ASPCS
 
Back to Volume
Paper: A proper motion and variability QSO survey to B = 22.5
Volume: 21, The Space Distribution of Quasars
Page: 55
Authors: Majewski, Steven R.; Munn, Jeffrey A.; Kron, Richard G.; Bershady, Matthew A.; Smetanka, John J.; Koo, David C.
Abstract: A survey of proper motions and variability was conducted of all 1185 stellar objects to J = 22.5 or F = 21.5 in the North Galactic Pole field SA57. None of the confirmed QSOs and narrow emission line galaxies in the sample was misidentified as a star due to spuriously detected proper motion larger than 3.5 sigma. Variability was detected in 30 of the 31 previously confirmed QSOs and it was concluded that all QSOs are variable over a 16 year baseline. It is shown that a search for objects which are both variable and stationary is a powerful technique for efficiently finding QSOs with no selection bias with regard to color, redshift, spectral index, or emission line equivalent widths. QSOs with the color of normal stars may be missed by conventional multicolor searches and it was concluded that multicolor surveys are from 11 to 34 percent incomplete.
Back to Volume