scholarly journals ON THE GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM THE CORE AND RADIO LOBES OF THE RADIO GALAXY CENTAURUS A

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 1460182
Author(s):  
NAREK SAHAKYAN ◽  
FRANK M. RIEGER ◽  
FELIX AHARONIAN ◽  
RUIZHI YANG ◽  
EMMA DE ONA-WILHELMI

We summarize recent results based on an analysis of Fermi-LAT data for the lobes and the core of the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A (Cen A). In the case of the core, high-energy (HE; > 100 MeV) γ-rays up to 50 GeV have been detected with a detection significance of about 44σ. The average gamma-ray spectrum of the core reveals interesting evidence for a possible deviation from a simple power-law. A likelihood analysis with a broken power-law model shows that the photon index becomes substantially harder above Eb ≃ 4 GeV, changing from Γ1 = 2.74 ± 0.03 below to Γ2 = 2.09 ± 0.20 above. It seems possible that this hardening marks the contribution of an additional high-energy component beyond the common synchrotron-self Compton jet emission. In the case of the lobes, the high-energy gamma-ray emission extends up to 6 GeV, with a significance of more than 10 and 20 σ for the north and the south lobe, respectively. Based on a detailed spatial analysis and comparison with the associated radio lobes, a substantial extension of the HE γ-ray emission beyond the WMAP radio image for the northern lobe of Cen A is found. We provide a short discussion of the lobe's spectral energy distribution (SED) in the context of hadronic and time-dependent leptonic scenarios.

Author(s):  
N. V. SAHAKYAN

The results of analysis of approximately 3 year gamma-ray observations (August 2008–July 2011) of the core of radio galaxy Centaurus A with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi LAT) are presented. Binned likelihood analysis method applying to the data shows that below several GeV the spectrum can be described by a single power-law with photon index Γ = 2.73 ± 0.06. However, at higher energies the new data show significant excess above the extrapolation of the energy spectrum from low energies. The comparison of the corresponding Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) at GeV energies with the SED in the TeV energy band reported by the H.E.S.S. collaboration shows that we deal with two or perhaps even three components of gamma-radiation originating from different regions located within the central 10 kpc of Centaurus A. The analysis of gamma-ray data of Centaurus A lobe accumulated from the beginning of the operation until November 14, 2011 show extension of the HE gamma-ray emission beyond the WMAP radio image in the case of the Northern lobe [9]. The possible origins of gamma-rays from giant radio lobes of Centaurus A are discussed in the context of hadronic and leptonic scenarios.


2019 ◽  
Vol 623 ◽  
pp. A2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faical Ait Benkhali ◽  
Nachiketa Chakraborty ◽  
Frank M. Rieger

Context. In recent years, non-blazar active galactic nuclei (AGN) such as radio galaxies have emerged as a highly instructive source class providing unique insights into high energy acceleration and radiation mechanisms. Aims. Here we aim to produce a detailed characterization of the high-energy (HE; >100 MeV) gamma-ray emission from the prominent radio galaxy M 87. Methods. We analyzed approximately eight years of Fermi-LAT data and derived the spectral energy distribution between 100 MeV and 300 GeV. We extracted lightcurves and investigated the variability behavior for the entire energy range as well as below and above 10 GeV. Results. Our analysis provides (i) evidence for HE gamma-ray flux variability and (ii) indications for a possible excess over the standard power-law model above Eb ∼ 10 GeV, similar to the earlier indications in the case of Cen A. When viewed in HE–VHE context, this is most naturally explained by an additional component dominating the highest-energy part of the spectrum. Investigation of the γ-ray lightcurves suggests that the lower-energy (<10 GeV) component is variable on timescales of (at least) a few months. The statistics of the high energy component (>10 GeV) does not allow significant constraints on variability. We do, however, find indications for spectral changes with time that support variability of the putative additional component and seem to favor jet-related scenarios for its origin capable of accommodating month-type variability. Conclusions. The current findings suggest that both the high-energy (>Eb) and the very high energy (VHE; >100 GeV) emission in M 87 are compatible with originating from the same physical component. The variability behavior at VHE then allows further constraints on the location and the nature of the second component. In particular, these considerations suggest that the VHE emission during the quiescent state originates in a similar region as during the flare.


2018 ◽  
Vol 619 ◽  
pp. A159 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
V. A. Acciari ◽  
S. Ansoldi ◽  
L. A. Antonelli ◽  
A. Arbet Engels ◽  
...  

Context. PKS 1510–089 is a flat spectrum radio quasar strongly variable in the optical and GeV range. To date, very high-energy (VHE, > 100 GeV) emission has been observed from this source either during long high states of optical and GeV activity or during short flares. Aims. We search for low-state VHE gamma-ray emission from PKS 1510–089. We characterize and model the source in a broadband context, which would provide a baseline over which high states and flares could be better understood. Methods. PKS 1510–089 has been monitored by the MAGIC telescopes since 2012. We use daily binned Fermi-LAT flux measurements of PKS 1510–089 to characterize the GeV emission and select the observation periods of MAGIC during low state of activity. For the selected times we compute the average radio, IR, optical, UV, X-ray, and gamma-ray emission to construct a low-state spectral energy distribution of the source. The broadband emission is modeled within an external Compton scenario with a stationary emission region through which plasma and magnetic fields are flowing. We also perform the emission-model-independent calculations of the maximum absorption in the broad line region (BLR) using two different models. Results. The MAGIC telescopes collected 75 hr of data during times when the Fermi-LAT flux measured above 1 GeV was below 3  ×  10−8 cm−2 s−1, which is the threshold adopted for the definition of a low gamma-ray activity state. The data show a strongly significant (9.5σ) VHE gamma-ray emission at the level of (4.27 ± 0.61stat)  ×  10−12 cm−2 s−1 above 150 GeV, a factor of 80 lower than the highest flare observed so far from this object. Despite the lower flux, the spectral shape is consistent with earlier detections in the VHE band. The broadband emission is compatible with the external Compton scenario assuming a large emission region located beyond the BLR. For the first time the gamma-ray data allow us to place a limit on the location of the emission region during a low gamma-ray state of a FSRQ. For the used model of the BLR, the 95% confidence level on the location of the emission region allows us to place it at a distance > 74% of the outer radius of the BLR.


2018 ◽  
Vol 619 ◽  
pp. A71 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
H. Abdalla ◽  
A. Abramowski ◽  
F. Aharonian ◽  
F. Ait Benkhali ◽  
...  

Centaurus A (Cen A) is the nearest radio galaxy discovered as a very-high-energy (VHE; 100 GeV–100 TeV) γ-ray source by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.). It is a faint VHE γ-ray emitter, though its VHE flux exceeds both the extrapolation from early Fermi-LAT observations as well as expectations from a (misaligned) single-zone synchrotron-self Compton (SSC) description. The latter satisfactorily reproduces the emission from Cen A at lower energies up to a few GeV. New observations with H.E.S.S., comparable in exposure time to those previously reported, were performed and eight years of Fermi-LAT data were accumulated to clarify the spectral characteristics of the γ-ray emission from the core of Cen A. The results allow us for the first time to achieve the goal of constructing a representative, contemporaneous γ-ray core spectrum of Cen A over almost five orders of magnitude in energy. Advanced analysis methods, including the template fitting method, allow detection in the VHE range of the core with a statistical significance of 12σ on the basis of 213 hours of total exposure time. The spectrum in the energy range of 250 GeV–6 TeV is compatible with a power-law function with a photon index Γ = 2.52 ± 0.13stat ± 0.20sys. An updated Fermi-LAT analysis provides evidence for spectral hardening by ΔΓ ≃ 0.4 ± 0.1 at γ-ray energies above 2.8+1.0−0.6 GeV at a level of 4.0σ. The fact that the spectrum hardens at GeV energies and extends into the VHE regime disfavour a single-zone SSC interpretation for the overall spectral energy distribution (SED) of the core and is suggestive of a new γ-ray emitting component connecting the high-energy emission above the break energy to the one observed at VHE energies. The absence of significant variability at both GeV and TeV energies does not yet allow disentanglement of the physical nature of this component, though a jet-related origin is possible and a simple two-zone SED model fit is provided to this end.


2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (06) ◽  
pp. 957-963
Author(s):  
CHLOÉ GUENNOU ◽  
GUSTAVO E. ROMERO ◽  
GABRIELA S. VILA

Recent observations with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) have revealed strong and variable high energy gamma-ray emission from the radio galaxy M87. The origin of such emission is uncertain, but the rapid variability indicates that it should be produced close to the central engine of the source. In this work, a lepto-hadronic one-zone model is applied to the available multiwavelength data of M87. The different energy losses for both primary and secondary particles are calculated. Then, the different contributions to the spectral energy distribution through interactions with matter, radiation and magnetic fields are obtained, in good accordance with the observations.


2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (06) ◽  
pp. 937-942
Author(s):  
MARIANA ORELLANA ◽  
GUSTAVO E. ROMERO

We investigate the spectral energy distribution (SED) of Centaurus A resulting from a steady compact acceleration region, located close to the central black hole, where both leptonic and hadronic relativistic populations arise. We present here results of such a model, where we have considered synchrotron radiation by primary electrons and protons, inverse Compton scattering, and gamma-ray emission originated by the inelastic hadronic interactions between relativistic protons and cold nuclei within the jets. Photo-meson production by relativistic hadrons were also taken into account, as well as the effects of secondary particles injected by all interactions. The internal and external absorption of gamma-rays is shown to be of great relevance to shape the observable SED, which was also recently constrained by the results of Fermi and HESS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2145 (1) ◽  
pp. 012013
Author(s):  
A Eungwanichayapant ◽  
W Luangtip

Abstract Interactions between Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-rays from Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) and infrared photons from the Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) can start electromagnetic cascades. If the extragalactic magnetic field near a host galaxy is strong enough (∼1 µG), the cascades would develop isotropically around the AGN. As a result, the electron/positron pairs created along the development of the cascades would create an X-ray halo via synchrotron radiation process. It is believed that the VHE gamma-ray spectra from the AGNs could be approximated by a power-law model which is truncated at high energy end (i.e. maximum energy). In this work we studied the X-ray Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) of the halo generated from the AGN spectra with different power indices and maximum energy levels. The results showed that the SEDs were slightly higher and broader, as they were obtaining higher flux if the power indices were lower. On the other hand, the SEDs were sensitive to the maximum energy levels between 100-300 TeV. More flux could be obtained from the higher maximum energy. However, we found that the SED becomes insensitive to the varied parameters when the maximum energy and the power index are > 500 TeV and < 1.5, respectively.


2019 ◽  
Vol 627 ◽  
pp. A89 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Boccardi ◽  
G. Migliori ◽  
P. Grandi ◽  
E. Torresi ◽  
F. Mertens ◽  
...  

Context.In March 2018, the detection by VERITAS of very-high-energy emission (VHE >  100 GeV) from 3C 264 was reported. This is the sixth, and second most distant, radio galaxy ever detected in the TeV regime.Aims.In this article we present a radio and X-ray analysis of the jet in 3C 264. We determine the main physical parameters of the parsec-scale flow and explore the implications of the inferred kinematic structure for radiative models of thisγ-ray emitting jet.Methods.The radio data set is comprised of VLBI observations at 15 GHz from the MOJAVE program, and covers a time period of about two years. Through a segmented wavelet decomposition method (WISE code), we estimated the apparent displacement of individual plasma features; we then performed a pixel-based analysis of the stacked image to determine the jet shape. The X-ray data set includes all available observations from theChandra, XMM, andSwiftsatellites, and is used, together with archival data in the other bands, to build the spectral energy distribution (SED).Results.Proper motion is mostly detected along the edges of the flow, which appears strongly limb brightened. The apparent speeds increase as a function of distance from the core up to a maximum of ∼11.5 c. This constrains the jet viewing angle to assume relatively small values (θ ≲ 10°). In the acceleration region, extending up to a de-projected distance of ∼4.8 × 104Schwarzschild radii (∼11 pc), the jet is collimating (r ∝ z0.40 ± 0.04), as predicted for a magnetically-driven plasma flow. By assuming that the core region is indeed magnetically dominated (UB/Ue >  1), the SED and the jet power can be well reproduced in the framework of leptonic models, provided that the high-energy component is associated to a second emitting region. The possibility that this region is located at the end of the acceleration zone, either in the jet layer or in the spine, is explored in the modeling.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S324) ◽  
pp. 164-167
Author(s):  
C. Arcaro ◽  
P. Bangale ◽  
M. Manganaro ◽  
D. Mazin ◽  
P. Colin ◽  
...  

AbstractWe present the preliminary results from observing the nearby radio galaxy M 87 for 156 hours (between the years 2012 and 2015) with the MAGIC telescopes, which lead to a significant very high energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) detection of the source in quiescent states each year. Our VHE analysis combined with quasi-simultaneous data at other energies (from gamma-rays, X-rays, optical and radio) provides a unique opportunity to study the source variability and its broadband spectral energy distribution, which is found to disfavour a one-zone synchrotron/synchrotron self-Compton model. Therefore, other alternative scenarios for the photon emission are explored. We also find that the VHE emission is compatible with being produced close to the source radio core as previous data already indicated. A detailed paper presenting full results of the observing campaign is in preparation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 207 ◽  
pp. 02001
Author(s):  
Anna Franckowiak

In September 22, 2017, IceCube released a public alert announcing the detection of a 290 TeV neutrino track event with an angular uncertainty of one square degree (90% containment). A multi-messenger follow-up campaign was initiated resulting in the detection of a GeV gamma-ray flare by the Fermi Large Area Telescope positionally consistent with the location of the known Bl Lac object, TXS 0506+056 , located only 0.1 degrees from the best-fit neutrino position. The probability of finding a GeV gamma-ray flare in coincidence with a high-energy neutrino event assuming a correlation of the neutrino flux with the gamma-ray energy flux in the energy band between 1 and 100 GeV was calculated to be 3σ (after trials correction). Following the detection of the flaring blazar the imaging air Cherenkov telescope MAGIC detected the source for the first time in the > 100 GeV gamma-ray band. The activity of the source was confirmed in X-ray, optical and radio wavelength. Several groups have developed lepto-hadronic models which succeed to explain the multi-messenger spectral energy distribution.


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