Variability of Soft X-ray Spectral Shape in Blazars Observed by ROSAT

Abstract

In paper 1 (Cheng et al. 2001) we have shown that the soft X-ray spectra of two types of Seyfert 1 galaxies statistically vary differently with increasing intensity. In order to understand how the spectrum of blazars changes, the spectral shape variability of 18 blazars observed by ROSAT/PSPC mode are studied by presenting the correlation of Hardness Ratio 1 versus Count Rates (HR1-CTs). According to our criteria, 10 blazars show a positive HR1-CTs relation, and only 2 blazars display an anti-correlation of HR1 versus CTs. The rest 6 blazars do not indicate any clear correlation. From these we can see that most blazars of our sample statistically show a hardening spectrum during overall flux increase, though some vary randomly. By investigating the photon index of these objects and different radiation theories, we argue that the dominance of the synchrotron or inverse Compton emission in the soft X-ray band may interpret the dichotomy of spectral variability well, and that different spectral variations might represent a sequence of synchrotron peaked frequency.