Search

Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. The bright blazar OJ 287 routinely parades high brightness bremsstrahlung flares, which are explained as being a result of a secondary supermassive black hole (SMBH) impacting the accretion disc of a more massive primary SMBH in a binary system. The accretion disc is not rigid but rather bends in a calculable way due to the tidal influence of the secondary. Next, we refer to this phenomenon as a variable disc level. We begin by showing that these flares occur at times predicted by a simple analytical formula, based on general relativity inspired modified Kepler equation, which explains impact flares since 1888. The 2022 impact flare, namely flare number 26, is rather peculiar as it breaks the typical pattern of two impact flares per 12-yr cycle. This is the third bremsstrahlung flare of the current cycle that follows the already observed 2015 and 2019 impact flares from OJ 287. It turns out that the arrival epoch of flare number 26 is sensitive to the level of primary SMBH's accretion disc relative to its mean level in our model. We incorporate these tidally induced changes in the level of the accretion disc to infer that the thermal flare should have occurred during 2022 July-August, when it was not possible to observe it from the Earth. Thereafter, we explore possible observational evidence for certain pre-flare activity by employing spectral and polarimetric data from our campaigns in 2004/05 and 2021/22. We point out theoretical and observational implications of two observed mini-flares during 2022 January-February.

When discovered, SN~2017egm was the closest (redshift $z=0.03$) hydrogen-poor superluminous supernova (SLSN-I) and a rare case that exploded in a massive and metal-rich galaxy. Thus, it has since been extensively observed and studied. We report spectroscopic data showing strong emission at around He~I $\lambda$10,830 and four He~I absorption lines in the optical. Consequently, we classify SN~2017egm as a member of an emerging population of helium-rich SLSNe-I (i.e., SLSNe-Ib). We also present our late-time photometric observations. By combining them with archival data, we analyze high-cadence ultra-violet, optical, and near-infrared light curves spanning from early pre-peak ($\sim -20\,d$) to late phases ($\sim +300\,d$). We obtain its most complete bolometric light curve, in which multiple bumps are identified. None of the previously proposed models can satisfactorily explain all main light-curve features, while multiple interactions between the ejecta and circumstellar material (CSM) may explain the undulating features. The prominent infrared excess with a blackbody luminosity of $10^7$--$10^8\,L_{sun}$ detected in SN~2017egm could originate from the emission of either an echo of a pre-existing dust shell, or newly-formed dust, offering an additional piece of evidence supporting the ejecta-CSM interaction model. Moreover, our analysis of deep $Chandra$ observations yields the tightest-ever constraint on the X-ray emission of an SLSN-I, amounting to an X-ray-to-optical luminosity ratio $\lesssim 10^{-3}$ at late phases ($\sim100-200\,d$), which could help explore its close environment and central engine., Comment: 25 pages, 14 Figures, 4 Tables; accepted for publication in ApJ (Mar. 2023)

The bright blazar OJ 287 is the best-known candidate for hosting a nanohertz gravitational wave (GW) emitting supermassive binary black hole (SMBBH) in the present observable universe. The binary black hole (BBH) central engine model, proposed by Lehto and Valtonen in 1996, was influenced by the two distinct periodicities inferred from the optical light curve of OJ 287. The current improved model employs an accurate general relativistic description to track the trajectory of the secondary black hole (BH) which is crucial to predict the inherent impact flares of OJ 287. The successful observations of three predicted impact flares open up the possibility of using this BBH system to test general relativity in a hitherto unexplored strong field regime. Additionally, we briefly describe an on-going effort to interpret observations of OJ 287 in a Bayesian framework., Invited review article; 16 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, to appear in Universe

We report optical photometric and polarimetric observations of the blazar OJ 287 gathered during 2016/17. The high level of activity, noticed after the General Relativity Centenary flare, is argued to be part of the follow-up flares that exhibited high levels of polarization and originated in the primary black hole jet. We propose that the follow-up flares were induced as a result of accretion disk perturbations, travelling from the site of impact towards the primary SMBH. The timings inferred from our observations allowed us to estimate the propagation speed of these perturbations. Additionally, we make predictions for the future brightness of OJ 287. © 2017 by the authors.

We have obtained a deep i-band image of the blazar 3C 279 while the target was in a low optical state. Due to the faintness of the optical nucleus we have made the first detection of the host galaxy. The host galaxy has an apparent I-band magnitude of 18.4 +- 0.3 and an effective radius of (2.7 +- 1.1) arcsec. The luminosity of the host galaxy M_R = -23.8 is consistent with the luminosities of other radio-loud quasar host galaxies. Using the empirical correlation between bulge luminosity and central black hole mass M_bh we estimate log(M_bh/M_Sun) = 8.9 +- 0.5, broadly consistent with values obtained by photoionization methods., 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

The fraction of compact active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that exhibit interstellar scintillation (ISS) at radio wavelengths, as well as their scintillation amplitudes, have been found to decrease significantly for sources at redshifts z > 2. This can be attributed to an increase in the angular sizes of the \muas-scale cores or a decrease in the flux densities of the compact \muas cores relative to that of the mas-scale components with increasing redshift, possibly arising from (1) the space-time curvature of an expanding Universe, (2) AGN evolution, (3) source selection biases, (4) scatter broadening in the ionized intergalactic medium (IGM) and intervening galaxies, or (5) gravitational lensing. We examine the frequency scaling of this redshift dependence of ISS to determine its origin, using data from a dual-frequency survey of ISS of 128 sources at 0 < z < 4. We present a novel method of analysis which accounts for selection effects in the source sample. We determine that the redshift dependence of ISS is partially linked to the steepening of source spectral indices (��^8.4_4.9) with redshift, caused either by selection biases or AGN evolution, coupled with weaker ISS in the ��^8.4_4.9 < -0.4 sources. Selecting only the -0.4 < ��^8.4_4.9 < 0.4 sources, we find that the redshift dependence of ISS is still significant, but is not significantly steeper than the expected (1+z)^0.5 scaling of source angular sizes due to cosmological expansion for a brightness temperature and flux-limited sample of sources. We find no significant evidence for scatter broadening in the IGM, ruling it out as the main cause of the redshift dependence of ISS. We obtain an upper limit to IGM scatter broadening of < 110\muas at 4.9 GHz with 99% confidence for all lines of sight, and as low as < 8\muas for sight-lines to the most compact, \sim 10\muas sources., 38 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

We are undertaking a large-scale VLA 5 GHz variability survey of the northern sky searching for rapid intra-day variability. From four epochs of observations spread over a year we find 56% of the flat-spectrum sources showed significant variability on time-scales from hours to days, with many sources varying episodically on only one epoch during the year. We find that the weaker sources show more frequent variability as well as fractionally larger amplitude variability. Fewer sources were detected at high Galactic latitude, demonstrating that inter-stellar scintillation is the principal mechanism responsible for this IDV. We also see a significant dependence on spectral index with the flatter and more inverted sources more frequently exhibiting scintillation.

We report the Suzaku observations of the high luminosity blazar SWIFT J0746.3+2548 (J0746) conducted in November 2005. This object, with z = 2.979, is the highest redshift source observed in the Suzaku Guaranteed Time Observer (GTO) period, is likely to show high gamma-ray flux peaking in the MeV range. As a result of the good photon statistics and high signal-to-noise ratio spectrum, the $Suzaku$ observation clearly confirms that J0746 has an extremely hard spectrum in the energy range of 0.3-24 keV, which is well represented by a single power-law with a photon index of 1.17 and Galactic absorption. The multiwavelength spectral energy distribution of J0746 shows two continuum components, and is well modeled assuming that the high-energy spectral component results from Comptonization of the broad-line region photons. In this paper we search for the bulk Compton spectral features predicted to be produced in the soft X-ray band by scattering external optical/UV photons by cold electrons in a relativistic jet. We discuss and provide constraints on the pair content resulting from the apparent absence of such features., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

Our ongoing programmes taking very deep images of different types of BL Lac objects with the 2.5m Nordic Optical telescope on La Palma have continued more than two years. In many cases we have observations with sub-arcsecond seeing conditions and in some cases also with almost sub-half-arcsecond seeing. Some of the objects show extremely close companions. Preliminary results of these environments are discussed.

The 4.9 GHz Micro-Arcsecond Scintillation-Induced Variability (MASIV) Survey detected a drop in Interstellar Scintillation (ISS) for sources at redshifts z > 2, indicating an apparent increase in angular diameter or a decrease in flux density of the most compact components of these sources, relative to their extended emission. This can result from intrinsic source size effects or scatter broadening in the Intergalactic Medium (IGM), in excess of the expected (1+z)^0.5 angular diameter scaling of brightness temperature limited sources due to cosmological expansion. We report here 4.9 GHz and 8.4 GHz observations and data analysis for a sample of 140 compact, flat-spectrum sources which may allow us to determine the origin of this angular diameter-redshift relation by exploiting their different wavelength dependences. In addition to using ISS as a cosmological probe, the observations provide additional insight into source morphologies and the characteristics of ISS. As in the MASIV Survey, the variability of the sources is found to be significantly correlated with line-of-sight H-alpha intensities, confirming its link with ISS. For 25 sources, time delays of about 0.15 to 3 days are observed between the scintillation patterns at both frequencies, interpreted as being caused by a shift in core positions when probed at different optical depths. Significant correlation is found between ISS amplitudes and source spectral index; in particular, a large drop in ISS amplitudes is observed at spectral indices of < -0.4 confirming that steep spectrum sources scintillate less. We detect a weakened redshift dependence of ISS at 8.4 GHz over that at 4.9 GHz, with the mean variance at 4-day timescales reduced by a factor of 1.8 in the z > 2 sources relative to the z < 2 sources, as opposed to the factor of 3 decrease observed at 4.9 GHz. This suggests scatter broadening in the IGM., 30 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal

We present the results of the optical and radio monitoring of the BL Lac object AO 0235+164 during a faint state. In both optical and radio bands the source has been observed at the faintest ever recorded levels, reaching V =1 9 :80 and F22GHz =0 :34 Jy. In the optical bands we still see variability with amplitudes up to 1.5 magnitudes on timescales from days to weeks. The radio variability is less dramatic, but in general follows the optical behaviour. A correlation between general trends in the optical and radio behaviour of AO 0235+164 may be recognized in the data from the present monitoring as well as in the historical light curves, suggesting a \base" mechanism re- sponsible for the emission at both frequencies. A good candidate is a synchrotron process in the relativistic jet. Optical flares with no corresponding radio counterparts have been observed too. These events may be interpreted in terms of microlensing by a foreground galaxy.