Characteristic X-ray variability of TeV blazars: Probing the link between the jet and the central engine

We have studied the rapid X-ray variability of three extragalactic TeV γ-ray sources: Mrk 421, Mrk 501, and PKS 2155-304. Analyzing the X-ray light curves obtained from ASCA and/or Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer observations between 1993 and 1998, we have investigated the variability in the time domain from 10³ to 10⁸ s. For all three sources, both the power spectrum density (PSD) and the structure function (SF) show a rollover with a timescale of the order of 1 day or longer, which may be interpreted as the typical timescale of successive flare events. Although the exact shape of turnover is not well constrained and the low-frequency (long timescale) behavior is still unclear, the high-frequency (short timescale) behavior is clearly resolved. We found that, on timescales shorter than 1 day, there is only small power in the variability, as indicated by a steep power spectrum density of f^-2∼-3. This is very different from other types of mass-accreting black hole systems, for which the short-timescale variability is well characterized by a fractal, flickering-noise PSD (f^-1∼-2). The steep PSD index and the characteristic timescale of flares imply that the X-ray-emitting site in the jet is of limited spatial extent: D ≥ 10¹⁷ cm distant from the base of the jet, which corresponds to ≥ 10² Schwarzschild radii for 10^7-10 M_⊙ black hole systems.