During the period 1966.5-2006.2 the 15 GHz and 8 GHz light curves of 3C 454.3 (z = 0.859) show a quasi-periodicity of ,-12.8 yr (-6.9 yr in the rest frame of the source) with a double-bump structure. This periodic...During the period 1966.5-2006.2 the 15 GHz and 8 GHz light curves of 3C 454.3 (z = 0.859) show a quasi-periodicity of ,-12.8 yr (-6.9 yr in the rest frame of the source) with a double-bump structure. This periodic behaviour is interpreted in terms of a rotating double-jet model in which the two jets are created from the black holes of a binary system and rotating with the period of the orbital motion. The periodic variations in the radio fluxes of 3C 454.3 are suggested to be mainly due to the lighthouse effects (or the variation in Doppler boosting) of the precessing jets caused by the orbital motion. In addition, variations in the rate of mass accreting onto the black holes may be also involved.展开更多
The multi-frequency light curves of BL Lacertae during 1997.5 - 1999.5 have been modeled by four outbursts, each having a 3-stage evolution in the (Sm, vm) plane with distinct rising-plateau-decaying phases. It is s...The multi-frequency light curves of BL Lacertae during 1997.5 - 1999.5 have been modeled by four outbursts, each having a 3-stage evolution in the (Sm, vm) plane with distinct rising-plateau-decaying phases. It is shown that the observed light curves can be well fitted for the eight frequencies from 350 GHz to 4.8 GHz. The main characteristics of the model-fitting are; (1) the outbursts are found to have very flat spectra with an optically thin spectral index α (defined as Sv α u^-α) of about 0.15. This is consistent with the results previously obtained by Valtaoja et al. (1992); (2) it is found that there is no spectral flattening between the rising-plateau phase and the decay phase. In other words, the optically thin spectral index does not change from the rising-plateau phase to the decay phase. These features are in contrast to the 3-stage shocked-in-jet model proposed by Marscher & Gear (1985) for submm- IR-optical flares, in which a spectral flattening of △α = 0.5 is predicted when a transition occurs from the Compton/synchrotron phase (or rising-plateau phase) to the adiabatic phase (or decay phase) with α≥ 0.5 for the shock being non-radiative. We propose a new model to interpret the fitting results, suggesting that the 3-stage evolution of the mm-cm outbursts in BL Lacertae may be related to the process of shock formation and propagation in a highly collimated jet (for example, a 'parabolic' jet). In particular, during the rising phase, the thickness of the synchrotron-radiating region created by the shock may rapidly increase with time (relative to the jet width) due to the rapid injection of relativistic electrons and a magnetic field, and this leads to the observed behavior that the turnover flux density Sm rapidly increases while the turnover frequency um decreases. In the decay phase, the emitting plasma enters into a free expansion regime without further injection of relativistic electrons and a magnetic field (for example, when a transition 展开更多
Intraday variations of compact extragalactic radio sources in flux density and polarization are generally interpreted in terms of refractive scintillation from the continuous interstellar medium of our Galaxy. However...Intraday variations of compact extragalactic radio sources in flux density and polarization are generally interpreted in terms of refractive scintillation from the continuous interstellar medium of our Galaxy. However, continuous polarization angle swings of - 180° (for example, the one observed in the QSO 0917+624) could not be interpreted in this way. Qian et al. have shown that the polarization angle swing observed in the QSO 1150+812 can be explained in terms of focusing-defocusing effect by an interstellar cloud, which occults two closely-placed polarized components. Here we further show that the polarization angle swing event observed in the QSO 0917+624 can also be explained in this way. We also found evidence for the cloud eclipsing a non-polarized (core) component during a short period out- side the swing. A particular (and specific) plasma-lens model is proposed to model-fit the polarization swing event of 0917+624. Some physical parameters related to the plasma-lens and the source components are estimated. The brightness temperatures of the two lensed components are estimated to be -1.6× 10^13 K. Thus bulk relativistic motion with a Lorentz factor less than -20 may be sufficient to avoid the inverse - Compton catastrophe.展开更多
A very rapid polarization position angle swing of -180° (with a time scale of ,-6 hours) observed at 2 cm in QSO 1150+812 (z = 1.25) was reported by Kochenov & Gabuzda. This very rare event is difficult to ...A very rapid polarization position angle swing of -180° (with a time scale of ,-6 hours) observed at 2 cm in QSO 1150+812 (z = 1.25) was reported by Kochenov & Gabuzda. This very rare event is difficult to explain. We found a possible interpretation in the framework of a source model consisting of three polarized components, in which two compact polarized components are nearly simultaneously occulted by an interstellar cloud, with consequent focusing-defocusing effects. A specific plasma-lens model is proposed which can reasonably fit the polarized flux density curve with results derived for the two lensed components. Some physical parameters of the plasma-lens and the source components are estimated. The two compact polarized components are estimated to have brightness temperatures of -6 ×10^12 K. Thus a bulk relativistic motion with a Lorentz factor less than 10 is required to meet the inverse-Compton limit.展开更多
High brightness temperatures are a characteristic feature of IntraDay Variability (IDV) of extragalactic radio sources. Recent studies of the polarization properties of some IDV sources (e.g., 1150+812, PKS 0405-3...High brightness temperatures are a characteristic feature of IntraDay Variability (IDV) of extragalactic radio sources. Recent studies of the polarization properties of some IDV sources (e.g., 1150+812, PKS 0405-385 and 0716+714) have shown that these sources harbor several compact IDV components with angular sizes of -10-30μas and very high polarizations (of up to -50%-70%). These results indicate the possibility of the existence of uniform magnetic fields in the IDV components. We investigate the incoherent synchrotron and self- Compton radiation of an anisotropic distribution of relativistic electrons which spin around the magnetic field lines at small pitch angles. The brightness temperature limit caused by second-order Compton losses is discussed and compared to the brightness temperatures derived from energy equipartition arguments. It is found that anisotropic distributions of electrons moving in ordered magnetic fields can raise the equipartition and Compton brightness temperatures by a factor of up to -3-5. This would remove some of the difficulties in the interpretation of extremely high intrinsic brightness temperatures of 〉 1012 K (or apparent brightness temperatures of - 10^14 K with a Doppler factor of -30).展开更多
The search for periodic behavior in Blazars has been an important subject, which is helpful for providing significant clues to the structure and physical processes of their central energy engine. A binary black hole s...The search for periodic behavior in Blazars has been an important subject, which is helpful for providing significant clues to the structure and physical processes of their central energy engine. A binary black hole system has recently been suggested for causing precession of relativistic jets and rotation of the ejection position angle of VLBI knots in superluminal sources. It has been suggested that in QSO 3C345, the ejection direction of the superluminal knots rotates due to the precession of the central engine and thus the ejection position angle of the successive knots shows a periodic behavior. Some authors argue for a period of precession being ~5.6 yr (Abraham & Caproni), ~8-10 yr (Klare et al.) and ~9.5 yr (Lobanov & Roland). Applying the helical model proposed by Qian et al. and selecting appropriate parameters to fit the initial trajectories (within 0.3 mas) of all the components (C4 to C10), we derive the relation between the ejection position angle of the components and their precession phase, and thus find a 6.9-year precession period (4.3 yr in the source frame), which can fit the ejection position angle of all these superluminal knots well. Since the VLBI observations have covered more than two precession periods, confirmation in one or more future periods would be important. In addition, we emphasize that the initial parts of the trajectories of these knots can be fitted by a common helical pattern (channel) through a precessing of its initial phase. This scenario (or helical precessing model) is different from the usual ballistic precessing model in which the individual superluminal knots move along straight-lines after ejection (Tateyama & Kingham).展开更多
Near-Eddington accretion rates onto low-mass black holes are thought to be a prime driver of the multi-wavelength properties of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) population of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Orienta...Near-Eddington accretion rates onto low-mass black holes are thought to be a prime driver of the multi-wavelength properties of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) population of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Orientation effects have repeatedly been considered as another important factor involved, but detailed studies have been hampered by the lack of measured viewing angles towards this type of AGN. Here we present multi-epoch, 15 GHz VLBA images (MOJAVE program) of the radio-loud and Fermi/LAT- detected NLS 1 galaxy 1H 0323+342. These are combined with single-dish, multi-frequency radio monitoring of the source's variability, obtained with the Effelsberg 100-m and IRAM 30-m telescopes, in the course of the F-GAMMA program. The VLBA images reveal six components with apparent speeds of 1 - 7 c, and one quasi-stationary feature. Combining the obtained apparent jet speed (βapp) and variability Doppler factor (Dvar) estimates together with other methods, we constrain the viewing angle 0 towards 1H 0323+342 to 0 ≤ 4°-13°. Using literature values of βapp and Dvar, we also deduce a viewing angle of 〈8°-9° towards another radio- and γ-ray-loud NLS1, namely SBS 0846+513.展开更多
The spectral energy distribution (SED) of the γ-ray flare observed inJuly 1997 in BL Lacertae is re-considered. It is pointed out that the optical observa-tions made by Webb et al. showed the associated optical flare...The spectral energy distribution (SED) of the γ-ray flare observed inJuly 1997 in BL Lacertae is re-considered. It is pointed out that the optical observa-tions made by Webb et al. showed the associated optical flare has a hard spectrum(the average spectral index αopt~ 0.48, F_v∝v^(-α)), and the ASCA observationsmade by Tanihata et al. showed very steep spectra in the soft X-ray band (0.7-1.5 keV) (α_x~3-4). We find that the flux densities and spectral indices in both theoptical and soft X-ray bands are closely consistent with a ‘canonical' synchrotronspectrum emitted by relativistic electrons of a power-law energy distribution witha high energy cutoff, and thus the peak of the SED of the synchrotron radiation (inrepresentation of vF_v) is located in the EUV -- soft X-ray bands. Therefore, theGeV γ-ray emission observed in the July 1997 outburst may be mainly due to thesynchrotron self-Compton (SSC) process, contrasting with the current explanationsin terms of external radiation Compton (ERC) process, in which the seed photonsare mostly taken to be the UV emission from the clouds of the broad emission lineregion. We argue that the hard optical spectra observed during the γ-ray outburstmay be an important signature for the acceleration of high energy electrons (γ_e~10~4)in the γ-ray emitting region.展开更多
We report the progress on Very Long Baseline Interferometry(VLBI) observations of Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum(GPS) radio sources,and single-dish observations of active galactic nuclei(AGNs).The GPS sources are a kind of...We report the progress on Very Long Baseline Interferometry(VLBI) observations of Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum(GPS) radio sources,and single-dish observations of active galactic nuclei(AGNs).The GPS sources are a kind of young AGNs observable in radio.From our VLBI observations at 1.6 and 5 GHz with the European VLBI Network(EVN) including the Urumqi and Shanghai stations,most GPS sources show compact doubles with sizes less than 1 kiloparsec.We have classified the sources into double-lobes,core-jets,and complex structures according to the spectral indices as well as images.We also estimated the values of the jet viewing angle for the symmetric objects.In addition,we are monitoring a few samples of AGNs with the Urumqi 25-meter radio telescope,in order to find flux variability.We detected rapid flux variability in quasar 1156+295,and relatively slow variability in a few of the others.The origin of the rapid variability is discussed.Moreover,we launched a radio-optical monitoring program called Fermi-AGN in 2009.展开更多
The kinematics of superluminal components in blazar 3C 454.3 are studied.Nine components are included: superluminal knots R1, R2, R3, R4, A, B, C and D(from Britzen et al. 2013) and C4 (from Pauliny-Toth 1998). W...The kinematics of superluminal components in blazar 3C 454.3 are studied.Nine components are included: superluminal knots R1, R2, R3, R4, A, B, C and D(from Britzen et al. 2013) and C4 (from Pauliny-Toth 1998). We find that their kine-matics derived from VLBI observations can be consistently interpreted in terms of ajet precession scenario with a period of about 14.5 yr. We discuss the model fits oftheir trajectory, distance from the core and apparent velocity. We show that the bulkLorentz factor (in the range 4 to 15) derived for these components does not have anydependence on the phase of the precession (or position angle for ejection). The Lense-Thirring effect is assumed to interpret the precession of the jet nozzle. The resultsobtained for blazar 3C 454.3 are only suggestive. They are not unique and have yet tobe tested, but they might be useful for understanding the kinematics of superluminalcomponents in blazars and for disentangling different mechanisms and factors.展开更多
Using the Urumqi 25 m radio telescope, sources from the first three months of the Fermi-large area telescope detected active galactic nuclei (AGN) catalog with a declination of 〉 0° were observed in 2009 at 4....Using the Urumqi 25 m radio telescope, sources from the first three months of the Fermi-large area telescope detected active galactic nuclei (AGN) catalog with a declination of 〉 0° were observed in 2009 at 4.8 GHz. The radio flux density ap- peared to correlate with the γ-ray intensity. Intra-day variability (IDV) observations were performed in March, April and May 2009 for 42 selected γ-ray bright blazars, and ~60% of them showed evidence of flux variability at 4.8 GHz during the IDV observations. The IDV detection rate was higher than that in previous flat-spectrum AGN samples. IDV appeared more often in the very long baseline interferometry-core dominant blazars, and the non-IDV blazars showed relatively "steeper" spectral in- dices than the IDV blazars. Pronounced inter-month variability was also found in two BL Lac objects: J0112+2244 and J0238+1636.展开更多
文摘During the period 1966.5-2006.2 the 15 GHz and 8 GHz light curves of 3C 454.3 (z = 0.859) show a quasi-periodicity of ,-12.8 yr (-6.9 yr in the rest frame of the source) with a double-bump structure. This periodic behaviour is interpreted in terms of a rotating double-jet model in which the two jets are created from the black holes of a binary system and rotating with the period of the orbital motion. The periodic variations in the radio fluxes of 3C 454.3 are suggested to be mainly due to the lighthouse effects (or the variation in Doppler boosting) of the precessing jets caused by the orbital motion. In addition, variations in the rate of mass accreting onto the black holes may be also involved.
基金This research has made use of data from the University of Michigan Radio Astronomy Observatory which is supported by funds from the University of Michigan and by a series of grants from the NSF.This paper is partly based on observations carried out at the 30 m telescope of IRAM,which is supported by INSU/CNRS (France),MPG (Germany) and IGN (Spain)
文摘The multi-frequency light curves of BL Lacertae during 1997.5 - 1999.5 have been modeled by four outbursts, each having a 3-stage evolution in the (Sm, vm) plane with distinct rising-plateau-decaying phases. It is shown that the observed light curves can be well fitted for the eight frequencies from 350 GHz to 4.8 GHz. The main characteristics of the model-fitting are; (1) the outbursts are found to have very flat spectra with an optically thin spectral index α (defined as Sv α u^-α) of about 0.15. This is consistent with the results previously obtained by Valtaoja et al. (1992); (2) it is found that there is no spectral flattening between the rising-plateau phase and the decay phase. In other words, the optically thin spectral index does not change from the rising-plateau phase to the decay phase. These features are in contrast to the 3-stage shocked-in-jet model proposed by Marscher & Gear (1985) for submm- IR-optical flares, in which a spectral flattening of △α = 0.5 is predicted when a transition occurs from the Compton/synchrotron phase (or rising-plateau phase) to the adiabatic phase (or decay phase) with α≥ 0.5 for the shock being non-radiative. We propose a new model to interpret the fitting results, suggesting that the 3-stage evolution of the mm-cm outbursts in BL Lacertae may be related to the process of shock formation and propagation in a highly collimated jet (for example, a 'parabolic' jet). In particular, during the rising phase, the thickness of the synchrotron-radiating region created by the shock may rapidly increase with time (relative to the jet width) due to the rapid injection of relativistic electrons and a magnetic field, and this leads to the observed behavior that the turnover flux density Sm rapidly increases while the turnover frequency um decreases. In the decay phase, the emitting plasma enters into a free expansion regime without further injection of relativistic electrons and a magnetic field (for example, when a transition
文摘Intraday variations of compact extragalactic radio sources in flux density and polarization are generally interpreted in terms of refractive scintillation from the continuous interstellar medium of our Galaxy. However, continuous polarization angle swings of - 180° (for example, the one observed in the QSO 0917+624) could not be interpreted in this way. Qian et al. have shown that the polarization angle swing observed in the QSO 1150+812 can be explained in terms of focusing-defocusing effect by an interstellar cloud, which occults two closely-placed polarized components. Here we further show that the polarization angle swing event observed in the QSO 0917+624 can also be explained in this way. We also found evidence for the cloud eclipsing a non-polarized (core) component during a short period out- side the swing. A particular (and specific) plasma-lens model is proposed to model-fit the polarization swing event of 0917+624. Some physical parameters related to the plasma-lens and the source components are estimated. The brightness temperatures of the two lensed components are estimated to be -1.6× 10^13 K. Thus bulk relativistic motion with a Lorentz factor less than -20 may be sufficient to avoid the inverse - Compton catastrophe.
文摘A very rapid polarization position angle swing of -180° (with a time scale of ,-6 hours) observed at 2 cm in QSO 1150+812 (z = 1.25) was reported by Kochenov & Gabuzda. This very rare event is difficult to explain. We found a possible interpretation in the framework of a source model consisting of three polarized components, in which two compact polarized components are nearly simultaneously occulted by an interstellar cloud, with consequent focusing-defocusing effects. A specific plasma-lens model is proposed which can reasonably fit the polarized flux density curve with results derived for the two lensed components. Some physical parameters of the plasma-lens and the source components are estimated. The two compact polarized components are estimated to have brightness temperatures of -6 ×10^12 K. Thus a bulk relativistic motion with a Lorentz factor less than 10 is required to meet the inverse-Compton limit.
文摘High brightness temperatures are a characteristic feature of IntraDay Variability (IDV) of extragalactic radio sources. Recent studies of the polarization properties of some IDV sources (e.g., 1150+812, PKS 0405-385 and 0716+714) have shown that these sources harbor several compact IDV components with angular sizes of -10-30μas and very high polarizations (of up to -50%-70%). These results indicate the possibility of the existence of uniform magnetic fields in the IDV components. We investigate the incoherent synchrotron and self- Compton radiation of an anisotropic distribution of relativistic electrons which spin around the magnetic field lines at small pitch angles. The brightness temperature limit caused by second-order Compton losses is discussed and compared to the brightness temperatures derived from energy equipartition arguments. It is found that anisotropic distributions of electrons moving in ordered magnetic fields can raise the equipartition and Compton brightness temperatures by a factor of up to -3-5. This would remove some of the difficulties in the interpretation of extremely high intrinsic brightness temperatures of 〉 1012 K (or apparent brightness temperatures of - 10^14 K with a Doppler factor of -30).
文摘The search for periodic behavior in Blazars has been an important subject, which is helpful for providing significant clues to the structure and physical processes of their central energy engine. A binary black hole system has recently been suggested for causing precession of relativistic jets and rotation of the ejection position angle of VLBI knots in superluminal sources. It has been suggested that in QSO 3C345, the ejection direction of the superluminal knots rotates due to the precession of the central engine and thus the ejection position angle of the successive knots shows a periodic behavior. Some authors argue for a period of precession being ~5.6 yr (Abraham & Caproni), ~8-10 yr (Klare et al.) and ~9.5 yr (Lobanov & Roland). Applying the helical model proposed by Qian et al. and selecting appropriate parameters to fit the initial trajectories (within 0.3 mas) of all the components (C4 to C10), we derive the relation between the ejection position angle of the components and their precession phase, and thus find a 6.9-year precession period (4.3 yr in the source frame), which can fit the ejection position angle of all these superluminal knots well. Since the VLBI observations have covered more than two precession periods, confirmation in one or more future periods would be important. In addition, we emphasize that the initial parts of the trajectories of these knots can be fitted by a common helical pattern (channel) through a precessing of its initial phase. This scenario (or helical precessing model) is different from the usual ballistic precessing model in which the individual superluminal knots move along straight-lines after ejection (Tateyama & Kingham).
基金a stipend from the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Universities of Bonn and Colognesupported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft grant WI 1860/10-1+1 种基金partial support by the the Spanish MINECO project AYA2012-38491-C02-01by the Generalitat Valenciana project PROMETEOII/2014/057
文摘Near-Eddington accretion rates onto low-mass black holes are thought to be a prime driver of the multi-wavelength properties of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) population of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Orientation effects have repeatedly been considered as another important factor involved, but detailed studies have been hampered by the lack of measured viewing angles towards this type of AGN. Here we present multi-epoch, 15 GHz VLBA images (MOJAVE program) of the radio-loud and Fermi/LAT- detected NLS 1 galaxy 1H 0323+342. These are combined with single-dish, multi-frequency radio monitoring of the source's variability, obtained with the Effelsberg 100-m and IRAM 30-m telescopes, in the course of the F-GAMMA program. The VLBA images reveal six components with apparent speeds of 1 - 7 c, and one quasi-stationary feature. Combining the obtained apparent jet speed (βapp) and variability Doppler factor (Dvar) estimates together with other methods, we constrain the viewing angle 0 towards 1H 0323+342 to 0 ≤ 4°-13°. Using literature values of βapp and Dvar, we also deduce a viewing angle of 〈8°-9° towards another radio- and γ-ray-loud NLS1, namely SBS 0846+513.
文摘The spectral energy distribution (SED) of the γ-ray flare observed inJuly 1997 in BL Lacertae is re-considered. It is pointed out that the optical observa-tions made by Webb et al. showed the associated optical flare has a hard spectrum(the average spectral index αopt~ 0.48, F_v∝v^(-α)), and the ASCA observationsmade by Tanihata et al. showed very steep spectra in the soft X-ray band (0.7-1.5 keV) (α_x~3-4). We find that the flux densities and spectral indices in both theoptical and soft X-ray bands are closely consistent with a ‘canonical' synchrotronspectrum emitted by relativistic electrons of a power-law energy distribution witha high energy cutoff, and thus the peak of the SED of the synchrotron radiation (inrepresentation of vF_v) is located in the EUV -- soft X-ray bands. Therefore, theGeV γ-ray emission observed in the July 1997 outburst may be mainly due to thesynchrotron self-Compton (SSC) process, contrasting with the current explanationsin terms of external radiation Compton (ERC) process, in which the seed photonsare mostly taken to be the UV emission from the clouds of the broad emission lineregion. We argue that the hard optical spectra observed during the γ-ray outburstmay be an important signature for the acceleration of high energy electrons (γ_e~10~4)in the γ-ray emitting region.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2009CB824800)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10773019)
文摘We report the progress on Very Long Baseline Interferometry(VLBI) observations of Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum(GPS) radio sources,and single-dish observations of active galactic nuclei(AGNs).The GPS sources are a kind of young AGNs observable in radio.From our VLBI observations at 1.6 and 5 GHz with the European VLBI Network(EVN) including the Urumqi and Shanghai stations,most GPS sources show compact doubles with sizes less than 1 kiloparsec.We have classified the sources into double-lobes,core-jets,and complex structures according to the spectral indices as well as images.We also estimated the values of the jet viewing angle for the symmetric objects.In addition,we are monitoring a few samples of AGNs with the Urumqi 25-meter radio telescope,in order to find flux variability.We detected rapid flux variability in quasar 1156+295,and relatively slow variability in a few of the others.The origin of the rapid variability is discussed.Moreover,we launched a radio-optical monitoring program called Fermi-AGN in 2009.
文摘The kinematics of superluminal components in blazar 3C 454.3 are studied.Nine components are included: superluminal knots R1, R2, R3, R4, A, B, C and D(from Britzen et al. 2013) and C4 (from Pauliny-Toth 1998). We find that their kine-matics derived from VLBI observations can be consistently interpreted in terms of ajet precession scenario with a period of about 14.5 yr. We discuss the model fits oftheir trajectory, distance from the core and apparent velocity. We show that the bulkLorentz factor (in the range 4 to 15) derived for these components does not have anydependence on the phase of the precession (or position angle for ejection). The Lense-Thirring effect is assumed to interpret the precession of the jet nozzle. The resultsobtained for blazar 3C 454.3 are only suggestive. They are not unique and have yet tobe tested, but they might be useful for understanding the kinematics of superluminalcomponents in blazars and for disentangling different mechanisms and factors.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11073036)the NationalBasic Research Program of China (973 Program 2009CB824800)
文摘Using the Urumqi 25 m radio telescope, sources from the first three months of the Fermi-large area telescope detected active galactic nuclei (AGN) catalog with a declination of 〉 0° were observed in 2009 at 4.8 GHz. The radio flux density ap- peared to correlate with the γ-ray intensity. Intra-day variability (IDV) observations were performed in March, April and May 2009 for 42 selected γ-ray bright blazars, and ~60% of them showed evidence of flux variability at 4.8 GHz during the IDV observations. The IDV detection rate was higher than that in previous flat-spectrum AGN samples. IDV appeared more often in the very long baseline interferometry-core dominant blazars, and the non-IDV blazars showed relatively "steeper" spectral in- dices than the IDV blazars. Pronounced inter-month variability was also found in two BL Lac objects: J0112+2244 and J0238+1636.