Zooming into γ-ray loud galactic nuclei: broadband emission and structure dynamics of the blazar PKS 1502+106 and the narrow-line Seyfert 1 1H 0323+342

Blazars are accretion-powered systems representing the most extreme flavor of active galactic nuclei (AGN). This thesis focuses on the study of blazar PKS 1502+106 during a prominent broadband outburst using ultra-high resolution imaging and a broadband single-dish study. The former is accomplished through very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) down to short millimeter (mm) wavelengths, while the latter uses densely-sampled radio light curves at a wide frequency range. The same combination allows the detailed study of the galaxy 1H 0323+342. This is a prominent member of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) class of AGN, recently discovered to emit gamma-rays. General aspects of AGN along with an introduction to their discovery, phenomenology, and their constituent parts are discussed in Chapter 1. Here, specific aspects of blazars and concepts used in later chapters are also introduced. Chapter 2 introduces the technique of VLBI from a theoretical standpoint, while in Chapter 3 the practical aspects of VLBI calibration and imaging at mm wavelengths are discussed. The phenomenology and physical characteristics of PKS 1502+106 through a cm- to mm-VLBI study are presented in Chapter 4. The data set features Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA) observations at 7 mm (43 GHz) and 3 mm (86 GHz) along with complementary observations at 2 cm (15 GHz) from the MOJAVE program. We also combine the analysis with F-GAMMA program data at frequencies matching the VLBI monitoring and with the Fermi/LAT gamma-ray light curve. From the rich data set we deduce its kinematical and spectral characteristics which allow the inference of physical parameters of the ultra-relativistic jet of PKS 1502+106. For the jet features identified across observing frequencies we deduce Doppler factors in the range ~10--50 at different positions within the flow. Magnetic field strengths and brightness temperatures along the jet are also deduced. The position-dependent differences in viewing angle and Lorentz factors, indicate a jet bending towards the observer that also accelerates. The kinematical model and radio flux density decomposition into distinct jet components in conjunction with the gamma-ray data indicate that the broadband flare, seen first at γ-rays and its delayed counterparts at radio wavelengths, can be attributed to one traveling jet feature (C3). Finally, the emission site of the gamma-ray emission is constrained to <10--15 pc from the jet base. The outburst of PKS 1502+106 seen through the dense, single-dish, F-GAMMA data set between 2.64--345 GHz is discussed in Chapter 5. By employing three different time series analysis techniques relevant light curve parameters, such as the flare amplitude, flare time scales, and time delays of maxima are extracted. Those exhibit dependencies on observing frequency that are well-described by power laws. The frequency-dependent light curve parameters are compared with the expectations of analytical simulations (see Chapter 5 for references) under the shock-in-jet scenario with which a good agreement is found. From the frequency-dependent time lags, equipartition magnetic field strengths are calculated and in combination with the VLBI findings from Chapter 4, the MeV/GeV emitting region is localized at the edge or slightly further from the bulk of the broad-line region (BLR) material of PKS 1502+106 with important consequences on the origin of photons available for inverse Compton up-scattering. In Chapter 6 the powerful combination of previous findings based on the F-GAMMA monitoring with VLBI images at 15 GHz allows the determination of the viewing angle towards the NLS1 galaxy 1H 0323+342. This is found to be θ = 12--13 degrees. A summary and concluding remarks arising from the thesis at hand are presented in Chapter 7

Physical Conditions and Variability Processes in AGN Jets through Multi-Frequency Linear and Circular Radio Polarization Monitoring

Radio polarimetry is an invaluable tool to investigate the physical conditions and variability processes in active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets. However, detecting their linear and circular polarization properties is a challenging endeavor due to their low levels and possible depolarization effects. We have developed an end-to-end data analysis methodology to recover the polarization properties of unresolved sources with high accuracy. It has been applied to recover the linear and circular polarization of 87 AGNs measured by the F-GAMMA program from July 2010 to January 2015 with a mean cadence of 1.3 months. Their linear polarization was recovered at four frequencies between 2.64 and 10.45 GHz and the circular polarization at 4.85 and 8.35 GHz. The physical conditions required to reproduce the observed polarization properties and the processes which induce their variability were investigated with a full-Stokes radiative transfer code which emulates the synchrotron emission of modeled jets. The model was used to investigate the conditions needed to reproduce the observed polarization behavior for the blazar 3C 454.3, assuming that the observed variability is attributed to evolving internal shocks propagating downstream.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

An Exceptional Radio Flare in Markarian 421

In September 2012, the high-synchrotron-peaked (HSP) blazar Markarian 421 underwent a rapid wideband radio flare, reaching nearly twice the brightest level observed in the centimeter band in over three decades of monitoring. In response to this event we carried out a five epoch centimeter- to millimeter-band multifrequency Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) campaign to investigate the aftermath of this emission event. Rapid radio variations are unprecedented in this object and are surprising in an HSP BL Lac object. In this flare, the 15 GHz flux density increased with an exponential doubling time of about 9 days, then faded to its prior level at a similar rate. This is comparable with the fastest large-amplitude centimeter-band radio variability observed in any blazar. Similar flux density increases were detected up to millimeter bands. This radio flare followed about two months after a similarly unprecedented GeV gamma-ray flare (reaching a daily E>100 MeV flux of (1.2 +/- 0.7)x10^(-6) ph cm^(-2) s^(-1)) reported by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) collaboration, with a simultaneous tentative TeV detection by ARGO-YBJ. A cross-correlation analysis of long-term 15 GHz and LAT gamma-ray light curves finds a statistically significant correlation with the radio lagging ~40 days behind, suggesting that the gamma-ray emission originates upstream of the radio emission. Preliminary results from our VLBA observations show brightening in the unresolved core region and no evidence for apparent superluminal motions or substantial flux variations downstream.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figures. Contributed talk at the meeting "The Innermost Regions of Relativistic Jets and Their Magnetic Fields", Granada, Spain. Updated to correct author list and reference

The Gamma-ray Activity of the high-z Quasar 0836+71

The Fermi LAT detected an increase in γ-ray activity of the quasar 0836+710 (z=2.17) in Spring 2011 that culminated in a sharp γ-ray flare at the end of 2011 when the source reached a flux of 2.9×10−6 phot s−1cm−2 at 0.1-200 GeV. We monitor the quasar at optical wavelengths in photometric and polarimetric modes, at millimeter and centimeter wavelengths, and with the VLBA at 43 GHz. The optical brightness of the quasar increased by ~0.5 mag in R band and the degree of polarization oscillated between ~1% and ~6% during the highest γ-ray state, while the position angle of polarization rotated by ~300°. We have identified in the VLBA images a strong, highly polarized component that moves with an apparent speed of ~20 c. The component emerged from the core in the beginning of the γ-ray event and reached a flux maximum at the peak of the γ-ray outburst. We present the results of a correlative analysis of variations at different wavelengths along with the kinematic parameters of the parsec scale jet. We discuss the location of the high γ-ray emission in the relativistic jet, as well as the emission mechanisms responsible for γ-ray production

The Gamma-ray Activity of the high-z Quasar 0836+71

The Fermi LAT detected an increase in γ-ray activity of the quasar 0836+710 (z=2.17) in Spring 2011 that culminated in a sharp γ-ray flare at the end of 2011 when the source reached a flux of 2.9×10−6 phot s−1cm−2 at 0.1-200 GeV. We monitor the quasar at optical wavelengths in photometric and polarimetric modes, at millimeter and centimeter wavelengths, and with the VLBA at 43 GHz. The optical brightness of the quasar increased by ~0.5 mag in R band and the degree of polarization oscillated between ~1% and ~6% during the highest γ-ray state, while the position angle of polarization rotated by ~300°. We have identified in the VLBA images a strong, highly polarized component that moves with an apparent speed of ~20 c. The component emerged from the core in the beginning of the γ-ray event and reached a flux maximum at the peak of the γ-ray outburst. We present the results of a correlative analysis of variations at different wavelengths along with the kinematic parameters of the parsec scale jet. We discuss the location of the high γ-ray emission in the relativistic jet, as well as the emission mechanisms responsible for γ-ray production.Peer reviewe