Radio variability of the blazar AO 0235 + 164

The high-redshift blazar A0 0235 + 164 exhibits flux-density variations which are primarily of the less common variety in which low-frequency flux-density variations track the high-frequency variations but are delayed and of smaller amplitude. Observational results based on five years of monitoring are presented which are correlated over at least a factor of 50 frequency range in the sense expected for an expanding synchrotron component: outbursts propagating toward lower frequencies with diminishing amplitudes. A simple, semiempirical jet model is developed which accounts reasonably well for the radio properties of the object. The predictions of the model are compared with observations, examining the radio flux-density histories, the radio spectral evolution, the radio structure, and evidence for relativistic bulk motion.