1,983 research outputs found
Radio Luminosities and Classificatory Criteria of BL Lacertae Objects
Using the sample of radio selected BL Lacertae objects (RBLs) and X-ray
selected BL Lacertae objects (XBLs) presented by Sambruna et al. (1996), we
calculated the luminosities of radio, optical and X-ray of each source and made
the statistical analysis among the luminosities at different wave-bands,
broad-band spectral indices from radio to X-ray () and peak
frequencies (). Our results are as follows: (i) there is a positive
correlation between radio luminosity and and a
negative correlation between and . High-energy peak BL Lacs
(HBLs) and low-energy peak BL Lacs (LBLs) can be distinguished very well, the
dividing lines are probably those of (erg/sec) and
(or )0.75 for - plot and
those of (erg/sec) and for the
- plot; (ii) there is a weak positive correlation between
optical luminosity and and a negatively weak
correlation between and ; (iii) there is no correlation
between X-ray luminosity and or between and
. From our analysis, we find that synchrotron radiation is the main
X-ray radiation mechanism for HBLs while inverse Compton scattering for LBLs.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to A&
BeppoSAX Observations of 1-Jy BL Lacertae Objects - II
We present new BeppoSAX LECS and MECS observations, covering the energy range
0.1 - 10 keV (observer's frame), of four BL Lacertae objects selected from the
1 Jy sample. All sources display a flat (alpha_x ~ 0.7) X-ray spectrum, which
we interpret as inverse Compton emission. One object shows evidence for a
low-energy steepening (Delta alpha_x ~ 0.9) which is likely due to the
synchrotron component merging into the inverse Compton one around ~ 2 keV. A
variable synchrotron tail would explain why the ROSAT spectra of our sources
are typically steeper than the BeppoSAX ones (Delta alpha_x} ~ 0.7). The
broad-band spectral energy distributions fully confirm this picture and model
fits using a synchrotron inverse Compton model allow us to derive the physical
parameters (intrinsic power, magnetic field, etc.) of our sources. By combining
the results of this paper with those previously obtained on other sources we
present a detailed study of the BeppoSAX properties of a well-defined
sub-sample of 14 X-ray bright (f_x (0.1 - 10 keV) > 3 x 10^{-12} erg/cm^2/s)
1-Jy BL Lacs. We find a very tight proportionality between nearly simultaneous
radio and X-ray powers for the 1-Jy sources in which the X-ray band is
dominated by inverse Compton emission, which points to a strong link between
X-ray and radio emission components in these objects.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Postscript
file also available at http://www.stsci.edu/~padovani/xrayspectra_papers.htm
Low power BL Lacertae objects and the blazar sequence: Clues on the particle acceleration process
The spectral properties of blazars seem to follow a phenomenological sequence
according to the source luminosity. By inferring the source physical parameters
through (necessarily) modeling the blazar spectra, we have previously proposed
that the sequence arises because the particles responsible for most of the
emission suffer increasing radiative losses as the luminosity increases. Here
we extend those results by considering the widest possible range of blazar
spectral properties. We find a new important ingredient for shaping the spectra
of the lowest power objects, namely the role of a finite timescale for the
injection of relativistic particles. Only high energy particles radiatively
cool in such timescale leading to a break in the particle distribution:
particles with this break energy are those emitting most of the power, and this
gives raise to a link between blazar spectra and total energy density inside
the source, which controls the cooling timescale. The emerging picture requires
two phases for the particle acceleration: a first pre-heating phase in which
particles reach a characteristic energy as the result of balancing heating and
radiative cooling, and a more rapid acceleration phase which further accelerate
these particles to form a power law distribution. While in agreement with
standard shock theory, this scenario also agrees with the idea that the
luminosity of blazars is produced through internal shocks, which naturally lead
to shocks lasting for a finite time.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&
VHE Gamma Rays from PKS 2155-304
The close X-ray selected BL Lac PKS 2155-304 has been observed using the
University of Durham Mark 6 very high energy (VHE) gamma ray telescope during
1996 September/October/November and 1997 October/November. VHE gamma rays with
energy > 300 GeV were detected from this object with a time-averaged integral
flux of (4.2 +/- 0.7 (stat) +/- 2.0 (sys)) x 10^(-11) per cm2 per s. There is
evidence for VHE gamma ray emission during our observations in 1996 September
and 1997 October/November, with the strongest emission being detected in 1997
November, when the object was producing the largest flux ever recorded in
high-energy X-rays and was detected in > 100 MeV gamma-rays. The VHE and X-ray
fluxes show evidence of a correlation.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Ap.
Progress in understanding Blazars from BeppoSAX observations
Results obtained with BeppoSAX observations of blazars within various
collaborative programs are presented. The spectral similarity "paradigm",
whereby the spectral energy distributions of blazars follow a sequence, leading
to a unified view of the whole population, is briefly illustrated. We
concentrate on recent observations of flares and associated spectral
variability for three objects at the "blue" end of the spectral sequence,
namely PKS 2155-304, Mkn 421 and Mkn 501. The results are discussed in terms of
a general analytic synchrotron self-Compton interpretation of the overall
spectrum. The physical parameters of the quasi-stationary emission region can
be derived with some confidence, while the variability mechanism(s) must be
complex.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the 32nd
COSPAR Meeting, Nagoya, 12-19 July 199
The BeppoSAX HELLAS survey: on the nature of faint hard X-ray selected sources
The BeppoSAX 4.5-10 keV High Energy Large Area Survey has covered about 80
square degrees of sky down to a flux of F(5-10keV)~5E-14 cgs. Optical
spectroscopic identification of about half of the sources in the sample (62)
shows that many (~50%) are highly obscured AGN, in line with the predictions of
AGN synthesis models for the hard X-ray background (XRB, see e.g. Comastri et
al. 1995). The X-ray data, complemented by optical, near-IR and radio
follow-up, indicate that the majority of these AGN are ``intermediate''
objects, i.e. type 1.8-1.9 AGN,`red' quasars, and even a few broad line, blue
continuum quasars, obscured in X-rays by columns of the order of
logNH=22.5-23.5 cm-2, but showing a wide dispersion in optical extinction. The
optical and near-IR photometry of the obscured objects are dominated by galaxy
starlight, indicating that a sizeable fraction of the accretion power in the
Universe may actually have been missed in optical color surveys. This also
implies that multicolor photometry techniques may be efficiently used to assess
the redshift of the hard X-ray selected sources.Comment: 9 pages, Invited talk to appear in the Proceedings of the Conference
X-ray Astronomy '999: Stellar Endpoints, AGNs and the Diffuse X-ray
Background. (September 6-10 - 1999
A comparative study of the X-ray afterglow properties of optically bright and dark GRBs
We have examined the complete set of X-ray afterglow observations of dark and
optically bright GRBs performed by BeppoSAX until February 2001. X-ray
afterglows are detected in 90% of the cases. We do not find significant
differences in the X-ray spectral shape, in particular no higher X-ray
absorption in GRBs without optical transient (dark GRBs) compared to GRBs with
optical transient (OTGRBs). Rather, we find that the 1.6-10 keV flux of OTGRBs
is on average about 5 times larger than that of the dark GRBs. A K-S test shows
that this difference is significant at 99.8% probability. Under the assumption
that dark and OTGRB have similar spectra, this could suggest that the first are
uncaught in the optical band because they are just faint sources. In order to
test this hypothesis, we have determined the optical-to-X ray flux ratios of
the sample. OTGRBs show a remarkably narrow distribution of flux ratios, which
corresponds to an average optical-to-x spectral index 0.794\pm 0.054. We find
that, while 75% of dark GRBs have flux ratio upper limits still consistent with
those of OT GRBs, the remaining 25% are 4 - 10 times weaker in optical than in
X-rays. The significance of this result is equal to or higher than 2.6 sigma.
If this sub-population of dark GRBs were constituted by objects assimilable to
OTGRBs, they should have shown optical fluxes higher than upper limits actually
found. We discuss the possible causes of their behaviour, including a possible
occurrence in high density clouds or origin at very high redshift and a
connection with ancient, Population III stars.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures. To be published in The Astrophysical Journa
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