Title:
 
 Rest Frame Variability Characteristics of the Blazars BL Lacertae, AO
 0235+164 and PKS 1633+382



 John McFarland
 Georgia State University



 Abstract:

 Blazars exhibit the most extreme variability of the class of objects
 known as active galactic nuclei (AGN).  They are characterized by a
 featureless continuum, high polarization, and variability at all
 wavelengths and timescales.  For example, the amplitude of optical
 variations can range from approximately 0.1 magnitude on the
 timescale of minutes to hours, to greater than 5.0 magnitudes on
 timescales of months to years, and gamma-ray variability amplitudes
 can span a range of as much as three orders of magnitude in a
 time-scale as short as a few days.  These characteristics are
 consistent with a supermassive black hole accreting matter at the
 heart of the host galaxy.  I have investigated the character of the
 variability of these three blazars (which have very different
 redshifts) using several different analytical approaches; i.e.
 structure function analysis, variability index analysis, and
 construction of simple light curves.  By transforming observed
 measurements into the rest frame of the object, the intrinsic
 properties of the variability can be compared. These variability
 characteristics of blazars, as seen in their rest frame, and as a
 function of state, will be discussed in addition to their general
 characteristics and classification schemes.