Fast X-ray Variability of PKS 2155-304: A Cross Correlation Analysis

Abstract

PKS 2155-304 is one of the prototypes of BL Lac objects. Its spectral energy distribution is known from the radio to the TeV band and has two peaks, one in the soft X-rays and the other in the TeV region. These may be interpreted within the synchrotron self-Compton model, which attributes the first peak to synchrotron radiation of electrons, which also produce the second peak via Compton scattering of the same synchrotron photons. The emission is relativistically boosted in the observer direction. A way of testing the model and characterizing its geometrical and kinematical properties is through the study of correlated variability in different bands. Here we report on the search and accurate study of lags in the X-ray light curves obtained with the BeppoSAX satellite during the performance verification phase in November 1996 and compare the results with the findings of a similar analysis applied to the November 1997 BeppoSAX and 1994 ASCA data.