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Register a new userConnection between Gamma-Ray Variations and Disturbances in the Jets of Blazars
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We perform monthly total and polarized intensity imaging of a sample of $gamma$-ray blazars (33 sources) with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 43 GHz with the high resolution of 0.1 milliarcseconds. From Summer 2008 to October 2009 several of these blazars triggered Astronomical Telegrams due to a high $gamma$-ray state detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT): AO 0235+164, 3C 273, 3C 279, PKS 1510-089, and 3C 454.3. We have found that 1) $gamma$-ray flares in these blazars occur during an increase of the flux in the 43 GHz VLBI core; 2) strong $gamma$-ray activity, consisting of several flares of various amplitudes and durations (weeks to months), is simultaneous with the propagation of a superluminal knot in the inner jet, as found previously for BL Lac (Marscher et al. 2008); 3) coincidence of a superluminal knot with the 43 GHz core precedes the most intense $gamma$-ray flare by 36$pm$24 days. Our results strongly support the idea that the most dramatic $gamma$-ray outbursts of blazars originate in the vicinity of the mm-wave core of the relativistic jet. These results are preliminary and should be tested by future monitoring with the VLBA and Fermi.
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We use optical data from the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) and the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey (CRTS) to study the variability of gamma-ray detected and non-detected objects in a large population of active galactic nuclei (AGN) selected from the Candidate Gamma-Ray Blazar Survey and Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope catalogs. Our samples include 714 sources with PTF data and 1244 sources with CRTS data. We calculate the intrinsic modulation index to quantify the optical variability amplitude in these samples. We find the gamma-ray detected objects to be more variable than the non-detected ones. The flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) are more variable than the BL Lac objects in our sample, but the significance of the difference depends on the sample used. When dividing the objects based on their synchrotron peak frequency, we find the low synchrotron peaked (LSP) objects to be significantly more variable than the high synchrotron peaked (HSP) ones, explaining the difference between the FSRQs and BL Lacs. This could be due to the LSPs being observed near their electron energy peak, while in the HSPs the emission is caused by lower energy electrons, which cool more slowly. We also find a significant correlation between the optical and gamma-ray fluxes that is stronger in the HSP BL Lacs than in the FSRQs. The FSRQs in our sample are also more Compton dominated than the HSP BL Lacs. These findings are consistent with models where the gamma-ray emission of HSP objects is produced by the synchrotron self-Compton mechanism, while the LSP objects need an additional external Compton component that increases the scatter in the flux-flux correlation.
Since mid-2007 we have carried out a dedicated long-term monitoring programme at 15 GHz using the Owens Valley Radio Observatory 40 meter telescope. One of the main goals of this programme is to study the relation between the radio and gamma-ray emission in blazars and to use it as a tool to locate the site of high energy emission. Using this large sample of objects we are able to characterize the radio variability, and study the significance of correlations between the radio and gamma-ray bands. We find that the radio variability of many sources can be described using a simple power law power spectral density, and that when taking into account the red-noise characteristics of the light curves, cases with significant correlation are rare. We note that while significant correlations are found in few individual objects, radio variations are most often delayed with respect to the gamma-ray variations. This suggests that the gamma-ray emission originates upstream of the radio emission. Because strong flares in most known gamma-ray-loud blazars are infrequent, longer light curves are required to settle the issue of the strength of radio-gamma cross-correlations and establish confidently possible delays between the two. For this reason continuous multiwavelength monitoring over a longer time period is essential for statistical tests of jet emission models.
We compare the gamma-ray photon flux variability of northern blazars in the Fermi/LAT First Source Catalog with 37 GHz radio flux density curves from the Metsahovi quasar monitoring program. We find that the relationship between simultaneous millimeter (mm) flux density and gamma-ray photon flux is different for different types of blazars. The flux relation between the two bands is positively correlated for quasars and does no exist for BLLacs. Furthermore, we find that the levels of gamma-ray emission in high states depend on the phase of the high frequency radio flare, with the brightest gamma-ray events coinciding with the initial stages of a mm flare. The mean observed delay from the beginning of a mm flare to the peak of the gamma-ray emission is about 70 days, which places the average location of the gamma-ray production at or downstream of the radio core. We discuss alternative scenarios for the production of gamma-rays at distances of parsecs along the length of the jet
We have compared the parsec-scale jet linear polarization properties of the Fermi LAT-detected and non-detected sources in the complete flux-density-limited (MOJAVE-1) sample of highly beamed AGN. Of the 123 MOJAVE sources, 30 were detected by the LAT during its first three months of operation. We find that during the era since the launch of Fermi, the unresolved core components of the LAT-detected jets have significantly higher median fractional polarization at 15 GHz. This complements our previous findings that these LAT sources have higher apparent jet speeds, brightness temperatures and Doppler factors, and are preferentially found in higher activity states.
Relativistic jets are one of the most powerful manifestations of the release of energy related to the supermassive black holes at the centre of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Their emission is observed across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from the radio band to gamma rays. Despite decades of efforts, many aspects of the physics of relativistic jets remain elusive. In particular, the location and the mechanisms responsible for the high-energy emission and the connection of the variability at different wavelengths are among the greatest challenges in the study of AGN. Recent high resolution radio observations of flaring objects locate the high-energy emitting region downstream the jet at parsec scale distance from the central engine, posing questions on the nature of the seed photons upscattered to gamma-rays. Furthermore, monitoring campaigns of the most active blazars indicate that not all the high energy flares have the same characteristics in the various energy bands, even from the same source, making the interpretation of the mechanism responsible for the high-energy emission not trivial. Although the variability of the most luminous blazars is well explained by the shock-in-jet scenario, the sub-class of TeV emitting objects suggests a more complex emission model with velocity gradients in a structured jet. This contribution presents results obtained by recent multiwavelength campaigns of blazars aimed at studying the radio and gamma-ray connection and the physical mechanisms at the basis of the emission in these low and high energy bands.
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