On the intrinsic shape of the gamma-ray spectrum for Fermi blazars

The curvature of the γ-ray spectrum in blazars may reflect the intrinsic distribution of emitting electrons, which will further give some information on the possible acceleration and cooling processes in the emitting region. The γ-ray spectra of Fermi blazars are normally fitted either by a single power-law（PL） or a log-normal（call Logarithmic Parabola, LP） form. The possible reason for this difference is not clear. We statistically explore this issue based on the different observational properties of 1419 Fermi blazars in the 3 LAC Clean Sample. We find that the γ-ray flux（100 Me V–100 Ge V） and variability index follow bimodal distributions for PL and LP blazars, where the γ-ray flux and variability index show a positive correlation. However, the distributions of γ-ray luminosity and redshift follow a unimodal distribution. Our results suggest that the bimodal distribution of γ-ray fluxes for LP and PL blazars may not be intrinsic and all blazars may have an intrinsically curved γ-ray spectrum, and the PL spectrum is just caused by the fitting effect due to less photons.

The dying accretion and jet in a powerful radio galaxy of Hercules A

Hercules A(Her A)is one of a rare class of dying and transition-type objects,which has a pair of giant,powerful radio lobes and a weak radio core.We reduce and analyze the radio data of Her A that were observed by the Expanded Very Large Array(EVLA)during 2010-2011 at C band.The intensity distribution is very smooth along the edge of the lobe front and the intensity also sharply decreases at the edge,which supports that magnetic fields may play an important role in radio lobes.The spectrum of the weak core is very steep and the core flux becomes weaker by about ten percent when compared to what was observed twenty years ago,which suggest that the central engine is still dying quickly.Her A deviates a lot from the relation between[O III]luminosity and low-frequency 178 MHz luminosity(LO III-L178 MHz)as defined by other FR I/II sources.However,when only radio core emission is considered,it roughly follows an LO III-L178 MHzcorrelation.This result supports that the black-hole accretion and large-scale jet in Her A did not evolve simultaneously,and indicates that although the large-scale jet is still powerful,the accretion and inner jet have changed into an inactive state.Based on the estimated Bondi accretion rate,we model the spectrum of Her A with a radiatively inefficient accretion flow and jet model.