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Title: A MULTI-WAVELENGTH POLARIMETRIC STUDY OF THE BLAZAR CTA 102 DURING A GAMMA-RAY FLARE IN 2012

Abstract

We perform a multi-wavelength polarimetric study of the quasar CTA 102 during an extraordinarily bright γ-ray outburst detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope in 2012 September–October when the source reached a flux of F{sub >100} {sub MeV} = 5.2 ± 0.4 × 10{sup −6} photons cm{sup −2} s{sup −1}. At the same time, the source displayed an unprecedented optical and near-infrared (near-IR) outburst. We study the evolution of the parsec-scale jet with ultra-high angular resolution through a sequence of 80 total and polarized intensity Very Long Baseline Array images at 43 GHz, covering the observing period from 2007 June to 2014 June. We find that the γ-ray outburst is coincident with flares at all the other frequencies and is related to the passage of a new superluminal knot through the radio core. The powerful γ-ray emission is associated with a change in direction of the jet, which became oriented more closely to our line of sight (θ ∼ 1.°2) during the ejection of the knot and the γ-ray outburst. During the flare, the optical polarized emission displays intra-day variability and a clear clockwise rotation of electric vector position angles (EVPAs), which we associate with the path followed by themore » knot as it moves along helical magnetic field lines, although a random walk of the EVPA caused by a turbulent magnetic field cannot be ruled out. We locate the γ-ray outburst a short distance downstream of the radio core, parsecs from the black hole. This suggests that synchrotron self-Compton scattering of NIR to ultraviolet photons is the probable mechanism for the γ-ray production.« less

Authors:
; ; ;  [1]; ; ; ; ; ;  [2]; ; ; ;  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9] more »; « less
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, CSIC, Apartado 3004, E-18080 Granada (Spain)
  2. Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (United States)
  3. Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskij Pr. 28, Petrodvorets, 198504 St. Petersburg (Russian Federation)
  4. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85716 (United States)
  5. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
  6. Aalto University Metsähovi Radio Observatory, Metsähovintie 114, FI-02540 Kylmälä (Finland)
  7. Pulkovo Observatory, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation)
  8. Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, Nauchnij (Ukraine)
  9. INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Roma (Italy)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22518728
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 813; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; BLACK HOLES; COMPTON EFFECT; GALAXIES; GAMMA RADIATION; GHZ RANGE; GRAPH THEORY; IMAGES; JETS; MAGNETIC FIELDS; POLARIMETRY; QUASARS; RANDOMNESS; RESOLUTION; ROTATION; STELLAR FLARES; TELESCOPES; ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION; WAVELENGTHS

Citation Formats

Casadio, Carolina, Gómez, José L., Agudo, Iván, Molina, Sol N., Jorstad, Svetlana G., Marscher, Alan P., Bala, Vishal, Joshi, Manasvita, Taylor, Brian, Williamson, Karen E., Larionov, Valeri M., Blinov, Dmitry A., Grishina, Tatiana S., Hagen-Thorn, Vladimir A., Smith, Paul S., Gurwell, Mark A., Lähteenmäki, Anne, Arkharov, Arkady A., Borman, George A., Paola, Andrea Di, and others, and. A MULTI-WAVELENGTH POLARIMETRIC STUDY OF THE BLAZAR CTA 102 DURING A GAMMA-RAY FLARE IN 2012. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/813/1/51.
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Casadio, Carolina, Gómez, José L., Agudo, Iván, Molina, Sol N., Jorstad, Svetlana G., Marscher, Alan P., Bala, Vishal, Joshi, Manasvita, Taylor, Brian, Williamson, Karen E., Larionov, Valeri M., Blinov, Dmitry A., Grishina, Tatiana S., Hagen-Thorn, Vladimir A., Smith, Paul S., Gurwell, Mark A., Lähteenmäki, Anne, Arkharov, Arkady A., Borman, George A., Paola, Andrea Di, & others, and. A MULTI-WAVELENGTH POLARIMETRIC STUDY OF THE BLAZAR CTA 102 DURING A GAMMA-RAY FLARE IN 2012. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/813/1/51
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Casadio, Carolina, Gómez, José L., Agudo, Iván, Molina, Sol N., Jorstad, Svetlana G., Marscher, Alan P., Bala, Vishal, Joshi, Manasvita, Taylor, Brian, Williamson, Karen E., Larionov, Valeri M., Blinov, Dmitry A., Grishina, Tatiana S., Hagen-Thorn, Vladimir A., Smith, Paul S., Gurwell, Mark A., Lähteenmäki, Anne, Arkharov, Arkady A., Borman, George A., Paola, Andrea Di, and others, and. 2015. "A MULTI-WAVELENGTH POLARIMETRIC STUDY OF THE BLAZAR CTA 102 DURING A GAMMA-RAY FLARE IN 2012". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/813/1/51.
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@article{osti_22518728,
title = {A MULTI-WAVELENGTH POLARIMETRIC STUDY OF THE BLAZAR CTA 102 DURING A GAMMA-RAY FLARE IN 2012},
author = {Casadio, Carolina and Gómez, José L. and Agudo, Iván and Molina, Sol N. and Jorstad, Svetlana G. and Marscher, Alan P. and Bala, Vishal and Joshi, Manasvita and Taylor, Brian and Williamson, Karen E. and Larionov, Valeri M. and Blinov, Dmitry A. and Grishina, Tatiana S. and Hagen-Thorn, Vladimir A. and Smith, Paul S. and Gurwell, Mark A. and Lähteenmäki, Anne and Arkharov, Arkady A. and Borman, George A. and Paola, Andrea Di and others, and},
abstractNote = {We perform a multi-wavelength polarimetric study of the quasar CTA 102 during an extraordinarily bright γ-ray outburst detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope in 2012 September–October when the source reached a flux of F{sub >100} {sub MeV} = 5.2 ± 0.4 × 10{sup −6} photons cm{sup −2} s{sup −1}. At the same time, the source displayed an unprecedented optical and near-infrared (near-IR) outburst. We study the evolution of the parsec-scale jet with ultra-high angular resolution through a sequence of 80 total and polarized intensity Very Long Baseline Array images at 43 GHz, covering the observing period from 2007 June to 2014 June. We find that the γ-ray outburst is coincident with flares at all the other frequencies and is related to the passage of a new superluminal knot through the radio core. The powerful γ-ray emission is associated with a change in direction of the jet, which became oriented more closely to our line of sight (θ ∼ 1.°2) during the ejection of the knot and the γ-ray outburst. During the flare, the optical polarized emission displays intra-day variability and a clear clockwise rotation of electric vector position angles (EVPAs), which we associate with the path followed by the knot as it moves along helical magnetic field lines, although a random walk of the EVPA caused by a turbulent magnetic field cannot be ruled out. We locate the γ-ray outburst a short distance downstream of the radio core, parsecs from the black hole. This suggests that synchrotron self-Compton scattering of NIR to ultraviolet photons is the probable mechanism for the γ-ray production.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/813/1/51},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22518728}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
issn = {0004-637X},
number = 1,
volume = 813,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}
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Journal Article:
https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/813/1/51
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