Observation of Strong Variability in the X-Ray Emission from Markarian 421 Correlated with the May 1996 TeV Flare
نویسنده
چکیده
We observed the BL Lac object Markarian 421 with the X-ray satellite RXTE and the Whipple Air Cerenkov Telescope during a two week correlated Xray/gamma-ray campaign in May 1996. Two dramatic outbursts with extremely rapid and strong flux variations were observed at TeV energies during this period. The X-ray emission in the 2-10 keV band was highly variable and reached a peak flux of 5.6×10 erg cm s, a historic high. Similar behavior was observed for the TeV emission. In contrast to earlier near-simultaneous X-ray/gamma-ray observations of Mrk 421, the variability amplitude is much larger at TeV than at X-ray energies. This behavior is expected in Synchrotron Self-Compton models.
منابع مشابه
Modulation of AGN gamma rays by interaction with X-rays from an accretion disk hot spot
We have developed a model for the variability of gamma ray emission in jets of active galactic nuclei in which the variability arises as a result of photon-photon pair production interactions with X-rays emitted by a hot spot in the inner part of the accretion disk. As the hot spot orbits around the central engine, the amount of absorption varies periodically. Our model may account for the obse...
متن کاملX-ray flares from Markarian 501
Motivated by the recent discovery of a hierarchical X-ray flaring phenomenon in Mrk 421, we conducted a systematic search for X-ray flares from Mrk 501, another well-known TeV blazar, by making use of the rich RXTE archival database. We detected flares over a wide range of timescales, from months down to minutes, as in the case of Mrk 421. However, the flares do not seem to occur nearly as freq...
متن کاملar X iv : a st ro - p h / 04 12 22 6 v 1 9 D ec 2 00 4 X - RAY FLARES FROM MARKARIAN 501
Motivated by the recent finding of hierarchical X-ray flaring phenomenon in Mrk 421, we conducted a systematic search for X-ray flares from Mrk 501, another well-known TeV blazar, by making use of the rich RXTE archival database. We detected flares over a wide range of timescales, from months down to minutes, as in the case of Mrk 421. However, the flares do not seem to occur nearly as frequent...
متن کاملTeV OBSERVATIONS OF THE VARIABILITY AND SPECTRUM OF MARKARIAN 421
Markarian 421 was the first extragalactic source to be detected with high statistical certainty at TeV energies. The Whipple Observatory gamma-ray telescope has been used to observe the Active Galactic Nucleus, Markarian 421 in 1996 and 1997. The rapid variability observed in TeV gamma rays in previous years is confirmed. Doubling times as short as 15 minutes are reported with flux levels reach...
متن کاملar X iv : a st ro - p h / 96 02 06 8 1 4 Fe b 96 VERY HIGH ENERGY GAMMA - RAY EMISSION FROM THE BLAZAR MARKARIAN 421
Very high energy gamma-ray emission from the BL Lac object Markarian 421 has been detected over three observing seasons on 59 nights between April 1992 and June 1994 with the Whipple 10-meter imaging Cherenkov telescope. During its initial detection in 1992, its flux above 500 GeV was 1.6×10−11photons cm−2 s−1. Observations in 1993 confirmed this level of emission. For observations made between...
متن کامل