Origin of the broadband emission from the transition blazar B2 1308+326

Context. Transition blazars exhibit a shift from one subclass to the next during different flux states. It is therefore crucial to study them to understand the underlying physics of blazars.
Aims: We probe the origin of the multi-wavelength emission from the transition blazar B2 1308+326 using the ∼14-year long γ-ray light curve from Fermi and the quasi-simultaneous data from Swift.
Methods: We used the Bayesian block algorithm to identify epochs of flaring and quiescent flux states and modelled the broadband spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for these epochs. We employed the one-zone leptonic model in which the synchrotron emission causes the low-energy part of the SED and the high-energy part is produced by the inverse-Compton (IC) emission of external seed photons. We also investigated its multi-band variability properties and γ-ray flux distribution, and the correlation between optical and γ-ray emissions.
Results: We observed a historically bright flare from B2 1308+326 across the optical to γ-ray bands in June and July 2022. The highest daily averaged γ-ray flux was (14.24 ± 2.36) × 10⁻⁷ ph cm⁻² s⁻¹ and was detected on 1 July 2022. For the entire period, the observed variability amplitude was higher at low (optical/UV) energies than at high (X-ray/γ-ray) energies. The γ-ray flux distribution was found to be log-normal. The optical and γ-ray emissions are well correlated with zero time lag. The synchrotron peak frequency changes from ∼8 × 10¹² Hz (in the quiescent state) to ∼6 × 10¹⁴ Hz (in the flaring state), together with a decrease in the Compton dominance (the ratio of IC to the synchrotron peak luminosities), providing a hint that the source transitions from a low-synchrotron peaked blazar (LSP) to an intermediate-synchrotron peaked blazar (ISP). The SEDs for these two states are well fitted by one-zone leptonic models. The parameters in the model fits are essentially consistent between both SEDs, except for the Doppler-beaming factor, which changes from ∼15.6 to ∼27 during the transition.
Conclusions: An increase in the Doppler factor might cause both the flare and the transition of B2 1308+326 from an LSP to an ISP blazar.