2011ApJ...743L..12M

Over three quarters in 2010-2011, Kepler monitored optical emission from four active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with ∼30 minute sampling, >90% duty cycle, and ≲ 0.1% repeatability. These data determined the AGN optical fluctuation power spectral density (PSD) functions over a wide range in temporal frequency. Fits to these PSDs yielded power-law slopes of -2.6 to -3.3, much steeper than typically seen in the X-rays. We find evidence that individual AGNs exhibit intrinsically different PSD slopes. The steep PSD fits are a challenge to recent AGN variability models but seem consistent with first-order magnetorotational instability theoretical calculations of accretion disk fluctuations.