was developed to generate emission line maps by processing S-PLUS images using the Three Filter Method. A morphological analysis was conducted using the ASTROMORPHLIB package to determine whether H$\alpha$+[NII] emitters exhibit perturbed features. The study successfully detected 77 H$\alpha$+[NII] emitters with $r<18$ mag, extending to four times the virial radius of the Fornax cluster. PELE demonstrated its ability to recover flux down to 2e-17 erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ when compared to H$\alpha$ maps from MUSE/VLT. Among the emitters, 25% are early-type galaxies (ETG) and 75% late-type galaxies (LTG). Signs of morphological perturbation or merger activity are observed in 44% of the LTG and in three ETG located beyond the cluster's virial radius. A significant fraction (91%) of the emitters are identified as recent infallers, primarily located in the northwestern region of the cluster, while others are associated with the infalling group Fornax A in the southwest. Disturbed, low-mass galaxies at larger cluster-centric distances provide evidence of galaxies begin transforming before entering the main cluster. This study demonstrates S-PLUS's effectiveness in detecting emitters, whose distribution reflects the Fornax cluster's assembly history, with LTG linked to recent infall from the field, possibly along a Fornax-Eridanus filament, and ETG may have evolved prior to entry.

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Optical monitoring in southern blazars. Analysis of variability and spectral colour behaviours

We present the results of the optical monitoring of 18 southern blazars in the V and R Johnson-Cousins bands. Our main objective is to study the variations in the optical flux and theis relationship with the colour and spectral variabilities. The optical observations were acquired with the 2.15 m "Jorge Sahade" telescope, CASLEO, Argentina.The whole campaign comprised from 2014 April to 2019 September. In addition, X-ray data were taken from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Swift/XRT databases, and gamma-ray data were taken from the Fermi-Large Area Telescope 3FGL catalogue. From the total of 18 blazars, we found variability in each one of the time-scales considired for 6 blazars (PKS 0208-512, PKS 1116-46, PKS 1440-389, PKS 1510-089, PKS 2005-489, and PKS 2155-304). In particular, from the colour-magnitude and the multiwavelength analysis, we found that PKS 1510-089 (flat-spectrum radio quasar) is undergoing an activity phase. For the case of PKS 2005-489 (BL Lac), this blazar is in a quiescent state, in which it has been for more than a decade, and it is compatible with its bluer-when-brighter moderate tendency, possibly due to the presence of shocks within the jet.

astro-ph.HE

Powerful Radio Sources in the Southern Sky. II. A SWIFT X-Ray Perspective

We recently constructed the G4Jy-3CRE, a catalog of extragalactic radio sources based on the GLEAM 4-Jy (G4Jy) sample, with the aim of increasing the number of powerful radio galaxies and quasars with similar selection criteria to those of the revised release of the Third Cambridge catalog (3CR). The G4Jy-3CRE consists of a total of 264 radio sources mainly visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Here, we present an initial X-ray analysis of 89 G4Jy-3CRE radio sources with archival X- ray observations from the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. We reduced a total of 615 Swift observations, for about 0.89 Msec of integrated exposure time, we found X-ray counterparts for 61 radio sources belonging to the G4Jy-3CRE, 11 of them showing extended X-ray emission. The remaining 28 sources do not show any X-ray emission associated with their radio cores. Our analysis demonstrates that X-ray snapshot observations, even if lacking uniform exposure times, as those carried out with Swift, allow us to (i) verify and/or re ne the host galaxy identi cation; (ii) discover the extended X-ray emission around radio galaxies of the intracluster medium when harbored in galaxy clusters, as the case of G4Jy 1518 and G4Jy 1664, and (iii) detect X-ray radiation arising from their radio lobes, as for G4Jy 1863.

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Powerful Radio Sources in the Southern Sky. I. Optical Identifications

Since the early sixties, our view of radio galaxies and quasars has been drastically shaped by discoveries made thanks to observations of radio sources listed in the Third Cambridge catalog and its revised version (3CR). However, the largest fraction of data collected to date on 3CR sources was performed with relatively old instruments, rarely repeated and/or updated. Importantly, the 3CR contains only objects located in the Northern Hemisphere thus having limited access to new and innovative astronomical facilities. To mitigate these limitations we present a new catalog of powerful radio sources visible from the Southern Hemisphere, extracted from the GLEAM 4-Jy (G4Jy) catalog and based on equivalent selection criteria as the 3CR. This new catalog, named G4Jy- 3CRE, where the E stands for "equivalent", lists a total of 264 sources at declination below -5 degrees and with 9 Jy limiting sensitivity at ~178 MHz. We explored archival radio maps obtained with different surveys and compared then with optical images available in the Pan-STARRS, DES and DSS databases to search for optical counterparts of their radio cores. We compared mid-infrared counterparts, originally associated in the G4Jy, with the optical ones identified here and we present results of a vast literature search carried out to collect redshift estimates for all G4Jy-3CRE sources resulting in a total of 145 reliable z measurements.

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Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph -- Distant Quasar Survey: Augmented Spectroscopic Catalog and a Prescription for Correcting UV-Based Quasar Redshifts

Quasars at $z~{\gtrsim}~1$ most often have redshifts measured from rest-frame ultraviolet emission lines. One of the most common such lines, C IV $λ1549$, shows blueshifts up to ${\approx}~5000~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$, and in rare cases even higher. This blueshifting results in highly uncertain redshifts when compared to redshift determinations from rest-frame optical emission lines, e.g., from the narrow [O III] $λ5007$ feature. We present spectroscopic measurements for 260 sources at $1.55~{\lesssim}~z~{\lesssim}~3.50$ having $-28.0~{\lesssim}~M_i~{\lesssim}~-30.0$ mag from the Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph - Distant Quasar Survey (GNIRS-DQS) catalog, augmenting the previous iteration which contained 226 of the 260 sources whose measurements are improved upon in this work. We obtain reliable systemic redshifts based on [O III] $λ5007$ for a subset of 121 sources which we use to calibrate prescriptions for correcting UV-based redshifts. These prescriptions are based on a regression analysis involving C IV full-width-at-half-maximum intensity and equivalent width, along with the UV continuum luminosity at a rest-frame wavelength of 1350 A. Applying these corrections can improve the accuracy and the precision in the C IV-based redshift by up to ${\sim}~850~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$ and ${\sim}~150~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$, respectively, which correspond to ${\sim}~8.5$ Mpc and ${\sim}~1.5$ Mpc in comoving distance at $z~=~2.5$. Our prescriptions also improve the accuracy of the best available multi-feature redshift determination algorithm by ${\sim}~100~\rm{km~s^{-1}}$, indicating that the spectroscopic properties of the C IV emission line can provide robust redshift estimates for high-redshift quasars. We discuss the prospects of our prescriptions for cosmological and quasar studies utilizing upcoming large spectroscopic surveys.

astro-ph.GA

Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph - Distant Quasar Survey: Prescriptions for Calibrating UV-Based Estimates of Supermassive Black Hole Masses in High-Redshift Quasars

The most reliable single-epoch supermassive black hole mass ($M_{\rm BH}$) estimates in quasars are obtained by using the velocity widths of low-ionization emission lines, typically the H$β$ $\lambda4861$ line. Unfortunately, this line is redshifted out of the optical band at $z\approx1$, leaving $M_{\rm BH}$ estimates to rely on proxy rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) emission lines, such as C IV $\lambda1549$ or Mg II $\lambda2800$, which contain intrinsic challenges when measuring, resulting in uncertain $M_{\rm BH}$ estimates. In this work, we aim at correcting $M_{\rm BH}$ estimates derived from the C IV and Mg II emission lines based on estimates derived from the H$β$ emission line. We find that employing the equivalent width of C IV in deriving $M_{\rm BH}$ estimates based on Mg II and C IV provides values that are closest to those obtained from H$β$. We also provide prescriptions to estimate $M_{\rm BH}$ values when only C IV, only Mg II, and both C IV and Mg II are measurable. We find that utilizing both emission lines, where available, reduces the scatter of UV-based $M_{\rm BH}$ estimates by $\sim15\%$ when compared to previous studies. Lastly, we discuss the potential of our prescriptions to provide more accurate and precise estimates of $M_{\rm BH}$ given a much larger sample of quasars at $3.20 \lesssim z \lesssim 3.50$, where both Mg II and H$β$ can be measured in the same near-infrared spectrum.

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Disentangling the nature of the prototype radio weak BL Lac: Contemporaneous multifrequency observations of WISE J141046.00 + 740511.2

Context. The gamma-ray emitting source WISE J141046.00+740511.2 has been associated with a Fermi-LAT detection by crossmatching with Swift/XRT data. It has shown all the canonical observational characteristics of a BL Lac source, including a power-law, featureless optical spectrum. However, it was only recently detected at radio frequencies and its radio flux is significantly low. Aims. Given that a radio detection is fundamental to associate lower-energy counterparts to Fermi-LAT sources, we aim to unambiguously classify this source by performing a multiwavelength analysis based on contemporaneous data. Methods. By using multifrequency observations at the Jansky Very Large Array, Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, Gran Telescopio Canarias, Gemini, William Herschel Telescope and Liverpool observatories, together with Fermi-LAT and Swift data, we carried out two kinds of analyses. On one hand, we studied several known parameters that account for the radio loudness or weakness characterization and their application to blazars (in general) and to our source (in particular). And, on the other hand, we built and analyzed the observed spectral energy distribution (SED) of this source to try to explain its peculiar characteristics. Results. The multiwavelength analysis indicates that WISE J141046.00+740511.2 is a blazar of the high-frequency peaked (HBL) type that emits highly polarized light and that is likely located at a low redshift. In addition, the one-zone model parameters that best fit its SED are those of an extreme HBL (EHBL); this blazar type has been extensively predicted in theory to be lacking in the radio emission that is otherwise typical of canonical gamma-ray blazars. Conclusions. We confirm that WISE J141046.00+740511.2 is indeed a highly polarized BL Lac of the HBL type. Further studies will be conducted to explain the atypical low radio flux detected for this source.

astro-ph.HE

Investigation of the double-lobed sources of the Cygnus constellation core

We present a collection of double-lobed sources towards a 20 sq deg area of the Cygnus region at the northern sky, observed at 325 and 610~MHz with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. The 10'' resolution achieved at 325 MHz is 5.5 times better than previous studies, while at 610~MHz these are the first results ever of such a large area, mapped with 6'' angular resolution. After a thorough visual inspection of the images at the two bands, we found 43 double-lobed source candidates, proposed as such due to the presence of two bright peaks, within a few arcminutes apart, joined by a bridge or a central nucleus. All but two are presented here as double-lobed candidates for the first time. Thirty-nine of the candidates were covered at both bands, and we provide the spectral index information for them. We have searched for positional coincidences between the detected sources/components and other objects from the literature, along the electromagnetic spectrum. Twenty-three candidates possess radio counterpart(s), 12 present infrared counterparts, and one showed an overlapping X-ray source. We analysed each candidate considering morphology, counterparts, and spectral indices. Out of the 43 candidates, 37 show characteristics compatible with an extragalactic nature, two of probably Galactic origin, three remain as dubious cases, though with feature(s) compatible with an extragalactic nature, and the remaining one, evidence of physically unrelated components. The median spectral index of the 40 putative extragalactic sources is -1.0. Their celestial surface density at 610~MHz resulted in 1.9 per sq deg, across a region lying at the Galactic plane.

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Multi-wavelength Analysis and Modeling of OJ 287 During 2017-2020

Context. The blazar OJ 287 has been proposed as a binary black hole system based on its periodic optical outburst. Among blazars with parsec scale jets, the black hole binary systems are very rare and hence this source is very interesting to study. Aims. The BL Lac OJ 287 is an interesting object for multi-wavelength study due to its periodic outbursts. We have analyzed the optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray data of OJ 287 for the period of 2017-2020. There are several high states in optical-UV and X-ray frequencies during this period. Based on the observed variability in optical and X-ray frequencies the entire period 2017-2020 is divided into five segments, referred to as A, B, C, D, & E in this paper. A detailed temporal and spectral analysis is performed to understand the nature of its flaring activities. Methods. To understand the temporal variability in this source we have studied the intra-day, and fractional variability for all the various states, and along with that fast variability time was also estimated to understand the nature of variability. Further, the multi-wavelength SED modeling is performed to know more about the physical processes responsible for the simultaneous broadband emission and the fast variability. Results. The Fermi-LAT observations show a moderate flux level of this source in gamma-ray frequency throughout this period, though flux variability has been observed. The source has shown a strong flux variability in X-ray, optical, and UV during early 2017 and mid-2020 when the source was in a very high state. A single zone SSC emission model is considered to model the spectral energy distributions and this helps us to explore the nature of this BL Lac with binary super-massive black holes.

astro-ph.HE

The Fornax Cluster through S-PLUS

The Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS) aims to map $\approx$ 9300 deg$^2$ of the Southern sky using the Javalambre filter system of 12 optical bands, 5 Sloan-like filters and 7 narrow-band filters centered on several prominent stellar features ([OII], Ca H+K, D4000, H$_δ$, Mgb, H$_α$ and CaT). S-PLUS is carried out with the T80-South, a new robotic 0.826-m telescope located on CTIO, equipped with a wide FoV camera (2 deg$^2$). In this poster we introduce project #59 of the S-PLUS collaboration aimed at studying the Fornax galaxy cluster covering an sky area of $\approx$ 11 $\times$ 7 deg$^2$, and with homogeneous photometry in the 12 optical bands of S-PLUS (Coordinator: A. Smith Castelli).

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Placing High-Redshift Quasars in Perspective: a Catalog of Spectroscopic Properties from the Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph -- Distant Quasar Survey

We present spectroscopic measurements for 226 sources from the Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph - Distant Quasar Survey (GNIRS-DQS). Being the largest uniform, homogeneous survey of its kind, it represents a flux-limited sample ($m_{i}$ ${\lesssim}$ 19.0 mag, $H$ ${\lesssim}$ 16.5 mag) of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasars at 1.5 ${\lesssim}$ $z$ ${\lesssim}$ 3.5 with a monochromatic luminosity ($λL_λ$) at 5100 ${\unicode{xC5}}$ in the range of $10^{44} - 10^{46}$ erg $\rm{s}^{-1}$. A combination of the GNIRS and SDSS spectra covers principal quasar diagnostic features, chiefly the C IV $λ$1549, Mg II $λλ$2798, 2803, H$β$ $λ$4861, and [O III] $λλ$4959, 5007 emission lines, in each source. The spectral inventory will be utilized primarily to develop prescriptions for obtaining more accurate and precise redshifts, black hole masses, and accretion rates for all quasars. Additionally, the measurements will facilitate an understanding of the dependence of rest-frame ultraviolet-optical spectral properties of quasars on redshift, luminosity, and Eddington ratio, and test whether the physical properties of the quasar central engine evolve over cosmic time.

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Multi-band behaviour of the TeV blazar PG 1553+113 in optical range on diverse timescales

Context. The TeV BL Lac object PG 1553+113 is one of the primary candidates for a binary supermassive black hole system. Aims. We study the flux and spectral variability of PG 1553+113 on intra-night to long-term timescales using (i) BVRI data collected over 76 nights from January 2016 to August 2019 involving nine optical telescopes and (ii) historical VR data (including ours) obtained for the period from 2005 to 2019. Methods. We analysed the light curves using various statistical tests, fitting and cross-correlation techniques, and methods for the search for periodicity. We examined the colour-magnitude diagrams before and after the corresponding light curves were corrected for the long-term variations. Results. Our intra-night monitoring, supplemented with literature data, results in a low duty cycle of ~(10-18)%. In April 2019, we recorded a flare, which marks the brightest state of PG 1553+113 for the period from 2005 to 2019: R = 13.2 mag. This flare is found to show a clockwise spectral hysteresis loop on its VR colour-magnitude diagram and a time lag in the sense that the V-band variations lead the R-band ones. We obtain estimates of the radius, the magnetic field strength, and the electron energy that characterize the emission region related to the flare. We find a median period of (2.21 +/- 0.04) years using the historical light curves. In addition, we detect a secondary period of about 210 days using the historical light curves corrected for the long-term variations. We briefly discuss the possible origin of this period.

astro-ph.HE

On the origin of X-ray oxygen emission-lines in obscured AGN

We present the Catalog of High REsolution Spectra of Obscured Sources (CHRESOS) from the XMM-Newton Science Archive. It comprises the emission-line luminosities of H- and He-like transitions from C to Si, and the Fe 3C and Fe 3G L-shell ones. Here, we concentrate on the soft X-ray OVII(f) and OVIII Ly_alpha emission lines to shed light onto the physical processes with which their formation can be related to: active galactic nucleus vs. star forming regions. We compare their luminosity with that of two other important oxygen key lines [OIII]5007A, in the optical, and [OIV]25.89mic, in the IR. We also test OVII(f) and OVIIILy_alpha luminosities against that of continuum bands in the IR and hard X-rays, which point to different ionization processes. We probe into those processes by analyzing photoionization and colisional ionization model predictions upon our lines. We show that both scenarios can explain the formation and observed intensities of OVII(f) and OVIII Ly_alpha. By analyzing the relationships between OVII(f) and OVIII Ly_alpha, and all other observables: [OIII]5007A, [OIV]25.89mic emission lines, and MIR-12mic, FIR-60mic, FIR-100mic, 2-10 keV and 14-195 keV continuum bands, we conclude that the AGN radiation field is mainly responsible of the soft X-ray oxygen excitation.

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Microvariability in AGNs: study of different statistical methods II. Light curves from simulated images

In a previous paper, we studied two statistical methods used to analyse the variability of active galactic nuclei (AGNs): the C and F statistics. Applying them to observed differential light-curves of 39 AGNs, we found that, even though the C criterion cannot be considered as an actual statistical test, it could still be a useful parameter to detect variability, whereas F is a good detector of non-variability. In order to test these results under controlled input conditions, so that the different error sources could be individually evaluated, we generated a series of synthetic differential light curves simulating astronomical images with different atmospheric conditions, such as cloud cover, seeing or sky brightness, as well as several types of intrinsic variability of the AGN, all with a specific instrumental configuration. Having obtained light curves for each case, we applied both statistics to them in order to test their reliability. We found that a weight factor should always be used with these indices. The F test has a tendency to classify noisy non-variable curves as variable (i.e. false positives), although it is reliable and robust to correctly classify non-variable curves. On the contrary, although the C index tends to give false negatives, we found that whenever the C index indicates a source to be variable, it effectively is. Finally, light curves with low amplitude variabilities are more likely to be affected by changes in atmospheric conditions.

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