arXiv subjects

B. Schleicher

Publications and source records attributed to B. Schleicher.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Prompt Searches for Very-High-Energy γ-Ray Counterparts to IceCube Astrophysical Neutrino Alerts

The search for sources of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos can be significantly advanced through a multi-messenger approach, which seeks to detect the gamma rays that accompany neutrinos as they are produced at their sources. Multi-messenger observations have so far provided the first evidence for a neutrino source, illustrated by the joint detection of the flaring blazar TXS 0506+056 in highenergy (HE, E > 1 GeV) and very-high-energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gamma rays in coincidence with the high-energy neutrino IceCube-170922A, identified by IceCube. Imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs), namely FACT, H.E.S.S., MAGIC, and VERITAS, continue to conduct extensive neutrino target-of-opportunity follow-up programs. These programs have two components: followup observations of single astrophysical neutrino candidate events (such as IceCube-170922A), and observation of known gamma-ray sources after the identification of a cluster of neutrino events by IceCube. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of follow-up observations of high-energy neutrino events observed by the four IACTs between September 2017 (after the IceCube-170922A event) and January 2021. Our study found no associations between gamma-ray sources and the observed neutrino events. We provide a detailed overview of each neutrino event and its potential counterparts. Furthermore, a joint analysis of all IACT data is included, yielding combined upper limits on the VHE gamma-ray flux.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Rapid Variability of Mrk 421 During Extreme Flaring as Seen Through the Eyes of XMM-Newton

By studying the variability of blazars across the electromagnetic spectrum, it is possible to resolve the underlying processes responsible for rapid flux increases, so-called flares. We report on an extremely bright X-ray flare in the high-peaked BL Lacertae object Mrk 421 that occurred simultaneously with enhanced $γ$-ray activity detected at very high energies (VHE) by FACT on 2019 June 9. We triggered an observation with XMM-Newton, which observed the source quasi-continuously for 25 hours. We find that the source was in the brightest state ever observed using XMM-Newton, reaching a flux of $2.8\times10^{-9}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ over an energy range of 0.3 - 10 keV. We perform a spectral and timing analysis to reveal the mechanisms of particle acceleration and to search for the shortest source-intrinsic time scales. Mrk 421 exhibits the typical harder-when-brighter behaviour throughout the observation and shows a clock-wise hysteresis pattern, which indicates that the cooling dominates over the acceleration process. While the X-ray emission in different sub-bands is highly correlated, we can exclude large time lags as the computed zDCFs are consistent with a zero lag. We find rapid variability on time scales of 1 ks for the 0.3 - 10 keV band and down to 300s in the hard X-ray band (4 - 10 keV). Taking these time scales into account, we discuss different models to explain the observed X-ray flare, and find that a plasmoid-dominated magnetic reconnection process is able to describe our observation best.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

TELAMON: Effelsberg Monitoring of AGN Jets with Very-High-Energy Astroparticle Emissions -- Polarization properties

We present recent results of the TELAMON program, which is using the Effelsberg 100-m telescope to monitor the radio spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN) under scrutiny in astroparticle physics, namely TeV blazars and neutrino-associated AGN. Our sample includes all known Northern TeV-emitting blazars as well as blazars positionally coincident with IceCube neutrino alerts. Polarization can give additional insight into the source properties, as the polarized emission is often found to vary on different timescales and amplitudes than the total intensity emission. Here, we present an overview of the polarization properties of the TeV-emitting TELAMON sources at four frequencies in the 20 mm and 7 mm bands. While at 7 mm roughly $82\,\%$ of all observed sources are found to be significantly polarized, for 20 mm the percentage is $\sim58\,\%$. We find that most of the sources exhibit mean fractional polarizations of $<5\%$, matching the expectations of rather low polarization levels in these sources from previous studies at lower radio frequencies. Nevertheless, we demonstrate examples of how the polarized emission can provide additional information over the total intensity.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Multi-wavelength study of Mrk 421 during a TeV flare

The blazar Mrk 421 shows frequent, short flares in the TeV energy regime. Due to the fast nature of such episodes, we often fail to obtain sufficient simultaneous information about flux variations in several energy bands. To overcome this lack of multi-wavelength (MWL) coverage, especially for the pre- and post-flare periods, we have set up a monitoring program with the FACT telescope (TeV energies) and the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (X-rays). On 2019 June 9, Mrk 421 showed a TeV outburst reaching a flux level of more than two times the flux of the Crab Nebula at TeV energies. We acquired simultaneous data in the X-rays with additional observations by XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL. For the first time, we can study a TeV blazar in outburst taking advantage of highly sensitive X-ray data from XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL combined. Our dataset is complemented by pointed radio observations by Effelsberg at GHz frequencies. We present our first results, including the γ-ray and X-ray light curves, a timing analysis of the X-ray data obtained with XMM-Newton , as well as the radio spectra before, during and after the flare.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

TELAMON: Effelsberg Monitoring of AGN Jets with Very-High-Energy Astroparticle Emissions

We introduce the TELAMON program, which is using the Effelsberg 100-m telescope to monitor the radio spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN) under scrutiny in astroparticle physics, namely TeV blazars and candidate neutrino-associated AGN. Thanks to its large dish aperture and sensitive instrumentation, the Effelsberg telescope can yield radio data superior over other programs in the low flux-density regime down to several 10 mJy. This is a particular strength in the case of TeV-emitting blazars, which are often comparatively faint radio sources of the high-synchrotron peaked type. We perform high-cadence high-frequency observations every 2-4 weeks at multiple frequencies up to 44 GHz. This setup is well suited to trace dynamical processes in the compact parsec-scale jets of blazars related to high-energy flares or neutrino detections. Our sample currently covers about 40 sources and puts its focus on AGN with very-high-energy astroparticle emission, i.e., TeV blazars and neutrino-associated AGN. Here, we introduce the TELAMON program characteristics and present first results obtained since fall 2020.

astro-ph.HE↗