MOJAVE. XIX. Brightness Temperatures and Intrinsic Properties of Blazar Jets

We present multiepoch, parsec-scale core brightness temperature observations of 447 active galactic nucleus (AGN) jets from the MOJAVE and 2 cm Survey programs at 15 GHz from 1994 to 2019. The brightness temperature of each jet over time is characterized by its median value and variability. We find that the range of median brightness temperatures for AGN jets in our sample is much larger than the variations within individual jets, consistent with Doppler boosting being the primary difference between the brightness temperatures of jets in their median state. We combine the observed median brightness temperatures with apparent jet speed measurements to find the typical intrinsic Gaussian brightness temperature of 4.1( ± 0.6) × 1010 K, suggesting that jet cores are at or below equipartition between particle and magnetic field energy in their median state. We use this value to derive estimates for the Doppler factor for every source in our sample. For the 309 jets with both apparent speed and brightness temperature data, we estimate their Lorentz factors and viewing angles to the line of sight. Within the BL Lac optical class, we find that high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacs have smaller Doppler factors, lower Lorentz factors, and larger angles to the line of sight than intermediate and low-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacs. We confirm that AGN jets with larger Doppler factors measured in their parsec-scale radio cores are more likely to be detected in γ rays, and we find a strong correlation between γ-ray luminosity and Doppler factor for the detected sources.

On the Origin of Gamma-Ray Flares from Bright Fermi Blazars

The origin of γ-ray flares observed from blazars is one of the major mysteries in jet physics. We have attempted to address this problem following a novel spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting technique that explored the flaring patterns identified in the broadband SEDs of two γ-ray bright blazars, 3C 279 (z = 0.54) and 3C 454.3 (z = 0.86), using near-simultaneous radio-to-γ-ray observations. For both sources, the γ-ray flux strongly correlates with the separation of the SED peaks and the Compton dominance. We propose that spectral hardening of the radiating electron population and/or enhancement of the Doppler factor can naturally explain these observations. In both cases, magnetic reconnection may play a pivotal role in powering the luminous γ-ray flares.

Doppler estimation and compensation method for underwater target active detection based on communication signal

The integration of underwater detection and communication uses communication signals to detect a target actively, but the Doppler effect deteriorates the parameter estimation performance of the integrated system. To eliminate the influence of the Doppler effect, a joint Doppler estimation and compensation method based on spectrum zooming and correction is proposed. Firstly, the synchronization signal is used to obtain the signal receiving delay and intercept the single-frequency signal segment in the received signal. Then, the discrete Fourier transform is used to find the frequency that corresponds to the maximum amplitude of the single-frequency signal segment. Finally, the frequency spectrum is refined and corrected within the range near the frequency. The Doppler factor is estimated and the received signal is compensated by the Doppler estimation value. The simulation results show that the proposed method improves Doppler factor estimation accuracy, increases the cross-correlation processing gain and improves DOA (direction of arrival) estimation performance, thus being robust to different Doppler effects.

Optimized Doppler Estimation and Symbol Synchronization for Mobile M-ary Spread Spectrum Underwater Acoustic Communication

In mobile underwater acoustic (UWA) communications, the Doppler effect causes severe signal distortion, which leads to carrier frequency shift and compresses/broadens the signal length. This situation has a more severe impact on communication performance in the case of low signal-to-noise ratio and variable-speed movement. This paper proposes a non-data-aided Doppler estimation method for M-ary spread spectrum UWA communication systems in mobile scenarios. The receiver uses the spread spectrum codes dedicated to transmitting signals with different frequency offsets as local reference signals. Correlation operations are performed symbol by symbol with the received signal. The decoding and Doppler estimation of the present symbol are achieved by searching the correlation maximum in the code domain and frequency domain. The length of the current symbol is corrected for the next symbol synchronization using the estimated Doppler coefficient. To optimize the process of Doppler estimation and symbol synchronization, a heuristic search method is used. By adjusting the Doppler factor search step size, setting the threshold value, and using the Doppler factor estimation of the previous symbol, the search range can be significantly reduced and the computational complexity decreased. The Fisher-Yates shuffle algorithm is used to traverse the search range to ensure reliability of the results. Simulation results show that enlarging the frequency-domain search step size in some degree does not affect the decoding accuracy. On 15 May 2021, a shallow-water mobile UWA spread spectrum communication experiment was conducted in Weihai, China. The horizontal distance between the transmitter and the receiver is 3.7–4.0 km, and the communication rate is 41.96 bits per second. The transmitting ship moves at a speed of 0–3 m/s, and the bit error rate (BER) is lower than 1e−3, which is better than that of the sliding correlation despreading method with average Doppler compensation.

Color characteristics of the blazar S5 0716+714 under geometrical origin of the long-term variability

The optical radiation of the blazar S5 0716+714 is formed within its ultrarelativistic jet in a compact region located near the true origin of the jet. Assuming that the variability is formed only by changing the relativistic radiation amplification coefficient (Doppler factor) for some part of the emitting region and that the spectrum of the emitting region, characterized by a power law at the observed frequencies, has a turn-over at lower frequencies, caused by synchrotron self-absorption, we analyze the archival data of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory of B-, V-, R-, I-photometry of the blazar S5 0716+714 from 2002 to 2019. An explanation for the observed change in the color index during the blazar S5 0716+714 variability without changes in the physical parameters of the source was obtained.

The dual nature of blazar fast variability: Space and ground observations of S5 0716+714

ABSTRACT Blazar S5 0716+714 is well-known for its short-term variability, down to intraday time-scales. We here present the 2-min cadence optical light curve obtained by the TESS space telescope in 2019 December–2020 January and analyse the object fast variability with unprecedented sampling. Supporting observations by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope Collaboration in B, V, R, and I bands allow us to investigate the spectral variability during the TESS pointing. The spectral analysis is further extended in frequency to the UV and X-ray bands with data from the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. We develop a new method to unveil the shortest optical variability time-scales. This is based on progressive de-trending of the TESS light curve by means of cubic spline interpolations through the binned fluxes, with decreasing time bins. The de-trended light curves are then analysed with classical tools for time-series analysis (periodogram, autocorrelation, and structure functions). The results show that below 3 d there are significant characteristic variability time-scales of about 1.7, 0.5, and 0.2 d. Variability on time-scales $\lesssim 0.2$ d is strongly chromatic and must be ascribed to intrinsic energetic processes involving emitting regions, likely jet substructures, with dimension less than about 10−3 pc. In contrast, flux changes on time-scales $\gtrsim 0.5$ d are quasi-achromatic and are probably due to Doppler factor changes of geometric origin.