CORRELATED VARIABILITY IN THE BLAZAR 3C 454.3

被引:75
作者
Bonning, E. W. [1 ,2 ]
Bailyn, C. [2 ,3 ]
Urry, C. M. [1 ,2 ]
Buxton, M. [2 ,3 ]
Fossati, G. [4 ]
Maraschi, L. [5 ]
Coppi, P. [2 ,3 ]
Scalzo, R. [1 ,2 ]
Isler, J. [1 ,2 ]
Kaptur, A. [2 ,3 ]
机构
[1] Yale Univ, Dept Phys, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
[2] Yale Univ, Yale Ctr Astron & Astrophys, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
[3] Yale Univ, Dept Astron, New Haven, CT 06520 USA
[4] Rice Univ, Dept Phys & Astron, Houston, TX 77005 USA
[5] INAF Osservatorio Astron Brera, I-20100 Milan, Italy
来源
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS | 2009年 / 697卷 / 02期
关键词
black hole physics; BL Lacertae objects: individual (3C 454.3); galaxies: active; quasars: general; SPECTRAL ENERGY-DISTRIBUTIONS; ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI; GAMMA-RAY SOURCES; X-RAY; INFRARED OBSERVATIONS; QUASAR; 3C-454.3; AGILE DETECTION; XMM-NEWTON; TELESCOPE; RADIATION;
D O I
10.1088/0004-637X/697/2/L81
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
The blazar 3C 454.3 was revealed by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to be in an exceptionally high flux state in 2008 July. Accordingly, we performed a multiwavelength monitoring campaign from 2008 August through December on this blazar using infrared (IR) and optical observations from the Small and Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System telescopes, optical, ultraviolet (UV), and X-ray data from the Swift satellite, and public-release gamma-ray data from Fermi. We find an excellent correlation between the IR, optical, UV, and gamma-ray light curves, with a time lag of less than one day. The amplitude of the IR variability is comparable to that in gamma-rays, and larger than at optical or UV wavelengths. The X-ray flux is not correlated with either the gamma-rays or longer wavelength data. These variability characteristics find a natural explanation in the external Compton model, in which electrons with Lorentz factor gamma similar to 10(3-4) radiate synchrotron emission in the IR-optical and also scatter accretion disk or emission line photons to gamma-ray energies, while much cooler electrons (gamma similar to 10(1-2)) produce X-rays by scattering synchrotron or other ambient photons.
引用
收藏
页码:L81 / L85
页数:5
相关论文
共 48 条
[1]  
ALLER MF, 1997, AIP C P, V410, P1423
[2]   PHOTOELECTRIC SEQUENCES FOR BRIGHTER QSOS [J].
ANGIONE, RJ .
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL, 1971, 76 (05) :412-&
[3]   The burst alert telescope (BAT) on the Swift MIDEX mission [J].
Barthelmy, SD ;
Barbier, LM ;
Cummings, JR ;
Fenimore, EE ;
Gehrels, N ;
Hullinger, D ;
Krimm, HA ;
Markwardt, CB ;
Palmer, DM ;
Parsons, A ;
Sato, G ;
Suzuki, M ;
Takahashi, T ;
Tashiro, M ;
Tueller, J .
SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS, 2005, 120 (3-4) :143-164
[4]   INFRARED OBSERVATIONS OF MONOCEROS-R2 [J].
BECKWITH, S ;
EVANS, NJ ;
BECKLIN, EE ;
NEUGEBAUER, G .
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 1976, 208 (02) :390-395
[5]  
Bessell MS, 1998, ASTRON ASTROPHYS, V333, P231
[6]   Modeling the emission processes in blazars [J].
Bottcher, Markus .
ASTROPHYSICS AND SPACE SCIENCE, 2007, 309 (1-4) :95-104
[7]   The Swift X-ray telescope [J].
Burrows, DN ;
Hill, JE ;
Nousek, JA ;
Kennea, JA ;
Wells, A ;
Osborne, JP ;
Abbey, AF ;
Beardmore, A ;
Mukerjee, K ;
Short, ADT ;
Chincarini, G ;
Campana, S ;
Citterio, O ;
Moretti, A ;
Pagani, C ;
Tagliaferri, G ;
Giommi, P ;
Capalbi, M ;
Tamburelli, F ;
Angelini, L ;
Cusumano, G ;
Bräuninger, HW ;
Burkert, W ;
Hartner, GD .
SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS, 2005, 120 (3-4) :165-195
[8]   THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INFRARED, OPTICAL, AND ULTRAVIOLET EXTINCTION [J].
CARDELLI, JA ;
CLAYTON, GC ;
MATHIS, JS .
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 1989, 345 (01) :245-256
[9]   The power of blazar jets [J].
Celotti, Annalisa ;
Ghiselllni, Gabriele .
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 2008, 385 (01) :283-300
[10]  
CRAINE ER, 1977, ASTRONOMY ASTROPHYSI