Observation of Very High Energy gamma-rays from Active Galactic Nuclei and characterization of their non-thermal emission mechanisms

Das Hauptziel dieser Arbeit ist die Charakterisierung extrem starker Quellen, die höchstwahrscheinlich die kosmische Strahlung beschleunigen. In dieser Arbeit wurden VHE-Gammastrahlenbeobachtungen mit den MAGIC-Teleskopen verwendet, um die Eigenschaften von Blazaren zu untersuchen. Um die Mechanismen zu untersuchen, die zur Breitbandemission von Blazaren führen, wird ein stationärer lepto-hadronischer Code unter Verwendung eines einfachen semianalytischen Frameworks entwickelt. Daher implementiert der Code neben den leptonischen Wechselwirkungen auch die relevanten hadronischen Wechselwirkungskanäle: Protonensynchrotronstrahlung, Photo-Meson-Wechselwirkungen, Proton-Proton-Wechselwirkungen und Paarkaskaden. Die Dissertation präsentiert die Ergebnisse derMAGIC- und Multiwellenlängen-Monitoring-Kampagne des Blazars 1ES 1959 + 650 im Jahr 2016. Im Jahr 2016 durchlief die Quelle eine äußerst aktive Phase und zeigte am 13. Juni, 14. Juni und 1. Juli 2016 drei bemerkenswert helle VHE-Gammastrahlenfackeln. Um die Breitbandspektren der Quelle während der bemerkenswerten Fackelaktivitäten zu untersuchen, wurden drei verschiedene theoretische Modelle übernommen: leptonisch, hadronisch und gemischt lepto-hadronisch. Sowohl das hadronische als auch das gemischte leptohadronische Modell ergaben während der intensiven Aktivitätsperiode Neutrinoflüsse, die unter der Empfindlichkeit der gegenwärtigen Generation von Neutrinoteleskopen liegen. Die Beobachtung eines hochenergetischen Neutrinos durch IceCube im räumlichen und zeitlichen Zusammentreffen mit einem aufflammenden Blazar mit dem Namen TXS 0506 + 056 ergab 2017 erstmals Hinweise auf Identifizierung einer extragalaktischen kosmischen Strahlenquelle. Die Modellierung der elektromagnetischen Daten und des vorhergesagten Neutrinoflusses impliziert, dass die Quelle tatsächlich ein potenzieller Neutrinostrahler und damit ein Beschleuniger für energiereiche kosmische Strahlen sein könnte.The main aim of this thesis is to characterize extremely powerful sources that are most likely accelerating cosmic rays. Cosmic-ray sources are also believed to produce photons and neutrinos that act as direct tracers of their sources of origin. In this thesis VHE gamma-ray observations by the MAGIC telescopes were used to study the properties of blazars. To investigate the mechanisms giving rise to the broadband emission from blazars, a stationary lepto-hadronic code is developed using a simple semi-analytical framework. Hence along with the leptonic interactions, the code also implements the relevant hadronic interaction channels: proton synchrotron radiation, photo-meson interactions, proton-proton interactions and pair cascades. The thesis presents the results from theMAGIC and multi-wavelength monitoring campaign of the blazar 1ES 1959+650 during 2016. In 2016 the source underwent into an extremely active phase and exhibited three remarkably bright VHE gamma-ray flares on 13th June, 14th June and 1st July of 2016. On two of these nights, signs of rapid flux variability within sub-hour timescales was clearly resolved by the MAGIC observations. In order to investigate the broadband spectra of the source during the remarkable flaring activities, three different theoretical models were adopted: leptonic, hadronic and mixed lepto-hadronic. Both the hadronic and mixed leptohadronic models yielded neutrino fluxes during the intense activity period, that falls below the sensitivity of the current generation of neutrino telescopes. In 2017, the observation of a high-energy neutrino by IceCube in spatial and temporal coincidence with a flaring blazar named TXS 0506+056 yielded for the first time, hints towards identification of an extragalactic cosmic-ray source. The modelling of the electromagnetic data and the predicted neutrino flux implies that the source could indeed be a potential neutrino emitter and hence an accelerator of high-energy cosmic rays

MAGIC and H.E.S.S. detect VHE gamma rays from the blazar OT081 for the first time: a deep multiwavelength study

https://pos.sissa.it/395/815/pdfPublished versio

Very High Energy gamma-ray detection by MAGIC from a direction coincident with the IceCube neutrino event

On 22nd September, 2017 a high energy neutrino event was detected by the IceCube neutrino detector in spatial coincidence to the blazar TXS0506+056, which was also observed by the Fermi-LAT satellite to be in a state of enhanced gamma-ray activity. These observations triggered a series of multi-messenger and multi-wavelength (MWL) campaigns. On 24th September 2017, the MAGIC telescopes started follow-up observations of this source and soon after reported the detection of very high energy gamma-rays from its location. The association of a high energy neutrino with a blazar is quite rare and might suggest that the source is the birthplace of the most energetic particles streaming in the universe. Using the observational results from MAGIC and MWL data spanning the entire electromagnetic spectrum, here we discuss a possible interpretation of the underlying emission mechanisms inside the source which associates the highest energy gamma-rays to high-energy neutrinos and cosmic rays

The blazar TXS 0506+056 associated with a high-energy neutrino: MAGIC VHE observations and multi-messenger implications

A neutrino with energy of ∼ 290 TeV, IceCube-170922A, was detected in coincidence with the BLLac object TXS 0506+056 during enhanced gamma-ray activity, with chance coincidence being rejected at ∼3σ level. We monitored the object in the very-high-energy (VHE) band with the MAGIC telescopes for∼41 hours from 1.3 to 40.4 days after the neutrino detection. Day-timescale variability is clearly resolved. We interpret the quasi-simultaneous neutrino and broadband electromagnetic observations with a novel one-zone lepto-hadronic model, based on interactions of electrons and protons co-accelerated in the jet with external photons originating from a slow-moving plasma sheath surrounding the faster jet spine. We can reproduce the multiwavelength spectra of TXS 0506+056 with neutrino rate and energy compatible with IceCube-170922A, and with plausible values for the jet power of ∼$10^{45} − 4 × 10^{46} erg s^{−1}$. The steep spectrum observed by MAGIC is concordant with internal $γγ$ absorption above a few tens of GeV entailed by photohadronic production of a ∼ 290 TeV neutrino, corroborating a genuine connection between the multi-messenger signals. In contrast to previous predictions of predominantly hadronic emission from neutrino sources, the gamma-rays can be mostly ascribed to inverse Compton up scattering of external photons by accelerated electrons. The X-ray and VHE bands provide crucial constraints on the emission from both accelerated electrons andprotons. We infer that the maximum energy of protons in the jet co-moving frame can be in the range ∼ $10^{14}$ to $10^{18}$ eV

MAGIC and MWL monitoring of the blazar TXS 0506+056 in the 2018/2019 season

The gamma-ray blazar TXS 0506+056, was discovered in VHE gamma-rays by the MAGIC telescopes in 2017 in a follow-up campaign of a high energy neutrino event IceCube-170922A (IC+Fermi+MAGIC++, Science 361, eaat1378 (2018)). Subsequent multivawelenght (MWL) observations and theoretical modeling in a frame of hadro-leptonic emission confirmed that this source could be a potential cosmic ray and neutrino emitter (MAGIC Collaboration, Ansoldi et al., (2018)). This is, by far, the most significant association between a high-energy neutrino and an astrophysical source emitting gamma rays and X-rays. TXS 0506+056 is a key object to help the astrophysics community to establish connections between high-energy neutrinos and astrophysical sources. Accurate and contemporaneous MWL spectral measurements are essential ingredients to achieve this goal. In the conference, we present the measurements from the MAGIC and MWL monitoring of this source, spanning the time period from November 2017 till February 2019. These include the lowest VHE gamma-ray emission state measured from this source so far as well as a flaring episode in December 2018

Studying the long-term spectral and temporal evolution of 1ES 1959+650

The high-frequency peaked BL Lac type object (HBL) 1ES 1959+650 is one of the brightest blazars in the very-high-energy (VHE, E≳100 GeV) gamma-ray sky. HBLs have been proposed as possible neutrino emitters implying the presence of hadrons in the emission mechanisms. In 2002, AMANDA reported neutrino candidates from this source simultaneously observed with a gamma-ray flaring activity without an X-ray emission enhancement, interpreted as an orphan flare. Standard one-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission models cannot explain this behavior. The MAGIC telescopes have been observing 1ES 1959+650 since 2004. An extreme outburst triggered by multiwavelength observations reaching 300% of the Crab nebula flux level above 300 GeV was detected in 2016. Leptonic and hadronic models are equally successful in describing the observed emission. To study the long-term behavior and the characteristics in different emission states of 1ES 1959+650, we have densely monitored it since 2017 for more than 300 hours. Together with the FACT monitoring (more than 2000 hours since 2012), this is the most intense monitoring for any blazar after Mrk421 and Mrk501 in the VHE range. The monitoring shows a decline of the VHE flux with occasional flaring episodes reaching in 2019 a low-state emission corresponding to 10% of the Crab nebula. We present the long-term monitoring study results using multiwavelength data from MAGIC, FACT, Fermi-LAT, Swift, OVRO, and Tuorla. Lastly, we discuss the differences in the broadband spectral energy distributions between the flaring states from 2016 and the low state in 2019.ISSN:1824-803

The Blazar TXS 0506+056 Associated with a High-energy Neutrino: Insights into Extragalactic Jets and Cosmic-Ray Acceleration

A neutrino with energy ~290 TeV, IceCube-170922A, was detected in coincidence with the BL Lac object TXS 0506+056 during enhanced gamma-ray activity, with chance coincidence being rejected at ~3σ level. We monitored the object in the very-high-energy (VHE) band with the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescopes for ~41 hr from 1.3 to 40.4 days after the neutrino detection. Day-timescale variability is clearly resolved. We interpret the quasi-simultaneous neutrino and broadband electromagnetic observations with a novel one-zone lepto-hadronic model, based on interactions of electrons and protons co-accelerated in the jet with external photons originating from a slow-moving plasma sheath surrounding the faster jet spine. We can reproduce the multiwavelength spectra of TXS 0506+056 with neutrino rate and energy compatible with IceCube-170922A, and with plausible values for the jet power of ~1045 - 4 x 1046 erg s-1. The steep spectrum observed by MAGIC is concordant with internal γγ absorption above ~100 GeV entailed by photohadronic production of a ~290 TeV neutrino, corroborating a genuine connection between the multi-messenger signals. In contrast to previous predictions of predominantly hadronic emission from neutrino sources, the gamma-rays can be mostly ascribed to inverse Compton upscattering of external photons by accelerated electrons. The X-ray and VHE bands provide crucial constraints on the emission from both accelerated electrons and protons. We infer that the maximum energy of protons in the jet comoving frame can be in the range ~1014 – 1018 eV.ISSN:1967-2014ISSN:2041-821