108 research outputs found
On the Location of the Gamma-ray Emission in the 2008 Outburst in the BL Lacertae Object AO 0235+164 through Observations across the Electromagnetic Spectrum
We present observations of a major outburst at centimeter, millimeter,
optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths of the BL Lacertae object AO
0235+164. We analyze the timing of multi-waveband variations in the flux and
linear polarization, as well as changes in Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA)
images at 7mm with 0.15 milliarcsecond resolution. The association of the
events at different wavebands is confirmed at high statistical significance by
probability arguments and Monte-Carlo simulations. A series of sharp peaks in
optical linear polarization, as well as a pronounced maximum in the 7 mm
polarization of a superluminal jet knot, indicate rapid fluctuations in the
degree of ordering of the magnetic field. These results lead us to conclude
that the outburst occurred in the jet both in the quasi-stationary "core" and
in the superluminal knot, both parsecs downstream of the supermassive black
hole. We interpret the outburst as a consequence of the propagation of a
disturbance, elongated along the line of sight by light-travel time delays,
that passes through a standing recollimation shock in the core and propagates
down the jet to create the superluminal knot. The multi-wavelength light curves
vary together on long time-scales (months/years), but the correspondence is
poorer on shorter time-scales. This, as well as the variability of the
polarization and the dual location of the outburst, agrees with the
expectations of a multi-zone emission model in which turbulence plays a major
role in modulating the synchrotron and inverse Compton fluxes.Comment: Accepted for Publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. 7
pages (including 5 figures). Minor corrections with regard to previous
version, as proposed by the refere
A multi-wavelength polarimetric study of the blazar CTA 102 during a Gamma-ray flare in 2012
We perform a multi-wavelength polarimetric study of the quasar CTA 102 during
an extraordinarily bright -ray outburst detected by the {\it Fermi}
Large Area Telescope in September-October 2012 when the source reached a flux
of F photons cm s.
At the same time the source displayed an unprecedented optical and NIR
outburst. We study the evolution of the parsec scale jet with ultra-high
angular resolution through a sequence of 80 total and polarized intensity Very
Long Baseline Array images at 43 GHz, covering the observing period from June
2007 to June 2014. We find that the -ray outburst is coincident with
flares at all the other frequencies and is related to the passage of a new
superluminal knot through the radio core. The powerful -ray emission is
associated with a change in direction of the jet, which became oriented more
closely to our line of sight (1.2) during the ejection of
the knot and the -ray outburst. During the flare, the optical polarized
emission displays intra-day variability and a clear clockwise rotation of
EVPAs, which we associate with the path followed by the knot as it moves along
helical magnetic field lines, although a random walk of the EVPA caused by a
turbulent magnetic field cannot be ruled out. We locate the -ray
outburst a short distance downstream of the radio core, parsecs from the black
hole. This suggests that synchrotron self-Compton scattering of near-infrared
to ultraviolet photons is the probable mechanism for the -ray
production.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
Probing the Inner Jet of the Quasar PKS 1510-089 with Multi-waveband Monitoring during Strong Gamma-ray Activity
We present results from monitoring the multi-waveband flux, linear
polarization, and parsec-scale structure of the quasar PKS 1510-089,
concentrating on eight major gamma-ray flares that occurred during the interval
2009.0-2009.5. The gamma-ray peaks were essentially simultaneous with maxima at
optical wavelengths, although the flux ratio of the two wavebands varied by an
order of magnitude. The optical polarization vector rotated by 720 degrees
during a 5-day period encompassing six of these flares. This culminated in a
very bright, roughly 1 day, optical and gamma-ray flare as a bright knot of
emission passed through the highest-intensity, stationary feature (the "core")
seen in 43 GHz Very Long Baseline Array images. The knot continued to propagate
down the jet at an apparent speed of 22c and emit strongly at gamma-ray
energies as a months-long X-ray/radio outburst intensified. We interpret these
events as the result of the knot following a spiral path through a mainly
toroidal magnetic field pattern in the acceleration and collimation zone of the
jet, after which it passes through a standing shock in the 43 GHz core and then
continues downstream. In this picture, the rapid gamma-ray flares result from
scattering of infrared seed photons from a relatively slow sheath of the jet as
well as from optical synchrotron radiation in the faster spine. The 2006-2009.7
radio and X-ray flux variations are correlated at very high significance; we
conclude that the X-rays are mainly from inverse Compton scattering of infrared
seed photons by 20-40 MeV electrons.Comment: 10 pages of text + 5 figures, to be published in Astrophysical
Journal Letters in 201
Flaring Behavior of the Quasar 3C~454.3 across the Electromagnetic Spectrum
We analyze the behavior of the parsec-scale jet of the quasar 3C~454.3 during
pronounced flaring activity in 2005-2008. Three major disturbances propagated
down the jet along different trajectories with Lorentz factors 10. The
disturbances show a clear connection with millimeter-wave outbursts, in 2005
May/June, 2007 July, and 2007 December. High-amplitude optical events in the
-band light curve precede peaks of the millimeter-wave outbursts by 15-50
days. Each optical outburst is accompanied by an increase in X-ray activity. We
associate the optical outbursts with propagation of the superluminal knots and
derive the location of sites of energy dissipation in the form of radiation.
The most prominent and long-lasting of these, in 2005 May, occurred closer to
the black hole, while the outbursts with a shorter duration in 2005 Autumn and
in 2007 might be connected with the passage of a disturbance through the
millimeter-wave core of the jet. The optical outbursts, which coincide with the
passage of superluminal radio knots through the core, are accompanied by
systematic rotation of the position angle of optical linear polarization. Such
rotation appears to be a common feature during the early stages of flares in
blazars. We find correlations between optical variations and those at X-ray and
-ray energies. We conclude that the emergence of a superluminal knot
from the core yields a series of optical and high-energy outbursts, and that
the mm-wave core lies at the end of the jet's acceleration and collimation
zone.Comment: 57 pages, 23 figures, 8 tables (submitted to ApJ
Dissecting the long-term emission behaviour of the BL Lac object Mrk 421
We report on long-term multiwavelengthmonitoring of blazar Mrk 421 by the GLAST-AGILE
Support Program of the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (GASP-WEBT) collaboration and
Steward Observatory, and by the Swift and Fermi satellites. We study the source behaviour in
the period 2007–2015, characterized by several extreme flares. The ratio between the optical,
X-ray and γ -ray fluxes is very variable. The γ -ray flux variations show a fair correlation with
the optical ones starting from 2012.We analyse spectropolarimetric data and find wavelengthdependence
of the polarization degree (P), which is compatible with the presence of the
host galaxy, and no wavelength dependence of the electric vector polarization angle (EVPA).
Optical polarimetry shows a lack of simple correlation between P and flux and wide rotations of
the EVPA.We build broad-band spectral energy distributions with simultaneous near-infrared
and optical data from the GASP-WEBT and ultraviolet and X-ray data from the Swift satellite.
They show strong variability in both flux and X-ray spectral shape and suggest a shift of
the synchrotron peak up to a factor of ∼50 in frequency. The interpretation of the flux and
spectral variability is compatible with jet models including at least two emitting regions that
can change their orientation with respect to the line of sight.http://10.0.4.69/mnras/stx2185Accepted manuscrip
The June 2016 Optical and Gamma-Ray Outburst and Optical Micro-Variability of the Blazar 3C454.3
The quasar 3C454.3 underwent a uniquely-structured multi-frequency outburst
in June 2016. The blazar was observed in the optical band by several
ground-based telescopes in photometric and polarimetric modes, at -ray
frequencies by the \emph{Fermi}\ Large Area Telescope, and at 43 GHz with the
Very Long Baseline Array. The maximum flux density was observed on 2016 June 24
at both optical and -ray frequencies, reaching
mJy and ph cm s, respectively. The June 2016
outburst possessed a precipitous decay at both -ray and optical
frequencies, with the source decreasing in flux density by a factor of 4 over a
24-hour period in band. Intraday variability was observed throughout the
outburst, with flux density changes between 1 and 5 mJy over the course of a
night. The precipitous decay featured statistically significant quasi-periodic
micro-variability oscillations with an amplitude of - about the
mean trend and a characteristic period of 36 minutes. The optical degree of
polarization jumped from to nearly 20\% during the outburst, while
the position angle varied by \sim120\degr. A knot was ejected from the 43 GHz
core on 2016 Feb 25, moving at an apparent speed .
From the observed minimum timescale of variability
hr and derived Doppler factor
, we find a size of the emission region
cm. If the quasi-periodic micro-variability
oscillations are caused by periodic variations of the Doppler factor of
emission from a turbulent vortex, we derive a rotational speed of the vortex
.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, 3 tables, accepted to the Astrophysical Journal
2019 March
Emission-line Variability during a Nonthermal Outburst in the Gamma-Ray Bright Quasar 1156+295
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.We present multi-epoch optical spectra of the γ-ray bright blazar 1156+295 (4C +29.45, Ton 599) obtained with the 4.3 m Lowell Discovery Telescope. During a multiwavelength outburst in late 2017, when the γ-ray flux increased to 2.5 × 10−6 phot cm−2 s−1 and the quasar was first detected at energies ≥100 GeV, the flux of the Mg ii λ2798 emission line changed, as did that of the Fe emission complex at shorter wavelengths. These emission-line fluxes increased along with the highly polarized optical continuum flux, which is presumably synchrotron radiation from the relativistic jet, with a relative time delay of ≲2 weeks. This implies that the line-emitting clouds lie near the jet, which points almost directly toward the line of sight. The emission-line radiation from such clouds, which are located outside the canonical accretion-disk related broad-line region, may be a primary source of seed photons that are up-scattered to γ-ray energies by relativistic electrons in the jet. © 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.This research was supported in part by NASA Fermi guest investigator program grants 80NSSC19K1504 and 80NSSC20K1565. We thank A. Tchekhovskoy for discussion of possible origins of the variable line-emitting clouds. These results made use of the Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT) at Lowell Observatory. Lowell Observatory is a private, non-profit institution dedicated to astrophysical research and public appreciation of astronomy, and operates the LDT in partnership with Boston University, the University of Maryland, the University of Toledo, Northern Arizona University and Yale University. This study was based in part on observations conducted using the 1.8 m Perkins Telescope Observatory (PTO) in Arizona, which is owned and operated by Boston University. I.A. acknowledges financial support from the Spanish "Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación" (MCINN) through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award for the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía-CSIC (SEV-2017-0709). Acquisition and reduction of the MAPCAT data were supported in part by MICINN through grants AYA2016-80889-P and PID2019-107847RB-C44. The MAPCAT observations were carried out at the German-Spanish Calar Alto Observatory, which is jointly operated by Junta de Andalucía and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Data from the Steward Observatory spectropolarimetric monitoring project were used; this program was supported by Fermi Guest Investigator grants NNX08AW56G, NNX09AU10G, NNX12AO93G, and NNX15AU81G. C.C. acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the grant agreement No. 771282.Peer reviewe
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