Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
May 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21820406w&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #218, #204.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Blazars are a sub-class of active galaxies with relativistic jets closely aligned with our line of sight, producing very luminous, highly variable emission across the electromagnetic spectrum. These sources are ideal laboratories for exploring the phenomenon of astrophysical jets, which remain poorly understood. We have used SMARTS to carry out a monitoring program of gamma-ray bright blazars in optical and near-IR wavelengths. Concurrently, the Fermi space telescope is continuously monitoring the gamma-ray sky. We are thus able to characterize the changing shape and intensity of the synchrotron peak of these sources (in the optical/IR) simultaneously with measurements of the gamma-ray flux and spectral shape. Results from our monitoring program will be presented with a view to demonstrating a) the usefulness of wavelength coverage into the near-IR for understanding the electron population responsible for high-energy (GeV) emission and b) the necessity of time-domain information for these sources in order to place meaningful constraints on models of blazar spectral energy distributions. In both of these areas, SMARTS observations are leading to new and unexpected discoveries and understanding of relativistic jets.
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