arXiv subjects

A. Wierzcholska

Publications and source records attributed to A. Wierzcholska.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

20 years of monitoring: PKS 2155-304 and PKS 1510-089 in the eyes of Swift and Fermi. I. The case of PKS 2155-304

We present a comprehensive 20-year multiwavelength variability study of the blazar PKS 2155-304, one of the most luminous and extensively monitored high-frequency-peaked BL Lac objects in the southern hemisphere. Using Fermi-LAT $γ$-ray data together with Swift-XRT and UVOT observations spanning 2005-2024, we trace the long-term evolution of its flux, interband correlations, and spectral behaviour across the optical, X-ray, and $γ$-ray bands. All flux distributions are compatible with log-normality. Interestingly, the optical domain exhibited a notable baseline change around 2009, but this has no strong influence on the fit of the flux distribution. While interband flux-flux correlations are found, no stable temporal lags emerge. This implies varying correlation patterns between epochs. The X-ray emission displays a robust harder-when-brighter trend, however with epoch-dependent slopes, while the $γ$-ray spectra show only mild flux dependence. The fractional variability increases systematically with energy within a given radiation component. No direct correlation of the year-wise fractional variability with the corresponding average flux could be found. Interestingly, a pronounced X-ray spectral upturn, detected during a low state in 2012, points to an additional radiative component. As the connection from this upturn to the $γ$-ray spectrum is not smooth, it probably is not the onset of the inverse-Compton component, but more likely points either to a hadronic contribution or an additional spatially-separate emission zone. These findings reveal the complexity of variability patterns in PKS 2155-304 and the non-uniform nature of its particle acceleration and emission processes.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2026

20 years of monitoring: PKS 2155-304 and PKS 1510-089 in the eyes of Swift and Fermi. II. PKS 1510-089 and comparison

We present a comprehensive, two-decade, multiwavelength variability study of the blazar PKS 1510-089, one of the most prominent and extensively monitored flat-spectrum radio quasars. Using Fermi-LAT $γ$-ray data together with Swift-XRT and UVOT observations spanning 2005-2024, we trace the long-term evolution of its flux, interband correlations, and spectral behaviour across the optical, X-ray, and $γ$-ray bands. We find that the HE $γ$-ray and X-ray flux distributions are log-normal, while the optical distributions are compatible with double-log-normal functions. The latter may be due to contributions from the accretion disk. The range of fluxes in a given band, as well as the fractional variability values are in-line with the expectations that high-energy parts of a given spectral component are more variable than low-energy parts. No obvious cross-correlations exist between the bands over the 20 years of observations. The X-ray and $γ$-ray spectra are variable, but do not show any trend with flux. These results are suggestive of different zones being active in the jet of PKS 1510-089 at any given time. In a previous paper, we used the same techniques to study the high-frequency-peaked BL Lac object PKS 2155-304. Both sources follow the aforementioned trend on the energy-dependent variability of the spectral components, as well as the lack of significant cross-correlations between the studied bands. While PKS 2155-304 exhibits a harder-when-brighter behaviour in its high-energy part of the synchrotron component, no such behaviour could be found in PKS 1510-089. Both sources show orphan flares, which can seemingly happen in any band. In summary, the long-term studies of these two sources reveal that the underlying physics is similar in these apparently different source classes, even though variability patterns keep changing and remain unpredictable.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2019

CTA 102 -- year over year receiving you

The FSRQ CTA 102 (z=1.032) has been tremendously active over the last few years. During its peak activity lasting several months in late 2016 and early 2017, the gamma-ray and optical fluxes rose by up to a factor 100 above the quiescence level. We have interpreted the peak activity as the ablation of a gas cloud by the relativistic jet, which can nicely account for the months-long lightcurve in 2016 and 2017. The peak activity was in the middle of a 2-year-long high-state, which was characterized by increased fluxes and increased rms variability compared to the previous low-states, and which was flanked by two bright flares. In this presentation, we put the cloud-ablation scenario into the broader context of the 2-year-long high-state.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Cloud ablation by a relativistic jet and the extended flare in CTA 102 in 2016 and 2017

In late 2016 and early 2017 the flat spectrum radio quasar CTA 102 exhibited a very strong and long-lasting outburst. The event can be described by a roughly 2 months long increase of the baseline flux in the monitored energy bands (optical to $γ$ rays) by a factor 8, and a subsequent decrease over another 2 months back to pre-flare levels. The long-term trend was superseded by short but very strong flares, resulting in a peak flux that was a factor 50 above pre-flare levels in the $γ$-ray domain and almost a factor 100 above pre-flare levels in the optical domain. In this paper we explain the long-term evolution of the outburst by the ablation of a gas cloud penetrating the relativistic jet. The slice-by-slice ablation results in a gradual increase of the particle injection until the center of the cloud is reached, after which the injected number of particles decreases again. With reasonable cloud parameters we obtain excellent fits of the long-term trend.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

Observation of the extremely bright flare of the FSRQ 3C279 with H.E.S.S. II

In June 2015, the Flat Spectrum Radio Quasar 3C 279 underwent an extremely bright gamma-ray flare, with an increase of the flux above 100 MeV by a factor 10 in less than 1 day, revealing an intrinsic variability timescale of 2 minutes as detected by the Fermi-LAT. We present results of target of opportunity observations with the H.E.S.S. experiment on this source over the nights around the peak of the outburst. The H.E.S.S. data were analysed with mono and stereo chains. Thanks to the extreme brightness of the source at GeV energies, it was possible to obtain data from Fermi-LAT, strictly simultaneous to the H.E.S.S. observation. Simultaneous and quasi-simultaneous observations at optical and X-ray energies were gathered to reconstruct the multi-wavelength spectrum helping to constrain theoretical models describing the flare. The H.E.S.S. observation during the second night, using H.E.S.S. II MONO data, lead to a clear detection of the source in about 3 hours of live-time. The H.E.S.S. results were also used to derive limits on the Quantum Gravity scale under the assumption of Lorentz Invariance Violation. Furthermore, since FSRQs possess intense optical photon fields surrounding the central region near the black hole, the VHE data allows constraints on the location of the emitting region to be derived in order that internal absorption be avoided. The detection of VHE emission from the powerful flare of the FSRQ 3C 279 by H.E.S.S. II can provide unique insights into the physical properties of this class of blazar, thanks in part to the presence of simultaneous and quasi-simultaneous datasets at other wavelengths. Due to the high redshift of the source (z=0.54), it was also possible to derive strong constraints on the Quantum Gravity mass scale.

astro-ph.HE↗