Microvariability Case: Seyfert 2 Galaxies
The AGN unified scenario suggests that the Seyfert 2 galaxies are the
obscured counterparts of Seyfert 1 galaxies where the difference is
caused only by the orientation of the object. Optical microvariability
is supposed to arise from the regions which are closer to the
supermassive black hole at the center of the AGN. The search for
microvariability is an important test for the AGN unified scenario,
since we assume that the variability of obscured AGNs should be
happening on long time scales (compared to the unobscured AGNs). We
present first results from the microvariability campaign carried out at
San Pedro Martir Observatory in Mexico. We have targeted three brightest
(Vmag < 17) Seyfert 2 galaxies from SDSS. Using analysis of variance
(ANOVA) test, we have detected significant microvariability events in
two out of three Seyfert 2 galaxies from the sample we have observed
during the campaign.