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Paolo Giommi

Publications and source records attributed to Paolo Giommi.

64 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
arXiv1998

The Deep X-ray Radio Blazar Survey (DXRBS)

We have undertaken a survey for blazars by correlating the ROSAT WGACAT database with publicly available radio catalogs, restricting our candidate list to serendipitous flat-spectrum sources (alpha_r <= 0.7). We discuss here our survey methods, identification procedure and first results. Our survey is found to be ~ 95% efficient at finding blazars, a figure which is comparable to or greater than that achieved by other radio and X-ray survey techniques. DXRBS provides a much more uniform coverage of the parameter space occupied by blazars than any previous survey. Particularly important is the identification of a large population of flat-spectrum radio quasars with ratios of X-ray to radio luminosity >~ 10^-6 (alpha_rx <~ 0.78) and of many low-luminosity flat-spectrum radio quasars. Moreover, DXRBS fills in the region of parameter space between X-ray selected and radio-selected samples of BL Lacs.

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arXiv1998

The Deep X-ray Radio Blazar Survey (DXRBS). I. Methods and First Results

We have undertaken a survey of archived, pointed ROSAT PSPC data for blazars by correlating the ROSAT WGACAT database with several publicly available radio catalogs, restricting our candidate list to serendipitous flat radio spectrum sources (alpha_r <= 0.70). Here we discuss our survey methods, identification procedure and first results. Our survey is found to be ~ 95% efficient at finding flat-spectrum radio-loud quasars (FSRQs, 59 of our first 85 IDs) and BL Lacertae objects (22 of our first 85 IDs), a figure which is comparable to or greater than that achieved by other radio and X-ray survey techniques. The identifications presented here show that all previous samples of blazars (even when taken together) did not representatively survey the blazar population, missing critical regions of (L_X,L_R) parameter space within which large fractions of the blazar population lie. Particularly important is the identification of a large population of FSRQs (>~ 25% of DXRBS FSRQs) with ratios of X-ray to radio luminosity >~ 10^-6 (alpha_rx <~ 0.78). In addition, due to our greater sensitivity, DXRBS has already more than doubled the number of FSRQs in complete samples with 5 GHz (radio) luminosities between 10^31.5 and 10^33.5 erg/s/Hz and fills in the region of parameter space between X-ray selected and radio-selected samples of BL Lacs. DXRBS is the very first sample to contain statistically significant numbers of blazars at low luminosities, approaching what should be the lower end of the FSRQ luminosity function.

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arXiv1997

BeppoSAX Observations of Unprecedented Synchrotron Activity in the BL Lac Object Mkn 501

The BL Lac object Mkn 501, one of the only three extragalactic sources (with Mkn 421 and 1ES 2344+514) so far detected at TeV energies, was observed with the BeppoSAX satellite on 7, 11, and 16 April 1997 during a phase of high activity at TeV energies, as monitored with the Whipple, HEGRA and CAT Cherenkov telescopes. Over the whole 0.1-200 keV range the spectrum was exceptionally hard (alpha =< 1, with F_nu ~ nu^{-alpha}) indicating that the X-ray power output peaked at (or above) ~100 keV. This represents a shift of at least two orders of magnitude with respect to previous observations of Mkn 501, a behavior never seen before in this or any other blazar. The overall X-ray spectrum hardens with increasing intensity and, at each epoch, it is softer at larger energies. The correlated variability from soft X-rays to the TeV band points to models in which the same population of relativistic electrons produces the X-ray continuum via synchrotron radiation and the TeV emission by inverse Compton scattering of the synchrotron photons or other seed photons. For the first time in any blazar the synchrotron power is observed to peak at hard X-ray energies. The large shift of the synchrotron peak frequency with respect to previous observations of Mkn 501 implies that intrinsic changes in the relativistic electron spectrum caused the increase in emitted power. Due to the very high electron energies, the inverse Compton process is limited by the Klein-Nishina regime. This implies a quasi-linear (as opposed to quadratic) relation of the variability amplitude in the TeV and hard X-ray ranges (for the SSC model) and an increase of the inverse Compton peak frequency smaller than that of the synchrotron peak frequency.

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arXiv1997

X-ray Spectral Survey of WGACAT Quasars, I: Spectral Evolution & Low Energy Cut-offs

We have used the WGA catalog of ROSAT PSPC X-ray sources to study the X-ray spectrum of about 500 quasars in the redshift interval 0.1--4.1, detected with a signal to noise better than 7. We have parameterized the PSPC spectrum in terms of two `effective energy spectral indices', alpha_Soft (0.1-0.8 keV), and alpha_Hard (0.4-2.4 keV), which allows for the different Galactic N_H along the quasars line of sight. We have used these data to explore the questions raised by the initial PSPC high redshift quasar studies, and in particular the occurrence of low X-ray energy cut-offs in high redshift radio-loud quasars. We have also studied the emission spectra of a large sample of radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars and studied their differences. We find that low energy X-ray cut-offs are more commonly (and perhaps exclusively) found in radio-loud quasars. Therefore the low energy X-ray cut-offs are physically associated with the quasars, and not with intervening systems, since those would affect radio-quiet and radio-loud equally. We suggest that photoelectric absorption is a likely origin of the these cut-offs.

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arXiv1997

X-ray Spectral Survey of WGACAT Quasars, II: Optical and Radio Properties of Quasars with Low Energy X-ray Cut-offs

We have selected quasars with X-ray colors suggestive of a low energy cut-off, from the ROSAT PSPC pointed archive. We examine the radio and optical properties of these 13 quasars. Five out of the seven quasars with good optical spectra show associated optical absorption lines, with two having high delta-v candidate systems. Two other cut-off quasars show reddening associated with the quasar. We conclude that absorption is highly likely to be the cause of the X-ray cut-offs, and that the absorbing material associated with the quasars, not intervening along the line-of-sight. The suggestion that Gigahertz Peaked Sources are associated with X-ray cut-offs remains unclear with this expanded sample.

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arXiv1996

Are the X-ray Spectra of Flat-spectrum Radio Quasars and BL Lacertae Objects Different?

We study the X-ray spectra of 114 flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQ) using the hardness ratios as given in the WGA catalogue of ROSAT sources. This sample includes all WGA FSRQ with high-quality data and comprises about 20 per cent of presently known such objects, which makes this the largest FSRQ sample ever studied in the X-ray band. We find that FSRQ have a distribution of energy spectral indices ranging between 0 and 3 with a mean value alpha_x ~ 1. This is consistent with that of low-energy cutoff BL Lacs (LBL; alpha_x ~ 1.1), generally found in radio surveys, but significantly different from that of high-energy cutoff BL Lacs (HBL), normally selected in the X-ray band, which display steeper X-ray spectra (alpha_x ~ 1.5). The shape of the optical-to-X-ray continuum is concave (that is alpha_x < alpha_ox) for the majority of FSRQ, as found for LBL, supporting a dominance of inverse Compton emission in the X-ray band in most objects. Our results are at odds with previous studies of the X-ray spectra of FSRQ, which were however plagued by low spectral resolution and/or small number statistics and selection effects, and have important implications for the proposed connections between FSRQ and BL Lacs.

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arXiv1996

The ROSAT X-ray Spectra of BL Lacertae Objects

We study the X-ray spectra of 85 BL Lacertae objects using the hardness ratios as given in the WGA catalogue of {\it ROSAT} sources. This sample includes all WGA BL Lacs with high-quality data and comprises about 50 per cent of presently known BL Lacs. We find that BL Lacs have energy power-law spectral indices between 0 and 3 with a mean value $α_{\rm x}\sim 1.4$. Significant differences, however, are present between high-energy cutoff BL Lacs (HBLs), normally selected in the X-ray band, and low-energy cutoff BL Lacs (LBLs), generally found in radio surveys. HBLs have steeper X-ray spectral slopes ($α_{\rm x}\sim 1.5$) well correlated with $α_{\rm ox}$, and anti-correlated with the X-ray-to-radio flux ratio and cutoff frequency, with convex overall broad-band spectra. LBLs, on the other hand, have flatter X-ray spectra ($α_{\rm x}\sim 1.1$) and concave optical-X-ray continuum. We interpret these results in terms of different mechanisms being responsible for the X-ray emission in the two classes, namely synchrotron and inverse Compton for HBLs and LBLs respectively. The observed differences are consistent with the hypothesis that HBLs and LBLs are powered by essentially the same non-thermal engines differing mainly in their synchrotron cutoff energy.

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arXiv1995

A Sample-oriented Catalogue of BL Lacertae Objects

We present a catalogue of 233 BL Lacertae objects compiled through an extensive bibliographic search updated to mid-1995. A large fraction of the sources listed in the catalogue belongs to well-defined samples and can be used for statistical purposes. A smaller fraction consists of miscellaneous (but confirmed) BL Lacs and of objects classified as BL Lac candidates. We discuss the selection criteria of the different samples, report the discovery of two previously unnoticed BL Lacs in the Palomar-Green survey, and comment on the possible association of some of the still unidentified high galactic latitude gamma-ray (EGRET) sources with BL Lacs. Some statistical properties of the catalogue are also briefly discussed.

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arXiv1994

The Connection between X-ray- and Radio-Selected BL Lacertae Objects

We explain the properties of X-ray selected BL Lacertae objects, under the assumption that they constitute the small minority of the BL Lac population with energy cutoff located in the UV/X-ray band, as suggested by their multifrequency spectra. In particular, we derive their X-ray luminosity function, log N-log S, and radio flux distribution starting from radio selected BL Lacs using a method that does not require any free parameters. Our hypothesis is at variance with the most common explanation for the existence of two classes of BL Lacs, namely that X-ray selected objects are viewed significantly off the beaming axis while radio-selected ones have their jets more aligned with the line of sight. In this case, in fact, X-ray selected sources should be intrinsically more numerous than objects selected in the radio band at a fixed value of some isotropic luminosity such as that of the diffuse radio emission. While also accounting for most of the properties of BL Lacs detected in current X-ray surveys, this latter scenario would predict their radio emission to be dominated by the extended (unbeamed) component, in contrast with observations. We also address the question of the negative evolution apparently exhibited by X-ray selected BL Lacs, showing that neither recognition problems nor a break in the X-ray spectrum are likely to be responsible for it. Our hypothesis explains in a simple way the bimodal distribution of BL Lacs in the alpha_ro - alpha_ ox diagram. It also makes specific predictions for the X-ray, radio, and optical properties of BL Lacs which will be tested by future deep X-ray surveys.

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