On the distance of PG 1553+11. A lineless BL Lac object active in the TeV band

Abstract

Context: The redshift of PG 1553+11, a bright BL Lac object (V~14), is still unknown. It has been recently observed in the TeV band, a fact that offers an upper limit for the redshift z<0.4. Aims: We intend to provide a lower limit for the distance of the object. Methods: We used a chi^2 procedure to constrain the apparent magnitude of the host galaxy in archived HST images. Supposing that the host galaxy is typical of BL Lac objects (M_{R} -22.8), a lower limit to the distance can be obtained from the limit on the apparent magnitude of the host galaxy. Results: Using the 3 sigma limit on the host galaxy magnitude, the redshift is found to be greater or equal to 0.25. Conlusions: The redshift of PG 1553+11 is probably in the range z=0.3-0.4, making this object the most distant extragalactic source so far detected in the TeV energies. We suggest that other bright BL Lac objects of unknown redshift and similar spectroscopic characteristics may be interesting targets for TeV observations.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in A&A letters, 4 pages, 5 figures

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Cited by in corpus (22)

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• The 2012 flare of PG 1553+113 seen with H.E.S.S. and Fermi-LAT
• Synoptic studies of seventeen blazars detected in very high-energy gamma-rays
• MAGIC long-term study of the distant TeV blazar PKS 1424+240 in a multiwavelength context
• Fermi Observations of the Very Hard Gamma-ray Blazar PG 1553+113
• The WEBT campaign on the BL Lac object PG 1553+113 in 2013. An analysis of the enigmatic synchrotron emission
• Chandra View of the Warm-Hot IGM toward 1ES 1553+113: Absorption Line Detections and Identifications (Paper I)
• Rapid optical variability of TeV blazars
• Spectroscopy of BL Lac objects of extraordinary luminosity
• The host galaxies of active galactic nuclei with powerful relativistic jets
• VERITAS Observations of the BL Lac Object PG 1553+113
• A Hard X-Ray View of Two Distant VHE Blazars: 1ES 1101-232 and 1ES 1553+113
• Multi-band behaviour of the TeV blazar PG 1553+113 in optical range on diverse timescales
• MAGIC Observations of PG 1553+113 during a Multiwavelength Campaign in July 2006
• Simultaneous multi-frequency observation of the unknown redshift blazar PG 1553+113 in March-April 2008
• Redshifts of distant blazar limited by Fermi and VHE $\gamma$-ray observations
• Model-independent Redshift Estimation of BL Lac Objects through VHE Observations
• Revisiting the evidences for spectral anomalies in distant blazars: new data on the photon-ALP mixing
• Distance estimation of gamma-ray emitting BL Lac objects from imaging observations