Blazars studied with the Suzaku X-ray telescope

Blazars, which are radio-loud active galaxies with luminous jets aligned at small angles to the line of sight, form a rather heterogeneous population of extragalactic sources of high energy radiation. Frequently monitored over the last decades with different instruments ranging from low-frequency radio interferometers up to high and very high energy γ-ray telescopes, they enable a unique insight into the innermost parts of active galactic nuclei (AGN) where relativistic jets are launched by supermassive black holes accreting at high rates. The radiative output of blazars is however dominated by a non-thermal emission of high-energy jet particles, and hence extracting the key parameters of these systems requires a good understanding of particle acceleration processes taking place in relativistic collisionless plasma. Here I discuss some selected recent observational results on the topic obtained in the X-ray domain using the Suzaku satellite, which provides detailed broad-band spectra of blazar sources in relatively short (or very short) exposures. Such good-quality spectra are necessary for a precise characterization of the jet variability and energetics. I also comment on the prospects for the X-ray polarimetry of blazar sources with the Soft Gamma-ray Detector onboard the ASTRO-H satellite to be launched in 2015

Longterm Optical Monitoring of Bright BL Lacertae Objects with ATOM: Spectral Variability and Multiwavelength Correlations

Blazars are the established sources of an intense and variable non-thermal radiation extending from radio wavelengths up to HE and VHE gamma-rays. Understanding the spectral evolution of blazars in selected frequency ranges, as well as multi-frequency correlations in various types of blazar sources, is of a primary importance for constraining the blazar physics. Here we present the results of a long-term optical monitoring of a sample of 30 blazars of the BL Lac type. We study the optical color-magnitude correlation patterns emerging in the analyzed sample, and compare the optical properties of the targets with the high-energy gamma-ray and high-frequency radio data. The optical observations were carried out in R and B filters using ATOM telescope. Each object was observed during at least 20 nights in the period 2007-2012. We find significant global color-magnitude correlations in 40 % of the sample. The sources which do not display any clear chromatism often do exhibit bluer-when-brighter (bwb) behavior but only in isolated shorter time intervals. We also discovered spectral state transitions at optical wavelengths in several sources. Finally, we find that the radio, optical, and gamma-ray luminosities of the sources obey almost linear correlations, which seem however induced, at least partly, by the redshift dependance, and may be also affected by non-simultaneousness of the analyzed dataset. We argue that the observed bwb behavior is intrinsic to the jet emission regions, at least for some of the analyzed blazars, rather than resulting from the contamination of the measured flux by the starlight of host galaxies. We also conclude that the significance of color-magnitude scalings does not correlate with the optical color, but instead seems to depend on the source luminosity, in a sense that these are the lowest-luminosity BL Lac objects which display the strongest correlations.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

First detection in gamma-rays of a young radio galaxy: Fermi-LAT observations of the Compact Symmetric Object PKS 1718-649

We report the $\gamma$-ray detection of a young radio galaxy, PKS 1718$-$649, belonging to the class of Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs), with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the {\it Fermi} satellite. The third {\it Fermi} Gamma-ray LAT catalog (3FGL) includes an unassociated $\gamma$-ray source, 3FGL J1728.0$-$6446, located close to PKS 1718$-$649. Using the latest Pass 8 calibration, we confirm that the best fit $1 \sigma$ position of the $\gamma$-ray source is compatible with the radio location of PKS 1718$-$649. Cross-matching of the $\gamma$-ray source position with the positions of blazar sources from several catalogs yields negative results. Thus, we conclude that PKS 1718$-$649 is the most likely counterpart to the unassociated LAT source. We obtain a detection test statistics TS$\sim 36$ ($>$5$\sigma$) with a best fit photon spectral index $\Gamma=$2.9$\pm$0.3 and a 0.1-100 GeV photon flux density $F_{\rm 0.1-100GeV}=$(11.5$\pm$0.3)$\times{\rm 10^{-9}}$ ph cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. We argue that the linear size ($\sim$2 pc), the kinematic age ($\sim$100 years), and the source distance ($z=0.014$) make PKS 1718$-$649 an ideal candidate for $\gamma$-ray detection in the framework of the model proposing that the most compact and the youngest CSOs can efficiently produce GeV radiation via inverse-Compton scattering of the ambient photon fields by the radio lobe non-thermal electrons. Thus, our detection of the source in $\gamma$-rays establishes young radio galaxies as a distinct class of extragalactic high-energy emitters, and yields an unique insight on the physical conditions in compact radio lobes interacting with the interstellar medium of the host galaxy.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Correlation between X-ray and radio absorption in compact radio galaxies

Compact radio galaxies with a GHz-peaked spectrum (GPS) and/or compact-symmetric-object (CSO) morphology (GPS/CSOs) are increasingly detected in the X-ray domain. Their radio and X-ray emissions are affected by significant absorption. However, the locations of the X-ray and radio absorbers are still debated. We investigated the relationship between the column densities of the total ($N_{\mathrm{H}}$) and neutral ($N_{\mathrm{HI}}$) hydrogen to statistically constrain the picture. We compiled a sample of GPS/CSOs including both literature data and new radio data that we acquired with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope for sources whose X-ray emission was either established or under investigation. In this sample, we compared the X-ray and radio hydrogen column densities, and found that $N_{\mathrm{H}}$ and $N_{\mathrm{HI}}$ display a significant positive correlation, with $N_{\mathrm{HI}} \propto N_{\mathrm{H}}^b$, where $b=0.47$ and $b=0.35$, depending on the subsample. The $N_{\mathrm{H}}$ - $N_{\mathrm{HI}}$ correlation suggests that the X-ray and radio absorbers are either co-spatial or different components of a continuous structure. The correlation displays a large intrinsic spread that we suggest to originate from fluctuations, around a mean value, of the ratio between the spin temperature and the covering factor of the radio absorber, $T_{\rm s}/C_{\rm f}$.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, 6 tables; final version: a few typos corrected, minor style change

EVN Observations of HESS J1943+213: Evidence for an Extreme TeV BL Lac Object

We report on the 1.6 GHz (18 cm) VLBI observations of the unresolved, steady TeV source HESS J1943+213 located in the Galactic plane, performed with the European VLBI Network (EVN) in 2014. Our new observations with a nearly full EVN array provide the deepest image of HESS J1943+213 at the highest resolution ever achieved, enabling us to resolve the long-standing issues of the source identification. The milliarcsecond-scale structure of HESS J1943+213 has a clear asymmetric morphology, consisting of a compact core and a diffuse jet-like tail. This is broadly consistent with the previous e-EVN observations of the source performed in 2011, and re-analyzed in this work. The core component is characterized by the brightness temperature of $\gtrsim1.8 \times 10^9$ K, which is typical for low-luminosity blazars in general. Overall, radio properties of HESS J1943+213 are consistent with the source classification as an "extreme high-frequency-peaked BL Lac object". Remarkably, we note that since HESS J1943+213 does not reveal any optical or infrared signatures of the AGN activity, it would never be recognized and identified as a BL Lac object, if not its location close to the Galactic plane where the High Energy Stereoscopic System has surveyed, and the follow-up dedicated X-ray and radio studies triggered by the source detection in the TeV range. Our results suggest therefore a presence of an unrecognized, possibly very numerous population of particularly extreme HBLs, and simultaneously demonstrate that the low-frequency VLBI observations with high-angular resolution are indispensable for a proper identification of such objects.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted to ApJ

Dynamical analysis of the complex radio structure in 3C 293 : clues on a rapid jet realignment in X-shaped radio galaxies

Context. Radio galaxies classified as X-shaped/winged, are characterised by two pairs of extended and misaligned lobes, which suggest a rapid realignment of the jet axis, for which a potential cause (including binary supermassive black holes, a black hole merger, or a Lense-Thirring precession) is still under debate. Aims. Here we analyse the complex radio structure of 3C 293 winged source hosted by the post-merger galaxy UGC 8782, which uniquely displays a significant asymmetry between the sizes (and therefore the ages) of the two pairs of lobes, indicating that an episode of jet realignment took place only very recently. This allows us to tightly constrain the corresponding timescales, and therefore to discriminate between different models proposed for the formation of X-shaped radio galaxies in general. Methods. Based on all the available and carefully re-analysed radio data for 3C 293, we have performed a detailed spectral modelling for the older and younger lobes in the system, using the existing evolutionary DYNAGE algorithm. In this way we derived the lobes’ ages and jet energetics, which we then compared to the accretion power in the source. Results. We found that the 200 kpc-scale outer lobes of 3C 293 are ~ 60 Myr old and, until very recently, have been supplied with fresh electrons and magnetic field by the jets, i.e., jet activity related to the formation of the outer lobes ceased within the last Myr. Meanwhile, the inner 4 kpc-scale lobes, tilted by ~ 40° with respect to the outer ones, are only about ~ 0.3 Myr old. Interestingly, the best model fits also return identical values of the jet power supplying the outer and the inner structures. This power, moreover, is of the order of the maximum kinetic luminosity of a Blandford-Znajek jet for a given black hole mass and accretion rate, but only in the case of relatively low values of a black hole spin, a ~ 0.2. Conclusions. The derived jet energetics and timescales, along with the presence of two optical nuclei in UGC 8782, all provide a strong support to the Lense-Thirring precession model in which the supermassive black hole spin, and therefore the jet axis, flips rapidly owing to the interactions with the tilted accretion disk in a new tidal interaction episode of the merging process. We further speculate that, in general, X-shape radio morphology forms in post-merger systems that are rich in cold molecular gas, and only host slowly spinning supermassive black holes

Cherenkov Telescope Array : the World’s largest VHE gamma-ray observatory

Very-High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray astroparticle physics is a relatively young field, and observations over the past decade have surprisingly revealed almost two hundred VHE emitters which appear to act as cosmic particle accelerators. These sources are an important component of the Universe, influencing the evolution of stars and galaxies. At the same time, they also act as a probe of physics in the most extreme environments known - such as in supernova explosions, and around or after the merging of black holes and neutron stars. However, the existing experiments have provided exciting glimpses, but often falling short of supplying the full answer. A deeper understanding of the TeV sky requires a significant improvement in sensitivity at TeV energies, a wider energy coverage from tens of GeV to hundreds of TeV and a much better angular and energy resolution with respect to the currently running facilities. The next generation gamma-ray observatory, the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), is the answer to this need. In this talk I will present this upcoming observatory from its design to the construction, and its potential science exploitation. CTAO will allow the entire astronomical community to explore a new discovery space that will likely lead to paradigm changing breakthroughs. In particular, CTA has an unprecedented sensitivity to short (sub-minute) timescale phenomena, placing it as a key instrument in the future of multi-messenger and multi-wavelength time domain astronomy. I will conclude the talk presenting the first scientific results obtained by the LST-1, the prototype of one CTA telescope type - the Large Sized Telescope, that is currently under commission

Possible gravitational microlensing events in the optical lightcurve of active galaxy S5 0716+714

A well-known active galaxy of the blazar type, S5 0716+714, is characterized by a particularly high-variability duty cycle on short timescales at optical frequencies. As such, the source was subjected to numerous monitoring programs, including both ground-based as well as spaceborne telescopes. On closer inspection of the most recent accumulation of the data provided by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, we have noticed several conspicuous events with "volcano-like" symmetric shape, all lasting for several hours, which closely resemble the achromatic events detected with the previous Whole Earth Blazar Telescope campaigns targeting the source. We propose that those peculiar features could be due to the gravitational microlensing of the innermost segments of the precessing jet in the system by a binary lens. We study the magnification pattern of the lens with the inverse-ray shooting method and the source trajectory parameters with the Python package MuLensModel. In this way, we were able to fit successfully all the selected events with a single lens, adjusting slightly only the source trajectory parameters for each lensing event. Based on the fit results, we postulate the presence of a massive binary lens containing an intermediate-mass black hole, possibly even a supermassive one, and a much less massive companion (by a factor of ≲ 0.01) located within the host galaxy of the blazar, most likely the central kiloparsec region. We discuss the major physical implications of the proposed scenario regarding the quest for the intermediate-mass and dual supermassive black holes in active galaxies

An Analysis of Soft X-ray Structures at Kiloparsec Distances from the Active Nucleus of Centaurus A Galaxy

Here we re-analyze the archival {\it Chandra} data for the central parts of the Centaurus\,A radio galaxy, aiming for a systematic investigation of the X-ray emission associated with the inner radio lobes in the system, and their immediate surroundings. In particular, we focus on four distinct features characterized by the soft excess with respect to the adjacent fields. Those include the two regions located at kpc distances from the nucleus to the West and East, the extended bow-shock structure to the South, and a fragment of a thin arc North from the center. The selected North, West, and South features coincide with the edges of the radio lobes, while the East structure is seemingly displaced from the radio-emitting plasma. Our X-ray spectral analysis reveals (i) a power-law emission component with photon index $\Gamma \sim 2$ in the North, East, and South regions, and (ii) a dense (number density $\sim 0.3$\,cm$^{-3}$) and relatively cold (temperature $\sim 0.2$\,keV) gas in the East and West regions. The power-law emission is consistent with the synchrotron continuum generated at the edges of the radio structure, and implies that the efficiency of the electron acceleration at the terminal bow-shock does not vary dramatically over the inner lobes' extension. The presence of gaseous condensations, on the other hand, could possibly be understood in terms of a massive outflow from the central regions of the galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa