Synchrotron flaring in the jet of 3C 279

Abstract

We study the synchrotron flaring behaviour of the blazar 3C279 based on an extensive dataset covering 10 years of monitoring at 19 different frequencies in the radio-to-optical range. The properties of a typical outburst are derived from the observations by decomposing the 19 lightcurves into a series of self-similar events. This analysis is achieved by fitting all data simultaneously to a succession of outbursts defined according to the shock-in-jet model of Marscher & Gear (1985). We compare the derived properties of the synchrotron outbursts in 3C279 to those obtained with a similar method for the quasar 3C273. It is argued that differences in the flaring behaviour of these two sources are intrinsic to the sources themselves rather than being due to orientation effects. We also compare the start times and flux densities of our modelled outbursts with those measured from radio components identified in Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) images. We find VLBI counterparts for most of our model outbursts, although some high-frequency peaking events are not seen in the radio maps. Finally, we study the link between the appearance of a new synchrotron component and the EGRET gamma-ray state of the source at 10 different epochs. We find that an early-stage shock component is always present during high gamma-ray states, while in low gamma-ray states the time since the onset of the last synchrotron outburst is significantly longer. This statistically significant correlation supports the idea that gamma-ray flares are associated with the early stages of shock components propagating in the jet. We note, however, that the shock wave is already beyond the broad line region during the gamma-ray flaring.

arXiv comment10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

References in corpus (9)

• Reverberation Measurements for 17 Quasars and the Size-Mass-Luminosity Relations in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Polarimetric Observations of 15 Active Galactic Nuclei at High Frequencies: Jet Kinematics from Bimonthly Monitoring with the Very Long Baseline Array
• Multi-Epoch VLBA Observations of EGRET-Detected Quasars and BL Lac Objects: Connection between Superluminal Ejections and Gamma-Ray Flares in Blazars
• Multi-Epoch Multiwavelength Spectra and Models for Blazar 3C~279
• Kinematics of the Parsec-Scale Relativistic Jet in Quasar 3C 279: 1991 - 1997
• Day-Scale Variability of 3C 279 and Searches for Correlations in Gamma-Ray, X-Ray, and Optical Bands
• Multifrequency VLBA Monitoring of 3C 273 during the INTEGRAL Campaign in 2003 - I. Kinematics of the Parsec Scale Jet from 43 GHz Data
• Quasar jet emission model applied to the microquasar GRS 1915+105
• Modelling the millimetre-infrared flaring behaviour of the quasar 1253-055 (3C 279)

Cited by in corpus (25)

• Correlated Multi-Waveband Variability in the Blazar 3C~279 from 1996 to 2007
• Results of WEBT, VLBA and RXTE monitoring of 3C 279 during 2006-2007
• Planck early results. XV. Spectral energy distributions and radio continuum spectra of northern extragalactic radio sources
• Synchrotron radiation of self-collimating relativistic MHD jets
• MAGIC gamma-ray and multifrequency observations of flat spectrum radio quasar PKS 1510-089 in early 2012
• MAGIC observations and multiwavelength properties of the quasar 3C279 in 2007 and 2009
• Long-term radio variability of AGN: flare characteristics
• Intrinsic absorption in 3C 279 at GeV-TeV energies and consequences for estimates of the EBL
• Radio Spectral Index Analysis and Classes of Ejection in LS I +61 303
• Blazar Optical Variability in the Palomar-QUEST Survey
• The Multifrequency Campaign on 3C 279 in January 2006
• Multiwavelength Photometric and Spectropolarimetric Analysis of the FSRQ 3C 279
• Multi-band optical variability of 3C 279 on diverse timescales
• Opacity effects and shock-in-jet modelling of low-level activity in Cygnus X-3
• Core shift effect in blazars
• Synchrotron flaring behaviour of CygnusX-3 during the February-March 1994 and September 2001 outbursts
• Wandering Massive Black Holes or Analogs of the First Repeating Fast Radio Burst?
• AGILE observation of a gamma-ray flare from the blazar 3C 279
• Exploring the Variability of the Flat Spectrum Radio Source 1633+382. II: Physical Properties
• Observations of flat-spectrum radio sources at 850 microns from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope II. April 2000 to June 2005
• Is there a non-stationary γ-ray emission zone 42 pc away from the 3C 279 core?
• A Multi-Epoch Study of Radio Continuum Emission from MassiveProtostars
• Cosmological evolution of quasar radio emission in the view of multifractality
• Multiple synchrotron self-Compton modeling of gamma-ray flares in 3C 279
• Where within the 3C 84 jet are $\gamma$-rays produced?