A simplified view of blazars: the very high energy gamma-ray vision

Abstract

We have recently proposed a simplified scenario for blazars in which these sources are classified as flat-spectrum radio quasars or BL Lacs according to the prescriptions of unified schemes, and to a varying combination of Doppler boosted radiation from the jet, emission from the accretion disk, the broad line region, and light from the host galaxy. This scenario has been thoroughly tested through detailed Monte Carlo simulations and reproduces all the main features of existing radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray surveys. In this paper we consider the case of very high energy emission (E > 100 GeV) extrapolating from the expectations for the GeV band, which are in full accordance with the Fermi-LAT survey results, and make detailed predictions for current and future Cherenkov facilities, including the Cherenkov Telescope Array. Our results imply that >~ 100 new blazars can be detected now at very high energy and up to z ~1, consistently with the very recent MAGIC detection of S4 0218+35 at z=0.944.

5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

References in corpus (2)

• The Fermi-LAT high-latitude Survey: Source Count Distributions and the Origin of the Extragalactic Diffuse Background
• Are both BL Lacs and pulsar wind nebulae the astrophysical counterparts of IceCube neutrino events?

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• A simplified view of blazars: contribution to the X-ray and gamma-ray cosmic backgrounds
• Empirical multi-wavelength prediction method for very high energy gamma-ray emitting BL Lacs
• Are many radio-selected BL Lacs radio quasars in disguise?
• Te-REX: a sample of extragalactic TeV-emitting candidates
• The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS)