scholarly journals Hard X-ray properties of radio-selected blazars

2020 ◽  
Vol 637 ◽  
pp. A55
Author(s):  
M. Langejahn ◽  
M. Kadler ◽  
J. Wilms ◽  
E. Litzinger ◽  
M. Kreter ◽  
...  

Context. Hard X-ray properties of beamed active galactic nuclei have been published in the 105-month Swift/BAT catalog, but there have not been any studies carried out so far on a well-defined, radio-selected sample of low-peaked blazars in the hard X-ray band. Aims. Using the statistically complete MOJAVE-1 sample, we aim to determine the hard X-ray properties of radio-selected blazars, including the enigmatic group of gamma-ray-faint blazars. Additionally, we aim to determine the contribution of radio-selected low-peaked blazars to the diffuse cosmic X-ray background (CXB). Methods. We determined photon indices, fluxes, and luminosities in the range of 20 keV–100 keV of the X-ray spectra of blazars and other extragalactic jets from the MOJAVE-1 sample, derived from the 105-month Swift/BAT survey. We calculated log N–log S distributions and determined the luminosity functions. Results. The majority of the MOJAVE-1 blazars are found to be hard X-ray emitters albeit many at low count rates. The log N–log S distribution for the hard X-ray emission of radio-selected blazars is clearly non-Euclidean, in contrast to the radio flux density distribution. Approximately 0.2% of the CXB in the 20 keV–100 keV band can be resolved into MOJAVE-1 blazars. Conclusions. The peculiar log N–log S distribution disparity might be attributed to different evolutionary paths in the X-ray and radio bands, as tested by luminosity-function modeling. X-ray variability can be ruled out as the dominant contributor. Low-peaked blazars constitute an intrinsically different source population in terms of CXB contribution compared to similar studies of X-ray-selected blazars. The hard X-ray flux and spectral index can serve as a good proxy for the gamma-ray detection probability of individual sources. Future observations combining deep X-ray survey, for example, with eROSITA, and targeted gamma-ray observations with CTA can benefit strongly from the tight connection between these high-energy bands for the different blazar sub-classes.

2021 ◽  
Vol 923 (2) ◽  
pp. 241
Author(s):  
C. B. Adams ◽  
W. Benbow ◽  
A. Brill ◽  
J. H. Buckley ◽  
M. Capasso ◽  
...  

Abstract The results of gamma-ray observations of the binary system HESS J0632 + 057 collected during 450 hr over 15 yr, between 2004 and 2019, are presented. Data taken with the atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes H.E.S.S., MAGIC, and VERITAS at energies above 350 GeV were used together with observations at X-ray energies obtained with Swift-XRT, Chandra, XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and Suzaku. Some of these observations were accompanied by measurements of the Hα emission line. A significant detection of the modulation of the very high-energy gamma-ray fluxes with a period of 316.7 ± 4.4 days is reported, consistent with the period of 317.3 ± 0.7 days obtained with a refined analysis of X-ray data. The analysis of data from four orbital cycles with dense observational coverage reveals short-timescale variability, with flux-decay timescales of less than 20 days at very high energies. Flux variations observed over a timescale of several years indicate orbit-to-orbit variability. The analysis confirms the previously reported correlation of X-ray and gamma-ray emission from the system at very high significance, but cannot find any correlation of optical Hα parameters with fluxes at X-ray or gamma-ray energies in simultaneous observations. The key finding is that the emission of HESS J0632 + 057 in the X-ray and gamma-ray energy bands is highly variable on different timescales. The ratio of gamma-ray to X-ray flux shows the equality or even dominance of the gamma-ray energy range. This wealth of new data is interpreted taking into account the insufficient knowledge of the ephemeris of the system, and discussed in the context of results reported on other gamma-ray binary systems.


1998 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 69-77
Author(s):  
N. Gehrels

Prior to the current Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (Compton) mission, no comprehensive all-sky gamma-ray surveys had been performed. There were, however, some surveys performed over limited energy bands and/or over portions of the sky. These include the HEAO-A4 hard X-ray survey and the COS-B and SAS-2 high-energy gamma-ray surveys. The early work forms a basis for understanding and appreciating the Compton results, and so is reviewed in Section 2.


1980 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 227-228
Author(s):  
Elihu Boldt

The A2 experiment on HEAO-1 was especially developed to make systematics-free measurements of the extragalactic X-ray background (Boldt et al. 1979) over the band (up to 60 keV) of maximum flux. The spectrum observed has a remarkably simple thermal form (Marshall et al. 1980) with a mean photon energy of about 40 keV, an order of magnitude above the high-energy limit of the Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2) telescope. If most of this hard X-ray flux is not diffuse, then the main sources of this background could be 1) unresolved objects of known classification (e.g. BL Lac type, quasars, active galaxies) at high redshift, 2) redshifted (z > 1) gamma-ray bursts and/or 3) a new class of X-ray objects peculiar to high redshifts. If we assume that the number of such sources that are highly variable is less than 106, then our first-cut analysis of the temporal stability measured for the X-ray background indicates that 1) their contribution is less than 15% if they are variable on scales less than 104 seconds, and 2) their contribution is less than 60% if they are variable on scales less than a half-year.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (S313) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Jun Kataoka

AbstractFor the last two decades, significant and dramatic progress has been made in understanding astrophysical jet sources, particularly in the X-ray and gamma-ray energy bands. For example, the Chandra X-ray observatory reveals a number of AGN jets extending from kpc to Mpc scales. More recently, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescopes launched in 2008 started monitoring the gamma-ray sky with excellent sensitivity of about ten times greater than that of EGRET onboard CGRO, and has detected more than 2,000 sources (mostly AGNs) as of 2014. Moreover, Fermi-LAT has discovered gamma-ray emissions not only from blazars but from a dozen radio galaxies not previously known to emit gamma-rays. Closer to home, the Fermi-bubbles were discovered to extend 50 degrees above and below the Galactic center. These large scale diffuse gamma-ray structures are similar in structure to AGN lobes such as those seen in Cen A and provide evidence for past activity in our Galactic center. In this review, I will first summarize recent highlights of large scale jets in radio galaxies, specifically resolved by the Chandra X-ray observatory. Next I will move on to the gamma-ray sky to present some highlights from Fermi-LAT observations of “misaligned” blazars, namely radio galaxies. I will discuss a unification scheme connecting blazars and misaligned radio galaxies. In the last part, I will also briefly comment on recent multiband observations of the Fermi-bubble and possible impacts on the AGN jet physics in the near future.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (26) ◽  
pp. 1730023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae-Kwang Hwang

Three generations of leptons and quarks correspond to the lepton charges (LCs) in this work. Then, the leptons have the electric charges (ECs) and LCs. The quarks have the ECs, LCs and color charges (CCs). Three heavy leptons and three heavy quarks are introduced to make the missing third flavor of EC. Then the three new particles which have the ECs are proposed as the bastons (dark matters) with the rest masses of 26.121 eV/c2, 42.7 GeV/c2 and 1.9 × 10[Formula: see text] eV/c2. These new particles are applied to explain the origins of the astrophysical observations like the ultra-high energy cosmic rays and supernova 1987A anti-neutrino data. It is concluded that the 3.5 keV X-ray peak observed from the cosmic X-ray background spectra is originated not from the pair annihilations of the dark matters but from the X-ray emission of the Q1 baryon atoms which are similar in the atomic structure to the hydrogen atom. The presence of the 3.5 keV cosmic X-ray supports the presence of the Q1 quark with the EC of −4/3. New particles can be indirectly seen from the astrophysical observations like the cosmic ray and cosmic gamma ray. In this work, the systematic quantized charges of EC, LC and CC for the elementary particles are used to consistently explain the decay and reaction schemes of the elementary particles. Also, the strong, weak and dark matter forces are consistently explained.


Galaxies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Yoshiyuki Inoue ◽  
Dmitry Khangulyan ◽  
Akihiro Doi

To explain the X-ray spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN), non-thermal activity in AGN coronae such as pair cascade models has been extensively discussed in the past literature. Although X-ray and gamma-ray observations in the 1990s disfavored such pair cascade models, recent millimeter-wave observations of nearby Seyferts have established the existence of weak non-thermal coronal activity. In addition, the IceCube collaboration reported NGC 1068, a nearby Seyfert, as the hottest spot in their 10 yr survey. These pieces of evidence are enough to investigate the non-thermal perspective of AGN coronae in depth again. This article summarizes our current observational understanding of AGN coronae and describes how AGN coronae generate high-energy particles. We also provide ways to test the AGN corona model with radio, X-ray, MeV gamma ray, and high-energy neutrino observations.


2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S296) ◽  
pp. 295-299
Author(s):  
Marie-Hélène Grondin ◽  
John W. Hewitt ◽  
Marianne Lemoine-Goumard ◽  
Thierry Reposeur ◽  

AbstractThe supernova remnant (SNR) Puppis A (aka G260.4-3.4) is a middle-aged supernova remnant, which displays increasing X-ray surface brightness from West to East corresponding to an increasing density of the ambient interstellar medium at the Eastern and Northern shell. The dense IR photon field and the high ambient density around the remnant make it an ideal case to study in γ-rays. Gamma-ray studies based on three years of observations with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) aboard Fermi have revealed the high energy gamma-ray emission from SNR Puppis A. The γ-ray emission from the remnant is spatially extended, and nicely matches the radio and X-ray morphologies. Its γ-ray spectrum is well described by a simple power law with an index of ~2.1, and it is among the faintest supernova remnants yet detected at GeV energies. To constrain the relativistic electron population, seven years of Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) data were also analyzed, and enabled to extend the radio spectrum up to 93 GHz. The results obtained in the radio and γ-ray domains are described in detail, as well as the possible origins of the high energy γ-ray emission (Bremsstrahlung, Inverse Compton scattering by electrons or decay of neutral pions produced by proton interactions).


Results from the Ariel 5 sky survey instrument relating to the properties and the spatial distribution of extragalactic X-ray sources are discussed. The lg N -lg S relation for sources in the 2A catalogue is consistent with a uniform distribution of sources in Euclidean space. In addition, measure­ments of fluctuations in the X-ray background suggest that the Euclidean form of the source counts can be extrapolated to flux levels at least an order of magnitude fainter than the 2A catalogue limit. Information is also available from the optical identification of 2A sources which, through redshift measurements, enables the X-ray luminosity functions of the two main classes of source, namely clusters of galaxies and active galaxies, to be determined. The luminosity functions can be used to calculate the contribution of clusters of galaxies and active galaxies to the diffuse X-ray background in the 2-10 keV range. It is found that cosmological evolution of one or both populations is required to account for the diffuse X-ray background entirely in terms of the integrated emission from these sources.


2018 ◽  
Vol 611 ◽  
pp. A44 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Patel ◽  
A. Shukla ◽  
V. R. Chitnis ◽  
D. Dorner ◽  
K. Mannheim ◽  
...  

Aims. The nearby TeV blazar 1ES 1959+650 (z = 0.047) was reported to be in flaring state during June–July 2016 by Fermi-LAT, FACT, MAGIC and VERITAS collaborations. We studied the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) in different states of the flare during MJD 57530–57589 using simultaneous multiwaveband data with the aim of understanding the possible broadband emission scenario during the flare. Methods. The UV-optical and X-ray data from UVOT and XRT respectively on board Swift and high energy γ-ray data from Fermi-LAT were used to generate multiwaveband lightcurves as well as to obtain high flux states and quiescent state SEDs. The correlation and lag between different energy bands was quantified using discrete correlation function. The synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model was used to reproduce the observed SEDs during flaring and quiescent states of the source. Results. A good correlation is seen between X-ray and high energy γ-ray fluxes. The spectral hardening with increase in the flux is seen in X-ray band. The power law index vs. flux plot in γ-ray band indicates the different emission regions for 0.1–3 GeV and 3–300 GeV energy photons. Two zone SSC model satisfactorily fits the observed broadband SEDs. The inner zone is mainly responsible for producing synchrotron peak and high energy γ-ray part of the SED in all states. The second zone is mainly required to produce less variable optical-UV and low energy γ-ray emission. Conclusions. Conventional single zone SSC model does not satisfactorily explain broadband emission during observation period considered. There is an indication of two emission zones in the jet which are responsible for producing broadband emission from optical to high energy γ-rays.


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