Title
Multiwavelength variability and correlation studies of Mrk 421 during historically low X-ray and γ-ray activity in 2015-2016
Date Issued
01 June 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Acciari V.A.
Ansoldi S.
Antonelli L.A.
Asano K.
Babić A.
Banerjee B.
Baquero A.
Barres De Almeida U.
Barrio J.A.
Becerra González J.
Bednarek W.
Bellizzi L.
Bernardini E.
Bernardos M.
Berti A.
Besenrieder J.
Bhattacharyya W.
Bigongiari C.
Blanch O.
Bonnoli G.
Bošnjak Z.
Busetto G.
Carosi R.
Ceribella G.
Cerruti M.
Chai Y.
Chilingarian A.
Cikota S.
Colak S.M.
Colombo E.
Contreras J.L.
Cortina J.
Covino S.
D'Amico G.
D'Elia V.
Da Vela P.
Dazzi F.
De Angelis A.
De Lotto B.
Delfino M.
Delgado J.
Delgado Mendez C.
Depaoli D.
Di Girolamo T.
Di Pierro F.
Di Venere L.
Do Souto Espiñeira E.
Dominis Prester D.
Donini A.
Doro M.
Fallah Ramazani V.
Fattorini A.
Ferrara G.
Foffano L.
Fonseca M.V.
Font L.
Fruck C.
Fukami S.
García López R.J.
Garczarczyk M.
Gasparyan S.
Gaug M.
Giglietto N.
Giordano F.
Gliwny P.
Godinović N.
Green J.G.
Green D.
Hadasch D.
Hahn A.
Heckmann L.
Herrera J.
Hoang J.
Hrupec D.
Hütten M.
Inada T.
Inoue S.
Ishio K.
Iwamura Y.
Jormanainen J.
Jouvin L.
Kajiwara Y.
Karjalainen M.
Kerszberg D.
Kobayashi Y.
Kubo H.
Kushida J.
Lamastra A.
Lelas D.
Leone F.
Lindfors E.
Lombardi S.
Longo F.
López M.
López-Coto R.
López-Oramas A.
Loporchio S.
MacHado De Oliveira Fraga B.
Maggio C.
Majumdar P.
Publisher(s)
Oxford University Press
Abstract
We report a characterization of the multiband flux variability and correlations of the nearby (z = 0.031) blazar Markarian 421 (Mrk 421) using data from Metsähovi, Swift, Fermi-LAT, MAGIC, FACT, and other collaborations and instruments from 2014 November till 2016 June. Mrk 421 did not show any prominent flaring activity, but exhibited periods of historically low activity above 1 TeV (F>1 TeV < 1.7 × 10-12 ph cm-2 s-1) and in the 2-10 keV (X-ray) band (F 2-10, keV< 3.6× 10-11 erg cm-2 s-1), during which the Swift-BAT data suggest an additional spectral component beyond the regular synchrotron emission. The highest flux variability occurs in X-rays and very high-energy (E > 0.1 TeV) γ-rays, which, despite the low activity, show a significant positive correlation with no time lag. The HRkeV and HRTeV show the harder-when-brighter trend observed in many blazars, but the trend flattens at the highest fluxes, which suggests a change in the processes dominating the blazar variability. Enlarging our data set with data from years 2007 to 2014, we measured a positive correlation between the optical and the GeV emission over a range of about 60 d centred at time lag zero, and a positive correlation between the optical/GeV and the radio emission over a range of about 60 d centred at a time lag of 43+9-6 d. This observation is consistent with the radio-bright zone being located about 0.2 parsec downstream from the optical/GeV emission regions of the jet. The flux distributions are better described with a lognormal function in most of the energy bands probed, indicating that the variability in Mrk 421 is likely produced by a multiplicative process.
Start page
1427
End page
1451
Volume
504
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Física nuclear
Astronomía
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85107947535
Source
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
ISSN of the container
00358711
Sponsor(s)
Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences - 0808050, 1109911.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus