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Register a new userSix years of BeppoSAX observations of blazars: a spectral catalog
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We present a spectral catalog for blazars based on the BeppoSAX archive. The sample includes 44 High-energy peaked BL Lacs (HBLs), 14 Low-energy peaked BL Lacs (LBLs), and 28 Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs). A total of 168 LECS, MECS, and PDS spectra were analyzed, corresponding to observations taken in the period 1996--2002. The 0.1--50 keV continuum of LBLs and FSRQs is generally fitted by a single power law with Galactic column density. A minority of the observations of LBLs (25%) and FSRQs (15%) is best fitted by more complex models like the broken power law or the continuously curved parabola. These latter models provide also the best description for half of the HBL spectra. Complex models are more frequently required for sources with fluxes F_{2-10 keV} > 10^-11 cm-2 s-1, corresponding to spectra with higher signal-to-noise ratio. As a result, considering sources with flux above this threshold, the percentage of spectra requiring those models increases for all the classes. We note that there is a net separation of X-ray spectral properties between HBLs on one side, and LBLs and FSRQs on the other, the distinction between LBLs and FSRQs is more blurry. This is most likely related to ambiguities in the optical classification of the two classes.
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As a special contribution to the proceedings of the BeppoSAX workshop dedicated to blazar astrophysics we present a catalog of 157 X-ray spectra and the broad-band Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) of 84 blazars observed by BeppoSAX during its first five years of operations. The SEDs have been built by combining BeppoSAX LECS, MECS and PDS data with (mostly) non-simultaneous multi-frequency photometric data, obtained from NED and from other large databases, including the GSC2 and the 2MASS surveys. All BeppoSAX data have been taken from the public archive and have been analysed in a uniform way. For each source we present a SED plot, and for every BeppoSAX observation we give the best fit parameters of the spectral model that best describes the data. The energy where the maximum of the synchrotron power is emitted spans at least six orders of magnitudes ranging from ~ 0.1 eV to over 100 keV. A wide variety of X-ray spectral slopes have been seen depending on whether the synchrotron or inverse Compton component, or both, are present in the X-ray band. The wide energy bandpass of BeppoSAX allowed us to detect, and measure with good accuracy, continuous spectral curvature in many objects whose synchrotron radiation extends to the X-ray band. This convex curvature, which is described by a logarithmic parabola law better than other models, may be the spectral signature of a particle acceleration process that becomes less and less efficient as the particles energy increases. Finally some brief considerations about other statistical properties of the sample are presented.
We summarize the results of BeppoSAX ToO observation of blazars that were known to be in a high state from observations carried out in the optical or X-ray or TeV bands.In some of the observed sources, two spectral components were detected, which are interpreted as synchrotron and inverse Compton emission, respectively. Fast variability was detected in three sources (ON 231, BL Lac and S5 0716+714), but always only for the synchrotron component. Most of the triggers are from optical observations, consequently most of the observed sources are LBL or intermediate objects. They were in a high state in the X-ray band, but not in an exceptionally high state. No strong shifts in the synchrotron peak frequency are reported. This is in line with the findings that the synchrotron peak frequency is more variable for HBL objects, i.e. sources that have this peak at higher energies.
We present an overview of BeppoSAX Wide Field Cameras observations of the nine most frequent type-I X-ray bursters in the Galactic center region. Six years of observations (from 1996 to 2002) have amounted to 7 Ms of Galactic center observations and the detection of 1823 bursts. The 3 most frequent bursters are GX 354-0 (423 bursts), KS 1731-260 (339) and GS 1826-24 (260). These numbers reflect an unique dataset. We show that all sources have the same global burst behavior as a function of luminosity. At the lowest luminosities (L_X<=2E37 erg/s bursts occur quasi-periodically and the burst rate increases linearly with accretion rate (clear in e.g. GS 1826-24 and KS 1731-260). At L_pers=2E37 erg/s the burst rate drops by a factor of five. This corresponds to the transition from, on average, a hydrogen-rich to a pure helium environment in which the flashes originate that are responsible for the bursts. At higher luminosities the bursts recur irregularly; no bursts are observed at the highest luminosities. Our central finding is that most of the trends in bursting behavior are driven by the onset of stable hydrogen burning in the neutron star atmosphere. Furthermore, we notice three new observational fact which are difficult to explain with current burst theory: the presence of short pure-helium bursts at the lowest accretion regimes, the bimodal distribution of peak burst rates, and an accretion rate that is ten times higher than predicted at which the onset of stable hydrogen burning occurs. Finally, we note that our investigation is the first to signal quasi-periodic burst recurrence in KS 1731-260, and a clear proportionality between the frequency of the quasi-periodicity and the persistent flux in GS 1826-24 and KS 1731-260.
The multiwavelength spectra of PKS 0528+134 during six years of observations by EGRET have been analyzed using synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) and external radiation Compton (ERC) models. We find that a two-component model, in which the target photons are produced externally to the gamma-ray emitting region, but also including an SSC component, is required to suitably reproduce the spectral energy distributions of the source. Our analysis indicates that there is a trend in the observed properties of PKS 0528+134, as the source goes from a gamma-ray low state to a flaring state. We observe that during the higher gamma-ray states, the bulk Lorentz factor of the jet increases and the ERC component dominates the high-energy emission. Our model calculations indicate the trend that the energies of the electrons giving rise to the synchrotron peak decreases, and the power-ratio of the gamma-ray and low energy spectral components increases, as the source goes from a low to a high gamma-ray state.
We present the X-ray afterglow catalog of BeppoSAX from the launch of the satellite to the end of the mission. Thirty-three X-ray afterglows were securely identified based on their fading behavior out of 39 observations. We have extracted the continuum parameters (decay index, spectral index, flux, absorption) for all available afterglows. We point out a possible correlation between the X-ray afterglow luminosity and the energy emitted during the prompt $gamma$-ray event. We do not detect a significant jet signature within the afterglows, implying a lower limit on the beaming angle, neither a standard energy release when X-ray fluxes are corrected for beaming. Our data support the hypothesis that the burst should be surrounded by an interstellar medium rather than a wind environment, and that this environment should be dense. This may be explained by a termination shock located near the burst progenitor. We finally point out that some dark bursts may be explained by an intrinsic faintness of the event, while others may be strongly absorbed.
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