The Bright γ-ray Flare of 3C 279 in 2015 June: AGILE Detection and Multifrequency Follow-up Observations
Abstract
We report the AGILE detection and the results of the multifrequency follow-up observations of a bright γ-ray flare of the blazar 3C 279 in 2015 June. We use AGILE and Fermi gamma-ray data, together with Swift X-ray andoptical-ultraviolet data, and ground-based GASP-WEBT optical observations, including polarization information, to study the source variability and the overall spectral energy distribution during the γ-ray flare. The γ-ray flaring data, compared with as yet unpublished simultaneous optical data that will allow constraints on the big blue bump disk luminosity, show very high Compton dominance values of ∼100, with the ratio of γ-ray to optical emission rising by a factor of three in a few hours. The multiwavelength behavior of the source during the flare challenges one-zone leptonic theoretical models. The new observations during the 2015 June flare are also compared with already published data and nonsimultaneous historical 3C 279 archival data.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- April 2018
- DOI:
- 10.3847/1538-4357/aab1f9
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1803.07529
- Bibcode:
- 2018ApJ...856...99P
- Keywords:
-
- galaxies: active;
- gamma rays: galaxies;
- polarization;
- quasars: individual: 3C 279;
- radiation mechanisms: non-thermal;
- X-rays: general;
- Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
- E-Print:
- 13 pages, 5 figures,5 Tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ