skip to main content


Title: Multiwavelength Observations of the Blazar PKS 0735+178 in Spatial and Temporal Coincidence with an Astrophysical Neutrino Candidate IceCube-211208A
Abstract We report on multiwavelength target-of-opportunity observations of the blazar PKS 0735+178, located 2.°2 away from the best-fit position of the IceCube neutrino event IceCube-211208A detected on 2021 December 8. The source was in a high-flux state in the optical, ultraviolet, X-ray, and GeV γ -ray bands around the time of the neutrino event, exhibiting daily variability in the soft X-ray flux. The X-ray data from Swift-XRT and NuSTAR characterize the transition between the low-energy and high-energy components of the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED), and the γ -ray data from Fermi-LAT, VERITAS, and H.E.S.S. require a spectral cutoff near 100 GeV. Both the X-ray and γ -ray measurements provide strong constraints on the leptonic and hadronic models. We analytically explore a synchrotron self-Compton model, an external Compton model, and a lepto-hadronic model. Models that are entirely based on internal photon fields face serious difficulties in matching the observed SED. The existence of an external photon field in the source would instead explain the observed γ -ray spectral cutoff in both the leptonic and lepto-hadronic models and allow a proton jet power that marginally agrees with the Eddington limit in the lepto-hadronic model. We show a numerical lepto-hadronic model with external target photons that reproduces the observed SED and is reasonably consistent with the neutrino event despite requiring a high jet power.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2011420 1913313 2209437 1913552 2011361 2310028 2110497 1914579 2200857 2111531 2310158 2110737 2012916 2110974 2209605
PAR ID:
10444889
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more » ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; « less
Date Published:
Journal Name:
The Astrophysical Journal
Volume:
954
Issue:
1
ISSN:
0004-637X
Page Range / eLocation ID:
70
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ABSTRACT

    The flat-spectrum radio quasar Ton 599 attained its highest ever γ-ray flux state during the first week of 2017 November. Observations of the source by the Swift satellite during this period made it possible to generate a simultaneous high flux state broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED). The high flux state activity of Ton 599 is modelled in this work for the first time. We modelled one high flux state and one quiescent state of the source in order to characterize the evolution of SEDs covering the entire dynamic range of γ-ray flux observed by Fermi-LAT. An attempt was made to model the 2017 November state of the source using an external Compton (EC) model in the leptonic scenario. We reproduce the broad-band flaring state SED using a two-component leptonic emission model. We considered one component as an EC+synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) component and the other as pure SSC, lying further down in the jet. The EC+SSC component was located outside the broad-line region (BLR). It mainly reproduces the GeV emission by an EC process with a dusty torus (DT) photon field providing seed photons. We reproduce the broad-band emission from Ton 599 satisfactorily during its peculiar flaring state with a leptonic two-component model. Besides this, we compare the model parameters of a quiescent-state SED with the available average state model parameters in the literature.

     
    more » « less
  2. Abstract

    High-energy neutrino andγ-ray emission has been observed from the Galactic plane, which may come from individual sources and/or diffuse cosmic rays. We evaluate the contribution of these two components through the multimessenger connection between neutrinos andγ-rays in hadronic interactions. We derive maximum fluxes of neutrino emission from the Galactic plane usingγ-ray catalogs, including 4FGL, HGPS, 3HWC, and 1LHAASO, and measurements of the Galactic diffuse emission by Tibet ASγand LHAASO. We find that the IceCube Galactic neutrino flux is larger than the contribution from all resolved sources when excluding promising leptonic sources such as pulsars, pulsar wind nebulae, and TeV halos. Our result indicates that the Galactic neutrino emission is likely dominated by the diffuse emission by the cosmic-ray sea and unresolved hadronicγ-ray sources. In addition, the IceCube flux is comparable to the sum of the flux of nonpulsar sources and the LHAASO diffuse emission especially above ∼30 TeV. This implies that the LHAASO diffuse emission may dominantly originate from hadronic interactions, either as the truly diffuse emission or unresolved hadronic emitters. Future observations of neutrino telescopes and air-showerγ-ray experiments in the Southern hemisphere are needed to accurately disentangle the source and diffuse emission of the Milky Way.

     
    more » « less
  3. Abstract

    We report the detection of very high energy gamma-ray emission from the blazar S3 1227+25 (VER J1230+253) with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). VERITAS observations of the source were triggered by the detection of a hard-spectrum GeV flare on 2015 May 15 with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT). A combined 5 hr VERITAS exposure on May 16 and 18 resulted in a strong 13σdetection with a differential photon spectral index, Γ = 3.8 ± 0.4, and a flux level at 9% of the Crab Nebula above 120 GeV. This also triggered target-of-opportunity observations with Swift, optical photometry, polarimetry, and radio measurements, also presented in this work, in addition to the VERITAS and Fermi-LAT data. A temporal analysis of the gamma-ray flux during this period finds evidence of a shortest variability timescale ofτobs= 6.2 ± 0.9 hr, indicating emission from compact regions within the jet, and the combined gamma-ray spectrum shows no strong evidence of a spectral cutoff. An investigation into correlations between the multiwavelength observations found evidence of optical and gamma-ray correlations, suggesting a single-zone model of emission. Finally, the multiwavelength spectral energy distribution is well described by a simple one-zone leptonic synchrotron self-Compton radiation model.

     
    more » « less
  4. Abstract We report on a long-lasting, elevated gamma-ray flux state from VER J0521+211 observed by VERITAS, MAGIC, and Fermi-LAT in 2013 and 2014. The peak integral flux above 200 GeV measured with the nightly binned light curve is (8.8 ± 0.4) × 10 −7 photons m −2 s −1 , or ∼37% of the Crab Nebula flux. Multiwavelength observations from X-ray, UV, and optical instruments are also presented. A moderate correlation between the X-ray and TeV gamma-ray fluxes was observed, and the X-ray spectrum appeared harder when the flux was higher. Using the gamma-ray spectrum and four models of the extragalactic background light (EBL), a conservative 95% confidence upper limit on the redshift of the source was found to be z ≤ 0.31. Unlike the gamma-ray and X-ray bands, the optical flux did not increase significantly during the studied period compared to the archival low-state flux. The spectral variability from optical to X-ray bands suggests that the synchrotron peak of the spectral energy distribution (SED) may become broader during flaring states, which can be adequately described with a one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model varying the high-energy end of the underlying particle spectrum. The synchrotron peak frequency of the SED and the radio morphology of the jet from the MOJAVE program are consistent with the source being an intermediate-frequency-peaked BL Lac object. 
    more » « less
  5. Abstract

    GeV and TeV emission from the forward shocks of supernova remnants (SNRs) indicates that they are capable particle accelerators, making them promising sources of Galactic cosmic rays (CRs). However, it remains uncertain whether thisγ-ray emission arises primarily from the decay of neutral pions produced by very-high-energy hadrons, or from inverse-Compton and/or bremsstrahlung emission from relativistic leptons. By applying a semi-analytic approach to non-linear diffusive shock acceleration, and calculating the particle and photon spectra produced in different environments, we parameterize the relative strength of hadronic and leptonic emission. We show that even if CR acceleration is likely to occur in all SNRs, the observed photon spectra may primarily reflect the environment surrounding the SNR: the emission is expected to look hadronic unless the ambient density is particularly low (with proton number density ≲0.1 cm−3) or the photon background is enhanced with respect to average Galactic values (with radiation energy densityurad≳ 10 eV cm−3). We introduce a hadronicity parameter to characterize how hadronic or leptonic we expect a source to look based on its environment, which can be used to guide the interpretation of currentγ-ray observations and the detection of high-energy neutrinos from SNRs.

     
    more » « less