Publication Date:
2014-11-09
Description:
The Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected a strong -ray flare on 2011 May 15 from a source identified as 4C +49.22, a flat spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ) also known as S4 1150+49. This blazar, characterized by a prominent radio–optical–X-ray jet, was in a low -ray activity state during the first years of Fermi observations. Simultaneous observations during the quiescent, outburst and post-flare -ray states were obtained by Swift , Planck and optical–IR–radio telescopes (Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica, Catalina Sky Survey, Very Long Baseline Array [VLBA], Metsähovi). The flare is observed from microwave to X-ray bands with correlated variability and the Fermi , Swift and Planck data for this FSRQ show some features more typical of BL Lac objects, like the synchrotron peak in the optical band that outshines the thermal blue-bump emission, and the X-ray spectral softening. Multi-epoch VLBA observations show the ejection of a new component close in time with the GeV -ray flare. The radio-to--ray spectral energy distribution is modelled and fitted successfully for the outburst and the post-flare epochs using either a single flaring blob with two emission processes (synchrotron self-Compton (SSC), and external-radiation Compton), and a two-zone model with SSC-only mechanism.
Print ISSN:
0035-8711
Electronic ISSN:
1365-2966
Topics:
Physics
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