A search for chaos in the optical light curve of a blazar: W2R 1926+42

Abstract

Aims. In this work we search for the signatures of low-dimensional chaos in the temporal behavior of the Kepler-field blazar W2R 1946+42. Methods. We use a publicly available, ∼160 000-point-long and mostly equally spaced light curve of W2R 1946+42. We apply the correlation integral method to both real datasets and phase randomized surrogates. Results. We are not able to confirm the presence of low-dimensional chaos in the light curve. This result, however, still leads to some important implications for blazar emission mechanisms, which are discussed.