SMARTS optical and infrared monitoring of 12 gamma-ray bright blazars

Details SMARTS optical and infrared monitoring of 12 gamma-ray bright blazars SMARTS optical and infrared monitoring of 12 gamma-ray bright blazars

2012-01-20

arxiv.org/abs/1201.4380v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena

71 pages, submitted to ApJ

Scientific paper

We present multiwavelength data for twelve blazars observed from 2008-2010 as part of an ongoing optical-infrared photometric monitoring project. Sources were selected to be bright, southern (dec < 20 deg) blazars observed by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, with daily and weekly gamma-ray fluxes made available from the start of the Fermi mission. Light curves are presented for the twelve blazars in BVRJK at near-daily cadence. We find that optical and infrared fluxes are well correlated in all sources. Gamma-ray bright flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) in our sample have optical/infrared emission correlated with gamma-rays consistent with inverse Compton-scattering models for GeV emission. In FSRQs, the variability amplitude decreases towards optical/IR wavelengths, consistent with the presence of a thermal emission component from the accretion disk varying on significantly longer timescales than the jet synchrotron emission. In BL Lac objects, variability is mainly constant across wavelengths, consistent with a weak or radiatively inefficient disk. FSRQs have redder optical-infrared colors when they are brighter, while BL Lac objects show no such trend. Several objects show complicated color-magnitude behavior: AO 0235+164 appears in two different states depending on whether it is gamma-ray bright or not. OJ 287 and 3C 279 show some hysteresis tracks in their color-magnitude diagrams. Individual flares may be achromatic or otherwise depart from the trend, suggesting different jet components becoming important at different times. We present a time-dependent spectral energy distribution of the bright FSRQ 3C 454.3 during its December 2009 flare, which is well fit by an external Compton model in the bright state, although day to day changes pose challenges to a simple one-zone model. All data from the SMARTS monitoring program are publicly available on our website.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

SMARTS optical and infrared monitoring of 12 gamma-ray bright blazars does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with SMARTS optical and infrared monitoring of 12 gamma-ray bright blazars, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and SMARTS optical and infrared monitoring of 12 gamma-ray bright blazars will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-132413