1. A multi-wavelength study to decipher the 2017 flare of the blazar OJ 287
- Author
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Acharyya, A., Adams, C. B., Archer, A., Bangale, P., Bartkoske, J. T., Batista, P., Benbow, W., Brill, A., Caldwell, J. P., Carini, M., Christiansen, J. L., Chromey, A. J., Errando, M., Falcone, A., Feng, Q., Finley, J. P., Foote, J., Fortson, L., Furniss, A., Gallagher, G., Hanlon, W., Hanna, D., Hervet, O., Hinrichs, C. E., Hoang, J., Holder, J., Humensky, T. B., Jin, W., Johnson, M. N., Kaaret, P., Kertzman, M., Kherlakian, M., Kieda, D., Kleiner, T. K., Korzoun, N., Krennrich, F., Kumar, S., Lang, M. J., Lundy, M., Maier, G., EMcGrath, C., Millard, M. J., Millis, J., Mooney, C. L., Moriarty, P., Mukherjee, R., O'Brien, S., Ong, R. A., Pohl, M., Pueschel, E., Quinn, J., Rabinowitz, P. L., Ragan, K., Reynolds, P. T., Ribeiro, D., Roache, E., Ryan, J. L., Sadeh, I., Sadun, A. C., Saha, L., Santander, M., Sembroski, G. H., Shahinyan, K., Shang, R., Splettstoesser, M., Tak, D., Talluri, A. K., Tucci, J. V., Williams, D. A., Wong, S. L., Jorstad, S. G., Lico, R., Lusen, P., and Marscher, A. P.
- Subjects
Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies - Abstract
In February 2017, the blazar OJ~287 underwent a period of intense multiwavelength activity. It reached a new historic peak in the soft X-ray (0.3-10 keV) band, as measured by Swift-XRT. This event coincides with a very-high-energy (VHE) $\gamma$-ray outburst that led VERITAS to detect emission above 100 GeV, with a detection significance of $10\sigma$ (from 2016 December 9 to 2017 March 31). The time-averaged VHE $\gamma$-ray spectrum was consistent with a soft power law ($\Gamma = -3.81 \pm 0.26$) and an integral flux corresponding to $\sim2.4\%$ that of the Crab Nebula above the same energy. Contemporaneous data from multiple instruments across the electromagnetic spectrum reveal complex flaring behavior, primarily in the soft X-ray and VHE bands. To investigate the possible origin of such an event, our study focuses on three distinct activity states: before, during, and after the February 2017 peak. The spectral energy distributions during these periods suggest the presence of at least two non-thermal emission zones, with the more compact one responsible for the observed flare. Broadband modeling results and observations of a new radio knot in the jet of OJ~287 in 2017 are consistent with a flare originating from a strong recollimation shock outside the radio core., Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal
- Published
- 2024