Bright gamma-ray flares of the quasars 3C 279 and PKS 1222+216 observed at the highest energies with Fermi-LAT and VERITAS

Flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) are the most powerful sources continuously detected at gamma-ray energies, with luminosities exceeding 10⁴⁸ erg s^-1. The high-energy emission of quasars peaks in the MeV-GeV band, and only a few episodic detections have been reported at very high energies (VHE, E>100 GeV). We will present the first results from an observing campaign on the FSRQ 3C 279 in April 2014 during the brightest gamma-ray outburst ever recorded for this object, with flux exceeding the historic 1991 flare seen by EGRET. Observations include simultaneous coverage with the Fermi-LAT satellite and the VERITAS ground-based array spanning four decades in energy from 100 MeV to 1 TeV with unprecedented sensitivity. We will also report on the detection of persistent VHE emission from the quasar PKS 1222+216 over a week-long period in March 2014. These observations present strong challenges to current models of energy dissipation in relativistic jets. The implications of the absence/presence of VHE emission in connection with flaring activity in the MeV-GeV regime will be discussed, especially concerning the role of ambient photon fields in the radiation mechanisms, and the size and location of the gamma-ray emission region.