Early Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Observations of the Quasar 3C 454.3

A.A. Abdo; Markus Ackermann; Marco Ajello; W. B. Atwood; Magnus Axelsson; Luca Baldini; Jean Ballet; Guido Barbiellini; D. Bastieri; M. Battelino; B. M. Baughman; K. Bechtol; R. Bellazzini; B. Berenji; R. D. Blandford; E. D. Bloom; E. Bonamente; A. W. Borgland; A. Bouvier; J. Bregeon; A. Brez; M. Brigida; Pascal Bruel; T. H. Burnett; G. A. Caliandro; R. A. Cameron; P. A. Caraveo; J. M. Casandjian; E. Cavazzuti; C. Cecchi; E. Charles; S. Chaty; A. Chekhtman; C. C. Cheung; J. Chiang; S. Ciprini; R. Claus; J. Cohen-Tanugi; L. R. Cominsky; J. Conrad; L. Costamante; S. Cutini; C. D. Dermer; A. de Angelis; F. de Palma; S. W. Digel; E. Do Couto E Silva; D. Donato; P. S. Drell; R. Dubois; D. Dumora; C. Farnier; C. Favuzzi; W. B. Focke; L. Foschini; M. Frailis; L. Fuhrmann; Y. Fukazawa; S. Funk; P. Fusco; F. Gargano; D. Gasparrini; N. Gehrels; S. Germani; B. Giebels; N. Giglietto; P. Giommi; F. Giordano; T. Glanzman; G. Godfrey; I. A. Grenier; M.-H. Grondin; J. E. Grove; L. Guillemot; S. Guiriec; Y. Hanabata; A. K. Harding; R. C. Hartman; M. Hayashida; E. Hays; R. E. Hughes; G. J'Ohannesson; A. S. Johnson; R. P. Johnson; W. N. Johnson; T. Kamae; H. Katagiri; J. Kataoka; N. Kawai; M. Kerr; Jürgen Knödlseder; M. L. Kocian; F. Kuehn; M. Kuss; L. Latronico; S.-H. Lee; M. Lemoine-Goumard; F. Longo; F. Loparco; B. Lott; M. N. Lovellette; P. Lubrano; G. M. Madejski; A. Makeev; E. Massaro; M. N. Mazziotta; J. E. Mcenery; S. Mcglynn; C. Meurer; P. F. Michelson; W. Mitthumsiri; T. Mizuno; A. A. Moiseev; C. Monte; M. E. Monzani; A. Morselli; I. V. Moskalenko; S. Murgia; P. L. Nolan; J. P. Norris; E. Nuss; T. Ohsugi; N. Omodei; E. Orlando; J. F. Ormes; D. Paneque; J. H. Panetta; D. Parent; V. Pelassa; M. Pepe; M. Pesce-Rollins; F. Piron; T.A. Porter; S. Raino; R. Rando; M. Razzano; A. Reimer; O. Reimer; T. Reposeur; L. C. Reyes; S. Ritz; L. S. Rochester; A. Y. Rodriguez; F. Rahoui; F. Ryde; H. F.-W. Sadrozinski; R. Sambruna; D. Sanchez; A. Sander; P. M. Saz Parkinson; J. D. Scargle C. Sgr'O; M. S. Shaw; David Stanley Smith; P. D. Smith; G. Spandre; P. Spinelli; Jean-Luc Starck; M. S. Strickman; D. J. Suson; H. Tajima; H. Takahashi; T. Takahashi; T. Tanaka; J. B. Thayer; J. G. Thayer; D. J. Thompson; L. Tibaldo; D. F. Torres; G. Tosti; A. Tramacere; Y. Uchiyama; T. L. Usher; N. Vilchez; M. Villata; V. Vitale; A. P. Waite; B. L. Winer; K. S. Wood; T. Ylinen; J. A. Zensus; M. Ziegler

doi:10.1088/0004-637X/699/1/817

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Early Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Observations of the Quasar 3C 454.3

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Early Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Observations of the Quasar 3C 454.3

A.A. Abdo, Markus Ackermann, Marco Ajello, W. B. Atwood, Magnus Axelsson, Luca Baldini, Jean Ballet, Guido Barbiellini, D. Bastieri, M. Battelino, …

The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol.699, pp.817-823

2009

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/699/1/817

Abstract

This is the first report of Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope observations of the quasar 3C 454.3, which has been undergoing pronounced long-term outbursts since 2000. The data from the Large Area Telescope (LAT), covering 2008 July 7 - October 6, indicate strong, highly variable gamma-ray emission with an average flux of ~3 x 10^{-6} photons cm^{-2} s^{-1}, for energies above 100 MeV. The gamma-ray flux is variable, with strong, distinct, symmetrically-shaped flares for which the flux increases by a factor of several on a time scale of about three days. This variability indicates a compact emission region, and the requirement that the source is optically thin to pair-production implies relativistic beaming with Doppler factor delta > 8, consistent with the values inferred from VLBI observations of superluminal expansion (delta ~ 25). The observed gamma-ray spectrum is not consistent with a simple power-law, but instead steepens strongly above ~2 GeV, and is well described by a broken power-law with photon indices of ~2.3 and ~3.5 below and above the break, respectively. This is the first direct observation of a break in the spectrum of a high luminosity blazar above 100 MeV, and it is likely direct evidence for an intrinsic break in the energy distribution of the radiating particles. Alternatively, the spectral softening above 2 GeV could be due to gamma-ray absorption via photon-photon pair production on the soft X-ray photon field of the host AGN, but such an interpretation would require the dissipation region to be located very close (less than 100 gravitational radii) to the black hole, which would be inconsistent with the X-ray spectrum of the source.

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Title: Early Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Observations of the Quasar 3C 454.3
Creators - without role: A.A. Abdo - United States Naval Research Laboratory
Markus Ackermann - Stanford University
Marco Ajello - Stanford University
W. B. Atwood
Magnus Axelsson - AlbaNova
Luca Baldini - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
Jean Ballet - Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation
Guido Barbiellini - University of Trieste
D. Bastieri - University of Padua
M. Battelino - AlbaNova
B. M. Baughman
K. Bechtol - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
R. Bellazzini - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
B. Berenji - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
R. D. Blandford
E. D. Bloom
E. Bonamente - University of Perugia
A. W. Borgland
A. Bouvier - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
J. Bregeon - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
A. Brez - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
M. Brigida - Polytechnic University of Bari
Pascal Bruel - École Polytechnique
T. H. Burnett
G. A. Caliandro
R. A. Cameron
P. A. Caraveo - Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Milano
J. M. Casandjian - Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation
E. Cavazzuti - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
C. Cecchi - University of Perugia
E. Charles - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
S. Chaty - CEA Paris-Saclay
A. Chekhtman - United States Naval Research Laboratory
C. C. Cheung
J. Chiang - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
S. Ciprini - University of Perugia
R. Claus - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
J. Cohen-Tanugi - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
L. R. Cominsky
J. Conrad - Stockholm University
L. Costamante - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
S. Cutini - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
C. D. Dermer
A. de Angelis - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste
F. de Palma - Polytechnic University of Bari
S. W. Digel
E. Do Couto E Silva
D. Donato - Goddard Space Flight Center
P. S. Drell
R. Dubois - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
D. Dumora - Laboratoire de Physique des deux infinis Bordeaux
C. Farnier - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
C. Favuzzi - Polytechnic University of Bari
W. B. Focke
L. Foschini - Brera Astronomical Observatory
M. Frailis - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste
L. Fuhrmann - Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
Y. Fukazawa - Hiroshima University
S. Funk - Stanford University
P. Fusco - Polytechnic University of Bari
F. Gargano - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari
D. Gasparrini - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
N. Gehrels - Goddard Space Flight Center
S. Germani - University of Perugia
B. Giebels - Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet
N. Giglietto - Polytechnic University of Bari
P. Giommi - Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
F. Giordano - Polytechnic University of Bari
T. Glanzman - Stanford University
G. Godfrey - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
I. A. Grenier - Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation
M.-H. Grondin - Laboratoire de Physique des deux infinis Bordeaux
J. E. Grove
L. Guillemot - Laboratoire de Physique des deux infinis Bordeaux
S. Guiriec - University of Alabama in Huntsville
Y. Hanabata - Hiroshima University
A. K. Harding
R. C. Hartman
M. Hayashida - Stanford University
E. Hays - Goddard Space Flight Center
R. E. Hughes
G. J'Ohannesson
A. S. Johnson
R. P. Johnson
W. N. Johnson
T. Kamae - Stanford University
H. Katagiri - Hiroshima University
J. Kataoka - Waseda University
N. Kawai - RIKEN
M. Kerr - University of Washington
Jürgen Knödlseder - Centre National d'Études Spatiales
M. L. Kocian
F. Kuehn - The Ohio State University
M. Kuss - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
L. Latronico - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
S.-H. Lee - Stanford University
M. Lemoine-Goumard - Laboratoire de Physique des deux infinis Bordeaux
F. Longo - University of Trieste
F. Loparco - Polytechnic University of Bari
B. Lott - Laboratoire de Physique des deux infinis Bordeaux
M. N. Lovellette
P. Lubrano - University of Perugia
G. M. Madejski
A. Makeev - United States Naval Research Laboratory
E. Massaro - Goddard Space Flight Center
M. N. Mazziotta
J. E. Mcenery
S. Mcglynn - KTH Royal Institute of Technology
C. Meurer - AlbaNova
P. F. Michelson
W. Mitthumsiri - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
T. Mizuno - Hiroshima University
A. A. Moiseev
C. Monte - Polytechnic University of Bari
M. E. Monzani
A. Morselli - University of Denver
I. V. Moskalenko
S. Murgia - SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
P. L. Nolan
J. P. Norris
E. Nuss - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
T. Ohsugi - Hiroshima University
N. Omodei - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
E. Orlando - University of Chicago
J. F. Ormes
D. Paneque - Stanford University
J. H. Panetta
D. Parent - Laboratoire de Physique des deux infinis Bordeaux
V. Pelassa - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
M. Pepe - University of Perugia
M. Pesce-Rollins - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
F. Piron - Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
T.A. Porter - University of California, Santa Cruz
S. Raino - Polytechnic University of Bari
R. Rando - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova
M. Razzano - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
A. Reimer - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
O. Reimer - Stanford University
T. Reposeur - Laboratoire de Physique des deux infinis Bordeaux
L. C. Reyes
S. Ritz - Goddard Space Flight Center
L. S. Rochester
A. Y. Rodriguez
F. Rahoui - Université Paris Cité
F. Ryde - KTH Royal Institute of Technology
H. F.-W. Sadrozinski
R. Sambruna - Goddard Space Flight Center
D. Sanchez - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
A. Sander - The Ohio State University
P. M. Saz Parkinson
J. D. Scargle C. Sgr'O
M. S. Shaw
David Stanley Smith - Laboratoire de Physique des deux infinis Bordeaux
P. D. Smith
G. Spandre - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
P. Spinelli - Polytechnic University of Bari
Jean-Luc Starck - Astrophysique Interprétation Modélisation
M. S. Strickman
D. J. Suson
H. Tajima - Stanford University
H. Takahashi - Hiroshima University
T. Takahashi - Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats
T. Tanaka - Stanford University
J. B. Thayer
J. G. Thayer
D. J. Thompson
L. Tibaldo - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova
D. F. Torres
G. Tosti - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia
A. Tramacere - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
Y. Uchiyama - Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
T. L. Usher
N. Vilchez - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier
M. Villata - University of Rome Tor Vergata
V. Vitale - University of Denver
A. P. Waite
B. L. Winer
K. S. Wood
T. Ylinen - KTH Royal Institute of Technology
J. A. Zensus
M. Ziegler - University of California, Santa Cruz
Publication Details: The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol.699, pp.817-823
Identifiers: 9940172209311
Academic Unit: Université de Montpellier
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article
Local Fields: in2p3-00380233