arXiv subjects

Michael Zacharias

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Zacharias.

36 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

H.E.S.S. Monitoring of PKS 2155-304 in 2015 and 2016

PKS 2155-304 is one of the brightest blazar located in Southern Hemisphere, monitored with H.E.S.S. since the first light of the experiment. Here we report multiwavelength monitoring observations collected during the period of 2015-2016 with H.E.S.S.,Fermi-LAT, Swift-XRT, Swift-UVOT, and ATOM. Two years of multiwavelength data with very good temporal coverage allowed to characterize broadband emission observed from the region of PKS 2155-304 and study potential multifrequency correlations. During the period of monitoring, PKS 2155-304 revealed complex multiwavelength variability with two outbursts characterized by completely different multiband properties. The 2015 activity of the blazar is characterized by a flare observed at all wavelengths studied. The broadband emission observed during the outburst is well correlated without any time lags. Contrary to 2015, in 2016, only orphan outburst in the optical and ultraviolet wavelengths was observed. Such an orphan activity is reported for the first time for the blazar PKS 2155-304.

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arXiv2019

The VHE Gamma-Ray View of the FSRQ PKS~1510-089

The flat spectrum radio quasar PKS 1510-089 is a monitored target in many wavelength bands due to its high variability. It was detected as a very-high-energy (VHE) $γ$-ray emitter with H.E.S.S. in 2009, and has since been a regular target of VHE observations by the imaging Cherenkov observatories H.E.S.S. and MAGIC. In this paper, we summarize the current state of results focusing on the monitoring effort with H.E.S.S. and the discovery of a particularly strong VHE flare in 2016 with H.E.S.S. and MAGIC. While the source has now been established as a weak, but regular emitter at VHE, no correlation with other energy bands has been established. This is underlined by the 2016 VHE flare, where the detected optical and high-energy $γ$-ray counterparts evolve differently than the VHE flux.

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arXiv2019

Blazar variability - expect the unexpected

Despite significant progress in both data taking and the development of theory, blazars keep offering surprises. While many frequency bands are now covered by long-term monitoring efforts on at least a few selected sources, blazars remain unpredictable and the same source may exhibit vastly different behaviors. Here, an overview is given about four selected sources, namely 3C 279, PKS 2155-304, PKS 1510-089 and CTA 102. All of them exhibited, indeed, highly unexpected events.

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arXiv2019

The Long-Lasting Activity in the Flat Spectrum Radio Quasar (FSRQ) CTA~102

The flat spectrum radio quasar CTA 102 ($z = 1.032$) went through a tremendous phase of variability. Since early 2016 the gamma-ray flux level has been significantly higher than in previous years. It was topped by a four month long giant outburst, where peak fluxes were more than 100 times higher than the quiescence level. Similar trends are observable in optical and X-ray energies. We have explained the giant outburst as the ablation of a gas cloud by the relativistic jet that injects additional matter into the jet and can self-consistently explain the long-term light curve. Here, we argue that the cloud responsible for the giant outburst is part of a larger system that collides with the jet and is responsible for the years-long activity in CTA 102.

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arXiv2018

The extended flare in CTA 102 in 2016 and 2017 within a hadronic model through cloud ablation by the relativistic jet

The flat spectrum radio quasar CTA 102 (redshift 1.037) exhibited a tremendously bright 4-months long outburst from late 2016 to early 2017. In a previous paper, we interpreted the event as the ablation of a gas cloud by the relativistic jet. The multiwavelength data have been reproduced very well within this model using a leptonic emission scenario. Here we expand that work by using a hadronic scenario, which gives us greater freedom with respect to the location of the emission region within the jet. This is important, since the inferred gas cloud parameters depend on the distance from the black hole. While the hadronic model faces the problem of invoking super-Eddington jet luminosities, it reproduces well the long-term trend and also days-long subflares. While the latter result in inferred cloud parameters that match those expected for clouds of the broad-line region, the long-term trend is not compatible with such an interpretation. We explore the possibilities that the cloud is from the atmosphere of a red giant star or comes from a star-forming region that passes through the jet. The latter could also explain the much longer-lasting activity phase of CTA 102 from late 2015 till early 2018.

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arXiv2017

Monitoring of the FSRQ PKS 1510-089 with H.E.S.S

The flat spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ) PKS 1510-089 (z=0.361) is known for its complex multiwavelength behavior. It has been monitored regularly at very high energy (VHE, $E>100\,$GeV) gamma-rays with H.E.S.S. since its discovery in 2009 in order to study the unknown behavior of FSRQs in quiescence at VHE, as well as the flux evolution around flaring events. Given the expected strong cooling of electrons and the absorption of VHE emission within the broad-line region, a detection of PKS 1510-089 at VHE in a quiescent state would be an important result, implying an acceleration and emission region on scales beyond the broad-line region. The H.E.S.S. monitoring has been intensified since 2015 and is complemented by monitoring at high energy ($E>100\,$MeV) gamma-rays with Fermi, at X-rays with Swift-XRT, and at optical frequencies with ATOM. The dense lightcurves allow for the first time detailed comparison studies between these energy bands. The source has been active in several frequency bands for a large fraction of the observation time frames. Yet, we do not find obvious correlations between the VHE and the other bands over the observed time frame indicating a non-trivial interplay of the acceleration, cooling and radiative processes. It also implies a rich variety in flaring behavior, which makes this source difficult to interpret within a unique theoretical framework.

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arXiv2017

The exceptional VHE gamma-ray outburst of PKS 1510-089 in May 2016

PKS 1510-089 (z=0.361) is one of only a handful of flat spectrum radio quasars that have been detected at very high energy (VHE, $E>100\,$GeV) gamma rays. It is a very active source across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. VHE observations in May 2016 with H.E.S.S. and MAGIC revealed an exceptionally strong flare, which lasted for less than two nights, and exhibited a peak flux of about 0.8 times the flux of the Crab Nebula above $200\,$GeV. The flare provides the first evidence of intranight variability at VHE in this source. While optical observations with ATOM reveal a counterpart at optical frequencies, Fermi-LAT observations reveal only low flux variability at high energy (HE, $E>100\,$ MeV) gamma rays. Interestingly, the HE spectral index significantly hardens during the peak of the VHE flare, indicating a strong shift of the peak frequency of the high energy component. Given the expected strong absorption due to the broad-line region, the VHE emission region cannot be located deep within that region.

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arXiv2016

Attenuation of TeV $γ$-rays by the starlight photon field of the host galaxy

The absorption of TeV $γ$-ray photons produced in relativistic jets by surrounding soft photon fields is a long-standing problem of jet physics. In some cases the most likely emission site close to the central black hole is ruled out because of the high opacity caused by strong optical and infrared photon sources, such as the broad line region. Mostly neglected for jet modeling is the absorption of $γ$-rays in the starlight photon field of the host galaxy. Analyzing the absorption for arbitrary locations and observation angles of the $γ$-ray emission site within the host galaxy we find that the distance to the galaxy center, the observation angle, and the distribution of starlight in the galaxy are crucial for the amount of absorption. We derive the absorption value for a sample of $20$ TeV detected blazars with a redshift $z_r<0.2$. The absorption value of the $γ$-ray emission located in the galaxy center may be as high as $20\%$ with an average value of $6\%$. This is important in order to determine the intrinsic blazar parameters. We see no significant trends in our sample between the degree of absorption and host properties, such as starlight emissivity, galactic size, half-light radius, and redshift. While the uncertainty of the spectral properties of the extragalactic background light exceeds the effect of absorption by stellar light from the host galaxy in distant objects, the latter is a dominant effect in nearby sources. It may also be revealed in a differential comparison of sources with similar redshifts.

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arXiv2016

The Extended Jet In AP Librae As The Source Of The VHE $γ$-ray Emission

Most modeling attempts of blazars use a small emission zone located close to the central black hole in order to explain the broad-band spectral energy distribution. Here we present a case where additionally to the small region a $>$kpc-scale jet is required to successfully reproduce the spectrum and especially the TeV emission, namely the low-frequeny peaked BL Lac object AP Librae detected in the TeV domain by the H.E.S.S. experiment. Given that other parts of the spectral energy distribution follow the characteristics implied by the source classification, the inverse Compton component spans 10 orders of magnitude, which cannot be reproduced by the one-zone model. Additionally, observational constraints in both the synchrotron and inverse Compton compoenent strongly constrain the parameters of a self-consistent model ruling out the possibility of TeV photon production in the vicinity of the galactic center. We discuss the possibility that the TeV radiation is emitted by highly energetic particles in the extended, arcsec-scale jet, which has been detected at radio and X-ray energies. The slope of the jet X-ray spectrum indicates an inverse Compton origin, and an extrapolation to higher energies coincides with a break feature in the $γ$-ray band. Modeling the jet emission with inverse Compton scattering of the cosmic microwave background results in an excellent fit of the radio, X-ray and TeV emission. Implications will be discussed, such as properties of the jet, acceleration scenarios, and observations to test the model. If confirmed, large scale jets are able to efficiently accelerate particles and to keep relativistic speeds up to distances of several 100kpc.

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arXiv2016

The Complex VHE And Multiwavelength Flaring Activity Of The FSRQ PKS 1510-089 In May 2015

The blazar PKS 1510-089 was the first of the flat spectrum radio quasar type, which had been detected simultaneously by a ground based Cherenkov telescope (H.E.S.S.) and the LAT instrument on board the Fermi satellite. Given the strong broad line region emission defining this blazar class, and the resulting high optical depth for VHE ($E>100\,$GeV) $γ$-rays, it was surprising to detect VHE emission from such an object. In May 2015, PKS 1510-089 exhibited high states throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. Target of Opportunity observations with the H.E.S.S. experiment revealed strong and unprecedented variability of this source. Comparison with the lightcurves obtained with the \textit{Fermi}-LAT in HE $γ$-rays ($100\,$MeV$<E<100\,$GeV) and ATOM in the optical band shows a complex relationship between these energy bands. This points to a complex structure of the emission region, since the one-zone model has difficulties to reproduce the source behavior even when taking into account absorption by ambient soft photon fields. It will be shown that the presented results have important consequences for the explanation of FSRQ spectra and lightcurves, since the emission region cannot be located deep inside the broad line region as is typically assumed. Additionally, acceleration and cooling processes must be strongly time-dependent in order to account for the observed variability patterns.

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arXiv2016

Time-dependent injection as a model for rapid blazar flares

Time-dependent injection can cause non-linear cooling effects, which lead to a faster energy loss of the electrons in jets. The most obvious result is the appearance of unique breaks in the SED, which would normally be attributed to a complicated electron distribution. The knowledge of the observation time and duration is important to interpret the observed spectra, because of the non-trivial evolution of the SED. Intrinsic gamma-gamma absorption processes in the emission region are only of minor importance.

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arXiv2016

The extended jet of AP Librae: Origin of the very high-energy gamma-ray emission?

The low-frequency peaked BL Lac object (LBL) AP Librae exhibits very-high-energy (VHE, $E>100$GeV) $γ$-ray emission and hosts an extended jet, which has been detected in radio and X-rays. The jet X-ray spectral index implies an inverse Compton origin. These observations are unusual for LBLs calling for a consistent explanation of this extraordinary source. The observationally constrained parameters necessary to describe the core emission within the standard one-zone model are unable to explain the broad-band spectrum, even if observationally unconstrained external photon fields are taken into account. We demonstrate that the addition of the extended jet emission successfully reproduces the total spectral energy distribution. In particular, the VHE radiation is produced in the $>100\,$kpc long extended jet via inverse Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background photons by highly relativistic electrons. We present several ways to test this theory. The extended jet is weakly magnetized ($B_0 = 2.5\,μ$G), while its minimum and maximum electron Lorentz factors are $γ_{min}=60$ and $γ_{max}=5\times 10^6$, respectively. The electron spectral index is $s=2.6$. These parameters are comparable to parameters of other blazars with extended X-ray jets dominated by inverse Compton scattering.

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arXiv2014

Blazars and Optical Depth in a non-linear, time-dependent injection and cooling scenario

In this paper the optical depths in blazars due to photo-pair production is calculated for a time-dependent, non-linear injection model. Several target photon fields are taken into account, namely the internal synchrotron, synchrotron-self Compton and external Compton radiation, as well as a constant external soft photon field. By applying the optical depths to theoretical blazar spectra only the constant external photon field turns out to significantly influence the radiation at high energies. The impact of the internal time-dependent radiation fields is either minor or requires extreme parameter settings. Additionally, the synchrotron-self absorption turn-over energy for low synchrotron energies is calculated, which is inherently time-dependent. It would be challenging to use it to constrain free parameters, since precise knowledge of the observation time relative to the injection time is needed. In conclusion, optical depth does not significantly influence the non-linear, time-dependent injection and cooling model.

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arXiv2014

Inverse Compton light curves of blazars under non-linear, time-dependent synchrotron-self Compton cooling

Blazars exhibit flares with a doubling time scale on the order of minutes. Such rapid flares are theoretically challenging and several {models} have been put forward to explain the fast variability. In this paper we continue the discussion concerning the effects of non-linear, time-dependent synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) cooling. In previous papers we were able to show that the non-linearity{, introduced by a time-dependent electron injection,} has severe consequences for both the spectral energy distribution (SED) and the monochromatic synchrotron light curve. The non-linear cooling introduces novel breaks in the SED, which are usually explained by complicated underlying electron distributions, while the much faster cooling of the SSC process {causes significant differences in the synchrotron light curves}. In this paper we calculate the inverse Compton light curves, taking into account both the SSC and the external Compton process. The light curves are calculated from the monochromatic intensities by introducing the retardation due to the finite size of the emission region and the geometry of the source. Even though some of the obvious effects of the SSC cooling are washed out by the retardation, there are still several observational constraints which could help to discriminate between the non-linear and the usual linear models, such as different flux states, temporal shapes or faster variability of the light curves at different energies.

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arXiv2013

Synchrotron Lightcurves of blazars in a time-dependent synchrotron-self Compton cooling scenario

Blazars emit non-thermal radiation in all frequency bands from radio to γ-rays. Additionally, they often exhibit rapid flaring events at all frequencies with doubling time scale of the TeV and X-ray flux on the order of minutes, and such rapid flaring events are hard to explain theoretically. We explore the effect of the synchrotron-self Compton cooling, which is inherently time-dependent, leading to a rapid cooling of the electrons. Having discussed intensively the resulting effects of this cooling scenario on the spectral energy distribution of blazars in previous papers, the effects of the time-dependent approach on the synchrotron lightcurve are investigated here. Taking into account the retardation due to the finite size of the source and the source geometry, we show that the time-dependent synchrotron-self Compton (SSC) cooling still has profound effects on the lightcurve compared to the usual linear (synchrotron and external Compton) cooling terms. This is most obvious if the SSC cooling takes longer than the light crossing time scale. Then in most frequency bands the variability time scale is up to an order of magnitude shorter than under linear cooling conditions. This is yet another strong indication that the time-dependent approach should be taken into account for modeling blazar flares from compact emission regions.

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arXiv2012

External Compton emission in blazars of non-linear SSC cooled electrons

The origin of the high-energy component in spectral energy distributions (SED) of blazars is still a bit of a mystery. While BL Lac objects can be rather successfully modelled within the one-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) scenario, the SED of low peaked Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQ) is more difficult to reproduce. Their high-energy component needs the abundance of strong external photon sources, giving rise to stronger cooling via the inverse Compton channel, and thusly to a powerful component in the SED. Recently, we were able to show that such a powerful inverse Compton component can also be achieved within the SSC framework. This, however, is only possible if the electrons cool by SSC, which results in a non-linear process, since the cooling depends on an energy integral over the electrons. In this paper we aim to compare the non-linear SSC framework with the external Compton (EC) output by calculating analytically the external Compton component with the underlying electron distribution being either linearly or non-linearly cooled. Due to the additional linear cooling of the electrons with the external photons, higher number densities of electrons are required to achieve non-linear cooling, resulting in more powerful inverse Compton components. If the electrons initially cool non-linearly, the resulting SED can exhibit a dominating SSC over the EC component. However, this dominance depends strongly on the input parameters. We conclude that with the correct time-dependent treatment the SSC component should be taken into account to model blazar flares.

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arXiv2012

Modelling of blazar SEDs with the nonlinear SSC cooling process

Observations of blazar flaring states reveal remarkably different variability time scales. Especially rapid flares with flux doubling time scales of the order of minutes have been puzzling for quite some time. Many modeling attempts use the well known linear relations for the cooling and emission processes in the jet in a steady-state scenario, albeit the obvious strongly time-dependent nature of flares. Due to the feedback of self-produced radiation with additional scattering by relativistic electrons, the synchrotron-self Compton (SSC) effect is inherently time-dependent. Although this feedback is usually implemented in numerical treatments, only recently an analytical analysis of the effects of this nonlinear behaviour has been performed. Here, we report our results concerning the effect of the time-dependent SSC on the spectral energy distribution (SED) of blazars. We calculated analytically the synchrotron and the SSC component, giving remarkably different spectral features compared to the standard linear approach. Adding an external photon field to the original setting, we could implement quite easily the effect of an additional external Compton (EC) cooling, since such strong external photon fields are observed in flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQ), a subclass of blazars. Calculating the resulting flux due to the EC cooling, we were able to show that the resulting inverse Compton component strongly depends on the free parameters, and that SSC could potentially have a strong effect in FSRQs, contrary to what is usually assumed.

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arXiv2011

A new ordering parameter of spectral energy distributions from synchrotron-self-Compton emitting blazars

The broadband SEDs of blazars exhibit two broad spectral components, which in leptonic emission models are attributed to synchrotron radiation and synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) radiation of relativistic electrons. During high state phases, the high-frequency SSC component often dominates the low-frequency synchrotron component, implying that the inverse Compton SSC losses of electrons are at least equal to or greater than the synchrotron losses of electrons. We calculate from the analytical solution of the kinetic equation of relativistic electrons, subject to the combined linear synchrotron and nonlinear synchrotron self-Compton cooling, for monoenergetic injection the time-integrated total synchrotron and SSC radiation fluences and spectral energy distributions (SED). Depending on the ratio of the initial cooling terms, displayed by the injection parameter $α$, we find for $α\ll 1$, implying complete linear cooling, that the synchrotron peak dominates the inverse Compton peak and the usual results of the spectra are recovered. For $α\gg 1$ the SSC peak dominates the synchrotron peak, proving our assumption that in such a case the cooling becomes initially non-linear. The spectra also show some unique features, which can be attributed directly to the non-linear cooling. To show the potential of the model, we apply it to outbursts of 3C 279 and 3C 454.3, successfully reproducing the SEDs. The results of our analysis are promising, and we argue that this non-equilibrium model should be considered in future modeling attempts for blazar flares.

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