Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userGamma-ray Emission Properties of Four Bright Fermi-LAT AGNs: Implications on Emission Processes
106
0
0.0
(
0
)
Authors
Pankaj Kushwaha
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
The X-ray, Ultraviolet, Optical emission from radio-quiet AGNs, black hole binaries, and other compact sources, in general, follow a lognormal flux distribution, a linear rms-flux relation, and a (broken) power-law power spectral densities (PSDs). These characteristics are normally attributed to the multiplicative combination of fluctuations in the accretion disk. Similar features have been inferred for some well-observed blazars in different energy bands, but a systematic study over a long duration is still missing. Using a continuous gamma-ray light curves over 3-days cadence from August 2008 - October 2015, we present the first systematic study of these features in four sources: the FR I radio galaxy NGC 1275 and three blazars- Mrk 421, B2 1520+31 and PKS 1510-089. For all, except Mrk 421, the flux spans $gtrsim$ 2 orders of magnitude. For blazars, a log-normal profile describes the flux histograms better compared to a Gaussian, while none is favored for NGC 1275, the only non-blazar source, suggesting a complex distribution. Regardless of flux histogram profile, the rms-flux relation is linear for all with PSDs being consistent with a power-law shot noise spectrum despite hints of breaks. The inferred results are consistent with the properties of unresolved magnetic reconnection sites, as inferred in the X-ray emission from the whole Solar disk and the statistical characteristics of magnetic reconnection based minijets-in-a-jet model. The results, thus, suggest a strong jet-accretion-disk coupling with energy input from the central source being distributed over a wide range in time and energy by the reconnection process depending on the geometry and local physical conditions.
rate research
Read More
Blazars are a small fraction of all extragalactic sources but, unlike other objects, they are strong emitters across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Recent data in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum have become available to allow for systematic studies of blazars over large cosmological volumes. This frequency band is indeed particularly suited for the selection of blazars since at these frequencies the contamination from radio extended components with steep spectra is no longer present and the emission from the accretion process is negligible. During the first 3 months of scientific operations Fermi-LAT detected 106 bright, high-galactic latitude (| b |> 10 deg) AGNs with high significance. In this study we investigate the possible relations between the microwave and the gamma-ray emissions for Fermi-LAT detected AGNs belonging to WMAP 5th year bright source catalog.
We present a high time resolution study of the two brightest $gamma$-ray outbursts from a blazar PKS 1222+216 observed by the textit{Fermi} Large Area Telescope (LAT) in 2010. The $gamma$-ray light-curves obtained in four different energy bands: 0.1--3, 0.1--0.3, 0.3--1 and 1--3 GeV, with time bin of 6 hr, show asymmetric profiles with a similar rise time in all the bands but a rapid decline during the April flare and a gradual one during the June. The light-curves during the April flare show $sim 2$ days long plateau in 0.1--0.3 GeV emission, erratic variations in 0.3--1 GeV emission, and a daily recurring feature in 1--3 GeV emission until the rapid rise and decline within a day. The June flare shows a monotonic rise until the peak, followed by a gradual decline powered mainly by the multi-peak 0.1--0.3 GeV emission. The peak fluxes during both the flares are similar except in the 1--3 GeV band in April which is twice the corresponding flux during the June flare. Hardness ratios during the April flare indicate spectral hardening in the rising phase followed by softening during the decay. We attribute this behavior to the development of a shock associated with an increase in acceleration efficiency followed by its decay leading to spectral softening. The June flare suggests hardening during the rise followed by a complicated energy dependent behavior during the decay. Observed features during the June flare favor multiple emission regions while the overall flaring episode can be related to jet dynamics.
We present a statistical characterization of the $gamma$-ray emission from the four emph{Fermi}-LAT sources: FR I radio galaxy NGC 1275, BL Lac Mrk 421, FSRQs B2 1520+31 and PKS 1510-089 detected almost continuously over a time integration of 3-days between August 2008 - October 2015. The observed flux variation is large, spanning $gtrsim 2$ orders of magnitude between the extremes except for Mrk~421. We compute the flux distributions and compare with Gaussian and lognormal ones. We find that the 3 blazars have distribution consistent with a lognormal, suggesting that the variability is of a non-linear, multiplicative nature. This is further supported by the computation of the flux-rms relation, which is observed to be linear for the 3 blazars. However, for NGC 1275, the distribution does not seem to be represented either by a lognormal or a Gaussian, while its flux-rms relation is still found to be linear. We also compute the power spectra, which suggest the presence of a break, but are consistent with typical scale-free power-law shot noise. The results are broadly consistent with the statistical properties of the magnetic reconnection powered minijets-in-a-jet model. We discuss other possible scenarios and implications of these observations on jet processes and connections with the central engine.
Due to their proximity, high dark-matter content, and apparent absence of non-thermal processes, Milky Way dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies (dSphs) are excellent targets for the indirect detection of dark matter. Recently, eight new dSph candidates were discovered using the first year of data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We searched for gamma-ray emission coincident with the positions of these new objects in six years of Fermi Large Area Telescope data. We found no significant excesses of gamma-ray emission. Under the assumption that the DES candidates are dSphs with dark matter halo properties similar to the known dSphs, we computed individual and combined limits on the velocity-averaged dark matter annihilation cross section for these new targets. If the estimated dark-matter content of these dSph candidates is confirmed, they will constrain the annihilation cross section to lie below the thermal relic cross section for dark matter particles with masses < 20 GeV annihilating via the b-bbar or tau+tau- channels.
Context: Colliding wind binaries (CWBs) are thought to give rise to a plethora of physical processes including acceleration and interaction of relativistic particles. Observation of synchrotron radiation in the radio band confirms there is a relativistic electron population in CWBs. Accordingly, CWBs have been suspected sources of high-energy gamma-ray emission since the COS-B era. Theoretical models exist that characterize the underlying physical processes leading to particle acceleration and quantitatively predict the non-thermal energy emission observable at Earth. Aims: We strive to find evidence of gamma-ray emission from a sample of seven CWB systems: WR 11, WR 70, WR 125, WR 137, WR 140, WR 146, and WR 147. Theoretical modelling identified these systems as the most favourable candidates for emitting gamma-rays. We make a comparison with existing gamma-ray flux predictions and investigate possible constraints. Methods: We used 24 months of data from the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on-board the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope to perform a dedicated likelihood analysis of CWBs in the LAT energy range. Results: We find no evidence of gamma-ray emission from any of the studied CWB systems and determine corresponding flux upper limits. For some CWBs the interplay of orbital and stellar parameters renders the Fermi-LAT data not sensitive enough to constrain the parameter space of the emission models. In the cases of WR140 and WR147, the Fermi-LAT upper limits appear to rule out some model predictions entirely and constrain theoretical models over a significant parameter space. A comparison of our findings to the CWB eta Car is made.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
