A. U. Abeysekara, Wystan Benbow, Ralph Bird, T. Brantseg, Robert Brose, M. Buchovecky, J. H. Buckley, V. Bugaev, M. P. Connolly, Wei Cui, M. K. Daniel, A. Falcone, Qi Feng, John P. Finley, L. Fortson, Amy Furniss, Gerard H. Gillanders, Isuru Gunawardhana, M. Huetten, David Hanna, O. Hervet, J. Holder, G. Hughes, T. B. Humensky, Caitlin A. Johnson, Philip Kaaret, P. Kar, M. Kertzman, F. Krennrich, M. J. Lang, T. T. Y. Lin, S. McArthur, P. Moriarty, Reshmi Mukherjee, R. A. Ong, Adam Nepomuk Otte, N. Park, A. Petrashyk, Martin Pohl, Elisa Pueschel, J. Quinn, K. Ragan, P. T. Reynolds, Gregory T. Richards, E. Roache, C. Rulten, I. Sadeh, M. Santander, G. H. Sembroski, Karlen Shahinyan, S. P. Wakely, A. Weinstein, R. M. Wells, P. Wilcox, D. A. Williams, B. Zitzer, Svetlana G. Jorstad, Alan P. Marscher, Matthew L. Lister, Yuri Y. Kovalev, A. B. Pushkarev, Tuomas Savolainen, I. Agudo, S. N. Molina, J. L. Gomez, Valeri M. Larionov, G. A. Borman, A. A. Mokrushina, Merja Tornikoski, A. Lahteenmaki, W. Chamani, S. Enestam, S. Kiehlmann, Talvikki Hovatta, P. S. Smith, P. Pontrelli
- Combined with measurements made by very-long-baseline interferometry, the observations of fast TeV gamma-ray flares probe the structure and emission mechanism of blazar jets. However, only a handful of such flares have been detected to date, and only within the last few years have these flares been observed from lower-frequency-peaked BL. Lac objects and flat-spectrum radio quasars. We report on a fast TeV gamma-ray flare from the blazar BL. Lacertae observed by the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). with a rise time of similar to 2.3 hr and a decay time of similar to 36 min. The peak flux above 200 GeV is (4.2 +/- 0.6) x 10(-6) photon m(-2) s(-1) measured with a 4-minute-binned light curve, corresponding to similar to 180% of the flux that is observed from the Crab Nebula above the same energy threshold. Variability contemporaneous with the TeV gamma-ray flare was observed in GeV gamma-ray, X-ray, and optical flux, as well as in optical and radio polarization. Additionally, a possible moving emissionCombined with measurements made by very-long-baseline interferometry, the observations of fast TeV gamma-ray flares probe the structure and emission mechanism of blazar jets. However, only a handful of such flares have been detected to date, and only within the last few years have these flares been observed from lower-frequency-peaked BL. Lac objects and flat-spectrum radio quasars. We report on a fast TeV gamma-ray flare from the blazar BL. Lacertae observed by the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). with a rise time of similar to 2.3 hr and a decay time of similar to 36 min. The peak flux above 200 GeV is (4.2 +/- 0.6) x 10(-6) photon m(-2) s(-1) measured with a 4-minute-binned light curve, corresponding to similar to 180% of the flux that is observed from the Crab Nebula above the same energy threshold. Variability contemporaneous with the TeV gamma-ray flare was observed in GeV gamma-ray, X-ray, and optical flux, as well as in optical and radio polarization. Additionally, a possible moving emission feature with superluminal apparent velocity was identified in Very Long Baseline Array observations at 43 GHz, potentially passing the radio core of the jet around the time of the gamma-ray flare. We discuss the constraints on the size, Lorentz factor, and location of the emitting region of the flare, and the interpretations with several theoretical models that invoke relativistic plasma passing stationary shocks.…
MetadatenAuthor details: | A. U. Abeysekara, Wystan BenbowORCiD, Ralph BirdORCiD, T. Brantseg, Robert BroseORCiDGND, M. Buchovecky, J. H. Buckley, V. Bugaev, M. P. Connolly, Wei CuiORCiD, M. K. Daniel, A. Falcone, Qi FengORCiD, John P. FinleyORCiD, L. Fortson, Amy FurnissORCiD, Gerard H. GillandersORCiD, Isuru GunawardhanaORCiD, M. Huetten, David HannaORCiD, O. Hervet, J. Holder, G. Hughes, T. B. Humensky, Caitlin A. JohnsonORCiD, Philip KaaretORCiD, P. Kar, M. Kertzman, F. Krennrich, M. J. Lang, T. T. Y. Lin, S. McArthur, P. Moriarty, Reshmi MukherjeeORCiD, R. A. Ong, Adam Nepomuk OtteORCiD, N. Park, A. Petrashyk, Martin PohlORCiDGND, Elisa PueschelORCiD, J. Quinn, K. Ragan, P. T. Reynolds, Gregory T. RichardsORCiD, E. Roache, C. Rulten, I. Sadeh, M. Santander, G. H. Sembroski, Karlen ShahinyanORCiD, S. P. Wakely, A. Weinstein, R. M. Wells, P. Wilcox, D. A. Williams, B. Zitzer, Svetlana G. JorstadORCiD, Alan P. MarscherORCiD, Matthew L. ListerORCiD, Yuri Y. KovalevORCiD, A. B. Pushkarev, Tuomas SavolainenORCiD, I. Agudo, S. N. Molina, J. L. Gomez, Valeri M. LarionovORCiD, G. A. Borman, A. A. Mokrushina, Merja TornikoskiORCiD, A. Lahteenmaki, W. Chamani, S. Enestam, S. Kiehlmann, Talvikki HovattaORCiD, P. S. Smith, P. Pontrelli |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aab35c |
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ISSN: | 0004-637X |
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ISSN: | 1538-4357 |
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Title of parent work (English): | The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics |
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Subtitle (English): | a new Fast TeV Gamma-Ray Flare |
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Publisher: | IOP Publ. Ltd. |
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Place of publishing: | Bristol |
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Publication type: | Article |
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Language: | English |
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Date of first publication: | 2018/03/28 |
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Publication year: | 2018 |
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Creating corporation: | VERITAS Collaboration |
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Release date: | 2021/12/13 |
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Tag: | BL Lacertae objects: individual (BL Lacertae = VER J2202+422); galaxies: active |
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Volume: | 856 |
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Issue: | 2 |
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Number of pages: | 14 |
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Funding institution: | U.S. Department of Energy Office of ScienceUnited States Department of Energy (DOE); U.S. National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation (NSF); Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian Institution; NSERC in CanadaNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; NASA Fermi Guest Investigator Program [80NSSC17K 0694]; NASA Fermi grant [NNX15AU76G]; Russian Foundation for Basic ResearchRussian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) [17-02-00197]; government of the Russian Federation [05.Y09.21.0018]; Alexander von Humboldt FoundationAlexander von Humboldt Foundation; Academy of FinlandAcademy of Finland [274477, 284495]; NASANational Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) [NNX08AW31G, NNX11A043G, NNX14AQ89G]; NSFNational Science Foundation (NSF) [AST-0808050, AST-1109911]; NASA Fermi Guest Investigator grant [NNX15AU81G]; Ramon y Cajal grant of the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) of Spain; MINECO [AYA2010-14844, AYA2013-40825-P, AYA2016-80889-P]; Regional Government of AndaluciaJunta de Andalucia [P09-FQM-4784]; Russian Science FoundationRussian Science Foundation (RSF) [17-12-01029] |
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Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie |
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DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 53 Physik / 530 Physik |
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Peer review: | Referiert |
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Publishing method: | Open Access / Green Open-Access |
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