The light curve of quasar OJ287 extends from 1891 up today without major gaps. This is partly due to extensive studies of historical plate archives by Rene Hudec and associates, and partly due to several observing campaigns in recent times. Here we summarize the results of the 2005 - 2010 observing campaign, in which several hundred scientists and amateur astronomers took part. The main results are the following: (1) The 2005 October optical outburst came at the expected time, thus confirming the General Relativistic precession in the binary black hole system. At the same time, this result disproved the model of a single black hole system with accretion disk oscillations, as well as several toy models of binaries without relativistic precession. (2) The nature of the radiation of the 2005 October outburst was expected to be bremsstrahlung from hot gas at a temperature of 3 10^5 degrees K. This was confirmed by combined ground based and ultraviolet observations using the XMM-Newton X-ray telescope. (3) A secondary outburst of the same nature was expected at 2007 September 13. Within the accuracy of the observations (about 6 hours), it started at the correct time. Due to the bremsstrahlung nature of the outburst, the radiation was unpolarized, as expected. (4) Further synchrotron outbursts were expected following the two bremsstrahlung outbursts. They came as scheduled between 2007 October and 2009 December. (5) Due to the effect of the secondary on the overall direction of the jet, the parsec scale jet is expected to rotate in the sky by a large angle, which has been confirmed. The OJ287 binary black hole system is currently our best laboratory for testing theories of gravitation. Using OJ287, the correctness of General Relativity has now been demonstrated up to the second Post-Newtonian order, higher than has been possible using binary pulsars.
We report the results of a multifrequency campaign targeting S5 0716+714 in the flaring state of the source observed in 2015 January and February. The observations have been performed using the following instruments: Fermi/Large Area Telescope (LAT), Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, X-ray Telescope and Ultraciolet/Optical Telescope. The elevated flux level was visible in all frequencies and the outburst consists of five sub-flares. In this paper we focus on the analysis of the X-ray observations both in the soft and hard regimes for data collected with NuStar and Swift/XRT. This is the f…
VERITAS monitoring of LS I +61$^\circ$ 303 in conjunction with X-ray, and GeV observation campaigns
LS I +61 $^\circ$ 303是最神秘的TeV双星系统之一,它在双星系统的单个轨道上表现出从射电到TeV波长的高度通量调制,每$\sim$ 26.5天一次。该双星系统还表现出$\sim4.5$年超轨道调制的无线电,X射线和GeV的排放,这是尚未看到TeV的伽马射线。LS I +61 $^\circ$ 303已经被VERITAS在TeV能量范围和多波长伙伴(光学- GeV)观测到。同期的多波长数据集,使搜索之间的相关性X射线和TeV的排放,以及GeV和TeV的排放。这些关联研究可以进一步阐明该双星系统的天体物理性质。我们提出了从2014-2015年赛季的VERITAS最近的观测结合Swift-XRT(0.3-10 keV)和费米-LAT(0.3-300 GeV)观测分析的初步结果。
In 2017, the first image of the center of the M87 galaxy was captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). It revealed a ring morphology and a size consistent with theoretical expectations for the light pattern around a weakly accreting supermassive black hole of ~6.5 billion solar masses. In parallel to the EHT measurements, an extensive multi-wavelength (MWL) campaign with ground- and space-based facilities from radio all the way up to the TeV energy range was organized. In this note we will give an overview of the results from this campaign. M87 was found to be in a historically low state.…
We model the broad emission lines present in the optical, UV and X-ray spectra of Mrk 509, a bright type 1 Seyfert galaxy. The broad lines were simultaneously observed during a large multiwavelength campaign, using the XMM-Newton-OM for the optical lines, HST-COS for the UV lines and XMM-Newton-RGS and Epic for the X-ray lines respectively. We also used FUSE archival data for the broad lines observed in the far-ultra-violet. The goal is to find a physical connection among the lines measured at different wavelengths and determine the size and the distance from the central source of the emitting…
The bright Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 was monitored by XMM-Newton and other satellites in 2009 to constrain the location of the outflow. We have studied the response of the photoionised gas to changes in the ionising flux produced by the central regions. We used the 5 discrete ionisation components A-E detected in the time-averaged spectrum taken with the RGS. Using the ratio of fluxed EPIC and RGS spectra, we put tight constraints on the variability of the absorbers. Monitoring with the Swift satellite started 6 weeks before the XMM-Newton observations, allowing to use the ionising flux history…
We present the results of a multiwavelength campaign of FRB 20201124A, the third closest repeating fast radio burst recently localized in a nearby (z=0.0978) galaxy. Deep VLA observations led to the detection of quiescent radio emission, also marginally visible in X-rays with Chandra. Imaging at 22 GHz allowed us to resolve the source on a scale of $\gtrsim$ 1 arcsec and locate it at the position of the FRB, within an error of 0.2 arcsec. EVN and e-MERLIN observations sampled small angular scales, from 2 to 100 mas, providing tight upper limits on the presence of a compact source and evidence …
PSR J2032+4127 has recently been identified as being in a long period (45-50 years) binary in a highly eccentric orbit with the Be star MT91 213. Periastron is due to occur in November 2017 and this rare occurrence has prompted a multiwavelength monitoring campaign to determine if the system is a gamma-ray binary, and, if so, to study what would be only the second gamma-ray binary with a known compact object. In the same direction as TeV J2032+4130, gamma-ray emission from this binary system could be related to the extended very high energy gamma-ray emission from that region. As part of this …
The origin and phenomenology of the Fast Radio Burst (FRB) remains unknown despite more than a decade of efforts. Though several models have been proposed to explain the observed data, none is able to explain alone the variety of events so far recorded. The leading models consider magnetars as potential FRB sources. The recent detection of FRBs from the galactic magnetar SGR J1935+2154 seems to support them. Still, emission duration and energetic budget challenge all these models. Like for other classes of objects initially detected in a single band, it appeared clear that any solution to the …
The study of short-term variability properties in AGN jets has the potential to shed light on their particle acceleration and emission mechanisms. We report results from a four-day coordinated multi-wavelength campaign on the highly-peaked blazar (HBL) Mkn 421 in 2019 January. We obtained X-ray data from AstroSAT, BVRI photometry with the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT), and TeV data from FACT to explore short-term multi-wavelength variability in this HBL. The X-ray continuum is rapidly variable on time-scales of tens of ks. Fractional variability amplitude increases with energy across the…
Time-resolved multiwavelength observations of the blazar VER J0521+211 from radio to gamma-ray energies
VER J0521+211(RGB J0521.8+2112)是在TeV伽马射线区发现的最明亮和最强大的耀变体之一。它的红移为z=0.108,自2009年发现以来,VER J 0521 +211的平均TeV通量超过蟹状星云的0.1倍,相当于$3\times10^{44}$ erg s $^{-1}$的各向同性光度。我们提供了2012年11月至2014年2月期间对该天体进行的全面多波长活动的数据,包括单碟射电观测、光学测光和偏振测量、紫外线、X射线、GeV和TeV伽马射线数据(VERITAS,MAGIC)。在所有波长都观测到了显著的通量变化,包括2013年秋季伽马射线能量的长期高态。夜分辨光谱在X射线和TeV的能量,并解释所观察到的通量和光谱变异的发射机制进行了讨论。
We present the spectral/timing properties of the bare Seyfert galaxy Ark 120 through a deep ~420ks XMM-Newton campaign plus recent NuSTAR observations and a ~6-month Swift monitoring campaign. We investigate the spectral decomposition through fractional rms, covariance and difference spectra, finding the mid- to long-timescale (~day-year) variability to be dominated by a relatively smooth, steep component, peaking in the soft X-ray band. Additionally, we find evidence for variable FeK emission red-ward of the FeK-alpha core on long timescales, consistent with previous findings. We detect a cle…
The project MOMO (Multiwavelength Observations and Modelling of OJ 287) was set up to test predictions of binary supermassive black hole (SMBH) scenarios and to understand disk-jet physics of the blazar OJ 287. After a correction, the precessing binary (PB) SMBH model predicted the next main outburst of OJ 287 in 2022 October, no longer in July, making the outburst well observable and the model testable. We have densely covered this period in our ongoing multi-frequency radio, optical, UV, and X-ray monitoring. The predicted outburst was not detected. Instead, OJ 287 was at low optical-UV emis…
We present the extensive follow-up campaign on the afterglow of GRB 110715A at 17 different wavelengths, from X-ray to radio bands, starting 81 seconds after the burst and extending up to 74 days later. We performed for the first time a GRB afterglow observation with the ALMA observatory. We find that the afterglow of GRB 110715A is very bright at optical and radio wavelengths. We use optical and near infrared spectroscopy to provide further information about the progenitor's environment and its host galaxy. The spectrum shows weak absorption features at a redshift z = 0.8225, which reveal a h…