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A peculiar multiwavelength flare in the blazar 3C 454.3

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dc.contributor.author Gupta, A. C
dc.contributor.author Mangalam, A
dc.contributor.author Wiita, J. Paul
dc.contributor.author Kushwaha, P
dc.contributor.author Gaur, H
dc.contributor.author Zhang, H
dc.contributor.author Gu, M. F
dc.contributor.author Liao, M
dc.contributor.author Dewangan, G. C
dc.contributor.author Ho, L. C
dc.contributor.author Mohan, P
dc.contributor.author Umeura, M
dc.contributor.author Sasada, M
dc.contributor.author Volvach, A. E
dc.contributor.author Agarwal, A
dc.contributor.author Aller, M. F
dc.contributor.author Aller, H. D
dc.contributor.author Bachev, R
dc.contributor.author Lahteenmaki, A
dc.contributor.author Semkov, E
dc.contributor.author Strigachev, A
dc.contributor.author Tornikoski, M
dc.contributor.author Volvach, L. N
dc.date.accessioned 2020-11-10T13:31:47Z
dc.date.available 2020-11-10T13:31:47Z
dc.date.issued 2017-11
dc.identifier.citation Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 472, No. 1, pp. 788 - 798 en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1365-2966
dc.identifier.uri http://prints.iiap.res.in/handle/2248/6767
dc.description Restricted Access © Royal Astronomical Society https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx2072 en_US
dc.description.abstract The blazar 3C 454.3 exhibited a strong flare seen in γ -rays, X-rays and optical/near-infrared bands during 2009 December 3–12. Emission in the V and J bands rose more gradually than did the γ -rays and soft X-rays, though all peaked at nearly the same time. Optical polarization measurements showed dramatic changes during the flare, with a strong anticorrelation between optical flux and degree of polarization (which rose from ∼3 to ∼20 per cent) during the declining phase of the flare. The flare was accompanied by large rapid swings in polarization angle of ∼170◦. This combination of behaviours appears to be unique. We have cm-band radio data during the same period but they show no correlation with variations at higher frequencies. Such peculiar behaviour may be explained using jet models incorporating fully relativistic effects with a dominant source region moving along a helical path or by a shock-in-jet model incorporating three-dimensional radiation transfer if there is a dominant helical magnetic field. We find that spectral energy distributions at different times during the flare can be fit using modified one-zone models where only the magnetic field strength and particle break frequencies and normalizations need change. An optical spectrum taken at nearly the same time provides an estimate for the central black hole mass of ∼2.3 × 109 M . We also consider two weaker flares seen during the ∼200 d span over which multiband data are available. In one of them, the V and J bands appear to lead the γ -ray and X-ray bands by a few days; in the other, all variations are simultaneous. en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society en_US
dc.subject Galaxies: active en_US
dc.subject BL Lacertae objects: general en_US
dc.subject Quasars: individual: 3C 454.3 en_US
dc.title A peculiar multiwavelength flare in the blazar 3C 454.3 en_US
dc.type Article en_US


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