Evidence of Rapid Optical Variability In Selected Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies

Abstract

We present the first results of a search for the presence of rapid optical variability in a sample of five Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxies. We find clear evidence of rapid variability for IRAS 13224-3809 with variations occurring on time scales of an hour. However, the results are less conclusive for the other four sources in our sample, Markarian 766, PG 1244+026, PG 1404+226 and Arakelian 564. While there are several instances among these latter objects where there is a hint that variability may be present, IRAS 13224-3809 provides the only conclusive evidence of rapid optical variability detected to date.