Non-Thermal Emission from Radio-Loud AGN Jets: Radio vs. X-rays

We consider the sample of 55 blazars and Seyferts cross-correlated from the Planck all-sky survey based on the Early Release Compact Source Catalog (ERCSC) and Swift BAT 105-Month Hard X-ray Survey. The radio Planck spectra vs. X-ray Swift/XRT+BAT spectra of the active galactic nuclei (AGN) sample were fitted with the simple and broken power law (for the X-ray spectra taking into account also the Galactic neutral absorption) to test the dependencies between the photon indices of synchrotron emission (in radio range) and synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) or inverse-Compton emission (in X-rays). We show that for the major part of the AGN in our sample there is a correspondence between synchrotron and SSC photon indices (one of two for broken power-law model) compatible within the error levels. For such objects, this can give a good perspective for the task of distinguishing between the jet base counterpart from that one emitted in the disk-corona AGN “central engine”.

Fitting electron spectrum from AMS-02 by pulsar electrons

In this work, we aim to explain the latest data of cosmic-ray electrons from AMS-02 by an electron background model and pulsar electrons. We consider an electron background model which includes primary and secondary electrons. We assume that pulsars are major sources of the electron excess. Since electrons easily lose their energy through the interstellar radiation field and the magnetic field via inverse Compton scattering and synchrotron radiation, respectively, they propagate in a short length. We adopt nearby pulsar data in the distance of 1 kpc from the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) pulsar catalogue. By using a Green’s function of an electron propagation model, we then fit pulsar parameters (i.e. the spectral index, the fraction of the total spin-down energy and the cutoff energy) for several cases of a single pulsar. With a combination of the electron background model, several cases of pulsar spectrum are able to explain the electron excess.

GRB Afterglow Parameters in the Era of TeV Observations: The Case of GRB 190114C

The afterglow of GRB 190114C has been observed at 60–1200 s after the burst in the sub-TeV range by the MAGIC Cerenkov telescope. The simultaneous observations in the X-ray range, which is presumed to be of synchrotron origin, and in the sub-TeV range, where the emission is presumed to be inverse Compton, provide new stringent constraints on the conditions within the emitting regions and their evolution in time. While the additional data contain a lot of new information, it turns out that fitting both the X-ray and the TeV emission is much more complicated than what was originally anticipated. We find that optical flux measurements provide important complementary information that, in combination with TeV measurements, breaks degeneracy in the parameter space. We present here a numerical fit to the multiwavelength observed spectrum using a new code that calculates the single-zone synchrotron including self-Compton emission, taking into account the exact Klein–Nishina cross sections, as well as pair production via absorption of the high-energy photons inside the emitting zone and the emission from the resulting secondary pairs. We also present a revised set of single-zone parameters and a method for fitting the data to the observations. Our model for GRB 190114C that fits all the observations, from the optical data point to the sub-TeV range, suggests that it is in the fast-cooling regime. The inferred parameters for observations at two separate moments of time show significant deviations from some of the common expectations in afterglow modeling but are all consistent with the predictions of the pair-balance model.

Very-high-energy Emission from Pulsars

Air-Cherenkov telescopes have detected pulsations at energies above 50 GeV from a growing number of Fermi pulsars. These include the Crab, Vela, PSR B1706−44, and Geminga, with the first two having pulsed detections above 1 TeV. In some cases, there appears to be very-high-energy (VHE) emission that is an extension of the Fermi spectra to high energies, while in other cases, additional higher-energy spectral components that require a separate emission mechanism may be present. We present results of broadband spectral modeling using global magnetospheric fields and multiple emission mechanisms that include synchro-curvature (SC) and inverse Compton scattered (ICS) radiation from accelerated particles (primaries) and synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission from lower-energy pairs. Our models predict three distinct VHE components: SC from primaries whose high-energy tail can extend to 100 GeV, SSC from pairs that can extend to several TeV, and ICS from primary particles accelerated in the current sheet that scatter pair synchrotron radiation, which appears beyond 10 TeV. Our models suggest that H.E.S.S.-II and MAGIC have detected the high-energy tail of the primary SC component that produces the Fermi spectrum in Vela, Geminga, and PSR B1706−44. We argue that the ICS component peaking above 10 TeV from Vela has been seen by H.E.S.S. Detection of this emission component from the Crab and other pulsars is possible with the High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory and Cherenkov Telescope Array, and will directly measure the maximum particle energy in pulsars.

Investigating the energy distribution of the high-energy particles in the Crab nebula

The Crab nebula is a prominent pulsar wind nebula detected in multiband observations ranging from radio to very high-energy γ-rays. Recently, γ-rays with energies above 1 PeV have been detected by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory, and the energy of the most energetic particles in the nebula can be constrained. In this paper, we investigate the broadest spectral energy distribution of the Crab nebula and the energy distribution of the electrons emitting the multiwavelength nonthermal emission based on a one-zone time-dependent model. The nebula is powered by the pulsar, and high-energy electrons/positrons with a broken power-law spectrum are continually injected in the nebula as the pulsar spins down. Multiwavelength nonthermal emission is generated by the leptons through synchrotron radiation and inverse Compton scattering. Using appropriate parameters, the detected fluxes for the nebula can be well reproduced, especially for the γ-rays from 102 MeV to 1 PeV. The results show that the detected γ-rays can be produced by the leptons via the inverse Compton scattering, and the lower limit of the Lorentz factor of the most energetic leptons is ∼ 8.5 × 109. It can be concluded that there exist electrons/positrons with energies higher than 4.3 PeV in the Crab nebula.

Simultaneous two-color X-ray absorption spectroscopy using Laue crystals at an inverse-compton scattering X-ray facility

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is an element-selective technique that provides electronic and structural information of materials and reveals the essential mechanisms of the reactions involved. However, the technique is typically conducted at synchrotrons and usually only probes one element at a time. In this paper, a simultaneous two-color XAS setup at a laboratory-scale synchrotron facility is proposed based on inverse Compton scattering (ICS) at the Munich Compact Light Source (MuCLS), which is based on inverse Compton scattering (ICS). The setup utilizes two silicon crystals in a Laue geometry. A proof-of-principle experiment is presented where both silver (Ag) and palladium (Pd) K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectra were simultaneously measured. The simplicity of the setup facilitates its migration to other ICS facilities or maybe to other X-ray sources (e.g. a bending-magnet beamline). Such a setup has the potential to study reaction mechanisms and synergistic effects of chemical systems containing multiple elements of interest, such as a bimetallic catalyst system.

Circumstellar Medium Constraints on the Environment of Two Nearby Type Ia Supernovae: SN 2017cbv and SN 2020nlb

We present deep Chandra X-ray observations of two nearby Type Ia supernovae, SN 2017cbv and SN 2020nlb, which reveal no X-ray emission down to a luminosity L X ≲ 5.3 × 1037 and ≲ 5.4 × 1037 erg s−1 (0.3–10 keV), respectively, at ∼16–18 days after the explosion. With these limits, we constrain the pre-explosion mass-loss rate of the progenitor system to be M ̇ < 7.2 × 10−9 and < 9.7 × 10−9 M ⊙ yr−1 for each (at a wind velocity v w = 100 km s−1 and a radius of R ≈ 1016 cm), assuming any X-ray emission would originate from inverse Compton emission from optical photons upscattered by the supernova shock. If the supernova environment was a constant-density medium, we would find a number density limit of n CSM < 36 and < 65 cm−3, respectively. These X-ray limits rule out all plausible symbiotic progenitor systems, as well as large swathes of parameter space associated with the single degenerate scenario, such as mass loss at the outer Lagrange point and accretion winds. We also present late-time optical spectroscopy of SN 2020nlb, and set strong limits on any swept up hydrogen (L Hα < 2.7 × 1037 erg s−1) and helium (L He,λ6678 < 2.7 × 1037 erg s−1) from a nondegenerate companion, corresponding to M H ≲ 0.7–2 × 10−3 M ⊙ and M He ≲ 4 × 10−3 M ⊙. Radio observations of SN 2020nlb at 14.6 days after explosion also yield a non-detection, ruling out most plausible symbiotic progenitor systems. While we have doubled the sample of normal Type Ia supernovae with deep X-ray limits, more observations are needed to sample the full range of luminosities and subtypes of these explosions, and set statistical constraints on their circumbinary environments.