The detection of a high-energy break in the X-ray spectrum of the BL Lacertae object PKS 0548-32

Details The detection of a high-energy break in the X-ray spectrum of the BL Lacertae object PKS 0548-32 The detection of a high-energy break in the X-ray spectrum of the BL Lacertae object PKS 0548-32

Jan 1988

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1988apj...324l..11b&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 2 - Letters to the Editor (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 324, Jan. 1, 1988, p. L11-L15.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

23

Absorption Spectra, Astronomical Models, Bl Lacertae Objects, Spectral Energy Distribution, X Ray Spectra, Bremsstrahlung, Electron-Positron Pairs, Exosat Satellite, Plasma Spectra, Synchrotron Radiation

Scientific paper

The results of a deep Exosat observation of the BL Lac object PKS 0548-32 performed in March 1986 are presented. The 0.05-10-keV X-ray spectrum is characterized by a relatively flat (power-law energy spectral index alpha = about 0.9) continuum below 5 keV which steepens at higher energies. There is no evidence for any excess absorption intrinsic to the BL Lac object itself. With the exception of two observations made in 1977 and 1978 (when PKS 0548-32 was unusually bright), all previous measurements of the X-ray spectrum of this source are consistent with the spectral form identified by Exosat. Although emission from an electron-positron pair plasma with compactness parameter of about 100 can reproduce the observed Exosat spectrum, difficulties arise in explaining the presence of a high-energy tail in 1977. If the X-ray emission arises via the synchrotron process with the spectral break due to radiative losses, reacceleration of the emitting particles and an inhomogeneous emission region are indicated.

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