The variability patterns of the TeV blazar PG 1553+113 from a decade of MAGIC and multi-band observations

Abstract

PG 1553+113 is one of the few blazars with a convincing quasi-periodic emission in the gamma-ray band. The source is also a very high-energy (VHE; >100 GeV) gamma-ray emitter. To better understand its properties and identify the underlying physical processes driving its variability, the MAGIC Collaboration initiated a multiyear, multiwavelength monitoring campaign in 2015 involving the OVRO 40-m and Medicina radio telescopes, REM, KVA, and the MAGIC telescopes, Swift and Fermi satellites, and the WEBT network. The analysis presented in this paper uses data until 2017 and focuses on the characterization of the variability. The gamma-ray data show a (hint of a) periodic signal compatible with literature, but the X-ray and VHE gamma-ray data do not show statistical evidence for a periodic signal. In other bands, the data are compatible with the gamma-ray period, but with a relatively high p-value. The complex connection between the low and high-energy emission and the non-monochromatic modulation and changes in flux suggests that a simple one-zone model is unable to explain all the variability. Instead, a model including a periodic component along with multiple emission zones is required.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 19 pages, 9 figures. Corresponding authors: Elisa Prandini, Antonio Stamerra, Talvikki Hovatta

References in corpus (66)

• Measuring Reddening with SDSS Stellar Spectra and Recalibrating SFD
• On the Absorption of X-rays in the Interstellar Medium
• The Leiden/Argentine/Bonn (LAB) Survey of Galactic HI: Final data release of the combined LDS and IAR surveys with improved stray-radiation corrections
• Correcting for the Effects of Interstellar Extinction
• The Swift X-ray Telescope
• The Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope
• The generalised Lomb-Scargle periodogram. A new formalism for the floating-mean and Keplerian periodograms
• Efficient Generation of Jets from Magnetically Arrested Accretion on a Rapidly Spinning Black Hole
• On characterising the variability properties of X-ray light curves from active galaxies
• Photometric Calibration of the Swift Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope
• Studies in Astronomical Time Series Analysis. VI. Bayesian Block Representations
• Blazars in the Fermi Era: The OVRO 40-m Telescope Monitoring Program
• Variable VHE gamma-ray emission from Markarian 501
• The major upgrade of the MAGIC telescopes, Part II: A performance study using observations of the Crab Nebula
• Constraints on the Physical Parameters of TeV Blazars
• Measuring the broadband power spectra of active galactic nuclei with RXTE
• An Accurate Flux Density Scale from 1 to 50 GHz
• MAGIC discovery of VHE Emission from the FSRQ PKS 1222+21
• BeppoSAX Observations of Unprecedented Synchrotron Activity in the BL Lac Object Mkn 501
• Multiwavelength Evidence for Quasi-periodic Modulation in the Gamma-ray Blazar PG 1553+113
• The major upgrade of the MAGIC telescopes, Part I: The hardware improvements and the commissioning of the system
• Flaring Behavior of the Quasar 3C~454.3 across the Electromagnetic Spectrum
• Blazar spectral variability as explained by a twisting inhomogeneous jet
• HST/COS Observations of the Ly alpha Forest toward the BL Lac Object 1ES1553+113
• An HST/COS Survey of the Low-Redshift IGM. I. Survey, Methodology, & Overall Results
• The WEBT BL Lac Campaign 2000
• On the geometrical origin of periodicity in blazar-type sources
• Results of WEBT, VLBA and RXTE monitoring of 3C 279 during 2006-2007
• An Optical View of BL Lacertae Objects
• Long-term optical monitoring of TeV emitting Blazars
• Authenticating the Presence of a Relativistic Massive Black Hole Binary in OJ 287 Using its General Relativity Centenary Flare: Improved Orbital Parameters
• A model for periodic blazars
• Measurement of the Extragalactic Background Light using MAGIC and Fermi-LAT gamma-ray observations of blazars up to z = 1
• The Blazar PG 1553+113 as a Binary System of Supermassive Black Holes
• Systematic search for gamma-ray periodicity in active galactic nuclei detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• The Unanticipated Phenomenology of the Blazar PKS~2131$-$021: A Unique Super-Massive Black Hole Binary Candidate
• Gamma-ray quasi-periodicities of blazars. A cautious approach
• Optical polarization of high-energy BL Lac objects
• The 2012 flare of PG 1553+113 seen with H.E.S.S. and Fermi-LAT
• Quasi-periodicities of BL Lac Objects
• Multiwavelength Cross-Correlations and Flaring Activity in Bright Blazars
• Probing Blazar Emission Processes with Optical/Gamma-ray Flare Correlations
• Long and short term variability of seven blazars in six near-infrared/optical bands
• A search for cyclical sources of gamma-ray emission on the period range from days to years in the Fermi-LAT sky
• Multi-band optical variability of three TeV Blazars on Diverse Timescales
• Jet precession driven by a supermassive black hole binary system in the BL Lac object PG 1553+113
• Radio and $\gamma$-ray variability in the BL Lac PKS 0219 -164: Detection of quasi-periodic oscillations in the radio light curve
• RoboPol: AGN polarimetric monitoring data
• New hard-TeV extreme blazars detected with the MAGIC telescopes
• PG 1553+113: five years of observations with MAGIC
• Episodic radio galaxies J0116$-$4722 and J1158+2621: can we constrain the quiescent phase of nuclear activity?
• The RINGO2 and DIPOL Optical Polarisation Catalogue of Blazars
• The WEBT campaign on the BL Lac object PG 1553+113 in 2013. An analysis of the enigmatic synchrotron emission
• Looking at Blazar Light Curve Periodicities with Gaussian Processes
• Evaluating Quasi-Periodic Variations in the $\gamma$-ray Lightcurves of Fermi-LAT Blazars
• The Physical Origins of the Identified and Still Missing Components of the Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium: Insights from Deep Surveys in the Field of Blazar 1ES1553+113
• Multiwavelength variability and correlation studies of Mrk 421 during historically low X-ray and $\gamma$-ray activity in 2015$-$2016
• A parsec-scale wobbling jet in the high-synchrotron peaked blazar PG 1553+113
• Probing the very-high-energy gamma-ray spectral curvature in the blazar PG 1553+113 with the MAGIC telescopes
• Synchrotron emission from the blazar PG 1553+113. An analysis of its flux and polarization variability
• VERITAS Observations of the BL Lac Object PG 1553+113
• The broad-band properties of the intermediate synchrotron peaked BL Lac S2 0109+22 from radio to VHE gamma rays
• Multi-band behaviour of the TeV blazar PG 1553+113 in optical range on diverse timescales
• Multi-band Variability of the TeV Blazar PG 1553+113 with XMM-Newton
• A flat-spectrum flare in S4 0444+63 revealed by a new implementation of multi-wavelength single-dish observations
• Search for spectral features in extragalactic background light with gamma-ray telescopes

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Blazars Jets and prospects for TeV-PeV neutrinos & gamma-rays through cosmic-ray interactions
• Multi-band optical variability of the blazar OP 313 in the outburst state during 2024-2025
• VHE $\gamma$-ray observations of bright BL Lacs with the Large-Sized Telescope prototype (LST-1) of the CTAO
• X-Ray Spectral Variability of the TeV HBL Blazar PG 1553+113 with XMM-Newton
• X-ray Fourier lag-frequency spectra modulated by stochastic turbulent acceleration in the jets of high-frequency-peaked BL Lac