2,765 research outputs found
The last Gift of BeppoSAX: PDS Observations of the two Blazars 1ES 0507-040 and PKS 1229-021
Towards the end of the BeppoSAX mission, the only operated Narrow Field
Instrument was the PDS, which covers the energy range 13-300 keV. Two blazars,
1ES 0507-040 (z=0.304) and PKS 1229-021 (z= 1.045), suitably located in the sky
for BeppoSAX pointing, were observed for about 2 days each in Spring 2002 with
the PDS and detected up to 50 keV. 1ES0507-040 had been already observed by the
BeppoSAX NFIs at an earlier epoch for a much shorter time. We have re-analysed
those data as well, and identified a possible contamination problem in the PDS
spectrum. We present our recent PDS data on both sources, combined with the
previous BeppoSAX data and with non-simultaneous observations at other
frequencies. The derived Spectral Energy Distributions allow us to discuss the
origin of the high energy component.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, poster presented at the symposium: The Restless
High-Energy Universe, Amsterdam, May 200
High Energy Break and Reflection Features in the Seyfert Galaxy MCG+8-11-11
We present the results from ASCA and OSSE simultaneous observations of the
Seyfert 1.5 galaxy MCG+8-11-11 performed in August-September 1995. The ASCA
observations indicate a modest flux increase (20%) in 3 days, possibly
correlated to a softening of the 0.6-9 keV spectrum. The spectrum is well
described by a hard power law (Gamma=1.64) absorbed by a column density
slightly larger than the Galactic value, with an iron line at 6.4 keV of EW=400
eV. The simultaneous OSSE data are characterized by a much softer power law
with photon index Gamma=3.0, strongly suggesting the presence of a spectral
break in the hard X/soft gamma-ray band. A joint fit to OSSE and ASCA data
clearly shows an exponential cut-off at about 300 keV, and strong reflection
component. MCG+8-11-11 features a spectral break in the underlying continuum
unambiguously. This, together with the inferred low compactness of this source,
favours thermal or quasi-thermal electron Comptonization in a structured Corona
as the leading process of high energy radiation production.Comment: 13 pages, + 4 figure.ps AAS LateX [11pt,aasms4]{article} To be
published in ApJ, Main Journa
Interpreting radiative efficiency in radio-loud AGNs
Author submitted version of unrefereed Nature Astronomy comment. Version in journal format available at https://rdcu.be/KH6WRadiative efficiency in radio-loud active galactic nuclei is governed by the accretion rate onto the central black hole rather than directly by the type of accreted matter; while it correlates with real differences in host galaxies and environments, it does not provide unambiguous information about particular objects.Non peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio
Rapid X-ray Variability of the BL Lacertae Object PKS 2155-304
(Abridged) We present a detailed power density spectrum and cross-correlation
analysis of the X-ray light curves of the BL Lac object PKS 2155-304, observed
with BeppoSAX in 1997 and 1996, aimed at exploring the rapid variability
properties and the inter-band cross correlations in the X-rays. We also perform
the same analysis on the (archival) X-ray light curve obtained with ASCA in
1994.Comment: 47 pages, 11 figures, AAS Latex macros V4.0, accepted for publication
in the Astrophysical Journa
Evidence for an axion-like particle from PKS 1222+216?
The surprising discovery by MAGIC of an intense, rapidly varying emission in
the energy range 70 - 400 GeV from the flat spectrum radio quasar PKS 1222+216
represents a challenge for all interpretative scenarios. Indeed, in order to
avoid absorption of \gamma rays in the dense ultraviolet radiation field of the
broad line region (BLR), one is forced to invoke some unconventional
astrophysical picture, like for instance the existence of a very compact (r\sim
10^{14} cm) emitting blob at a large distance (R \sim10^{18} cm) from the jet
base. We offer the investigation of a scenario based on the standard blazar
model for PKS 1222+216 where \gamma rays are produced close to the central
engine, but we add the new assumption that inside the source photons can
oscillate into axion-like particles (ALPs), which are a generic prediction of
several extensions of the Standard Model of elementary particle interactions.
As a result, a considerable fraction of very-high-energy photons can escape
absorption from the BLR through the mechanism of photon-ALP oscillations much
in the same way as they largely avoid absorption from extragalactic background
light when propagating over cosmic distances in the presence of large-scale
magnetic fields in the nG range. In addition we show that the above MAGIC
observations and the simultaneous Fermi/LAT observations in the energy range
0.3 - 3 GeV can both be explained by a standard spectral energy distribution
for experimentally allowed values of the model parameters. In particular, we
need a very light ALP just like in the case of photon-ALP oscillations in
cosmic space. Moreover, we find it quite tantalizing that the most favorable
value of the photon-ALP coupling happens to be the same in both situations.
Although our ALPs cannot contribute to the cold dark matter, they are a viable
candidate for the quintessential dark energy. [abridged]Comment: 32 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review
Swift XRT and UVOT deep observations of the high energy peaked BL Lac object PKS 0548-322 close to its brightest state
We present the results of a spectral analysis of 5 Swift XRT and UVOT
observations of the BL Lac object PKS 0548-322 carried out over the period
April-June 2005. The X-ray flux of this high energy peaked BL Lac (HBL) source
was found to be approximately constant at a level of F(2-10 keV) ~ 4x10^-11 erg
cm^-2 s^-1, a factor of 2 brighter than when observed by BeppoSAX in 1999 and
close to the maximum intensity reported in the Einstein Slew Survey. The very
good statistics obtained in the 0.3-10 keV Swift X-ray spectrum allowed us to
detect highly significant deviations from a simple power law spectral
distribution. A log-parabolic model describes well the X-ray data and gives a
best fit curvature parameter of 0.18 and peak energy in the Spectral Energy
Distribution of about 2 keV. The UV spectral data from Swift UVOT join well
with a power law extrapolation of the soft X-ray data points suggesting that
the same component is responsible for the observed emission in the two bands.
The combination of synchrotron peak in the X-ray band and high intensity state
confirms PKS 0548-322 as a prime target for TeV observations. X-ray monitoring
and coordinated TeV campaigns are highly advisable.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A (6 pages, 3 figures
Spectral Evolution of PKS 2155-304 observed with BeppoSAX during an Active Gamma-ray Phase
We present the results of BeppoSAX observations of PKS 2155-304 during an
intense gamma-ray flare. The source was in a high X-ray state. A temporal
analysis of the data reveals a tendency of the amplitude of variations to
increase with energy, and the presence of a soft lag with a timescale of the
order 10^3 s. A curved continuum spectrum, with no evidence of spectral
features, extends up to ~50 keV, while there is indication of a flatter
component emerging at higher energies, consistent with the interpretation of
the broad band spectral energy distribution (SED) as due to synchrotron
self-Compton (SSC) emission from a single region. Notably, the fitting of the
SED with such a model is consistent with an interpretation of the detected soft
lag as due to radiative cooling, supporting the idea that radiation losses play
an important role in variability. The observed shifts of the SED peaks between
the lowest and highest flux levels can be accounted for by an increase of the
break energy in the relativistic particle spectrum. The model predicts emission
at TeV energies in good agreement with the recently reported detection.Comment: 36 pages (8 figures), Latex with AAS macros, etc), accepted for
publication on Astrophysical Journa
BeppoSAX Observations of the TeV Blazar Mkn 421
The blazar Mkn 421 has been observed, as part of the AO1 Core Program, five
times from 2 to 7 May 1997. In the LECS+MECS energy band the spectrum shows
convex curvature, well represented by a broken power--law. Flux variability
(more than a factor 2) has been detected over the entire 0.1--10 keV range,
accompanying which the spectrum steepens with the decrease in intensity. Mkn
421 has also been detected with the PDS instrument. Our preliminary analysis
indicates that the PDS spectrum lies significantly above the extrapolation from
the MECS, suggesting a contribution from a flatter high energy component.Comment: 4 pages, 4 Postscript figures, uses espcrc2.sty and psfig.sty (both
included). To appear in "The Active X-ray Sky: Results from BeppoSAX and
Rossi-XTE", Rome, Italy, 21-24 October, 1997. Eds.: L. Scarsi, H. Bradt, P.
Giommi and F. Fior
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