Do the Kepler AGN light curves need reprocessing?

We gauge the impact of spacecraft-induced effects on the inferred variability properties of the light curve of the Seyfert 1 AGN Zw 229-15 observed by Kepler. We compare the light curve of Zw 229-15 obtained from the Kepler MAST data base with a reprocessed light curve constructed from raw pixel data. We use the first-order structure function, SF(δt), to fit both light curves to the damped power-law PSD (power spectral density) of Kasliwal et al. On short time-scales, we find a steeper log PSD slope (γ = 2.90 to within 10 per cent) for the reprocessed light curve as compared to the light curve found on MAST (γ = 2.65 to within 10 per cent) – both inconsistent with a damped random walk (DRW) which requires γ = 2. The log PSD slope inferred for the reprocessed light curve is consistent with previous results that study the same reprocessed light curve. The turnover time-scale is almost identical for both light curves (27.1 and 27.5 d for the reprocessed and MAST data base light curves). Based on the obvious visual difference between the two versions of the light curve and on the PSD model fits, we conclude that there remain significant levels of spacecraft-induced effects in the standard pipeline reduction of the Kepler data. Reprocessing the light curves will change the model inferenced from the data but is unlikely to change the overall scientific conclusions reached by Kasliwal et al. – not all AGN light curves are consistent with the DRW.