The spectral energy distribution (SED) of the γ-ray flare observed inJuly 1997 in BL Lacertae is re-considered. It is pointed out that the optical observa-tions made by Webb et al. showed the associated optical flare...The spectral energy distribution (SED) of the γ-ray flare observed inJuly 1997 in BL Lacertae is re-considered. It is pointed out that the optical observa-tions made by Webb et al. showed the associated optical flare has a hard spectrum(the average spectral index αopt～ 0.48, F_v∝v^(-α)), and the ASCA observationsmade by Tanihata et al. showed very steep spectra in the soft X-ray band (0.7-1.5 keV) (α_x～3-4). We find that the flux densities and spectral indices in both theoptical and soft X-ray bands are closely consistent with a ‘canonical' synchrotronspectrum emitted by relativistic electrons of a power-law energy distribution witha high energy cutoff, and thus the peak of the SED of the synchrotron radiation (inrepresentation of vF_v) is located in the EUV -- soft X-ray bands. Therefore, theGeV γ-ray emission observed in the July 1997 outburst may be mainly due to thesynchrotron self-Compton (SSC) process, contrasting with the current explanationsin terms of external radiation Compton (ERC) process, in which the seed photonsare mostly taken to be the UV emission from the clouds of the broad emission lineregion. We argue that the hard optical spectra observed during the γ-ray outburstmay be an important signature for the acceleration of high energy electrons (γ_e～10~4)in the γ-ray emitting region.展开更多
The kinematics of superluminal components in blazar 3C 454.3 are studied.Nine components are included： superluminal knots R1, R2, R3, R4, A, B, C and D（from Britzen et al. 2013） and C4 （from Pauliny-Toth 1998）. W...The kinematics of superluminal components in blazar 3C 454.3 are studied.Nine components are included： superluminal knots R1, R2, R3, R4, A, B, C and D（from Britzen et al. 2013） and C4 （from Pauliny-Toth 1998）. We find that their kine-matics derived from VLBI observations can be consistently interpreted in terms of ajet precession scenario with a period of about 14.5 yr. We discuss the model fits oftheir trajectory, distance from the core and apparent velocity. We show that the bulkLorentz factor （in the range 4 to 15） derived for these components does not have anydependence on the phase of the precession （or position angle for ejection）. The Lense-Thirring effect is assumed to interpret the precession of the jet nozzle. The resultsobtained for blazar 3C 454.3 are only suggestive. They are not unique and have yet tobe tested, but they might be useful for understanding the kinematics of superluminalcomponents in blazars and for disentangling different mechanisms and factors.展开更多
We report the progress on Very Long Baseline Interferometry(VLBI) observations of Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum(GPS) radio sources,and single-dish observations of active galactic nuclei(AGNs).The GPS sources are a kind of...We report the progress on Very Long Baseline Interferometry(VLBI) observations of Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum(GPS) radio sources,and single-dish observations of active galactic nuclei(AGNs).The GPS sources are a kind of young AGNs observable in radio.From our VLBI observations at 1.6 and 5 GHz with the European VLBI Network(EVN) including the Urumqi and Shanghai stations,most GPS sources show compact doubles with sizes less than 1 kiloparsec.We have classified the sources into double-lobes,core-jets,and complex structures according to the spectral indices as well as images.We also estimated the values of the jet viewing angle for the symmetric objects.In addition,we are monitoring a few samples of AGNs with the Urumqi 25-meter radio telescope,in order to find flux variability.We detected rapid flux variability in quasar 1156+295,and relatively slow variability in a few of the others.The origin of the rapid variability is discussed.Moreover,we launched a radio-optical monitoring program called Fermi-AGN in 2009.展开更多
文摘The spectral energy distribution (SED) of the γ-ray flare observed inJuly 1997 in BL Lacertae is re-considered. It is pointed out that the optical observa-tions made by Webb et al. showed the associated optical flare has a hard spectrum(the average spectral index αopt～ 0.48, F_v∝v^(-α)), and the ASCA observationsmade by Tanihata et al. showed very steep spectra in the soft X-ray band (0.7-1.5 keV) (α_x～3-4). We find that the flux densities and spectral indices in both theoptical and soft X-ray bands are closely consistent with a ‘canonical' synchrotronspectrum emitted by relativistic electrons of a power-law energy distribution witha high energy cutoff, and thus the peak of the SED of the synchrotron radiation (inrepresentation of vF_v) is located in the EUV -- soft X-ray bands. Therefore, theGeV γ-ray emission observed in the July 1997 outburst may be mainly due to thesynchrotron self-Compton (SSC) process, contrasting with the current explanationsin terms of external radiation Compton (ERC) process, in which the seed photonsare mostly taken to be the UV emission from the clouds of the broad emission lineregion. We argue that the hard optical spectra observed during the γ-ray outburstmay be an important signature for the acceleration of high energy electrons (γ_e～10~4)in the γ-ray emitting region.
文摘The kinematics of superluminal components in blazar 3C 454.3 are studied.Nine components are included： superluminal knots R1, R2, R3, R4, A, B, C and D（from Britzen et al. 2013） and C4 （from Pauliny-Toth 1998）. We find that their kine-matics derived from VLBI observations can be consistently interpreted in terms of ajet precession scenario with a period of about 14.5 yr. We discuss the model fits oftheir trajectory, distance from the core and apparent velocity. We show that the bulkLorentz factor （in the range 4 to 15） derived for these components does not have anydependence on the phase of the precession （or position angle for ejection）. The Lense-Thirring effect is assumed to interpret the precession of the jet nozzle. The resultsobtained for blazar 3C 454.3 are only suggestive. They are not unique and have yet tobe tested, but they might be useful for understanding the kinematics of superluminalcomponents in blazars and for disentangling different mechanisms and factors.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2009CB824800)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10773019)
文摘We report the progress on Very Long Baseline Interferometry(VLBI) observations of Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum(GPS) radio sources,and single-dish observations of active galactic nuclei(AGNs).The GPS sources are a kind of young AGNs observable in radio.From our VLBI observations at 1.6 and 5 GHz with the European VLBI Network(EVN) including the Urumqi and Shanghai stations,most GPS sources show compact doubles with sizes less than 1 kiloparsec.We have classified the sources into double-lobes,core-jets,and complex structures according to the spectral indices as well as images.We also estimated the values of the jet viewing angle for the symmetric objects.In addition,we are monitoring a few samples of AGNs with the Urumqi 25-meter radio telescope,in order to find flux variability.We detected rapid flux variability in quasar 1156+295,and relatively slow variability in a few of the others.The origin of the rapid variability is discussed.Moreover,we launched a radio-optical monitoring program called Fermi-AGN in 2009.
