Study of the Variability of Active Galactic Nuclei at Very High Energy with H.E.S.S.

Study of the Variability of Active Galactic Nuclei at Very High Energy with H.E.S.S.
Author: Gabriel Emery
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020
Genre:
ISBN:

Along with the improvement of our knowledge of the Universe, increasingly detailed, varied and precise data sets appeared necessary to solve the remaining unknowns. Experiments thus improved their sensitivities and resolutions but also combined their observations into large multi-messenger and multi-wavelength data sets. If a source is variable the available temporal information can also be used to constrain the possible processes taking place in this source. Blazars are active galactic nuclei displaying important variability with electromagnetic emissions covering a large fraction of the observed electromagnetic spectrum, emitted in a relativistic jet of particles. The H.E.S.S. experiment is an array of Cherenkov telescopes located in Namibia performing astronomical observations using very high energy photons. In this manuscript, reviews of blazar physics, very high energy astronomy and the H.E.S.S. experiment are followed by various worked performed to analyse and use variable data from blazars. Tools were developed in the H.E.S.S. analysis software aiming at improving the analysis of flaring events. Sets of data obtained during flaring events of two blazars (3C 279 and PKS 2022-077) were analysed and put into context with contemporaneous multi-wavelength observations. A new task aiming at characterising blazar flare in a semi-systematic way is also introduced. The manuscript then ends with the results of the exploration of the parameter space of a lepto-hadronic emission model applied to a flare of TXS 0506+056 coincident with the detection of an astrophysical neutrino with IceCube.

High-energy Emission from Active Galactic Nuclei

High-energy Emission from Active Galactic Nuclei
Author: Matteo Cerruti
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012
Genre:
ISBN:

. In this thesis manuscript we tried to summarize the research work done during the last three years in the high-energy group of the LUTh laboratory, as well as in the H.E.S.S. collaboration. The project deals with the study of high-energy emission from active galactic nuclei (AGN), where, with high energy, we refer here to X and y-rays. The thesis covers in fact two différent aspects of the physics of AGN, firstly the study of the X-ray emission from Seyfert galaxies (radio-quiet AGN), and then of the y-ray emission from blazars (radio-loud AGN).We start then by providing a short introduction to the scientific context of AGN physics (by present- ing the unified AGN model), as well as of TeV astronomy. In the first part we first describe the problem of the soft-X-ray excess in Seyfert galaxies (Chapter 1), before entering in the details of the study of Suzaku observations of two particular objects (Mrk 509 and Mrk 841, Chapter 2), presenting the data analysis and their modelling. The second part starts with an introduction on the blazar physics (Chapter 3), before showing the results achieved by the H.E.S.S. telescope array on AGN (Chapter 4). A detailed study has been done on a particular blazar detected at TeV energies (1RXS J101015.9 - 311909), and is presented in Chapter 5. The following chapters are more theoretical, and discuss the modelling of the observed blazar emis- sion. In particular, in Chapter 6 we discuss the constrains on the synchrotron-self-Compton model, presenting a new numerical algorithm to determine the best-fit solution, while in Chapter 7 we present a new stationary lepto-hadronic code, which can be used to model the blazar emission in leptonic, hadronic and mixed scenarios.In Chapter 8 we present the problem of the spectral break observed in the GeV spectrum of 3C 454.3, and we model it consistently in an external-inverse-Compton scenario.Finally we present a perspective for the detection of high-redshift sources with the future telescope CTA (Appendix A).

Active Galactic Nuclei

Active Galactic Nuclei
Author: Volker Beckmann
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2012-09-24
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3527410783

Active Galactic Nuclei This AGN textbook gives an overview on the current knowledge of the Active Galacitc Nuclei phenomenon. The spectral energy distribution will be discussed, pointing out what can be observed in different wavebands. The different physical models are presented together with formula important for the understanding of AGN physics. Furthermore, the authors discuss the AGN with respect to its environment, host galaxy, feedback in galaxies and in clusters of galaxies, variability, etc. and finally the cosmological evolution of the AGN phenomenon. This book includes phenomena based on new results in the X-Ray and gamma-ray domain from new telescopes such as Chandra, XMM-Newton, the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, and the VHE regime not mentioned so far in AGN books. Those and other new developments as well as simulations of AGN merging events and formations, enabled through latest super-computing capabilities. From the contents: The observational picture of AGN Radiative processes The central engine AGN types and unification AGN through the electromagnetic spectrum AGN variability Environment Quasars and cosmology Formation, evolution and the ultimate fate of AGN What we do not know (yet)

Exploring Active Galactic Nuclei at Extreme Energies

Exploring Active Galactic Nuclei at Extreme Energies
Author: Anton Dmytriiev
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2020
Genre:
ISBN:

Many questions related to the physics of jets of Active Galactic Nuclei remain open. A particular subclass of AGN, blazars, have a jet pointing towards the Earth. Such suitable orientation of the jet allows us to probe a rich variety of poorly understood physical phenomena related to relativistic outflows. Blazars show non-thermal emission, originating from the jet, which is highly variable across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, from radio frequencies to TeV gamma-rays. The energy flux can enhance by an order of magnitude on time-scales as short as minutes, a phenomenon referred to as a “flare”, and as long as months or even years. Despite the growing amount of available multi-wavelength (MWL) data, the origin and the physical mechanisms behind the frequently observed flaring events in blazars are still not well understood. Many attempts have been made to describe the flares with different emission models, but detailed properties of flux variation patterns (light curves) in different wavebands remain difficult to reproduce. In order to identify physical processes that are involved during blazar outbursts, I have developed a versatile radiative code, based on a time-dependent treatment of particle acceleration, escape and radiative cooling. The code computes time evolution of the distribution function of electrons in the blazar emitting zone and the spectrum of the Synchrotron Self-Compton (SSC) emission by these electrons. I applied the code to a giant MWL flare of the blazar Mrk 421, a representative of the BL Lacertae class, which is the brightest VHE flare ever detected from this source. In our approach, we consider the flare as a moderate perturbation of the quiescent state and search for interpretations with a minimum number of free parameters. As a result, I developed a novel physical scenario of the flaring activity that describes the data set, comprising spectra in the high state of the source in different energy ranges, and MWL light curves from the optical domain to the VHE gamma-ray band. In this scenario, the process initiating the outburst is the second-order Fermi acceleration of particles due to turbulence arising in the vicinity of the blazar stationary emission region. In this thesis, I also performed analysis of High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) data of two giant flares of the blazar 3C 279, a representative of the Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQ) class. Finally, I contributed to preparation of Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), which is a new-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory, expected to start operations in 2022. The instrument, which is presently under development, will have greatly improved performance compared to currently operating Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), including unprecedented spectral coverage from a few tens of GeV to ~300 TeV. In the context of CTA, I performed simulations of the optical performance of the Gamma-Ray Cherenkov Telescope (GCT), one of the three proposed designs of Small-Size Telescopes (SST) for CTA. Also, using the observations of bright stars done by the telescope prototype installed on the site of Paris Observatory in Meudon, I studied the effect of micro-roughness of the telescope mirrors on the point spread function (PSF) and calculated the level of the mirror polishing quality required to optimize the performances.

An Introduction to Active Galactic Nuclei

An Introduction to Active Galactic Nuclei
Author: Bradley M. Peterson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 258
Release: 1997-02-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521479110

How can we test if a supermassive black hole lies at the heart of every active galactic nucleus? What are LINERS, BL Lacs, N galaxies, broad-line radio galaxies and radio-quiet quasars and how do they compare? This timely textbook answers these questions in a clear, comprehensive and self-contained introduction to active galactic nuclei - for graduate students in astronomy and physics. The study of AGN is one of the most dynamic areas of contemporary astronomy, involving one fifth of all research astronomers. This textbook provides a systematic review of the observed properties of AGN across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, examines the underlying physics, and shows how the brightest AGN, quasars, can be used to probe the farthest reaches of the Universe. This book serves as both an entry point to the research literature and as a valuable reference for researchers in the field.

The Physics and Evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei

The Physics and Evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei
Author: Hagai Netzer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2013-09-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1107021510

A comprehensive introduction to the theory underpinning our study of active galactic nuclei and the ways we observe them.