Orphan γ-ray flares from relativistic blobs encountering luminous stars

Abstract

We propose that γ -rays in blazars can be produced during encounters of relativistic blobs of plasma with radiation field produced by luminous stars within (or close to) the jet. The blob is expected to contain relativistic electrons which comptonize stellar radiation to the GeV-TeV energies. Produced γ -rays can initiate the Inverse Compton e+/- pair cascade in the stellar radiation. We propose that such a scenario can be responsible for the appearance of the so-called orphan γ -ray flares. We show that the relativistic blob/luminous star collision model can explain the appearance of the extreme orphan γ -ray flare observed in the GeV and sub-TeV energy range from the flat spectrum radio quasar PKS 1222+21.

5 pages, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

References in corpus (6)

• MAGIC discovery of VHE Emission from the FSRQ PKS 1222+21
• Gamma-ray flares from red giant/jet interactions in AGN
• Multifrequency Studies of the Peculiar Quasar 4C +21.35 During the 2010 Flaring Activity
• Non-thermal radiation from collisions of compact objects with intermediate scale jets in active galaxies
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• Absorption effects in the blazar's gamma-ray spectra due to luminous stars crossing the jet
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• Aspects of astrophysical particle production and beyond the Standard Model phenomenology
• Dips in the sub-TeV gamma-ray light curves from central parts of galaxies due to transiting luminous stars
• The Major Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes (MAGIC)
• A Ring of Fire Orphan γ-Ray Flare in the Neutrino Candidate 3C 120