arXiv subjects

G. Ghisellini

Publications and source records attributed to G. Ghisellini.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources

arXiv2003

Gamma Ray Bursts and Radio Loud Active Galactic Nuclei

We believe that the radiation we receive from Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and radio loud Active Galacti Nuclei (AGNs) originates from the transformation of bulk relativistic motion into random energy. Mechanisms to produce, collimate and accelerates the jets in these sources are uncertain, and it may be fruitful to compare the characteristics of both class of sources in search of enlightening similarities. I will present some general characteristics of radio loud AGNs and GRBs such as their bulk Lorentz factors and the power of their jets. I will also discuss the way in which the energy in bulk relativistic motion can be transformed into beamed radiation, and consider the possibility that both classes of sources can work in the same way, namely by an intermittent release of relativistic plasma at the base of the jet: shells ejected with slightly different velocities collide at some distance from the central engine, dissipating part of their kinetic energy, and keeping the rest to power the extended radio lobes (in AGNs) or to produce the afterglow (in GRBs).

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arXiv2003

Aborted jets and the X-ray emission of radio-quiet AGNs

We propose that radio-quiet quasars and Seyfert galaxies have central black holes powering outflows and jets which propagate only for a short distance, because the velocity of the ejected material is smaller than the escape velocity. We call them "aborted" jets. If the central engine works intermittently, blobs of material may be produced, which can reach a maximum radial distance and then fall back, colliding with the blobs produced later and still moving outwards. These collisions dissipate the bulk kinetic energy of the blobs by heating the plasma, and can be responsible (entirely or at least in part) for the generation of the high energy emission in radio-quiet objects. This is alternative to the more conventional scenario in which the X-ray spectrum of radio-quiet sources originates in a hot (and possibly patchy) corona above the accretion disk. In the latter case the ultimate source of energy of the emission of both the disk and the corona is accretion. Here we instead propose that the high energy emission is powered also by the extraction of the rotational energy of the black hole (and possibly of the disk). By means of Montecarlo simulations we calculate the time dependent spectra and light curves, and discuss their relevance to the X-ray spectra in radio-quiet AGNs and galactic black hole sources. In particular, we show that time variability and spectra are similar to those observed in Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies.

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arXiv2003

Wide band X-ray and optical observations of the BL Lac object 1ES 1959+650 in high state

The blazar 1ES 1959+650 was observed twice by BeppoSAX in September 2001 simultaneously with optical observations. We report here the X-ray data together with the optical, R_C magnitude, light curve since August 1995. The BeppoSAX observations were triggered by an active X-ray status of the source. The X-ray spectra are brighter than the previously published X-ray observations, although the source was in an even higher state a few months later, as monitored by the ASM onboard RossiXTE, when it was also detected to flare in the TeV band. Our X-ray spectra are well represented by a continuosly curved model up to 45 keV and are interpreted as synchrotron emission, with the peak moving to higher energies. This is also confirmed by the slope of the X-ray spectrum which is harder than in previous observations. Based on our optical and X-ray data, the synchrotron peak turns out to be in the range 0.1-0.7 keV. We compare our data with non simultaneous radio to TeV data and model the spectral energy distribution with a homogeneous, one-zone synchrotron inverse Compton model. We derive physical parameters that are typical of low power High Energy peaked Blazar, characterised by a relatively large beaming factor, low luminosity and absence of external seed photons.

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arXiv2003

The last Gift of BeppoSAX: PDS Observations of the two Blazars 1ES 0507-040 and PKS 1229-021

Towards the end of the BeppoSAX mission, the only operated Narrow Field Instrument was the PDS, which covers the energy range 13-300 keV. Two blazars, 1ES 0507-040 (z=0.304) and PKS 1229-021 (z= 1.045), suitably located in the sky for BeppoSAX pointing, were observed for about 2 days each in Spring 2002 with the PDS and detected up to 50 keV. 1ES0507-040 had been already observed by the BeppoSAX NFIs at an earlier epoch for a much shorter time. We have re-analysed those data as well, and identified a possible contamination problem in the PDS spectrum. We present our recent PDS data on both sources, combined with the previous BeppoSAX data and with non-simultaneous observations at other frequencies. The derived Spectral Energy Distributions allow us to discuss the origin of the high energy component.

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arXiv2003

Intrinsic and dust-induced polarization in gamma-ray burst afterglows: the case of GRB 021004

Polarization measurements for the optical counterpart to GRB 021004 are presented and discussed. Our observations were performed with the TNG and the VLT-UT3 (Melipal) during the first and fourth night after the gamma-ray burst discovery. We find robust evidence of temporal evolution of the polarization, which is therefore, at least partially, intrinsic to the optical transient. We do not find convincing evidence of wavelength dependence for the intrinsic polarization of the transient, in agreement with current polarization models for optical afterglows. We discuss the role of dust, both in our galaxy and in the host, in modifying the transmitted polarization vector, showing how a sizable fraction of the observed polarized flux is due to Galactic selective extinction, while it is not possible to single out any clear contribution from dust in the host galaxy. We discuss how our data compare to those obtained by different groups showing that a two-component model is required to describe the complete dataset. This is not surprising given the complex lightcurve of GRB 021004.

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arXiv2003

Constraining the Cosmic Background Light with four BL Lac TeV spectra

The intrinsic BL Lac spectra above few hundreds GeV can be very different from the observed ones due to the absorption effects by the diffuse Extragalactic Background Light (EBL), at present poorly known. With the recent results, there are now 4 sources with good spectral information: Mkn 421 (z=0.031), Mkn 501 (z=0.034), 1ES 1426+428 (z=0.129) and 1ES 1959+650 (z=0.047). Making simple assumptions on the shape of the intrinsic spectra (according to the present blazar knowledge), we have considered the effects of different EBL spectral energy distributions (SED) for the first time on all 4 objects together, deriving constraints for the EBL fluxes. These resulted significantly lower than many direct estimates.

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arXiv2003

The X-ray afterglow of GRB030329

We report on XMM-Newton and Rossi-XTE observations of the bright (fluence $\sim$ 10$^{-4}$ erg cm$^{-2}$) and nearby (z=0.1685) Gamma-Ray Burst GRB030329 associated to SN2003dh. The first Rossi-XTE observation, 5 hours after the burst, shows a flux decreasing with time as a power law with index 0.9$\pm$0.3. Such a decay law is only marginally consistent with a further Rossi-XTE measurement (at t-t$_{GRB}\sim$30 hr). Late time observations of this bright afterglow at X-ray wavelengths have the advantage, compared to optical observations, of not being affected by contributions from the supernova and host galaxy. A first XMM-Newton observation, at t-t$_{GRB}\sim$37 days, shows a flux of 4$\times10^{-14}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ (0.2-10 keV). The spectrum is a power law with photon index $Γ$=1.9 and absorption $<2.5\times10^{20}$ cm$^{-2}$, consistent with the Galactic value. A further XMM-Newton pointing at t-t$_{GRB}\sim$61 days shows a flux fainter by a factor $\sim$2. The combined Rossi-XTE and XMM-Newton measurements require a break at t$\sim$0.5 days in the afterglow decay, with a power law index increasing from 0.9 to 1.9, similar to what is observed in the early part of the optical afterglow. The extrapolation of the XMM-Newton spectra to optical frequencies lies a factor of $\sim10$ below simultaneous measurements. This is likely due to the presence of SN2003dh.

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arXiv2003

BeppoSAX and multiwavelength observations of BL Lacertae in 2000

We present two BeppoSAX observations of BL Lac (2200+420) as part of a multiwavelength campaign performed in 2000. The source was in different states of activity: in June, the X-ray spectrum was faint and hard (alpha sim 0.8), with positive residuals towards low energies. In October we detected the highest [2-10] keV flux ever measured for the source. During this observation, the spectrum was soft (alpha sim 1.56) up to 10 keV, while above this energy a hard component was dominating. The BeppoSAX data are confirmed by simultaneous RXTE short observations. During the first observation the soft X-ray flux was variable on timescales of a few hours, while the hard X-ray flux was almost constant. During the second observation, instead, the soft spectrum displayed an erratic behaviour with large variations (up to factors 3-4) on timescales smaller than 2 hrs. The analysis of the multiwavelength SED of October evidenced an intriguing feature: the optical and X-ray sections of the SED are misaligned, while in the prevailing standard picture, they are both thought to be produced via synchrotron emission. We suggested four scenarios to account for this discrepancy: a higher than galactic dust-to-gas ratio towards the source, the first detection of bulk Compton emission in the X-ray band, the presence of two synchrotron emitting regions located at different distances from the nucleus, the detection of a Klein-Nishina effect on the synchrotron spectrum. We evidenced the favorable and critical points of each scenario, but, at present, we cannot discriminate between them.

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arXiv2003

Extreme blazars

TeV emission can be a common characteristic of low power blazars. This is in line with the sequence of blazars relating the observed bolometric luminosity with their overall spectral energy distribution. Detecting new TeV blazars, possibly at different redshifts, is important for studying the particle acceleration process operating in the jet, and it is even more important for studying the far infrared-optical background. Recent studies of low power BL Lacs suggest that the particle acceleration mechanism may be a two-step process, analogous to what is invoked to explain the spectra of gamma-ray bursts. I will briefly discuss these findings, together with a simple scheme for selecting good TeV candidates and I will briefly comment on the very fast TeV and X-ray variability observed in BL Lacs.

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arXiv2003

Evidence for Supernova Signatures in the Spectrum of the Late-time Bump of the Optical Afterglow of GRB 021211

We present photometric and spectroscopic observations of the gamma-ray burst GRB 021211 obtained during the late stages of its afterglow. The light curve shows a rebrightening occurring ~25 days after the GRB. The analysis of a VLT spectrum obtained during the bump (27 days after the GRB) reveals a suggestive resemblance with the spectrum of the prototypical type-Ic SN 1994I, obtained about ~10 days past maximum light. Particularly we have measured a strong, broad absorption feature at 3770 A, which we have identified with Ca II blueshifted by ~14400 km/s, thus indicating that a supernova (SN) component is indeed powering the `bump' in the afterglow decay. Assuming SN 1994I as a template, the spectroscopic and photometric data together indicate that the SN and GRB explosions were at most separated by a few days. Our results suggest that GRBs might be associated also to standard type-Ic supernovae.

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arXiv2003

Optical and NIR Observations of the Afterglow of GRB 020813

We present optical and near-infrared (NIR) photometry of the bright afterglow of GRB 020813. Our data span from 3 hours to 4 days after the GRB event. A rather sharp achromatic break is present in the light curve, 14 hours after the trigger. In the framework of jetted fireballs, this break corresponds to a jet half opening angle of (1.9 +- 0.2) deg, the smallest value ever inferred for a GRB. We discuss our results in the framework of currently available models, and find that they have problems in explaining the joint temporal and spectral properties, and in particular the slow decay before the break.

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arXiv2003

Clumps in large scale relativistic jets

The relatively intense X-ray emission from large scale (tens to hundreds kpc) jets discovered with Chandra likely implies that jets (at least in powerful quasars) are still relativistic at that distances from the active nucleus. In this case the emission is due to Compton scattering off seed photons provided by the Cosmic Microwave Background, and this on one hand permits to have magnetic fields close to equipartition with the emitting particles, and on the other hand minimizes the requirements about the total power carried by the jet. The emission comes from compact (kpc scale) knots, and we here investigate what we can predict about the possible emission between the bright knots. This is motivated by the fact that bulk relativistic motion makes Compton scattering off the CMB photons efficient even when electrons are cold or mildly relativistic in the comoving frame. This implies relatively long cooling times, dominated by adiabatic losses. Therefore the relativistically moving plasma can emit, by Compton scattering the microwave seed photons, for a long time. We discuss how the existing radio--to--X-ray observations of large scale jets already pose strong constraints on the structure and dynamics of knots and we present a scenario that can satisfactorily reproduce the observed phenomenology of the jet in 3C273. In this scenario the kiloparsec-scale knots visible with HST, Chandra and VLA are composed of several smaller sub--units, accounting for the fast decrease of the flux outside the large knot. Substructure in the X-ray- emitting knots can also explain the month--year variability timescale reported for the large scale jet in M87.

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arXiv2003

Hard GRB spectra: thermal vs non-thermal emission

We consider the evidence for very hard low energy spectra during the prompt phase of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB). In particular we examine the spectral evolution of GRB 980306 together with the detailed analysis of some other bursts already presented in the literature (GRB 911118, GRB 910807, GRB 910927 and GRB 970111), and check for the significance of their hardness by applying different tests. The hard spectra of these bursts and their evolution constrain several non--thermal emission models, which appear inadequate to account for these cases. The extremely hard spectra at the beginning of their prompt emission are also compared with a black body spectral model: the resulting fits are remarkably good. These findings on the possible thermal character of the evolving spectrum and their implications on the GRB physical scenario can be considered in the frameworks of photospheric models for a fireball which is becoming optically thin, and of the Compton drag model. Both models appear to be qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with the found spectral characteristics.

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arXiv2003

Gamma Ray Bursts: open problems

The internal/external synchrotron shock scenario has proved very successful in interpreting the key observations about gamma ray bursts. There still remains, however, some big uncertainties. The hottest issue concerns the nature of the progenitor, but there are also other problems concerning the global energetics, coupled with the issue of the degree of the collimation of the fireball. To be efficient, internal shocks within the relativistic wind must occur with large contrasts of their bulk Lorentz factors, and it is not clear yet the role of the Compton drag process in limiting the velocity differences. The fireball itself can be "hot" or "cold" according to what accelerates it to ultrarelativistic bulk speeds. In this respect the recent observations of a black body shape of the early phases of a few bursts shed new light on this issue. The most popular radiation process thought to explain the prompt emission is synchrotron, but it faces severe problems when comparing the expected spectrum with observations. Alternatives are called for. Emission features in the X-ray afterglow and absorption features in the prompt spectra are a powerful diagnostical tool. Besides shedding light on the nature of the progenitor, they can constrain the total energy release in a beaming-independent way.

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arXiv2003

The SED of the TeV BLLac 1ES 1426+428 after correction for the TeV--IR absorption

The recent HEGRA detection and spectrum of 1ES 1426+428 at TeV energies, once corrected for absorption using present estimates of the diffuse extragalactic IR background, suggest that the high energy peak of the Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) could be much higher than the synchrotron one ($L_c/L_s>10$), and lie at energies above 8-10 TeV. To see if such an SED could be accounted for, we have applied a "finite injection time" SSC model, and present here some preliminary results. Within this model, we found the need of an external ("ambient") contribution to the energy density of seed photons, in order to account for both the high Compton dominance and the hard spectrum.

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arXiv2003

The BL Lac objects OQ 530 and S5 0716+714. Simultaneous observations in the X-rays, radio, optical and TeV bands

We present the results of the BeppoSAX observations of two BL Lacs, OQ 530 and S5 0716+714, as part of a ToO program for the simultaneous observation at radio, optical, X-ray and TeV energies. Both sources are detected in the LECS and MECS, with S5 0716+714 visible also in the PDS band, up to about 60 keV. The X-ray spectra of both sources are better fitted by a double power-law model, with a steep soft X-ray component flattening at harder energies, with breaks at 0.3 and 1.5 keV, respectively. The concave shape of the spectra in both objects is consistent with soft X-rays being produced by the synchrotron and harder X-rays by the inverse Compton processes. Also the X-ray variability properties confirm this scenario, in particular for S5 0716+714 our observation shows variations by about a factor 3 over one hour below 3 keV and no variability above. Their simultaneous broad band energy spectral distributions can be successfully interpreted within the frame of a homogeneous synchrotron and inverse Compton model, including a possible contribution from an external source of seed photons with the different spectral states of S5 0716+714 being reproduced by changing the injected power. The resulting parameters are fully consistent with the two sources being intermediate objects within the "sequence" scenario proposed for blazars.

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arXiv2002

Spectra and power of relativistic jets

The power of blazar jets rivals the power that gravity can extract from accreting matter. The mechanism launching and accelerating jets can be considered as the most efficient engine operating in radio--loud sources. It is still a matter of debate if the jet carries this power to the radio lobes, hundreds of kpc away, in the form of Poynting flux or bulk kinetic energy, or both, and if these two ingredients have relative weights changing along the way. Accordingly, there are two (or more) possible general scenarios for how the jet can dissipate part of its power into radiation. It can be through e.g. reconnection of the magnetic field in the purely electromagnetic scenario, or through internal shocks in the matter dominated picture. Ways to discriminate these ideas are welcome.

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arXiv2002

The afterglow of GRB 021004: surfing on density waves

We present a model for the early optical afterglow of GRB 021004. This burst had one of the earliest detected optical afterglows, allowing a dense optical sampling. The lightcurve was peculiar, since bright bumps were superimposed to the regular power-law decay observed in many other events. We show that, given their time scale and shape, the bumps are due to the interaction of the fireball with moderate enhancements in the ambient medium density. The enhancements have a density contrast of order 10, modifying only slightly the dynamics of the fireball, which therefore surfs on them rather than colliding onto them. A relativistic reverse shock does not develop. Since the interaction takes place when the fireball is still hyper-relativistic it is not possible to understand if the overdensities are localized in clumps or are spherically symmetric around the GRB progenitor. The monotonic decrease of the contrast of successive rebrightenings suggests however the presence of clumps in an average uniform environment. Such an interpretation, complemented by the detection of several high velocity absorption systems in the optical spectrum, strongly suggests that GRB 021004 exploded within the remnant of a previous explosion.

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