scholarly journals Extended Emission in BL Lac Objects

1996 ◽  
Vol 175 ◽  
pp. 53-54
Author(s):  
M. Bondi ◽  
D. Dallacasa ◽  
C. Stanghellini ◽  
R. Della Ceca
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Radio Sources ◽  
Parent Population ◽  
Bl Lac Objects ◽  
Extended Radio ◽  
Bl Lac ◽  
Bl Lacs ◽  
Extended Emission

The study of the extended emission and polarization properties of BL Lacs is an important step for the identification of their parent population. FRI radio sources, the supposed parent population of BL Lacs, have weaker extended radio luminosity and a dominant inferred magnetic field perpendicular to the jet, while FRII radio sources, the supposed parent population of quasars, have stronger extended radio power and an inferred magnetic field parallel to the jet. The only complete sample of radio selected BL Lacs (1 Jy sample, Stickel et al. 1991, ApJ, 374, 431) contains 34 objects. Unfortunately, about half of 1 Jy BL Lacs do not have very high dynamic range images, necessary to detect the low emissivity radio emission surrounding the bright compact source, either because the object was never observed, or because the observation was carried out at the beginning of 1980s with low sensitivity. In 1994 we started a programme using the VLA (A, B, and D configuration, see Table 1) and the WSRT (W in Table 1) to complete the high sensitivity radio imaging of the 1 Jy sample. We aim to investigate morphology and polarization properties, as well as the luminosity of the extended emission. This contribution presents the L band observations. The results are very preliminary, some of the data reduction is still in progress as well as the statistical analysis. The sources in Table 1 have been roughly classified as extended (E), or point-like (P) if no extended feature was detected. Among the 15 sources observed at the highest resolution 13 were classified as extended. In many sources we detect significantly much more extended flux than previously reported from earlier observations. Almost all the BL Lac objects we observed at the highest resolution show some extended features; furthermore, in a few cases, we detected emission on the arcminute scale. The power of the extended luminosity covers 3 orders of magnitude, 3 objects (0537–441, 0820+225, and 2240–260) have values typical of a FRII radio source. These new data will be used for an updated statistical analysis of the properties of the extended emission in the 1 Jy sample of BL Lac objects.

scholarly journals X-Ray Properties of Compact Extragalactic Radio Sources

1988 ◽  
Vol 129 ◽  
pp. 109-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Worrall
Keyword(s):  
Radio Emission ◽  
Gaussian Distribution ◽  
Radio Sources ◽  
Radio Luminosity ◽  
Bl Lac Objects ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Logarithmic Plot ◽  
Bl Lac ◽  
5 Ghz ◽  
Bl Lacs

A good correlation is known to exist between the X-ray and radio luminosity of flat-spectrum, core-dominated radio sources (e.g., Owen, Helfand and Spangler 1981). Worrall (1987) presents a logarithmic plot of spectral luminosity in the source frame at 2 keV versus that at 5 GHz for a variety of QSOs, Highly Polarized QSOs (HPQs), and BL Lac Objects. Friedmann cosmology with Ho = 100h km s−1 Mpc−1, qo = 0 is assumed. Exclusion of objects which are optically or X-ray selected, or in which the radio emission is not dominated by a flat-spectrum compact core, gives a sub-sample consisting of 50 QSOs, 20 HPQs, and 10 BL Lacs, of which 5,4,3, respectively, are known superluminals. The dispersion of these data about the log-log correlation (assuming a Gaussian distribution), is σobs = 0.44 ± 0.06 (90% confidence errors for one interesting parameter).

scholarly journals High Dynamic Range VLBI Observations of the 3C120 Radio Jet

1988 ◽  
Vol 129 ◽  
pp. 31-32
Author(s):  
J. M. Benson ◽  
R. C. Walker ◽  
T.W.B. Muxlow ◽  
P. N. Wilkinson ◽  
R. Booth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radio Galaxy ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
High Dynamic Range ◽  
Radio Sources ◽  
Bl Lac Objects ◽  
Vlbi Observations ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Bl Lac ◽  
High Dynamic ◽  
3C 120

3C 120 is a nearby radio galaxy (z = 0.033) that shows superluminal motions in its radio jet within one parsec of the nucleus. The apparent velocities of the moving features are approximately 1.5 mas/yr. This object is of particular interest because it is clearly identified with an N-type galaxy, unlike all other superluminal radio sources which are only seen in quasars and BL Lac objects. Because of the close proximity of 3C 120, we have been able to make a series of VLBI and VLA images at stepped resolutions, and thereby map the radio jet continuously from the radio nucleus (0.5 h−1 parsec) into the diffuse 400 h−1 kpc structure.

scholarly journals Distortion Effects in BL Lac Radio Jets

1996 ◽  
Vol 175 ◽  
pp. 477-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Sol ◽  
S. Appl ◽  
L. Vicente
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Lorentz Factor ◽  
Radio Sources ◽  
Misalignment Angle ◽  
Bl Lac Objects ◽  
Radio Structure ◽  
Radio Jets ◽  
Bl Lac ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Bl Lacs

BL Lac objects often show a quite distorted radio morphology. Almost 75% of the BL Lacs for which the information is available show an apparent misalignment angle ΔPA between the VLBI jet and the large scale radio structure larger than 45 degrees. This can be explained by strong enhancement of slight bending due to projection effects, especially if BL Lacs are the most highly beamed sources. However we recently performed a statistical analysis of misalignment angle histograms for 155 extragalactic radio sources of different types and found that the intrinsic distortion is significantly more important in BL Lacs than in quasars and even CSS sources. Indeed the best fits of the δPA histograms by a simple bend model correspond to γɸ = 123° for BL Lacs, 37° for quasars and 36° for CSS sources, where ɸ and γ are the jet typical intrinsic bend and Lorentz factor within a given class of sources (Appl et al, 1995). If, as currently thought, jets in BL Lacs have smaller Lorentz factors than in quasars, high intrinsic bending and misalignment appear to be the rule in BL Lac sources.

scholarly journals Characterising the Extended Morphologies of BL Lacertae Objects at 144 MHz with LOFAR

2021 ◽  
Vol 257 (2) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Seán Mooney ◽  
Francesco Massaro ◽  
John Quinn ◽  
Alessandro Capetti ◽  
Ranieri D. Baldi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flux Density ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Photon Flux ◽  
Diffuse Emission ◽  
Bl Lac Objects ◽  
Bulk Motion ◽  
Extended Radio ◽  
Bl Lac ◽  
Spatially Extended ◽  
Extended Emission

Abstract We present a morphological and spectral study of a sample of 99 BL Lac objects using the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey Second Data Release (LDR2). Extended emission has been identified at gigahertz frequencies around BL Lac objects, but with LDR2 it is now possible to systematically study their morphologies at 144 MHz, where more diffuse emission is expected. LDR2 reveals the presence of extended radio structures around 66/99 of the BL Lac nuclei, with angular extents ranging up to 115″, corresponding to spatial extents of 410 kpc. The extended emission is likely to be both unbeamed diffuse emission and beamed emission associated with relativistic bulk motion in jets. The spatial extents and luminosities of the extended emission are consistent with the unification scheme for active galactic nuclei, where BL Lac objects correspond to low-excitation radio galaxies with the jet axis aligned along the line of sight. While extended emission is detected around the majority of BL Lac objects, the median 144–1400 MHz spectral index and core dominance at 144 MHz indicate that the core component contributes ∼42% on average to the total low-frequency flux density. A stronger correlation was found between the 144 MHz core flux density and the γ-ray photon flux (r = 0.69) than between the 144 MHz extended flux density and the γ-ray photon flux (r = 0.42). This suggests that the radio-to-γ-ray connection weakens at low radio frequencies because the population of particles that give rise to the γ-ray flux are distinct from the electrons producing the diffuse synchrotron emission associated with spatially extended features.

scholarly journals The Environment of OJ 287: Nearby Galaxies and a Long Optical Jet?

1996 ◽  
Vol 175 ◽  
pp. 47-48
Author(s):  
A. Sillanpää ◽  
L. Takalo ◽  
K. Nilsson ◽  
T. Pursimo ◽  
P. Teerikorpi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Radio Galaxies ◽  
Trigger Mechanism ◽  
Galaxy Clustering ◽  
Bl Lac Objects ◽  
Close Interaction ◽  
Relativistic Jet ◽  
Bl Lac ◽  
Nearby Galaxies ◽  
Bl Lacs

A widely accepted model for BL Lac objects is that they are radio galaxies with a relativistic jet pointing almost directly towards us. But we need a clear trigger mechanism for these jets. One possibility is the close interaction between the BL Lac host and the closeby galaxies (e.g. Heckman et al. 1986). This interaction has been seen many times in the case of quasars (Hutchings et al. 1989) but not so much is known about the close surroundings of the BL Lac objects although there has been some pioneer work like Stickel et al. (1993). The problem has usually been that the images are not deep enough and that the seeing has not been so good. To clarify the situation we have started an observing program to get very deep images in the sub-arcsecond seeing conditions from the whole 1 Jy sample (Stickel et al. 1991) of BL Lac objects. The aims of this study are: 1. to search for very close companions to the BL Lacs, 2. to study the large scale galaxy clustering around the BL Lacs and 3. to study the BL Lac hosts themselves.

VERITAS OBSERVATIONS OF RELATIVISTIC OUTFLOWS IN LOW- AND INTERMEDIATE-FREQUENCY-PEAKED BL LAC OBJECTS

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 1460178
Author(s):  
◽  
HEIKE PROKOPH
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Intermediate Frequency ◽  
Bl Lac Objects ◽  
Bl Lacertae ◽  
Bl Lac ◽  
Bl Lacs ◽  
Gamma Ray Telescopes ◽  
Very High

The majority of blazars detected at very high energies (VHE; E > 100 GeV) are high-frequency-peaked BL Lac objects (HBLs). Low- and intermediate-frequency-peaked BL Lacs (LBLs/IBLs with synchrotron-peak frequencies in the infrared and optical regime) are generally more powerful, more luminous, and have a richer jet environment than HBLs. However, only a handful of these IBL and LBLs have been detected by ground-based gamma-ray telescopes, typically during high-flux states. The VERITAS array has been monitoring five known VHE LBLs/IBLs since 2009: 3C 66A, W Comae, PKS 1424+240, S5 0716+714 and BL Lacertae, with typical exposures of 5-10 hours per year. The results of these long-term observations are presented, including a bright, subhour-scale VHE flare of BL Lacertae in June 2011, the first low-state detections of 3C 66A and W Comae, and the detection and characterization of the IBL B2 1215+30.

scholarly journals The estimation of γ-ray Doppler factor for Fermi/LAT-detected blazars

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyuan Pei ◽  
Junhui Fan ◽  
Jianghe Yang ◽  
Denis Bastieri
Keyword(s):  
Lower Limit ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Relativistic Effects ◽  
Bl Lac Objects ◽  
Relativistic Jet ◽  
Spectrum Radio ◽  
Bl Lac ◽  
Doppler Factor ◽  
Bl Lacs ◽  
Extreme Observation

Abstract Blazars are a subclass of active galactic nuclei with extreme observation properties, which is caused by the beaming effect, expressed by a Doppler factor ( $\delta$ ), in a relativistic jet. Doppler factor is an important parameter in the blazars paradigm to indicate all of the observation properties, and many methods were proposed to estimate its value. In this paper, we present a method following Mattox et al. to calculate the lower limit on $\gamma$ -ray Doppler factor ( $\delta_{\gamma}$ ) for 809 selected Fermi/LAT-detected $\gamma$ -ray blazars by adopting the available $\gamma$ -ray and X-ray data. Our sample included 342 flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) and 467 BL Lac objects (BL Lacs), out of which 507 sources are compiled with available radio core-dominance parameter (R) from our previous study. Our calculation shows that the average values of the lower limit on $\delta_{\gamma}$ for FSRQs and BL Lacs are $\left\langle\delta_{\gamma}|_{\textrm{FSRQ}}\right\rangle = 6.87 \pm 4.07$ and $\left\langle\delta_{\gamma}|_{\textrm{BL\ Lac}}\right\rangle=4.31 \pm 2.97$ , respectively. We compare and discuss our results with those from the literature. We found that the derived lower limit on $\delta_{\gamma}$ for some sources is higher than that from the radio estimation, which could be possibly explained by the jet bending within those blazars. Our results also suggest that the $\gamma$ -ray and radio regions perhaps share the same relativistic effects. The $\gamma$ -ray Doppler factor has been found to be correlated with both the $\gamma$ -ray luminosity and core-dominance parameter, implying that the jet is possibly continuous in the $\gamma$ -ray bands, and R is perhaps an indicator for a beaming effect.

scholarly journals The Possibility to Link Radio and Optical Reference Frames With Artificial Satellites

1990 ◽  
Vol 141 ◽  
pp. 194-194
Author(s):  
Tong Fu
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frame ◽  
Reference Frames ◽  
Artificial Satellites ◽  
Radio Sources ◽  
Bl Lac Objects ◽  
Extragalactic Radio Sources ◽  
Bl Lac ◽  
Optical Reference ◽  
Radio Stars ◽  
Fundamental Reference

Based on extragalactic radio sources, a new high precision extragalactic radio reference frame can be established from radio interferometric measurements. To link the optical fundamental reference frame presently represented by the FK4/5 to the extragalactic radio frame, the optical counterparts of extragalactic radio sources (quasars, BL Lac objects etc.) and radio stars are the most important classes of objects. Besides these two classes of objects, are there any other objects which can be used to link the optical and radio frames? A posible answer is that artificial satellites could be a candidate class of objects contributing to this subject.

scholarly journals The Compact Magnetic Field Structures of AGN from Space VLBI Polarization Observations

2001 ◽  
Vol 205 ◽  
pp. 134-135
Author(s):  
D.C. Gabuzda ◽  
J.L. Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Linear Polarization ◽  
Line Emission ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Emission Mechanism ◽  
Bl Lac Objects ◽  
Bl Lacertae ◽  
Bl Lac ◽  
Optical Line

BL Lacertae objects are active galactic nuclei with weak, sometimes undetectable, optical line emission and strong variability in total intensity and linear polarization over a broad range of wavelengths from ultraviolet to radio. It is believed that synchrotron radiation is the dominant emission mechanism virtually throughout the spectrum. Their strong linear polarization makes BL Lac objects prime targets for space VLBI polarization observations.

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