scholarly journals Correlation between optical and γ-ray flux variations in bright flat spectrum radio quasars

2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (4) ◽  
pp. 5128-5148
Author(s):  
Bhoomika Rajput ◽  
C S Stalin ◽  
S Sahayanathan

ABSTRACT Blazars are known to show flux variations over a range of energies from low-energy radio to high-energy γ-rays. Cross-correlation analysis of the optical and γ-ray light curves in blazars shows that flux variations are generally correlated in both bands, however, there are exceptions. We explored this optical–GeV connection in four flat spectrum radio quasars by a systematic investigation of their long-term optical and γ-ray light curves. On analysis of the four sources, namely 3C 273, 3C 279, PKS 1510−089, and CTA 102, we noticed different behaviours between the optical and GeV flux variations. We found instances when (i) the optical and GeV flux variations are closely correlated, (ii) there are optical flares without γ-ray counterparts, and (iii) γ-ray flares without optical counterparts. To understand these diverse behaviours, we carried out broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED) modelling of the sources at different epochs using a one-zone leptonic emission model. The optical–UV emission is found to be dominated by emission from the accretion disc in the sources PKS 1510−089, CTA 102, and 3C 273, while in 3C 279, the synchrotron radiation from the jet dominates the optical–UV emission. Our SED analysis indicates that (i) correlated optical and γ-ray flux variations are caused by changes in the bulk Lorentz factor (Γ), (ii) γ-ray flares without optical counterparts are due to increase in Γ and/or the electron energy density, and (iii) an optical flare without γ-ray counterpart is due to increase in the magnetic field strength.

2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (3) ◽  
pp. 3912-3928
Author(s):  
MAGIC Collaboration: V A Acciari ◽  
S Ansoldi ◽  
L A Antonelli ◽  
A Arbet Engels ◽  
A Babić ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Extreme high-frequency BL Lacs (EHBL) feature their synchrotron peak of the broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED) at νs ≥ 1017 Hz. The BL Lac object 1ES 2344+514 was included in the EHBL family because of its impressive shift of the synchrotron peak in 1996. During the following years, the source appeared to be in a low state without showing any extreme behaviours. In 2016 August, 1ES 2344+514 was detected with the ground-based γ-ray telescope FACT during a high γ-ray state, triggering multiwavelength (MWL) observations. We studied the MWL light curves of 1ES 2344+514 during the 2016 flaring state, using data from radio to very-high-energy (VHE) γ-rays taken with OVRO, KAIT, KVA, NOT, some telescopes of the GASP-WEBT collaboration at the Teide, Crimean, and St. Petersburg observatories, Swift-UVOT, Swift-XRT, Fermi-LAT, FACT, and MAGIC. With simultaneous observations of the flare, we built the broad-band SED and studied it in the framework of a leptonic and a hadronic model. The VHE γ-ray observations show a flux level of 55 per cent of the Crab Nebula flux above 300 GeV, similar to the historical maximum of 1995. The combination of MAGIC and Fermi-LAT spectra provides an unprecedented characterization of the inverse-Compton peak for this object during a flaring episode. The Γ index of the intrinsic spectrum in the VHE γ-ray band is 2.04 ± 0.12stat ± 0.15sys. We find the source in an extreme state with a shift of the position of the synchrotron peak to frequencies above or equal to 1018 Hz.


2020 ◽  
Vol 493 (2) ◽  
pp. 2438-2451
Author(s):  
B Arsioli ◽  
Y-L Chang ◽  
B Musiimenta

ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of a γ-ray likelihood analysis over all the extreme and high synchrotron peak blazars (EHSP and HSP) from the 3HSP catalogue. We investigate 2013 multifrequency positions under the eyes of Fermi Large Area Telescope, considering 11 yr of observations in the energy range between 500 MeV and 500 GeV, which results in 1160 γ-ray signatures detected down to the TS=9 threshold. The detections include 235 additional sources concerning the Fermi Large Area Telescope Fourth Source Catalog (4FGL), all confirmed via high-energy TS (Test Statistic) maps, and represent an improvement of ∼25 per cent for the number of EHSP and HSP currently described in γ-rays. We build the γ-ray spectral energy distribution (SED) for all the 1160 2BIGB sources, plot the corresponding γ-ray logN−logS, and measure their total contribution to the extragalactic gamma-ray background, which reaches up to ∼33 per cent at 100 GeV. Also, we show that the γ-ray detectability improves according to the synchrotron peak flux as represented by the figure of merit parameter, and note that the search for TeV peaked blazars may benefit from considering HSP and EHSP as a whole, instead of EHSPs only. The 2BIGB acronym stands for ‘Second Brazil-ICRANet Gamma-ray Blazars’ catalogue, and all the broad-band models and SED data points will be available on public data repositories (OpenUniverse, GitHub, and Brazilian Science Data Center-BSDC).


2019 ◽  
Vol 490 (2) ◽  
pp. 2284-2299 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
◽  
V A Acciari ◽  
S Ansoldi ◽  
L A Antonelli ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Extreme high-energy-peaked BL Lac objects (EHBLs) are an emerging class of blazars. Their typical two-hump-structured spectral energy distribution (SED) peaks at higher energies with respect to conventional blazars. Multiwavelength (MWL) observations constrain their synchrotron peak in the medium to hard X-ray band. Their gamma-ray SED peaks above the GeV band, and in some objects it extends up to several TeV. Up to now, only a few EHBLs have been detected in the TeV gamma-ray range. In this paper, we report the detection of the EHBL 2WHSP J073326.7+515354, observed and detected during 2018 in TeV gamma rays with the MAGIC telescopes. The broad-band SED is studied within an MWL context, including an analysis of the Fermi-LAT data over 10 yr of observation and with simultaneous Swift-XRT, Swift-UVOT, and KVA data. Our analysis results in a set of spectral parameters that confirms the classification of the source as an EHBL. In order to investigate the physical nature of this extreme emission, different theoretical frameworks were tested to model the broad-band SED. The hard TeV spectrum of 2WHSP J073326.7+515354 sets the SED far from the energy equipartition regime in the standard one-zone leptonic scenario of blazar emission. Conversely, more complex models of the jet, represented by either a two-zone spine-layer model or a hadronic emission model, better represent the broad-band SED.


Author(s):  
Raj Prince ◽  
Rukaiya Khatoon ◽  
C S Stalin

Abstract The blazar OQ 334 displayed a γ-ray flare in 2018, after being in the long quiescent γ-ray state since 2008. Subsequent to the flare, the source was in a higher γ-ray flux state and again flared in 2020. We present here the first spectral and timing analysis of the source at its various flaring states. During the higher γ-ray state, we found four major peaks identified as P1, P2, P3 and P4. From timing analysis we found rise and decay time of the order of hours with the fastest variability time of 9.01 ± 0.78 hr. We found the highest γ-ray photon of 77 GeV during P4, which suggests the location of the γ-ray emitting region at the outer edge of the broad line region or the inner edge of the torus. The γ-ray spectral analysis of the source indicates that during P4, the γ-ray spectrum clearly deviates from the power law behaviour. From cross-correlation analysis of the γ-ray and radio lightcurves, we found that the two emission regions are separated by about 11 pc. Our broad band spectral energy distribution modeling of the source during quiescent and active phases indicates that more electron and proton power are required to change the source from low flux to high flux state. The Anderson-Darling test and histogram fitting results suggest that the three days binned γ-ray fluxes follow a lognormal distribution.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (S284) ◽  
pp. 411-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Sanchez ◽  
Berrie Giebels ◽  
Pascal Fortin ◽  

AbstractMatching the broad-band emission of active galaxies with the predictions of theoretical models can be used to derive constraints on the properties of the emitting region and to probe the physical processes involved. AP Librae is the third low frequency peaked BL Lac (LBL) detected at very high energy (VHE, E>100GeV) by an Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope; most VHE BL Lacs (34 out of 39) belong to the high-frequency and intermediate-frequency BL Lac classes (HBL and IBL). LBL objects tend to have a higher luminosity with lower peak frequencies than HBLs or IBLs. The characterization of their time-averaged spectral energy distribution is challenging for emission models such as synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) models.


2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (2) ◽  
pp. 1295-1306
Author(s):  
Alicja Wierzcholska ◽  
Stefan J Wagner

ABSTRACT The X-ray spectrum of extreme high-energy peaked BL Lac-type blazars is located in the synchrotron branch of the broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED), at energies below the peak. A joint fit of the extrapolated X-ray spectra together with a host galaxy template allows characterizing the synchrotron branch in the SED. The X-ray spectrum is usually characterized either with a pure or a curved power-law model. In the latter case, however, it is hard to distinguish an intrinsic curvature from excess absorption. In this paper, we focus on five well-observed blazars: 1ES 0229+200, PKS 0548−322, RX J 1136+6737, 1ES 1741+196, and 1ES 2344+514. We constrain the infrared to X-ray emission of these five blazars using a model that is characterized by the host galaxy, spectral curvature, absorption, and ultraviolet (UV) excess to separate these spectral features. In the case of four sources, namely 1ES 0229+200, PKS 0548−322, 1ES 1741+196, and 1ES 2344+514, the spectral fit with the atomic neutral hydrogen from the Leiden Argentina Bonn Survey results in a significant UV excess present in the broad-band SED. Such excess can be interpreted as an additional component, for example, a blue bump. However, in order to describe spectra of these blazars without such excess, additional absorption to the atomic neutral hydrogen from the Leiden Argentina Bonn Survey is needed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 486 (2) ◽  
pp. 1781-1795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhoomika Rajput ◽  
C S Stalin ◽  
S Sahayanathan ◽  
Suvendu Rakshit ◽  
Amit Kumar Mandal

ABSTRACT Blazars show optical and γ-ray flux variations that are generally correlated, although there are exceptions. Here we present anomalous behaviour seen in the blazar 3C 454.3 based on an analysis of quasi-simultaneous data at optical, ultraviolet, X-ray, and γ-ray energies, spanning about 9 yr from 2008 August to 2017 February. We have identified four time intervals (epochs), A, B, D, and E, when the source showed large-amplitude optical flares. In epochs A and B the optical and γ-ray flares are correlated, while in D and E corresponding flares in γ-rays are weak or absent. In epoch B the degree of optical polarization strongly correlates with changes in optical flux during a short-duration optical flare superimposed on one of long duration. In epoch E the optical flux and degree of polarization are anticorrelated during both the rising and declining phases of the optical flare. We carried out broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED) modelling of the source for the flaring epochs A,B, D, and E, and a quiescent epoch, C. Our SED modelling indicates that optical flares with absent or weak corresponding γ-ray flares in epochs D and E could arise from changes in a combination of parameters, such as the bulk Lorentz factor, magnetic field, and electron energy density, or be due to changes in the location of the γ-ray-emitting regions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 487 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Kynoch ◽  
Hermine Landt ◽  
Martin J Ward ◽  
Chris Done ◽  
Catherine Boisson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We present a multifrequency study of PKS J1222+0413 (4C +04.42), currently the highest redshift γ-ray emitting narrow-line Seyfert 1 (γ-NLS1). We assemble a broad spectral energy distribution (SED) including previously unpublished datasets: X-ray data obtained with the NuSTAR and Neil Gehrels Swift observatories; near-infrared, optical, and UV spectroscopy obtained with VLT X-shooter; and multiband radio data from the Effelsberg telescope. These new observations are supplemented by archival data from the literature. We apply physical models to the broad-band SED, parametrizing the accretion flow and jet emission to investigate the disc–jet connection. PKS J1222+0413 has a much greater black hole mass than most other NLS1s, MBH ≈ 2 × 108 M$\odot$, similar to those found in flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs). Therefore this source provides insight into how the jets of γ-NLS1s relate to those of FSRQs.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (S313) ◽  
pp. 225-230
Author(s):  
Giulia Migliori

AbstractWe present a multiwavelength study of the core and relativistic jet of the radio loud (RL) quasar RGB J1512+020A (z=0.20). We report the discovery of a bright, 13” extended X-ray jet with a short Chandra observation. We discuss the origin of the jet X-ray emission and its properties in comparison with sample of X-ray quasar jets. The broadband core spectrum is contributed by the emission of the central quasar, by a blazar component, responsible for the γ-ray emission detected by Fermi, and by the host galaxy. We model the non-thermal blazar spectral energy distribution (SED) and constrain the total jet power. The jet power inferred from the blazar SED modeling is in agreement with the values obtained from the total radio power, pointing to a jet that efficiently carries its power up to kiloparsec scales. The quasar emission appears intrinsically weak in the optical-UV band. The disk luminosity estimated from the broad emission lines is lower than the jet power, in agreement with recent results from observations and theory.


2019 ◽  
Vol 627 ◽  
pp. A72 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Ghisellini ◽  
M. Perri ◽  
L. Costamante ◽  
G. Tagliaferri ◽  
T. Sbarrato ◽  
...  

We observed three blazars at z >  2 with the NuSTAR satellite. These were detected in the γ-rays by Fermi/LAT and in the soft X-rays, but have not yet been observed above 10 keV. The flux and slope of their X-ray continuum, together with Fermi/LAT data allows us to estimate their total electromagnetic output and peak frequency. For some of them we were able to study the source in different states, and investigate the main cause of the different observed spectral energy distribution. We then collected all blazars at redshifts greater than 2 observed by NuSTAR, and confirm that these hard and luminous X-ray blazars are among the most powerful persistent sources in the Universe. We confirm the relation between the jet power and the disk luminosity, extending it at the high-energy end.


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