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Register a new userRelentless multi-wavelength variability of Mrk 421 and Mrk 501
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Mrk 421 and Mrk 501 are two close, bright and well-studied high-synchrotron-peaked blazars, which feature bright and persistent GeV and TeV emission. We use the longest and densest dataset of unbiased observations of these two sources, obtained at TeV and GeV energies during five years with FACT and Fermi-LAT. To characterize the variability and derive constraints on the emission mechanism, we augment the dataset with contemporaneous multi-wavelength observations from radio to X-rays. We correlate the light curves, identify individual flares in TeV energies and X-rays, and look for inter-band connections, which are expected from the shock propagations within the jet. For Mrk 421, we find that the X-rays and TeV energies are well correlated with close to zero lag, supporting the SSC emission scenario. The timing between the TeV, X-ray flares in Mrk 421 is consistent with periods expected in the case of Lense-Thirring precession of the accretion disc. The variability of Mrk 501 on long-term periods is also consistent with SSC, with a sub-day lag between X-rays and TeV energies. Fractional variability for both blazars shows a two bump structure with the highest variability in the X-ray and TeV bands.
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The origin of the gamma-ray emission of the blazar Mrk 421 is still a matter of debate. We used 5.5 years of unbiased observing campaign data, obtained using the FACT telescope and the Fermi LAT detector at TeV and GeV energies, the longest and densest so far, together with contemporaneous multi-wavelength observations, to characterise the variability of Mrk 421 and to constrain the underlying physical mechanisms. We studied and correlated light curves obtained by ten different instruments and found two significant results. The TeV and X-ray light curves are very well correlated with a lag of <0.6 days. The GeV and radio (15 Ghz band) light curves are widely and strongly correlated. Variations of the GeV light curve lead those in the radio. Lepto-hadronic and purely hadronic models in the frame of shock acceleration predict proton acceleration or cooling timescales that are ruled out by the short variability timescales and delays observed in Mrk 421. Instead the observations match the predictions of leptonic models.
We study the multi-wavelength variability of the blazar Mrk 421 at minutes to days timescales using simultaneous data at $gamma$-rays from Fermi, 0.7-20 keV energies from AstroSat, and optical and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths from ground-based observatories. We compute the shortest variability timescales at all of the above wavebands and find its value to be ~1.1 ks at the hard X-ray energies and increasingly longer at soft X-rays, optical and NIR wavelengths as well as at the GeV energies. We estimate the value of the magnetic field to be 0.5 Gauss and the maximum Lorentz factor of the emitting electrons ~1.6 x $10^5$ assuming that synchrotron radiation cooling drives the shortest variability timescale. Blazars vary at a large range of timescales often from minutes to years. These results, as obtained here from the very short end of the range of variability timescales of blazars, are a confirmation of the leptonic scenario and in particular the synchrotron origin of the X-ray emission from Mrk 421 by relativistic electrons of Lorentz factor as high as $10^5$. This particular mode of confirmation has been possible using minutes to days timescale variability data obtained from AstroSat and simultaneous multi-wavelength observations.
Mrk 421 is a high-synchrotron-peaked blazar featuring bright and persistent GeV and TeV emission. We use the longest and densest ongoing unbiased observing campaign obtained at TeV and GeV energies during 5.5 years with the FACT telescope and the Fermi-LAT detector. The contemporaneous multi-wavelength observations were used to characterize the variability of the source and to constrain the underlying physical mechanisms. We study and correlate light curves obtained by nine different instruments from radio to gamma rays and found two significant results. The TeV and X-ray light curves are very well correlated with lag, if any, shorter than a day. The GeV light curve varies independently and accurately leads the variations observed at long wavelengths, in particular in the radio band. We find that the observations match the predictions of leptonic models and suggest that the physical conditions vary along the jet, when the emitting region moves outwards.
Radio-to-TeV observations of the bright nearby (z=0.034) blazar Markarian 501 (Mrk 501), performed from December 2012 to April 2018, are used to study the emission mechanisms in its relativistic jet. We examined the multi-wavelength variability and the correlations of the light curves obtained by eight different instruments, including the First G-APD Cherenkov Telescope (FACT), observing Mrk 501 in very high-energy (VHE) gamma-rays at TeV energies. We identified individual TeV and X-ray flares and found a sub-day lag between variability in these two bands. Simultaneous TeV and X-ray variations with almost zero lag are consistent with synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission, where TeV photons are produced through inverse Compton scattering. The characteristic time interval of 5-25 days between TeV flares is consistent with them being driven by Lense-Thirring precession.
The blazar Mrk 421 shows frequent, short flares in the TeV energy regime. Due to the fast nature of such episodes, we often fail to obtain sufficient simultaneous information about flux variations in several energy bands. To overcome this lack of multi-wavelength (MWL) coverage, especially for the pre- and post-flare periods, we have set up a monitoring program with the FACT telescope (TeV energies) and the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (X-rays). On 2019 June 9, Mrk 421 showed a TeV outburst reaching a flux level of more than two times the flux of the Crab Nebula at TeV energies. We acquired simultaneous data in the X-rays with additional observations by XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL. For the first time, we can study a TeV blazar in outburst taking advantage of highly sensitive X-ray data from XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL combined. Our dataset is complemented by pointed radio observations by Effelsberg at GHz frequencies. We present our first results, including the {gamma}-ray and X-ray light curves, a timing analysis of the X-ray data obtained with XMM-Newton , as well as the radio spectra before, during and after the flare.
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