arXiv subjects

P. Padovani

Publications and source records attributed to P. Padovani.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2003

BeppoSAX Observations of 1-Jy BL Lacertae Objects - II

We present new BeppoSAX LECS and MECS observations, covering the energy range 0.1 - 10 keV (observer's frame), of four BL Lacertae objects selected from the 1 Jy sample. All sources display a flat (alpha_x ~ 0.7) X-ray spectrum, which we interpret as inverse Compton emission. One object shows evidence for a low-energy steepening (Delta alpha_x ~ 0.9) which is likely due to the synchrotron component merging into the inverse Compton one around ~ 2 keV. A variable synchrotron tail would explain why the ROSAT spectra of our sources are typically steeper than the BeppoSAX ones (Delta alpha_x} ~ 0.7). The broad-band spectral energy distributions fully confirm this picture and model fits using a synchrotron inverse Compton model allow us to derive the physical parameters (intrinsic power, magnetic field, etc.) of our sources. By combining the results of this paper with those previously obtained on other sources we present a detailed study of the BeppoSAX properties of a well-defined sub-sample of 14 X-ray bright (f_x (0.1 - 10 keV) > 3 x 10^{-12} erg/cm^2/s) 1-Jy BL Lacs. We find a very tight proportionality between nearly simultaneous radio and X-ray powers for the 1-Jy sources in which the X-ray band is dominated by inverse Compton emission, which points to a strong link between X-ray and radio emission components in these objects.

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arXiv2003

The Space Density of High-Redshift QSOs in the GOODS Survey

We present a sample of 17 high-redshift (3.5<z<5.2) QSO candidates in the 320 sq.arcmin area of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, selected in the magnitude range 22.45<z_{850}<25.25 using deep imaging with the Advanced Camera for Surveys onboard the Hubble Space Telescope and the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer onboard the Chandra X-ray Observatory. On the basis of seven spectroscopic and ten photometric redshifts we estimate that the final sample will contain between two and four QSOs with 4<z<5.2. A dearth of high-redshift, moderate-luminosity (M_{145}=~-23) QSOs is observed with respect to predictions based on a) the extrapolation of the z~2.7 luminosity function (LF), according to a pure luminosity evolution calibrated by the results of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey; and b) a constant universal efficiency in the formation of super-massive black holes (SMBHs) in dark-matter halos. Evidence is gathered in favor of a density evolution of the LF at high redshift and of a suppression of the formation or feeding of SMBHs in low-mass halos.

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arXiv2003

A Possible New Population of Sources with Extreme X-Ray / Optical Ratios

We describe a possible new class of X-ray sources that have robust detections in ultra-deep Chandra data, yet have no detections at all in our deep multi-band GOODS Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ACS images, which represent the highest quality optical imaging obtained to date on these fields. These extreme X-ray / Optical ratio sources ("EXO"s) have values of Fx/Fopt at least an order of magnitude above those generally found for other AGN, even those that are harbored by reddened hosts. We thus infer two possible scenarios: (1) if these sources lie at redshifts z < 6, then their hosts need to be exceedingly underluminous, or more reddened, compared with other known sources; (2) if these sources lie above z ~ 6-7, such that even their Lyman-alpha emission is redshifted out of the bandpass of our ACS z(850) filter, then their optical and X-ray fluxes can be accounted for in terms of relatively normal L* hosts and moderate-luminosity AGN.

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arXiv2003

What Types of Jets does Nature Make: A New Population of Radio Quasars

We use statistical results from a large sample of about 500 blazars, based on two surveys, the Deep X-ray Radio Blazar Survey (DXRBS), nearly complete, and the RASS-Green Bank survey (RGB), to provide new constraints on the spectral energy distribution of blazars, particularly flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQ). This reassessment is prompted by the discovery of a population of FSRQ with spectral energy distribution similar to that of high-energy peaked BL Lacs. The fraction of these sources is sample dependent, being ~ 10% in DXRBS and ~ 30% in RGB (and reaching ~ 80% for the Einstein Medium Sensitivity Survey). We show that these ``X-ray strong'' radio quasars, which had gone undetected or unnoticed in previous surveys, indeed are the strong-lined counterparts of high-energy peaked BL Lacs and have synchrotron peak frequencies, nu_peak, much higher than ``classical'' FSRQ, typically in the UV band for DXRBS. Some of these objects may be 100 GeV - TeV emitters, as are several known BL Lacs with similar broadband spectra. Our large, deep, and homogeneous DXRBS sample does not show anti-correlations between nu_peak and radio, broad line region, or jet power, as expected in the so-called ``blazar sequence'' scenario. However, the fact that FSRQ do not reach X-ray-to-radio flux ratios and nu_peak values as extreme as BL Lacs and the elusiveness of high nu_peak - high-power blazars suggest that there might be an intrinsic, physical limit to the synchrotron peak frequency that can be reached by strong-lined, powerful blazars. Our findings have important implications for the study of jet formation and physics and its relationship to other properties of active galactic nuclei.

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arXiv2002

The Disc-Jet Relation in Strong-Lined Blazars

The relation between accretion disc (thermal emission) and jet (non-thermal emission) in blazars is still a mystery as, typically, the beamed jet emission swamps the disc even in the ultraviolet band where disc emission peaks. In this paper we estimate the accretion disc component for 136 flat-spectrum radio quasars selected from the Deep X-ray Radio Blazar Survey. We do this by deriving the accretion disc spectrum from the mass and accretion rate onto the central black hole for each object, estimated using the emission line widths and the power emitted from the broad line region. We find that non-thermal emission dominates the optical/UV band of our sources. The thermal component, in fact, is, on average, ~ 15 per cent of the total and > 90 per cent of the objects in the sample have a thermal component < 0.5 of the total luminosity. We then estimate the integrated disc and kinetic jet powers and find that, on average, the disc luminosity is ~ 1 to 20 times the jet power (depending on the uncertainties in the estimation of the latter quantity). A comparison with previous, independent results favours a scenario in which jet and disk powers are of the same order of magnitude. Extraction of energy from a rotating black hole via the ``Blandford-Znajek'' mechanism fails to explain the estimated jet power in the majority of our sources. Finally, we find that the typical masses for our sources are ~ 5 10^8 solar masses and that, contrary to previous claims, about one quarter of our radio quasars have relatively small (< 3 10^8 solar masses) black hole mass.

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arXiv2002

Parameter Correlations and Cosmological Properties of BL Lac Objects

Using three complete, radio flux limited, blazar samples we compare the LogN-LogS and the preliminary radio luminosity function of the general population of BL Lacs to those of the subclass of high energy synchrotron peaked (HBL) BL Lacs. We also examine recent results on the cosmological evolution in different samples of BL Lacs and we investigate the controversial issue of the correlation between the synchrotron peak frequency and radio luminosity in BL Lacertae objects. We find that the fraction of HBL objects is approximately the same at all observed radio fluxes and luminosities implying that there cannot be any strong correlation between the position of the synchrotron peak and radio luminosity. The amount of cosmological evolution in BL Lacs is confirmed to be low and negative at low radio fluxes, although the large number of objects without redshift prevents a precise estimation. At high radio fluxes the amount of cosmological evolution is zero or slightly positive but this could be induced by a possible contamination with Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars.

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arXiv2002

BeppoSAX Observations of Synchrotron X-ray Emission from Radio Quasars

We present new BeppoSAX LECS, MECS, and PDS observations of four flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQ) having effective spectral indices alpha_ro and alpha_ox typical of high-energy peaked BL Lacs. Our sources have X-ray-to-radio flux ratios on average ~ 70 times larger than ``classical'' FSRQ and lie at the extreme end of the FSRQ X-ray-to-radio flux ratio distribution. The collected data cover the energy range 0.1 - 10 keV (observer's frame), reaching ~ 100 keV for one object. The BeppoSAX band in one of our sources, RGB J1629+4008, is dominated by synchrotron emission peaking at ~ 2 x 10^16 Hz, as also shown by its steep (energy index alpha_x ~ 1.5) spectrum. This makes this object the FIRST known FSRQ whose X-ray emission is not due to inverse Compton radiation. Two other sources display a flat BeppoSAX spectrum (alpha_x ~ 0.7), with weak indications of steepening at low X-ray energies. The combination of BeppoSAX and ROSAT observations, (non-simultaneous) multifrequency data, and a synchrotron inverse Compton model suggest synchrotron peak frequencies ~ 10^15 Hz, although a better coverage of their spectral energy distributions is needed to provide firmer values. If confirmed, these values would be typical of ``intermediate'' BL Lacs for which the synchrotron and inverse Compton components overlap in the BeppoSAX band. Our sources, although firmly in the radio-loud regime, have powers more typical of high-energy peaked BL Lacs than of FSRQ, and indeed their radio powers put them near the low-luminosity end of the FSRQ luminosity function. We discuss this in terms of an anti-correlation between synchrotron peak frequency and total power, based on physical arguments, and also as possibly due to a selection effect.

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arXiv2002

The classification of BL Lacertae objects: the Ca H&K break

We investigate why BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs) have values of the Ca H&K break (a stellar absorption feature) lower than low-power radio galaxies and if its use is justified to separate the two classes. For this purpose we relate this parameter to the radio and optical core emissions, as well as to the X-ray powers, for a sample of ~90 radio sources. We find that the Ca H&K break value decreases with increasing jet powers, and that it also anti-correlates with the radio core dominance parameter but not with extended radio emission. Based on this we conclude that the Ca H&K break value of BL Lacs and radio galaxies is a suitable indicator of orientation. From the luminosity ratios between objects with low and high Ca H&K break values we constrain the average Lorentz factors for BL Lacs and low-power radio galaxies in the radio and X-ray band to Gamma ~ 2 -- 4 and derive average viewing angles for the galaxies. Our values are in agreement with results from independent methods. We find that the correlations between Ca H&K break and radio core and X-ray luminosity hold independently for low- (LBL) and high-energy peaked BL Lacs (HBL). We derive average viewing angles for their parent populations, which turn out to be similar to the ones for our entire sample, and compare for the first time the luminosities of LBL and HBL at different orientations.

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arXiv2001

The Lyman-alpha forest of a Lyman Break Galaxy: VLT Spectra of MS1512-cB58 at z=2.724

The high redshift galaxy MS1512-cB58 (z=2.724, m_V=20.64) has been observed with the very efficient high resolution echelle spectrograph VLT/UVES. Although this is a very challenging observational program for a Southern hemisphere telescope (the galaxy is located at +36 deg declination), high resolution spectra (FWHM ~ 26 km/s) have revealed, with unprecedented detail along a galaxy sight line, the Lyman-alpha forest due to intervening clouds in the intergalactic medium (IGM). The mean depression D_A due to IGM absorption blueward of the galaxy Ly-alpha wavelength and the number density dn/dz of Ly-alpha clouds have been compared with equivalent results obtained for QSO sight lines at similar redshifts. Our results indicate a possible excess of absorption close to the galaxy. The mean depression at ~ 150 h_65^-1 Mpc comoving (Omega_m=0.3, Omega_Lambda=0.7) from the galaxy is D_A=0.36+/-0.03, to be compared with 0.22+/-0.04, expected from a best fit to QSO sight lines. In the same region (z=2.610), the number density of lines with HI column density in excess of 10^14 atoms/cm2 is also about 3 sigma larger than expected. This high density region is at least 60 h_65^-1 Mpc comoving wide, but the large Ly-alpha absorption of the galaxy itself prevents us from detecting a possible structure extending down to the galaxy. This excess of Ly-alpha clouds is suggestive of two possible scenarios. One is the presence of a super cluster of Ly-alpha clouds not associated with cB58. The other is a high density of gas associated with the environment of cB58. Indeed, a hint of the complexity of cB58 and possibly its environment is given by the huge velocity range (almost 1000 km/s) between the optical emission of star forming regions and UV absorption of its interstellar medium.

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arXiv2001

BeppoSAX Observations of 1 Jy BL Lacertae Objects. I

We present new BeppoSAX observations of seven BL Lacertae objects selected from the 1 Jy sample plus one additional source. The collected data cover the energy range 0.1 - 10 keV (observer's frame), reaching ~ 50 keV for one source (BL Lac). All sources characterized by a peak in their multifrequency spectra at infrared/optical energies (i.e., of the LBL type) display a relatively flat (alpha_x ~ 0.9) X-ray spectrum, which we interpret as inverse Compton emission. Four objects (2/3 of the LBL) show some evidence for a low-energy steepening which is likely due to the synchrotron tail merging into the inverse Compton component around ~ 1 - 3 keV. If this were generally the case with LBL, it would explain why the 0.1 - 2.4 keV ROSAT spectra of our sources are systematically steeper than the BeppoSAX ones (by ~ 0.5 in alpha_x). The broad-band spectral energy distributions fully confirm this picture and a synchrotron inverse Compton model allows us to derive the physical parameters (intrinsic power, magnetic field, etc.) of our sources. Combining our results with those obtained by BeppoSAX on BL Lacs covering a wide range of synchrotron peak frequencies, we confirm and clarify the dependence of the X-ray spectral index on synchrotron peak frequency originally found in ROSAT data.

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arXiv2000

The Deep X-ray Radio Blazar Survey (DXRBS). II. New Identifications

We have searched the archived, pointed ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter data for blazars by correlating the WGACAT X-ray database with several publicly available radio catalogs, restricting our candidate list to serendipitous X-ray sources with a flat radio spectrum (alpha_r <= 0.70). This makes up the Deep X-ray Radio Blazar Survey (DXRBS). Here we present new identifications and spectra for 106 sources, including 86 radio-loud quasars, 11 BL Lacertae objects, and 9 narrow-line radio galaxies. Together with our previously published objects and already known sources, our sample now contains 298 identified objects: 234 radio-loud quasars (181 flat-spectrum quasars: FSRQ [alpha_r <= 0.50] and 53 steep-spectrum quasars: SSRQ), 36 BL Lacs, and 28 narrow-line radio galaxies. Redshift information is available for 96% of these. Thus our selection technique is ~ 90% efficient at finding radio-loud quasars and BL Lacs. Reaching 5 GHz radio fluxes ~ 50 mJy and 0.1-2.0 keV X-ray fluxes a few x 10^-14 erg/cm^2/s, DXRBS is the faintest and largest flat-spectrum radio sample with nearly complete (~ 85%) identification. We review the properties of the DXRBS blazar sample, including redshift distribution and coverage of the X-ray-radio power plane for quasars and BL Lacs. Additionally, we touch upon the expanded multiwavelength view of blazars provided by DXRBS. By sampling for the first time the faint end of the radio and X-ray luminosity functions, this sample will allow us to investigate the blazar phenomenon and the validity of unified schemes down to relatively low powers.

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arXiv2000

Surveys and the Blazar Parameter Space

The rareness of blazars, combined with the previous history of relatively shallow, single-band surveys, has dramatically colored our perception of these objects. Despite a quarter-century of research, it is not at all clear whether current samples can be combined to give us a relatively unbiased view of blazar properties, or whether they present a view so heavily affected by biases inherent in single-band surveys that a synthesis is impossible. We will use the coverage of X-ray/radio flux space for existing surveys to assess their biases. Only new, deeper blazar surveys approach the level needed in depth and coverage of parameter space to give us a less biased view of blazars. These surveys have drastically increased our knowledge of blazars' properties. We will specifically review the discovery of ``blue'' blazars, objects with broad emission lines but broadband spectral characteristics similar to HBL BL Lac objects.

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arXiv2000

The Cosmological Evolution of BL Lacertae Objects

We review the main results from several radio, X-ray and multi-frequency surveys on the topic of cosmological evolution of BL Lacertae objects. Updated findings on BL Lac evolution following the recent identification of many sources in the ``Sedentary Multi-Frequency survey'' are also discussed. By means of extensive Monte Carlo simulations we test some possible explanations for the peculiar cosmological evolution of BL Lacs. We find that a dependence of the relativistic Doppler factor on radio luminosity (as expected within the beaming scenario) may induce low values of V/V_max and that both edge effects at the low luminosity end of the BL Lacs radio luminosity function, and incompleteness at faint optical magnitudes may be the cause of the low V/V_max found for extreme HBL sources in X-ray selected samples.

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arXiv2000

Looking for High Energy Peaked Blazars

Blazars can be classified on the basis of their overall Spectral Energy Distribution (SED). BL Lac objects are usually divided in LBL or HBL (Low or High energy peaked BL Lacs), according to the peak frequency of the synchrotron emission, if in the optical or UV-soft-X band respectively. FSRQs instead are characterized by synchrotron peaks mainly at IR-optical frequencies, similarly to LBLs. Here we report on recent BeppoSAX observations which are unveiling the high energy branch of the range of synchrotron peak frequencies. Four new "extreme" HBLs have been discovered, one of which (1ES 1426+428) peaks near or above 100 keV, in a quiescent state.

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arXiv2000

Synchrotron and Compton Components and their Variability in BL Lac Objects

BL Lacertae objects are extreme extragalactic sources characterized by the emission of strong and rapidly variable nonthermal radiation over the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Synchrotron emission followed by inverse Compton scattering in a relativistic beaming scenario is generally thought to be the mechanism powering these objects. ...

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arXiv1999

Synchrotron and Inverse Compton Variability in the BL Lacertae object S5 0716+714

We report intensity variations of different spectral components in the BL Lac object S5 0716+714 detected during coordinated BeppoSAX and optical observations in 1996 and 1998. The transition between synchrotron and inverse Compton emission has been clearly detected as sharp X-ray spectral breaks at around 2-3 keV on both occasions. Correlated optical and soft X-ray variability was found during the second BeppoSAX pointing when intensive optical monitoring could be arranged. The hard (Compton) component changed by a factor of 2 between the two observations, but remained stable within each exposure. During events of rapid variability S5 0716+714 showed spectral steepening with intensity, a behaviour rarely observed in BL Lacs. We interpret these findings as the probable consequence of a shift of the synchrotron peak emission from the IR/optical band to higher energies, causing the synchrotron tail to push into the soft X-ray band more and more as the source brightens.

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arXiv1999

Detection of Exceptional X-Ray Spectral Variability in the TeV BL Lac 1ES 2344+514

We present the results of six BeppoSAX observations of 1ES 2344+514, five of which were taken within a week. 1ES 2344+514, one of the few known TeV BL Lac objects, was detected by the BeppoSAX Narrow Field Instruments between 0.1 to \~50 keV. During the first five closely spaced observations 1ES 2344+514 showed large amplitude luminosity variability, associated with spectacular spectral changes, particularly when compared to the last observation when the source was found to be several times fainter, with a much steeper X-ray spectrum. The energy dependent shape of the lightcurve and the spectral changes imply a large shift (factor of 30 or more in frequency) of the peak of the synchrotron emission. At maximum flux the peak was located at or above 10 keV, making 1ES 2344+514 the second blazar (after MKN501) with the synchrotron peak in the hard X-ray band. The shift, and the corresponding increase in luminosity, might be due to the onset of a second synchrotron component extending from the soft to the hard X-ray band where most of the power is emitted. Rapid variability on a timescale of approximately 5000 seconds has also been detected when the source was brightest.

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arXiv1999

The Sedentary Multi-Frequency Survey. I. Statistical Identification and Cosmological Properties of HBL BL Lacs

We have assembled a multi-frequency database by cross-correlating the NVSS catalog of radio sources with the RASSBSC list of soft X-ray sources, obtaining optical magnitude estimates from the Palomar and UK Schmidt surveys as provided by the APM and COSMOS on-line services. By exploiting the nearly unique broad-band properties of High-Energy Peaked (HBL) BL Lacs we have statistically identified a sample of 218 objects that is expected to include about 85% of BL Lacs and that is therefore several times larger than all other published samples of HBLs. Using a subset (155 objects) that is radio flux limited and statistically well-defined we have derived the \vovm distribution and the LogN-LogS of extreme HBLs (fx/fr >= 3E-10 erg/cm2/s/Jansky) down to 3.5 mJy. We find that the LogN-LogS flattens around 20 mJy and that = 0.42 +/- 0.02. This extends to the radio band earlier results, based on much smaller X-ray selected samples, about the anomalous cosmological observational properties of HBL BL Lacs. A comparison with the expected radio LogN-LogS of all BL Lacs (based on a beaming model) shows that extreme HBLs make up roughly 2% of the BL Lac population, independently of radio flux. This result, together with the flatness of the radio logN-logS at low fluxes, is in contrast with the predictions of a recent model which assumes an anti-correlation between peak frequency and bolometric luminosity. The extreme fx/fr flux ratios and high X-ray fluxes of these BL Lacs makes them good candidate TeV sources, some of the brighter (and closer) ones possibly detectable with the current generation of Cerenkov telescopes.

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