@article{7f4771c16c334e81820578732af57ec8,
title = "A characteristic optical variability time scale in astrophysical accretion disks",
abstract = "Accretion disks around supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei produce continuum radiation at ultraviolet and optical wavelengths. Physical processes in the accretion flow lead to stochastic variability of this emission on a wide range of time scales. We measured the optical continuum variability observed in 67 active galactic nuclei and the characteristic time scale at which the variability power spectrum flattens. We found a correlation between this time scale and the black hole mass extending over the entire mass range of supermassive black holes. This time scale is consistent with the expected thermal time scale at the ultraviolet-emitting radius in standard accretion disk theory. Accreting white dwarfs lie close to this correlation, suggesting a common process for all accretion disks.",
author = "Burke, {Colin J.} and Yue Shen and Omer Blaes and Gammie, {Charles F.} and Keith Horne and Jiang, {Yan Fei} and Xin Liu and McHardy, {Ian M.} and Morgan, {Christopher W.} and Simone Scaringi and Qian Yang",
note = "Funding Information: C.J.B. acknowledges support from an Illinois Graduate Survey Science Fellowship. Y.S. was supported by NSF grant AST-2009947. C.F.G. was supported by NSF grants AST-1716327 and OISE-1743747. K.H. was supported by UK STFC grant ST/R000824/1. I.M.M. was supported by UK STFC grant ST/R000638/1. C.W.M. was supported by NSF grant AST-2007680. Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works",
year = "2021",
month = aug,
day = "13",
doi = "10.1126/science.abg9933",
language = "English",
volume = "373",
pages = "789--792",
journal = "Science",
issn = "0036-8075",
number = "6556",
}