Blazars are active galactic nuclei, which are powerful sources of radiation whose central engine is located in the core of the host galaxy. Blazar emission is dominated by non-thermal radiation from ...a jet that moves relativistically towards us, and therefore undergoes Doppler beaming. This beaming causes flux enhancement and contraction of the variability timescales, so that most blazars appear as luminous sources characterized by noticeable and fast changes in brightness at all frequencies. The mechanism that produces this unpredictable variability is under debate, but proposed mechanisms include injection, acceleration and cooling of particles, with possible intervention of shock waves or turbulence. Changes in the viewing angle of the observed emitting knots or jet regions have also been suggested as an explanation of flaring events and can also explain specific properties of blazar emission, such as intra-day variability, quasi-periodicity and the delay of radio flux variations relative to optical changes. Such a geometric interpretation, however, is not universally accepted because alternative explanations based on changes in physical conditions-such as the size and speed of the emitting zone, the magnetic field, the number of emitting particles and their energy distribution-can explain snapshots of the spectral behaviour of blazars in many cases. Here we report the results of optical-to-radio-wavelength monitoring of the blazar CTA 102 and show that the observed long-term trends of the flux and spectral variability are best explained by an inhomogeneous, curved jet that undergoes changes in orientation over time. We propose that magnetohydrodynamic instabilities or rotation of the twisted jet cause different jet regions to change their orientation and hence their relative Doppler factors. In particular, the extreme optical outburst of 2016-2017 (brightness increase of six magnitudes) occurred when the corresponding emitting region had a small viewing angle. The agreement between observations and theoretical predictions can be seen as further validation of the relativistic beaming theory.
ABSTRACT
Blazar S5 0716+714 is well-known for its short-term variability, down to intraday time-scales. We here present the 2-min cadence optical light curve obtained by the TESS space telescope in ...2019 December–2020 January and analyse the object fast variability with unprecedented sampling. Supporting observations by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope Collaboration in B, V, R, and I bands allow us to investigate the spectral variability during the TESS pointing. The spectral analysis is further extended in frequency to the UV and X-ray bands with data from the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. We develop a new method to unveil the shortest optical variability time-scales. This is based on progressive de-trending of the TESS light curve by means of cubic spline interpolations through the binned fluxes, with decreasing time bins. The de-trended light curves are then analysed with classical tools for time-series analysis (periodogram, autocorrelation, and structure functions). The results show that below 3 d there are significant characteristic variability time-scales of about 1.7, 0.5, and 0.2 d. Variability on time-scales $\lesssim 0.2$ d is strongly chromatic and must be ascribed to intrinsic energetic processes involving emitting regions, likely jet substructures, with dimension less than about 10−3 pc. In contrast, flux changes on time-scales $\gtrsim 0.5$ d are quasi-achromatic and are probably due to Doppler factor changes of geometric origin.
After several years of quiescence, the blazar CTA 102 underwent an exceptional outburst in 2012 September–October. The flare was tracked from γ-ray to near-infrared (NIR) frequencies, including Fermi ...and Swift data as well as photometric and polarimetric data from several observatories. An intensive Glast-Agile support programme of the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (GASP–WEBT) collaboration campaign in optical and NIR bands, with an addition of previously unpublished archival data and extension through fall 2015, allows comparison of this outburst with the previous activity period of this blazar in 2004–2005. We find remarkable similarity between the optical and γ-ray behaviour of CTA 102 during the outburst, with a time lag between the two light curves of ≈1 h, indicative of cospatiality of the optical and γ-ray emission regions. The relation between the γ-ray and optical fluxes is consistent with the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) mechanism, with a quadratic dependence of the SSC γ-ray flux on the synchrotron optical flux evident in the post-outburst stage. However, the γ-ray/optical relationship is linear during the outburst; we attribute this to changes in the Doppler factor. A strong harder-when-brighter spectral dependence is seen both the in γ-ray and optical non-thermal emission. This hardening can be explained by convexity of the UV–NIR spectrum that moves to higher frequencies owing to an increased Doppler shift as the viewing angle decreases during the outburst stage. The overall pattern of Stokes parameter variations agrees with a model of a radiating blob or shock wave that moves along a helical path down the jet.
In an effort to locate the sites of emission at different frequencies and physical processes causing variability in blazar jets, we have obtained high time-resolution observations of BL Lacertae over ...a wide wavelength range: with the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) at 6000-10000 with 2 minute cadence; with the Neil Gehrels Swift satellite at optical, UV, and X-ray bands; with the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array at hard X-ray bands; with the Fermi Large Area Telescope at γ-ray energies; and with the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope for measurement of the optical flux density and polarization. All light curves are correlated, with similar structure on timescales from hours to days. The shortest timescale of variability at optical frequencies observed with TESS is ∼0.5 hr. The most common timescale is 13 1 hr, comparable with the minimum timescale of X-ray variability, 14.5 hr. The multiwavelength variability properties cannot be explained by a change solely in the Doppler factor of the emitting plasma. The polarization behavior implies that there are both ordered and turbulent components to the magnetic field in the jet. Correlation analysis indicates that the X-ray variations lag behind the γ-ray and optical light curves by up to ∼0.4 day. The timescales of variability, cross-frequency lags, and polarization properties can be explained by turbulent plasma that is energized by a shock in the jet and subsequently loses energy to synchrotron and inverse Compton radiation in a magnetic field of strength ∼3 G.
A multifrequency campaign on the BL Lac object PG 1553+113 was organized by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) in 2013 April–August, involving 19 optical, two near-IR, and three radio ...telescopes. The aim was to study the source behaviour at low energies during and around the high-energy observations by the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov telescopes in April–July. We also analyse the UV and X-ray data acquired by the Swift and XMM–Newton satellites in the same period. The WEBT and satellite observations allow us to detail the synchrotron emission bump in the source spectral energy distribution (SED). In the optical, we found a general bluer-when-brighter trend. The X-ray spectrum remained stable during 2013, but a comparison with previous observations suggests that it becomes harder when the X-ray flux increases. The long XMM–Newton exposure reveals a curved X-ray spectrum. In the SED, the XMM–Newton data show a hard near-UV spectrum, while Swift data display a softer shape that is confirmed by previous Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and International Ultraviolet Explorer observations. Polynomial fits to the optical–X-ray SED show that the synchrotron peak likely lies in the 4–30 eV energy range, with a general shift towards higher frequencies for increasing X-ray brightness. However, the UV and X-ray spectra do not connect smoothly. Possible interpretations include: (i) orientation effects, (ii) additional absorption, (iii) multiple emission components, and (iv) a peculiar energy distribution of relativistic electrons. We discuss the first possibility in terms of an inhomogeneous helical jet model.
Blazars are active galactic nuclei (AGN) with relativistic jets whose non-thermal radiation is extremely variable on various timescales
. This variability seems mostly random, although some ...quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), implying systematic processes, have been reported in blazars and other AGN. QPOs with timescales of days or hours are especially rare
in AGN and their nature is highly debated, explained by emitting plasma moving helically inside the jet
, plasma instabilities
or orbital motion in an accretion disc
. Here we report results of intense optical and γ-ray flux monitoring of BL Lacertae (BL Lac) during a dramatic outburst in 2020 (ref.
). BL Lac, the prototype of a subclass of blazars
, is powered by a 1.7 × 10
M
(ref.
) black hole in an elliptical galaxy (distance = 313 megaparsecs (ref.
)). Our observations show QPOs of optical flux and linear polarization, and γ-ray flux, with cycles as short as approximately 13 h during the highest state of the outburst. The QPO properties match the expectations of current-driven kink instabilities
near a recollimation shock about 5 parsecs (pc) from the black hole in the wake of an apparent superluminal feature moving down the jet. Such a kink is apparent in a microwave Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) image.
We present an analysis of the multiwavelength behaviour of the blazar OJ 248 at z = 0.939 in the period 2006–2013. We use low-energy data (optical, near-infrared, and radio) obtained by 21 ...observatories participating in the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)-AGILE Support Program of the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope, as well as data from the Swift (optical–UV and X-rays) and Fermi (γ-rays) satellites, to study flux and spectral variability and correlations among emissions in different bands. We take into account the effect of absorption by the Damped Lyman α intervening system at z = 0.525. Two major outbursts were observed in 2006–2007 and in 2012–2013 at optical and near-IR wavelengths, while in the high-frequency radio light curves prominent radio outbursts are visible peaking at the end of 2010 and beginning of 2013, revealing a complex radio–optical correlation. Cross-correlation analysis suggests a delay of the optical variations after the γ-ray ones of about a month, which is a peculiar behaviour in blazars. We also analyse optical polarimetric and spectroscopic data. The average polarization percentage P is less than 3 per cent, but it reaches ∼19 per cent during the early stage of the 2012–2013 outburst. A vague correlation of P with brightness is observed. There is no preferred electric vector polarization angle and during the outburst the linear polarization vector shows wide rotations in both directions, suggesting a complex behaviour/structure of the jet and possible turbulence. The analysis of 140 optical spectra acquired at the Steward Observatory reveals a strong Mg ii broad emission line with an essentially stable flux of 6.2 × 10− 15 erg cm− 2 s− 1 and a full width at half-maximum of 2053 km s− 1.
ABSTRACT
In 2022 the BL Lac object S4 0954+65 underwent a major variability phase, reaching its historical maximum brightness in the optical and γ-ray bands. We present optical photometric and ...polarimetric data acquired by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) Collaboration from 2022 April 6 to July 6. Many episodes of unprecedented fast variability were detected, implying an upper limit to the size of the emitting region as low as $10^{-4}$ parsec. The WEBT data show rapid variability in both the degree and angle of polarization. We analyse different models to explain the polarization behaviour in the framework of a twisting jet model, which assumes that the long-term trend of the flux is produced by variations in the emitting region viewing angle. All the models can reproduce the average trend of the polarization degree, and can account for its general anticorrelation with the flux, but the dispersion of the data requires the presence of intrinsic mechanisms, such as turbulence, shocks, or magnetic reconnection. The WEBT optical data are compared to γ-ray data from the Fermi satellite. These are analysed with both fixed and adaptive binning procedures. We show that the strong correlation between optical and γ-ray data without measurable delay assumes different slopes in faint and high brightness states, and this is compatible with a scenario where in faint states we mainly see the imprint of the geometrical effects, while in bright states the synchrotron self-Compton process dominates.
Context. The flat-spectrum radio quasar 4C +71.07 is a high-redshift (z = 2.172), γ-loud blazar whose optical emission is dominated by thermal radiation from the accretion disc. Aims. 4C +71.07 has ...been detected in outburst twice by the AGILE γ-ray satellite during the period from the end of October to mid-November 2015, when it reached a γ-ray flux of the order of F(E > 100 MeV)=(1.2 ± 0.3)×10−6 photons cm−2 s−1 and F(E > 100 MeV)=(3.1 ± 0.6)×10−6 photons cm−2 s−1, respectively, allowing us to investigate the properties of the jet and the emission region. Methods. We investigated its spectral energy distribution by means of almost-simultaneous observations covering the cm, mm, near-infrared, optical, ultraviolet, X-ray, and γ-ray energy bands obtained by the GASP-WEBT Consortium and the Swift, AGILE, and Fermi satellites. Results. The spectral energy distribution of the second γ-ray flare (whose energy coverage is more dense) can be modelled by means of a one-zone leptonic model, yielding a total jet power of about 4 × 1047 erg s−1. Conclusions. During the most prominent γ-ray flaring period our model is consistent with a dissipation region within the broad-line region. Moreover, this class of high-redshift, flat-spectrum radio quasars with high-mass black holes might be good targets for future γ-ray satellites such as e-ASTROGAM.
PDF
