The optical variability of radio-loud quasars

The optical variability of a sample of 44 FSRQs and 18 SSRQs in the SDSS stripe 82 region is investigated by using the multi-epoch data covering nine years. The variabilities are clearly detected in each source with the amplitude in r band, from 0.18 to 3.46 mag. Twenty-five of 44 FSRQs show a bluer-when-brighter trend (BWB), while only one FSRQ shows a redder-when-brighter trend, which is in contrast to our previous results. Eight of 18 SSRQs display a BWB. We found an anti-correlation between the Eddington ratio and the variability amplitude in r band for SSRQs, which is similar to that in radio-quiet AGNs. This implies that the thermal emission from the accretion disk may be responsible for the variability in SSRQs.