No Arabic abstract
We report first results of a multifrequency campaign from radio to hard X-ray energies of the prominent gamma-ray blazar 3C 279, which was organised around an INTEGRAL ToO observation in January 2006, and triggered on its optical state. The variable blazar was observed at an intermediate optical state, and a well-covered multifrequency spectrum from radio to hard X-ray energies could be derived. The SED shows the typical two-hump shape, the signature of non-thermal synchrotron and inverse-Compton (IC) emission from a relativistic jet. By the significant exposure times of INTEGRAL and Chandra, the IC spectrum (0.3 - 100 keV) was most accurately measured, showing - for the first time - a possible bending. A comparison of this 2006 SED to the one observed in 2003, also centered on an INTEGRAL observation, during an optical low-state, reveals the surprising fact that - despite a significant change at the high-energy synchrotron emission (near-IR/optical/UV) - the rest of the SED remains unchanged. In particular, the low-energy IC emission (X- and hard X-ray energies) remains the same as in 2003, proving that the two emission components do not vary simultaneously, and provides strong constraints on the modelling of the overall emission of 3C 279.
We report first results of a multifrequency campaign from radio to hard X-ray energies of the prominent gamma-ray blazar 3C 279 during the first year of the INTEGRAL mission. The variable blazar was found at a low activity level, but was detected by all participating instruments. Subsequently a multifrequency spectrum could be compiled. The individual measurements as well as the compiled multifrequency spectrum are presented. In addition, this 2003 broadband spectrum is compared to one measured in 1999 during a high activity period of 3C 279.
We report first observational results of multifrequency campaigns on the prominent Virgo blazars 3C 273 and 3C 279 which were carried out in January and February 1999. Both blazars are detected from radio to gamma-ray energies. We present the measured X- to gamma-ray spectra of both sources, and for 3C 279 we compare the 1999 broad-band (radio to gamma-ray) spectrum to measured previous ones.
We study the multifrequency emission and spectral properties of the quasar 3C 279. We observed 3C 279 in very high energy (VHE, E>100GeV) gamma rays, with the MAGIC telescopes during 2011, for the first time in stereoscopic mode. We combine these measurements with observations at other energy bands: in high energy (HE, E>100MeV) gamma rays from Fermi-LAT, in X-rays from RXTE, in the optical from the KVA telescope and in the radio at 43GHz, 37GHz and 15GHz from the VLBA, Metsahovi and OVRO radio telescopes and optical polarisation measurements from the KVA and Liverpool telescopes. During the MAGIC observations (February to April 2011) 3C 279 was in a low state in optical, X-ray and gamma rays. The MAGIC observations did not yield a significant detection. These upper limits are in agreement with the extrapolation of the HE gamma-ray spectrum, corrected for extragalactic background light absorption, from Fermi-LAT. The second part of the MAGIC observations in 2011 was triggered by a high activity state in the optical and gamma-ray bands. During the optical outburst the optical electric vector position angle rotatated of about 180 degrees. There was no simultaneous rotation of the 43GHz radio polarisation angle. No VHE gamma rays were detected by MAGIC, and the derived upper limits suggest the presence of a spectral break or curvature between the Fermi-LAT and MAGIC bands. The combined upper limits are the strongest derived to date for the source at VHE and below the level of the previously detected flux by a factor 2. Radiation models that include synchrotron and inverse Compton emissions match the optical to gamma-ray data, assuming an emission component inside the broad line region (BLR) responsible for the high-energy emission and one outside the BLR and the infrared torus causing optical and low-energy emission. We interpreted the optical polarisation with a bent trajectory model.
We report the AGILE detection and the results of the multifrequency follow-up observations of a bright $gamma$-ray flare of the blazar 3C 279 in June 2015. We use AGILE-GRID and Fermi-LAT $gamma$-ray data, together with Swift-XRT, Swift-UVOT, and ground-based GASP-WEBT optical observations, including polarization information, to study the source variability and the overall spectral energy distribution during the $gamma$-ray flare. The $gamma$-ray flaring data, compared with as yet unpublished simultaneous optical data which allow to set constraints on the big blue bump disk luminosity, show very high Compton dominance values of $sim 100$, with a ratio of $gamma$-ray to optical emission rising by a factor of three in a few hours. The multi-wavelength behavior of the source during the flare challenges one-zone leptonic theoretical models. The new observations during the June 2015 flare are also compared with already published data and non-simultaneous historical 3C 279 archival data.
Ever since the discovery by the Fermi mission that active galactic nuclei (AGN) produce copious amounts of high-energy emission, its origin has remained elusive. Using high-frequency radio interferometry (VLBI) polarization imaging, we could probe the magnetic field topology of the compact high-energy emission regions in blazars. A case study for the blazar 3C 279 reveals the presence of multiple gamma-ray emission regions. Pass 8 Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) data are used to investigate the flux variations in the GeV regime; six gamma-ray flares were observed in the source during November 2013 to August 2014. We use the 43 GHz VLBI data to study the morphological changes in the jet. Ejection of a new component (NC2) during the first three gamma-ray flares suggests the VLBI core as the possible site of the high-energy emission. A delay between the last three flares and the ejection of a new component (NC3) indicates that high-energy emission in this case is located upstream of the 43 GHz core (closer to the black hole).