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Title: Fermi Large Area Telescope And Multi-Wavelength Observations Of The Flaring Activity Of PKS 1510-089 Between 2008 September And 2009 June

Abstract

We report on the multi-wavelength observations of PKS 1510-089 (a flat spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ) at z = 0.361) during its high activity period between 2008 September and 2009 June. During this 11 month period, the source was characterized by a complex variability at optical, UV, and γ-ray bands, on timescales down to 6-12 hr. The brightest γ-ray isotropic luminosity, recorded on 2009 March 26, was sime2 × 1048 erg s–1. The spectrum in the Fermi Large Area Telescope energy range shows a mild curvature described well by a log-parabolic law, and can be understood as due to the Klein-Nishina effect. The γ-ray flux has a complex correlation with the other wavelengths. There is no correlation at all with the X-ray band, a weak correlation with the UV, and a significant correlation with the optical flux. The γ-ray flux seems to lead the optical one by about 13 days. From the UV photometry, we estimated a black hole mass of sime5.4 × 108 M ⊙ and an accretion rate of sime0.5 M ⊙ yr–1. Although the power in the thermal and non-thermal outputs is smaller compared to the very luminous and distant FSRQs, PKS 1510-089 exhibits a quite large Comptonmore » dominance and a prominent big blue bump (BBB) as observed in the most powerful γ-ray quasars. The BBB was still prominent during the historical maximum optical state in 2009 May, but the optical/UV spectral index was softer than in the quiescent state. This seems to indicate that the BBB was not completely dominated by the synchrotron emission during the highest optical state. We model the broadband spectrum assuming a leptonic scenario in which the inverse Compton emission is dominated by the scattering of soft photons produced externally to the jet. The resulting model-dependent jet energetic content is compatible with a scenario in which the jet is powered by the accretion disk, with a total efficiency within the Kerr black hole limit.« less

Authors:
 [1]
  1. Naval Research Lab. (NRL), Washington, DC (United States); et al.
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
Contributing Org.:
Fermi LAT Collaboration
OSTI Identifier:
1357525
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-76SF00515
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
The Astrophysical Journal
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 721; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS

Citation Formats

Abdo, A. A. Fermi Large Area Telescope And Multi-Wavelength Observations Of The Flaring Activity Of PKS 1510-089 Between 2008 September And 2009 June. United States: N. p., 2010. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/721/2/1425.
Abdo, A. A. Fermi Large Area Telescope And Multi-Wavelength Observations Of The Flaring Activity Of PKS 1510-089 Between 2008 September And 2009 June. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/721/2/1425
Abdo, A. A. 2010. "Fermi Large Area Telescope And Multi-Wavelength Observations Of The Flaring Activity Of PKS 1510-089 Between 2008 September And 2009 June". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/721/2/1425. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1357525.
@article{osti_1357525,
title = {Fermi Large Area Telescope And Multi-Wavelength Observations Of The Flaring Activity Of PKS 1510-089 Between 2008 September And 2009 June},
author = {Abdo, A. A.},
abstractNote = {We report on the multi-wavelength observations of PKS 1510-089 (a flat spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ) at z = 0.361) during its high activity period between 2008 September and 2009 June. During this 11 month period, the source was characterized by a complex variability at optical, UV, and γ-ray bands, on timescales down to 6-12 hr. The brightest γ-ray isotropic luminosity, recorded on 2009 March 26, was sime2 × 1048 erg s–1. The spectrum in the Fermi Large Area Telescope energy range shows a mild curvature described well by a log-parabolic law, and can be understood as due to the Klein-Nishina effect. The γ-ray flux has a complex correlation with the other wavelengths. There is no correlation at all with the X-ray band, a weak correlation with the UV, and a significant correlation with the optical flux. The γ-ray flux seems to lead the optical one by about 13 days. From the UV photometry, we estimated a black hole mass of sime5.4 × 108 M ⊙ and an accretion rate of sime0.5 M ⊙ yr–1. Although the power in the thermal and non-thermal outputs is smaller compared to the very luminous and distant FSRQs, PKS 1510-089 exhibits a quite large Compton dominance and a prominent big blue bump (BBB) as observed in the most powerful γ-ray quasars. The BBB was still prominent during the historical maximum optical state in 2009 May, but the optical/UV spectral index was softer than in the quiescent state. This seems to indicate that the BBB was not completely dominated by the synchrotron emission during the highest optical state. We model the broadband spectrum assuming a leptonic scenario in which the inverse Compton emission is dominated by the scattering of soft photons produced externally to the jet. The resulting model-dependent jet energetic content is compatible with a scenario in which the jet is powered by the accretion disk, with a total efficiency within the Kerr black hole limit.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/721/2/1425},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1357525}, journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
issn = {0004-637X},
number = 2,
volume = 721,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2010},
month = {Fri Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2010}
}

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Works referencing / citing this record:

H.E.S.S. discovery of VHE γ -rays from the quasar PKS 1510−089
journal, June 2013


Fermi /LAT detection of extraordinary variability in the gamma-ray emission of the blazar PKS 1510-089
journal, July 2013


Long-term multiwavelength studies of high-redshift blazar 0836+710
journal, July 2013


Multiwavelength observations of a VHE gamma-ray flare from PKS 1510−089 in 2015
journal, July 2017


Long-term Multiband Study of High-redshift Blazar S5 0836+71
journal, December 2018


VERY RAPID HIGH-AMPLITUDE GAMMA-RAY VARIABILITY IN LUMINOUS BLAZAR PKS 1510–089 STUDIED WITH FERMI -LAT
journal, March 2013


Radio and γ-ray follow-up of the exceptionally high-activity state of PKS 1510−089 in 2011
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Radio follow-up of the γ-ray flaring gravitational lens JVAS B0218+357
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Exploring the nature of the 2016 γ-ray emission in the blazar 1749+096
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Kinematics of Parsec-scale Jets of Gamma-Ray Blazars at 43 GHz within the VLBA-BU-BLAZAR Program
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On the Multiwavelength Emission from CTA 102
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Multi-frequency Variability Study of Ton 599 during the High Activity of 2017
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Ejection of Double Knots from the Radio Core of PKS 1510–089 during the Strong Gamma-Ray Flares in 2015
journal, May 2019


Two-zone Emission Modeling of PKS 1510-089 during the High State of 2015
journal, September 2019


Detection of persistent VHE gamma-ray emission from PKS 1510-089 by the MAGIC telescopes during low states between 2012 and 2017
text, January 2018


Multiwavelength observations of a VHE gamma-ray flare from PKS 1510-089 in 2015
text, January 2016


Multiwavelength observations of a VHE gamma-ray flare from PKS 1510−089 in 2015
text, January 2017


H.E.S.S. discovery of VHE γ -rays from the quasar PKS 1510−089
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