RXTE Monitoring Observations of BLRGs 3C390.3 and 3C120

Session 41 - RXTE Diagnostics of Active Galactic Nuclei.
Display session, Tuesday, June 09
Atlas Ballroom,

[41.02] RXTE Monitoring Observations of BLRGs 3C390.3 and 3C120

R. Remillard, W. Cui (M.I.T.), J. Halpern (Columbia Univ.), M. Eracleous (U.C. Berkeley), J. Thorstensen (Dartmouth College)

RXTE has conducted daily monitoring observations of the Broad Line Radio Galaxies 3C390.3 and 3C120 for 60 day intervals during May - July 1996 and Jan. - March 1997, respectively. Significant X-ray variability at 2-25 keV was seen in both cases, with max / min values of 2.5 for 3C390.3 and 1.8 for 3C120. The average X-ray spectra yield power-law photon indices near 1.8 and 1.9, respectively, with no significant changes in the index as a function of X-ray intensity. Contemporaneous optical spectra were obtained at MDM Observatory. Preliminary analyses of the optical results show variations that are much less significant than the changes in X-rays. We discuss these results in terms of the geometry of the high energy emission.

Program listing for Tuesday