Disentangling the nature of the prototype radio weak BL Lac: Contemporaneous multifrequency observations of WISE J141046.00 + 740511.2

Abstract

Context. The gamma-ray emitting source WISE J141046.00+740511.2 has been associated with a Fermi-LAT detection by crossmatching with Swift/XRT data. It has shown all the canonical observational characteristics of a BL Lac source, including a power-law, featureless optical spectrum. However, it was only recently detected at radio frequencies and its radio flux is significantly low. Aims. Given that a radio detection is fundamental to associate lower-energy counterparts to Fermi-LAT sources, we aim to unambiguously classify this source by performing a multiwavelength analysis based on contemporaneous data. Methods. By using multifrequency observations at the Jansky Very Large Array, Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, Gran Telescopio Canarias, Gemini, William Herschel Telescope and Liverpool observatories, together with Fermi-LAT and Swift data, we carried out two kinds of analyses. On one hand, we studied several known parameters that account for the radio loudness or weakness characterization and their application to blazars (in general) and to our source (in particular). And, on the other hand, we built and analyzed the observed spectral energy distribution (SED) of this source to try to explain its peculiar characteristics. Results. The multiwavelength analysis indicates that WISE J141046.00+740511.2 is a blazar of the high-frequency peaked (HBL) type that emits highly polarized light and that is likely located at a low redshift. In addition, the one-zone model parameters that best fit its SED are those of an extreme HBL (EHBL); this blazar type has been extensively predicted in theory to be lacking in the radio emission that is otherwise typical of canonical gamma-ray blazars. Conclusions. We confirm that WISE J141046.00+740511.2 is indeed a highly polarized BL Lac of the HBL type. Further studies will be conducted to explain the atypical low radio flux detected for this source.

accepted for publication in A&A, in press

References in corpus (29)

• CASA, the Common Astronomy Software Applications for Radio Astronomy
• The major upgrade of the MAGIC telescopes, Part II: A performance study using observations of the Crab Nebula
• The 5th edition of the Roma-BZCAT. A short presentation
• MOJAVE. XVII. Jet Kinematics and Parent Population Properties of Relativistically Beamed Radio-Loud Blazars
• Signatures of synchrotron emission and of electron acceleration in the X-ray spectra of Mrk 421
• 2WHSP: A catalog of HE and VHE gamma-ray blazars and blazar candidates
• Two new catalogs of blazar candidates in the WISE infrared sky
• Synchrotron and inverse-Compton emission from blazar jets I: a uniform conical jet model
• An emerging population of BL Lacs with extreme properties: towards a class of EBL and cosmic magnetic field probes?
• Unveiling the nature of the unidentified gamma-ray sources IV: the $\text{Swift}$ catalog of potential X-ray counterparts
• New hard-TeV extreme blazars detected with the MAGIC telescopes
• The Gamma-ray Blazar Quest: new optical spectra, state of art and future perspectives
• Refining the associations of the Fermi Large Area Telescope Source Catalogs
• The Infrared-Gamma-Ray Connection: A WISE View of the Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Sky
• Optical Spectroscopic Observations of Gamma-Ray Blazar Candidates. VII. Follow-up Campaign in the Southern Hemisphere
• A decade of multi-wavelength observations of the TeV blazar 1ES 1215+303: Extreme shift of the synchrotron peak frequency and long-term optical-gamma-ray flux increase
• Optical archival spectra of blazar candidates of uncertain type in the 3${}^{rd}$ Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog
• Optical spectroscopy of BL Lac objects: TeV candidates
• Testing emission models on the extreme blazar 2WHSP J073326.7+515354 detected at very high energies with the MAGIC telescopes
• Optical spectroscopic observations of gamma-ray blazar candidates VIII: the 2016-2017 follow up campaign carried out at SPM, NOT, KPNO and SOAR telescopes
• Radio Weak BL Lac objects in the Fermi era
• Looking for blazars in a sample of unidentified high-energy emitting Fermi sources
• Optical spectroscopic observations of low-energy counterparts of Fermi-LAT gamma-ray sources
• Probing the EBL evolution at high redshift using GRBs detected with the Fermi-LAT
• Extreme & High Synchrotron Peak Blazars beyond 4FGL: The 2BIGB $\gamma$-ray catalogue
• Swift observations of unidentified radio sources in the revised Third Cambridge Catalogue
• The $\gamma$-ray sky seen at X-ray energies I. Searching for the connection between X-rays and $\gamma$-rays in Fermi BL Lac objects
• Exploring the connection between radio and GeV-TeV gamma-ray emission in the 1FHL and 2FHL AGN samples
• The $\gamma$-ray sky seen at X-ray energies II: the Swift hunt of Fermi BL Lac objects among unidentified gamma-ray sources