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Determine the true durations of specific optical flares lacking observational coverage

Determine the actual durations of AO0235+164 optical flares during the 2019–2024 epoch that lack contemporaneous optical observations, including the flare peaking at MJD 59287 (March 2021), whose durations remain unknown due to the source being unobservable during those periods.

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Background

The paper analyzes multiwavelength variability of AO0235+164 across radio, optical, and γ-ray bands, identifying numerous flares and time lags between bands. Accurate flare durations are essential for characterizing variability time-scales, modeling flare profiles, and assessing cross-band correlations.

However, the optical light curve has seasonal gaps and periods when the source is unobservable, leading to incomplete coverage of certain flares during the 2019–2024 epoch. This observational incompleteness hinders precise determination of flare durations, which impacts timing analyses and interpretation of multi-band delays.

References

Unfortunately, the real durations of some flares are unknown due to the absence of optical data within the periods when the blazar was unobservable (e.g., the flare with a maximum at MJD = 59287, March 2021).

— Multiwavelength variability of the blazar AO 0235+164 (2411.01497 - Vlasyuk et al., 3 Nov 2024) in Section 3, MW LIGHT CURVES (epoch 4, 2019–2024)