No Arabic abstract
Since no spectroscopic redshift is available for the remarkable BL Lac object 1ES 0647+250, we aim to derive an estimate of its distance from the properties of its host galaxy.We obtained a deep, high-resolution near-infrared H-band image of the BL Lacertae object 1ES 0647+250. We are able to detect the underlying host galaxy in the near-infrared. The host galaxy has an H-band magnitude of 16.9+-0.2 and an effective radius of 1.6+-0.3 arcsec. Using the imaging redshift method by Sbarufatti et al. (2005), we estimate a redshift z = 0.41+-0.06. This redshift is consistent with the previously reported imaging redshift estimate from the optical i-band, z = 0.45+-0.08 by Meisner & Romani (2010), and with previously reported lower limits for the redshift. It is also in agreement with constraints from its gamma-ray emission. Imaging searches in the near-infrared, even with moderately sized telescopes, for the host galaxies of BL Lac objects at unknown redshift, are encouraged, as well as optical spectroscopy of 1ES 0647+250 with large telescopes to determine its spectroscopic redshift.
We present results from multiwavelength observations of the BL Lacertae object 1ES 1741+196, including results in the very-high-energy $gamma$-ray regime using the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). The VERITAS time-averaged spectrum, measured above 180 GeV, is well-modelled by a power law with a spectral index of $2.7pm0.7_{mathrm{stat}}pm0.2_{mathrm{syst}}$. The integral flux above 180 GeV is $(3.9pm0.8_{mathrm{stat}}pm1.0_{mathrm{syst}})times 10^{-8}$ m$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, corresponding to 1.6% of the Crab Nebula flux on average. The multiwavelength spectral energy distribution of the source suggests that 1ES 1741+196 is an extreme-high-frequency-peaked BL Lacertae object. The observations analysed in this paper extend over a period of six years, during which time no strong flares were observed in any band. This analysis is therefore one of the few characterizations of a blazar in a non-flaring state.
We present the results of the first systematic long-term multi-color optical monitoring of the BL Lacertae object 1ES 0806+52.4. The monitoring was performed in multiple passbands with a 60/90 cm Schmidt telescope from December 2005 to February 2011. The overall brightness of this object decreased from 2005 December to 2008 December, and regained after that. A sharp outburst probably occurred around the end of our monitoring program. Overlapped on the long-term trend are some short-term small-amplitude oscillations. No intra-night variability was found in the object, which is in accord with the historical observations before 2005. By investigating the color behavior, we found strong bluer-when-brighter chromatism for the long-term variability of 1ES 0806+52.4. The total amplitudes at the c, i and o bands are 1.18, 1.12, and 1.02 mags, respectively. The amplitudes tend to increase toward shorter wavelength, which may be the major cause of bluer-when-brighter. Such bluer-when-brighter is also found in other blazars like S5 0716+714, OJ 287, etc. The hard X-ray data collected from the Swift/BAT archive was correlated with our optical data. No positive result was found, the reason of which may be that the hard X-ray flux is a combination of the synchrotron and inverse Compton emission but with different timescales and cadences under the leptonic Synchrotron-Self-Compton (SSC) model.
The BL Lac object 3C66A is one of the most luminous extragalactic sources at TeV $gamma$-rays (VHE, i.e. $E >100$ GeV). Since TeV $gamma$-ray radiation is absorbed by the extragalactic background light (EBL), it is crucial to know the redshift of the source in order to reconstruct its original spectral energy distribution, as well as to constrain EBL models. However, the optical spectrum of this BL,Lac is almost featureless, so a direct measurement of $z$ is very difficult; in fact, the published redshift value for this source ($z=0.444$) has been strongly questioned. Based on EBL absorption arguments, several constraints to its redshift, in the range $0.096 < z < 0.5$, were proposed. Since these AGNs are hosted, typically, in early type galaxies that are members of groups or clusters, we have analysed spectro-photometrically the environment of 3C66A, with the goal of finding the galaxy group hosting this blazar. This study was made using optical images of a $5.5 times 5.5$,arcmin$^{2}$ field centred on the blazar, and spectra of 24 sources obtained with Gemini/GMOS-N multi-object spectroscopy. We found spectroscopic evidence of two galaxy groups along the blazars line of sight: one at $z simeq 0.020$ and a second one at $z simeq 0.340$. The first one is consistent with a known foreground structure, while the second group here presented has six spectroscopically confirmed members. Their location along a red sequence in the colour-magnitude diagram allows us to identify 34 additional candidate members of the more distant group. The blazars spectrum shows broad absorption features that we identify as arising in the intergalactic medium, thus allowing us to tentatively set a redshift lower limit at $z_{3C66A} ge 0.33$. As a consequence, we propose that 3C66A is hosted in a galaxy that belongs to a cluster at $z=0.340$.
We have derived R-band host galaxy fluxes of 20 TeV candidate BL Lacertae objects as a function of aperture radius and FWHM. The results are given as correction tables, that list the fluxes (in mJy) of all ``contaminating sources (host galaxy + significant nearby objects) as a function of aperture radius and FWHM. We found that the derived fluxes depend strongly on aperture radius, but the FWHM has only a minor effect (a few percent). We also discuss the implications of our findings to optical monitoring programs and potential sources of error in our derived fluxes. During this work we have also constructed new calibration star sequences for 9 objects and present the finding charts and calibrated magnitudes.
We present subarcsecond resolution imaging and spectroscopy of the BL Lac object 1ES 1741+196 and neighboring galaxies. Based on 2-dimensional modelling, the host galaxy of 1ES 1741+196 is a very bright and large elliptical galaxy (M_R = -24.85, r_e = 51.2 kpc), whose overall luminosity distribution deviates significantly from a de Vaucouleurs profile. It is one of the most luminous and largest BL Lac host galaxies known. Closeby to 1ES 1741+196 we found two companion galaxies at the same redshift as the BL Lac itself. They are at projected distances of 7.2 and 25.2 kpc, respectively. The closer companion galaxy can be best modelled by a Sa-type galaxy, whereas the more distant companion galaxy is an elliptical. This is supported by their spectra. We detected a tidal tail emerging from the closer companion galaxy which is possibly connected with the more distant galaxy. Its surface brightness increases towards the closer companion galaxy, which suggests that material has been released from that galaxy due to tidal forces. The flat luminosity profile (beta = 0.15), high ellipticity (epsilon = 0.35) of the host galaxy of 1ES 1741+196 as well as its position angle along the impact parameter to the neighboring galaxies can be the result of tidal interaction. 1ES 1741+196 may be a BL Lac object in a triplet of interacting galaxies.