scholarly journals Optical variability of three extreme TeV blazars

2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (2) ◽  
pp. 1430-1444
Author(s):  
Ashwani Pandey ◽  
Alok C Gupta ◽  
G Damljanovic ◽  
P J Wiita ◽  
O Vince ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We present the results of optical photometric observations of three extreme TeV blazars, 1ES 0229+200, 1ES 0414+009, and 1ES 2344+514, taken with two telescopes (1.3 m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope, and 1.04 m Sampuranand Telescope) in India and two (1.4 m Milanković telescope and 60 cm Nedeljković telescope) in Serbia during 2013–2019. We investigated their flux and spectral variability on diverse time-scales. We examined a total of 36 intraday R-band light curves of these blazars for flux variations using the power-enhanced F-test and the nested ANOVA test. No significant intraday variation was detected on 35 nights, and during the one positive detection the amplitude of variability was only 2.26 per cent. On yearly time-scales, all three blazars showed clear flux variations in all optical wavebands. The weighted mean optical spectral index (αBR), calculated using B − R colour indices, for 1ES 0229+200 was 2.09 ± 0.01. We also estimated the weighted mean optical spectral indices of 0.67 ± 0.01 and 1.37 ± 0.01 for 1ES 0414+009, and 1ES 2344+514, respectively, by fitting a single power law (Fν ∝ ν−α) in their optical (VRI) spectral energy distributions. A bluer-when-brighter trend was only detected in the blazar 1ES 0414+009. We briefly discuss different possible physical mechanisms responsible for the observed flux and spectral changes in these blazars on diverse time-scales.

Author(s):  
Yurika Yamada ◽  
Makoto Uemura ◽  
Ryosuke Itoh ◽  
Yasushi Fukazawa ◽  
Masanori Ohno ◽  
...  

Abstract We report on the variations of the physical parameters of the jet observed in the blazar Mrk 421, and discuss the origin of X-ray flares in the jet, based on analysis of several spectral energy distributions (SEDs). The SEDs are modeled using the one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model, its parameters determined using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method. The lack of data at TeV energies means many of the parameters cannot be uniquely determined and are correlated. These are studied in detail. We find that the optimal solution can be uniquely determined only when we apply a constraint to one of four parameters: the magnetic field (B), the Doppler factor, the size of the emitting region, and the normalization factor of the electron energy distribution. We used 31 sets of SEDs from 2009 to 2014 with optical–UV data observed with UVOT/Swift and the Kanata telescope, X-ray data with XRT/Swift, and γ-ray data with the Fermi Large Area Telescope. The result of our SED analysis suggests that, in the X-ray faint state, the emission occurs in a relatively small area (∼1016 cm) with a relatively strong magnetic field (B ∼ 10−1 G). The X-ray bright state shows a tendency opposite to that of the faint state, that is, a large emitting area (∼1018 cm), probably downstream of the jet, and a weak magnetic field (B ∼ 10−3 G). The high X-ray flux was due to an increase in the maximum energy of electrons. On the other hand, the presence of two kinds of emitting areas implies that the one-zone model is unsuitable for reproducing at least part of the observed SEDs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (3) ◽  
pp. 4093-4105
Author(s):  
Aditi Agarwal ◽  
Sergio A Cellone ◽  
Ileana Andruchow ◽  
Luis Mammana ◽  
Mridweeka Singh ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We have monitored the flat spectrum radio quasar, 3C 279, in the optical B, V, R, and I passbands from 2018 February to 2018 July for 24 nights, with a total of 716 frames, to study flux, colour, and spectral variability on diverse time-scales. 3C 279 was observed using seven different telescopes: two in India, two in Argentina, two in Bulgaria, and one in Turkey to understand the nature of the source in optical regime. The source was found to be active during the whole monitoring period and displayed significant flux variations in B, V, R, and I passbands. Variability amplitudes on intraday basis varied from 5.20 to 17.9 per cent. A close inspection of variability patterns during our observation cycle reveals simultaneity among optical emissions from all passbands. During the complete monitoring period, progressive increase in the amplitude of variability with frequency was detected for our target. The amplitudes of variability in B, V, R, and I passbands have been estimated to be 177 per cent, 172 per cent, 171 per cent, and 158 per cent, respectively. Using the structure function technique, we found intraday time-scales ranging from ∼23 min to about 115 min. We also studied colour–magnitude relationship and found indications of mild bluer-when-brighter trend on shorter time-scales. Spectral indices ranged from 2.3 to 3.0 with no clear trend on long-term basis. We have also generated spectral energy distributions for 3C 279 in optical B, V, R, and I passbands for 17 nights. Finally, possible emission mechanisms causing variability in blazars are discussed briefly.


Author(s):  
Olga V. Zakhozhay

AbstractWe study a possibility to detect signatures of brown dwarf companions in a circumstellar disc based on spectral energy distributions. We present the results of spectral energy distribution simulations for a system with a 0.8 M⊙ central object and a companion with a mass of 30 MJ embedded in a typical protoplanetary disc. We use a solution to the one-dimensional radiative transfer equation to calculate the protoplanetary disc flux density and assume, that the companion moves along a circular orbit and clears a gap. The width of the gap is assumed to be the diameter of the brown dwarf Hill sphere. Our modelling shows that the presence of such a gap can initiate an additional minimum in the spectral energy distribution profile of a protoplanetary disc at λ = 10–100 μm. We found that it is possible to detect signatures of the companion when it is located within 10 AU, even when it is as small as 3 MJ. The spectral energy distribution of a protostellar disc with a massive fragment (of relatively cold temperature ~400 K) might have a similar double peaked profile to the spectral energy distribution of a more evolved disc that contains a gap.


Author(s):  
Yohei Koizumi ◽  
Masayuki Kuzuhara ◽  
Masashi Omiya ◽  
Teruyuki Hirano ◽  
John Wisniewski ◽  
...  

Abstract We present the optical spectra of 338 nearby M dwarfs, and compute their spectral types, effective temperatures (Teff), and radii. Our spectra were obtained using several optical spectrometers with spectral resolutions that range from 1200 to 10000. As many as 97% of the observed M-type dwarfs have a spectral type of M3–M6, with a typical error of 0.4 subtype, among which the spectral types M4–M5 are the most common. We infer the Teff of our sample by fitting our spectra with theoretical spectra from the PHOENIX model. Our inferred Teff is calibrated with the optical spectra of M dwarfs whose Teff have been well determined with the calibrations that are supported by previous interferometric observations. Our fitting procedures utilize the VO absorption band (7320–7570 Å) and the optical region (5000–8000 Å), yielding typical errors of 128 K (VO band) and 85 K (optical region). We also determine the radii of our sample from their spectral energy distributions. We find most of our sample stars have radii of <0.6 R⊙, with the average error being 3%. Our catalog enables efficient sample selection for exoplanet surveys around nearby M-type dwarfs.


1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 464-467
Author(s):  
P. Hickson

Abstract Recent advances in the technology of rotating liquid-mirrors now make feasible the construction of large optical telescopes for dedicated survey programs. Two three-metre-class astronomical telescopes have been built and asix-metre telescope is under construction. These instruments observe in zenith-pointing mode, using drift-scanning CCD cameras to record continuous imaging of a strip of sky typically 20 arcmin wide. This enables them to observe of order 100 square degrees of sky with an integration time of a few minutes per night. Data can be co-added from night to night in order to increase the depth of the survey. Liquid-mirror telescopes are particularly wellsuited to surveys using broad or intermediate bandwidth filters to obtain photometric redshifts and spectral energy distributions for faint galaxies and quasars.


2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (3) ◽  
pp. 2859-2860
Author(s):  
A S G Robotham ◽  
S Bellstedt ◽  
C del P Lagos ◽  
J E Thorne ◽  
L J Davies ◽  
...  

1994 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 152-153
Author(s):  
Sun Kwok

As stars evolve up the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), they begin to lose mass at a high rate, and in the process they create extended circumstellar molecular envelopes. Since the transition from AGB to planetary nebula stages is of the order of 1000 yr, the remnant of such molecular envelopes should still be observable in pro to-planetary nebulae (PPN) and planetary nebulae (PN). Recent ground-based survey of cool IRAS sources have discovered ~30 candidates of PPN (Kwok 1992). These sources show the characteristic “double-peak” energy distribution. The cool component is due to the remnant of the AGB dust envelope, and the hot component represents the reddened photosphere. The fact that the two components are clearly separated suggests that the dust envelope is well detached from the photosphere. Radiative transfer model fits to the spectral energy distributions of PPN suggest a typical separation of ~1 arc sec between the dust envelope and the photosphere, and such “hole-in-the-middle” structure can be mapped by millimeter interferometry in CO.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 707-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paige E. Martin ◽  
Brian K. Arbic ◽  
Andrew McC. Hogg ◽  
Andrew E. Kiss ◽  
James R. Munroe ◽  
...  

AbstractClimate variability is investigated by identifying the energy sources and sinks in an idealized, coupled, ocean–atmosphere model, tuned to mimic the North Atlantic region. The spectral energy budget is calculated in the frequency domain to determine the processes that either deposit energy into or extract energy from each fluid, over time scales from one day up to 100 years. Nonlinear advection of kinetic energy is found to be the dominant source of low-frequency variability in both the ocean and the atmosphere, albeit in differing layers in each fluid. To understand the spatial patterns of the spectral energy budget, spatial maps of certain terms in the spectral energy budget are plotted, averaged over various frequency bands. These maps reveal three dynamically distinct regions: along the western boundary, the western boundary current separation, and the remainder of the domain. The western boundary current separation is found to be a preferred region to energize oceanic variability across a broad range of time scales (from monthly to decadal), while the western boundary itself acts as the dominant sink of energy in the domain at time scales longer than 50 days. This study paves the way for future work, using the same spectral methods, to address the question of forced versus intrinsic variability in a coupled climate system.


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