2000MNRAS.315..839M

The Cambridge Low-Frequency Synthesis Telescope has been used to produce a representative sample of low-frequency variable sources. 20 fields, each covering an area of approximately 9°x9°cosecδ, have been observed at 151MHz at between 2 and 10 epochs over the period from 1984 to 1996. At each epoch, maps were made with rms noise levels of typically 10-15mJy.beam^–1. From a total of ∼6000 sources detected on these maps, 207 are found for which the flux density variations between at least two epochs appear significant at greater than the 3σ level. A numerical model is used to assess the true significance of the variability, given the analysis method adopted. This shows that for about half of the sources which appear to vary by >3σ the variability is genuine. For the other half it is caused by random statistical fluctuations; most of the spurious variables vary by ≲3.5σ between a single pair of epochs. A catalogue of the variable sources is presented, which includes an estimate of the probability that a given source is a genuine variable. Fractional flux density variations of between 5 and 100 per cent (typically 15-25 per cent) have been detected on a range of time-scales from 1 to 12 years.