Optical I-band Linear Polarimetry of the Magnetar 4U 0142+61 with Subaru

The magnetar 4U~0142+61 has been well studied at optical and infrared wavelengths and is known to have a complicated broad-band spectrum over the wavelength range. Here we report the result from our linear imaging polarimetry of the magnetar at optical $I$-band. From the polarimetric observation carried out with the 8.2-m Subaru telescope, we determine the degree of linear polarization $P=1.0pm$3.4%, or $Pleq$5.6% (90% confidence level). Considering models suggested for optical emission from magnetars, we discuss the implications of our result. The upper limit measurement indicates that different from radio pulsars, magnetars probably would not have strongly polarized optical emission if the emission arises from their magnetosphere as suggested.

Fermi-LAT and Multi-wavelength Monitoring of the Broad Line Radio Galaxy 3C 120

We present six-year multi-wavelength monitoring result for broad-line radio galaxy 3C 120. The source was sporadically detected by Fermi-LAT and after the MeV/GeV gamma-ray detection the 43 GHz radio core brightened and a knot ejected from an unresolved core, implying that the radio-gamma phenomena are physically connected. We show that the gamma-ray emission region is located at sub-pc distance from the central black hole, and MeV/GeV gamma-ray emission mechanism is inverse-Compton scattering of synchrotron photons. We also discuss future perspective revealed by next-generation X-ray satellite Astro-H.

Six Years of Fermi-LAT and Multi-wavelength Monitoring of the Broad-Line Radio Galaxy 3C 120: Jet Dissipation at Sub-parsec Scales from the Central Engine

We present multi-wavelength monitoring results for the broad-line radio galaxy 3C 120 in the MeV/GeV, sub-millimeter, and 43 GHz bands over six years. Over the past two years, Fermi-LAT sporadically detected 3C 120 with high significance and the 230 GHz data also suggest an enhanced activity of the source. After the MeV/GeV detection from 3C 120 in MJD 56240-56300, 43 GHz VLBA monitoring revealed a brightening of the radio core, followed by the ejection of a superluminal knot. Since we observed the gamma-ray and VLBA phenomena in temporal proximity to each other, it is naturally assumed that they are physically connected. This assumption was further supported by the subsequent observation that the 43 GHz core brightened again after a gamma-ray flare occurred around MJD 56560. We can then infer that the MeV/GeV emission took place inside an unresolved 43 GHz core of 3C 120 and that the jet dissipation occurred at sub-parsec distances from the central black hole, if we take the distance of the 43 GHz core from the central black hole as ~ 0.5 pc, as previously estimated from the time lag between X-ray dips and knot ejections (Marscher et al. 2002; Chatterjee et al. 2009). Based on our constraints on the relative locations of the emission regions and energetic arguments, we conclude that the gamma rays are more favorably produced via the synchrotron self-Compton process, rather than inverse Compton scattering of external photons coming from the broad line region or hot dusty torus. We also derived the electron distribution and magnetic field by modeling the simultaneous broadband spectrum.

Extreme Blazars Studied with Fermi-LAT and Suzaku: 1ES 0347-121 and Blazar Candidate HESS J1943+213

We report on our study of high-energy properties of two peculiar TeV emitters: the extreme blazar 1ES 0347-121 and the extreme blazar candidate HESS J1943+213 located near the Galactic Plane. Both objects are characterized by quiescent synchrotron emission with flat spectra extending up to the hard X-ray range, and both were reported to be missing GeV counterparts in the Fermi-LAT 2-year Source Catalog. We analyze a 4.5 year accumulation of the Fermi-LAT data, resulting in the detection of 1ES 0347-121 in the GeV band, as well as in improved upper limits for HESS J1943+213. We also present the analysis results of newly acquired Suzaku data for HESS J1943+213. The X-ray spectrum is well represented by a single power law extending up to 25 keV with photon index 2.00+/-0.02 and a moderate absorption in excess of the Galactic value, in agreement with previous X-ray observations. No short-term X-ray variability was found over the 80 ks duration of the Suzaku exposure. Under the blazar hypothesis, we modeled the spectral energy distributions of 1ES 0347-121 and HESS J1943+213, and derived constraints on the intergalactic magnetic field strength and source energetics. We conclude that although the classification of HESS J1943+213 has not yet been determined, the blazar hypothesis remains the most plausible option, since in particular the broad-band spectra of the two analyzed sources along with the source model parameters closely resemble each other, and the newly available WISE and UKIDSS data for HESS J1943+213 are consistent with the presence of an elliptical host at the distance of approximately ~600 Mpc.

Two active states of the narrow-line gamma-ray-loud AGN GB 1310+487

Previously unremarkable, the extragalactic radio source GB 1310+487 showed a gamma-ray flare on 2009 November 18, reaching a daily flux of ~10^-6 photons/cm^2/s at energies E>100 MeV and becoming one of the brightest GeV sources for about two weeks. Its optical spectrum is not typical for a blazar, instead, it resembles those of narrow emission-line galaxies. We investigate changes of the objects radio-to-GeV spectral energy distribution (SED) during and after the prominent GeV flare with the aim to determine the nature of the object and constrain the origin of the variable high-energy emission. The data collected by the Fermi and AGILE satellites at gamma-ray energies, Swift at X-ray and ultraviolet, Kanata, NOT, and Keck telescopes at optical, OAGH and WISE at infrared, and IRAM 30m, OVRO 40m, Effelsberg 100m, RATAN-600, and VLBA at radio, are analysed together to trace the SED evolution on timescales of months. The gamma-ray/radio-loud narrow-line active galactic nucleus (AGN) is located at redshift z=0.638. It is shining through an unrelated foreground galaxy at z=0.500. The AGN light is likely amplified by a factor of a few because of gravitational lensing. The AGN SED shows a two-humped structure typical of blazars and gamma-ray-loud NLSy1 galaxies, with the high-energy (inverse-Compton) emission dominating by more than an order of magnitude over the low-energy (synchrotron) emission during gamma-ray flares. The difference between the two SED humps is smaller during the low-activity state. Fermi observations reveal a strong correlation between the gamma-ray flux and spectral index, with the hardest spectrum observed during the brightest gamma-ray state. If the gamma-ray flux is a mixture of synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) and external Compton (EC) emission, the observed GeV spectral variability may result from varying relative contributions of these two emission components.

Short-Term Variability of X-rays from Accreting Neutron Star Vela X-1: II. Monte-Carlo Modeling

We develop a Monte Carlo Comptonization model for the X-ray spectrum of accretion-powered pulsars. Simple, spherical, thermal Comptonization models give harder spectra for higher optical depth, while the observational data from Vela X-1 show that the spectra are harder at higher luminosity. This suggests a physical interpretation where the optical depth of the accreting plasma increases with mass accretion rate. We develop a detailed Monte-Carlo model of the accretion flow, including the effects of the strong magnetic field ($sim 10^{12}$ G) both in geometrically constraining the flow into an accretion column, and in reducing the cross section. We treat bulk-motion Comptonization of the infalling material as well as thermal Comptonization. These model spectra can match the observed broad-band {it Suzaku} data from Vela X-1 over a wide range of mass accretion rates. The model can also explain the so-called low state, in which the uminosity decreases by an order of magnitude. Here, thermal Comptonization should be negligible, so the spectrum instead is dominated by bulk-motion Comptonization.

Normal-state charge dynamics in doped BaFe2As2: Roles of doping and necessary ingredients for superconductivity

We carried out a comparative study of the in-plane resistivity and optical spectrum of doped BaFe2As2 and investigated the doping evolution of the charge dynamics. For BaFe2As2, charge dynamics is incoherent at high temperatures. Electron (Co) and isovalent (P) doping into BaFe2As2 increase coherence of the system and transform the incoherent charge dynamics into highly coherent one. On the other hand, charge dynamics remains incoherent for hole (K) doping. It is found in common with any type of doping that superconductivity with high transition temperature emerges when the normal-state charge dynamics maintains incoherence and when the resistivity associated with the coherent channel exhibits dominant temperature-linear dependence.

Strong electronic correlations in iron pnictides: Comparison of the optical spectra for BaFe2As2-related compounds

We carried out combined transport and optical measurements for BaFe2As2 and five isostructural transition-metal (TM) pnictides. The low-energy optical conductivity spectra of these compounds are, to a good approximation, decomposed into a narrow Drude (coherent) component and an incoherent component. The iron arsenides, BaFe2As2 and KFe2As2, are distinct from other pnictides in their highly incoherent charge dynamics or bad metallic behavior with the coherent Drude component occupying a tiny fraction of the low-energy spectral weight. The fraction of the coherent spectral weight or the degree of coherence is shown to be well correlated with the TM-pnictogen bond angle and the electron filling of TM 3d orbitals, which are measures of the strength of electronic correlations. The iron arsenides are thus strongly correlated systems, and the doping into BaFe2As2 controls the strength of electronic correlations. This naturally explains a remarkable asymmetry in the charge dynamics of electron- and hole-doped systems, and the unconventional superconductivity appears to emerge when the correlations are fairly strong.

Fermi Large Area Telescope Detection of Two Very-High-Energy (E>100 GeV) Gamma-ray Photons from the z = 1.1 Blazar PKS 0426-380

We report the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) detection of two very-high-energy (VHE, E>100 GeV) gamma-ray photons from the directional vicinity of the distant (redshift, z = 1.1) blazar PKS 0426-380. The null hypothesis that both the 134 and 122 GeV photons originate from unrelated sources can be rejected at the 5.5 sigma confidence level. We therefore claim that at least one of the two VHE photons is securely associated with the blazar, making PKS 0426-380 the most distant VHE emitter known to date. The results are in agreement with the most recent Fermi-LAT constraints on the Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) intensity, which imply a $z simeq 1$ horizon for $simeq$ 100 GeV photons. The LAT detection of the two VHE gamma-rays coincided roughly with flaring states of the source, although we did not find an exact correspondence between the VHE photon arrival times and the flux maxima at lower gamma-ray energies. Modeling the gamma-ray continuum of PKS 0426-380 with daily bins revealed a significant spectral hardening around the time of detection of the first VHE event (LAT photon index Gamma $simeq$ 1.4) but on the other hand no pronounced spectral changes near the detection time of the second one. This combination implies a rather complex variability pattern of the source in gamma rays during the flaring epochs. An additional flat component is possibly present above several tens of GeV in the EBL-corrected Fermi-LAT spectrum accumulated over the ~8-month high state.

Short-Term Variability of X-rays from Accreting Neutron Star Vela X-1: I. Suzaku Observations

We have analyzed the time variability of the wide-band X-ray spectrum of Vela X-1, the brightest wind-fed accreting neutron star, on a short timescale of 2 ks by using {it Suzaku} observations with an exposure of 100 ks. During the observation, the object showed strong variability including several flares and so-called low states, in which the X-ray luminosity decreases by an order of magnitude. Although the spectral hardness increases with the X-ray luminosity, the majority of the recorded flares do not show any significant changes of circumstellar absorption. However, a sign of heavy absorption was registered immediately before one short flare that showed a significant spectral hardening. In the low states, the flux level is modulated with the pulsar spin period, indicating that even at this state the accretion flow reaches the close proximity of the neutron star. Phenomenologically, the broad-band X-ray spectra, which are integrated over the entire spin phase, are well represented by the NPEX function (a combination of negative and positive power laws with an exponential cutoff by a common folding energy) with a cyclotron resonance scattering feature at 50 keV. Fitting of the data allowed us to infer a correlation between the photon index and X-ray luminosity. Finally, the circumstellar absorption shows a gradual increase in the orbital phase interval 0.25--0.3, which can be interpreted as an impact of a bow shock imposed by the motion of the compact object in the supersonic stellar wind.