Variability of radio-bright BL Lac objects

We use a sample of 24 BLOs, regularly monitored at Metsahovi Radio Observatory, to get a clear idea of their flaring behavior in the radio domain and to find possible commonalities in their variability patterns. Our goal was to compare the results given by computational timescales and the observed variability parameters determined directly from the flux curves.

Also, we wanted to find out if the BLO flares adhere to the generalized shock model, which gives a schematic explanation for the physical process giving rise to the variability. We use long-term monitoring data from 4.8, 8, 14.5, 22, 37, 90, and 230GHz, obtained mainly from the University of Michigan and Metsahovi Radio Observatories. The structure function, discrete correlation function, and Lomb-Scargle periodogram timescales, calculated in a previous study, are analyzed in more detail.