Centaurus A: Hard X-ray and High-Energy Gamma-Ray Light Curve Correlation

oleh: Isak Delberth Davids, Markus Böttcher, Michael Backes

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-04-01

Deskripsi

Centaurus A, powered by a 55 million solar mass supermassive black hole, has been intensively monitored in all accessible wavelength ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, its very-high energy gamma (<inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi>&#947;</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula>) ray flux (TeV photons), obtained from H.E.S.S. is relatively faint, hampering detailed light curve analyses in the most energetic energy band. Yet, the extensive long-term light curve data from <i>Fermi</i>-LAT and <i>Swift</i>-BAT (hard X-rays) allows for cross-correlation studies. We find a hint that X-ray emission from Centaurus A precedes the <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi>&#947;</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> rays by <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <mn>25</mn> <mo>&#177;</mo> <mn>125</mn> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> days. If this lag is real and related to a <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mrow> <mi>&#947;</mi> <mi>&#947;</mi> </mrow> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> absorption effect in the broad-line region (BLR) around the central source, we can constrain the size of the BLR using light-travel time arguments. These are first results of extended light curve correlation studies between high-energy <inline-formula> <math display="inline"> <semantics> <mi>&#947;</mi> </semantics> </math> </inline-formula> rays and X-rays from Centaurus A.