Synoptic studies of seventeen blazars detected in very high-energy gamma-rays
| dc.creator | Wagner, Robert | |
| dc.date | 2007-11-20 | |
| dc.date | 2008-01-30 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T09:40:44Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T09:40:44Z | |
| dc.description | Since 2002, the number of detected blazars at gamma-ray energies above 100 GeV has more than doubled. I study 17 blazars currently known to emit E>100 GeV gamma rays. Their intrinsic energy spectra are reconstructed by removing extragalactic background light attenuation effects. Luminosity and spectral slope in the E>100 GeV region are then compared and correlated among each other, with X-ray, optical and radio data, and with the estimated black hole (BH) masses of the respective host galaxies. According to expectations from synchrotron self-Compton emission models, a correlation on the 3.6-sigma significance level between gamma-ray and X-ray fluxes is found, while correlations between gamma-ray and optical/radio fluxes are less pronounced. Further, a general hardening of the E>100 GeV spectra with increasing gamma-ray luminosity is observed. This goes in line with a correlation of the gamma-ray luminosity and the synchrotron peak frequency, which is also seen. Tests for possible selection effects reveal a hardening of the spectra with increasing redshift. The gamma-ray emission might depend on the mass of the central BH. The studied blazars show no correlation of the BH masses with the spectral index and the luminosity in the E>100 GeV region. Also temporal properties of the X-ray and E>100 GeV gamma-ray flux are considered. No general trends are found, except that the blazars with the most massive BHs do not show particularly high duty cycles. In general, VHE flare time-scales are not found to scale with the BH mass. As a specific application of the luminosity study, a constraint for the still undetermined redshift of the blazar PG 1553+113 is discussed. | |
| dc.description | 17 pages, 18 figures, MNRAS in press. Abstract extended; minor modifications in sect. 3, 5.5; Fig. 7c corrected; references updated | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/0711.3025 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/0711.3025 | |
| dc.identifier | MNRAS 385 (2008) 119 | |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.12850.x | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/161582 | |
| dc.subject | Astrophysics | |
| dc.title | Synoptic studies of seventeen blazars detected in very high-energy gamma-rays | |
| dc.type | text |