Effects of Redshift on the Classifying Criteria of BL Lacertae Objects

We have collected a sample of 70 BL Lacs （33 radio-selected BL Lacs and 37 X-ray selected BL Lacs） with multi-waveband data for investigating the classifying criteria of BL Lacertae Objects. For each source, we estimate its luminosities in radio, optical and X-ray, the broad-band spectral index from radio to X-ray and the peak frequency of the synchrotron emission, and make a statistical analysis of the data obtained. Our main results are as follows： （1） The broad-band spectral index and the peak frequency have no correlation with the redshift, while they are inversely correlated with each other and they could be regarded as equivalent classifying criteria of BL Lac objects. （2） There are significant effects of the luminosity/redshift relation on the observed luminosity distribution in our sample, hence, if the radio luminosity is to be used as a classifying criterion of BL Lac objects, it should not be regarded as equivalent to the broad-band spectral index or the peak frequency. （3） Our resuits supply a specific piece of evidence for the suggestion that the use of luminosities always introduces a redshift bias to the data and show that the location of the peak frequency is not always linked to the luminosity of any wave band.

The Binary Black Hole Scenario for the BL Lacertae Object AO 0235+16

Recent analysis of the long term radio light curve of the extremely variableBL Lacertae object AO 0235+16 by Raiteri et al. have revealed the presence of recurrent outburstswith a period of ～ 5.7 +- 0.5 yr. Periodicity analysis of the optical light curve also showsevidence for a shorter period. Here we discuss whether such a behavior can be explained by a binaryblack hole model where the accretion disk of one of the supermassive black holes is precessing dueto the tidal effects of the companion. We estimate the mass of the accreting hole and analyzeconstraints on the secondary mass and the orbital parameters of the system. It is possible toprovide a viable interpretation of the available multiwavelength data.

BL Lacertae objects and the extragalactic γ-ray background

A tight correlation between γ-ray and radio emission is found for a sample of BL Lacertae （BL Lac） objects detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope （Fermi） and the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope （EGRET）. The γ-ray emission of BL Lac objects exhibits strong variability, and the detection rate of γ-ray BL Lac objects is low, which may be related to the γ-ray duty cycle of BL Lac objects. We estimate the γ-ray duty cycle, δγ ≌ 0.11, for BL Lac objects detected by EGRET and Fermi. Using the empirical relation of γ-ray emission with radio emission and the estimated γ-ray duty cycle δγ, we derive the γ-ray luminosity function （LF） of BL Lac objects from their radio LE Our derived γ-ray LF of BL Lac objects can almost reproduce that calculated with the recently released Fermi bright active galactic nuclei （AGN） sample. Comparison of the derived LF of the γ-ray BL Lac objects in this work with that derived by Abdo et al. （2009a） requires the γ-ray duty cycle of BL Lac objects to be almost luminosity-independent. We find that - 45% of the extragalactic diffuse γ-ray background （EGRB） is contributed by BL Lac objects. Combining the estimate of the quasar contribution to the EGRB in the previous work, we find that 77% of the EGRB is contributed by BL Lac objects and radio quasars.

Is BZB J1450+5201 the most distant gamma-ray BL Lacertae object?

BL Lacertae （BL Lac） objects at high redshifts （z ≥ 2） are rarely detected. Through careful analysis of its Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectrum, BZB J1450＋5201 is confirmed to be a high-z BL Lac object with z ≥ 2.471 by identifying the Lyα 1216 and CIV 1548/1550 absorption lines. This indicates that BZB J1450＋5201 is the most distant BL Lac object discovered to date. Careful analysis of the five-year Fermi-LAT data of 2FGL J1451.0＋5159 shows that its γ-ray emission is robust with a confidence level of 6.2σ at 1-3 GeV and 6.7σ at 3-10 GeV. This analysis with the five-year data overcomes confusion with its bright neighbor, which is a problem when analyzing the two-year data. In addition, 2FGL J 1451.0＋5159 is confirmed to be associated with BZB J1450＋5201 using the five-year data. The analysis of multiwavelength data, from radio to γ-ray energies, indicates that BZB J1450＋5201 is an intermediate synchrotron peaked （ISP） source. Its multiwavelength properties are consistent with distributions of other ISP sources at lower redshifts in the second Fermi-LAT AGN catalog. The pure synchrotron self-Compton （SSC） model seems to be disfavored, but the scattering of weak external emission plus the SSC process can provide a satisfactory description of the broadband emission.

A synchrotron self-Compton scenario for the very high energy γ-ray emission of the intermediate BL Lacertae object W Comae

W Comae has significant variability in multi-wavelengthes, from radio to gamma-ray bands. A bright outburst in optical and X-ray bands was observed in 1998, and most recently, a strong TeV flare was detected by VERITAS in 2008. It is the first TeV intermediate-frequency-peaked BL Lacertae source. I find that both the broadband spectral energy distributions （SEDs） which were quasi-simultaneously obtained during the TeV flare and during the optical/X-ray outburst are well fit by using a single-zone synchrotron ＋ synchrotron-self-Compton model. The satisfactory fitting requires a large beaming factor, i.e., δ- 25 and δ- 20 for the TeV flare and the optical/X-ray outburst, respectively, suggesting that both the optical/X-ray outburst and the TeV flare are from a relativistic jet. The size of the emission region of the TeV flare is three times larger than that of the optical/X-ray outburst, and the strength of the magnetic field for the TeV flare is - 14 times smaller than that of the X-ray/optical outburst, likely indicating that the region of the TeV flare is more distant from the core than that of the X-ray/optical outburst. The inverse Compton component of the TeV flare peaks around 1.3 GeV, but it is around 20 MeV for the X-ray/optical outburst, lower than that for the TeV flare by two orders of magnitude. The model predicts that the optical/X-ray outburst might be accompanied by a strong MeV/GeV emission, but the TeV flare may be not associated with the X-ray/optical outburst. The GeV emission is critical for characterizing the SEDs of the optical/X-ray outburst and the TeV flare. The predicted GeV flux is above the sensitivity of Fermi/LAT, and it could be verified with the observations by Fermi/LAT in the near future.

Cluster Analysis of the Roma-BZCAT Blazars

Based on the collected multiwavelength data, namely in the radio(NVSS, FIRST, RATAN-600), IR(WISE),optical(Pan-STARRS), UV(GALEX), and X-ray(ROSAT, Swift-XRT) ranges, we have performed a cluster analysis for the blazars of the Roma-BZCAT catalog. Using two machine learning methods, namely a combination of PCA with k-means clustering and Kohonen's self-organizing maps(SOMs), we have constructed an independent classification of the blazars(five classes) and compared the classes with the known Roma-BZCAT classification(FSRQs, BL Lacs, galaxy-dominated BL Lacs, and blazars of an uncertain type) as well as with the high synchrotron peaked(HSP) blazars from the 3HSP catalog and blazars from the TeVCat catalog. The obtained groups demonstrate concordance with the BL Lac/FSRQ classification along with a continuous character of the change in the properties. The group of HSP blazars stands out against the overall distribution. We examine the characteristics of the five groups and demonstrate distinctions in their spectral energy distribution shapes. The effectiveness of the clustering technique for objective analysis of multiparametric arrays of experimental data is demonstrated.

Fermi Blazars in the Zwicky Transient Facility Survey:Properties of Large Optical Variations

We analyze the optical light curve data,obtained with the Zwicky Transient Facility(ZTF)survey,for 47 γ-ray blazars monitored by the Large Area Telescope onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope(Fermi).These 47sources are selected because they are among the Fermi blazars with the largest optical variations in the ZTF data.Two color-magnitude variation patterns are seen in them,with one being redder-to-stable-when-brighter(RSWB;in 31 sources)and the other being stable when brighter(in 16 sources).The patterns fit with the results recently reported in several similar studies with different data.Moreover,we find that the colors in the stable state of the sources share similar values,for which(after being corrected for the Galactic extinction)most sources are in a range of 0.4–0.55.This feature could be intrinsic and may be applied in,for example,study of the intragalactic medium.We also determine the turning points for the sources showing the RSWB pattern,after which the color changes saturate and become stable.We find a correlation between optical fluxes and γ-ray fluxes at the turning points.The physical implications of the correlation remain to be investigated,probably better with a sample of high-qualityγ-ray flux measurements.

Constraining evolution of magnetic field strength in the dissipation region of two BL Lac objects

With the assumption that the optical variability timescale is dominated by the cooling time of the synchrotron process for BL Lac objects,we estimate time dependent magnetic field strength of the emission region for two BL Lac objects.The average magnetic field strengths are consistent with those estimated from core shift measurement and spectral energy distribution modelling.Variation of magnetic field strength in the dissipation region is discovered.Variability of flux and magnetic field strength shows no clear correlation,which indicates the variation of magnetic field is not the dominant reason of the variability origin.The evolution of magnetic field strength can provide another approach to constrain the energy dissipation mechanism in jets.

The intra-day optical monitoring of BL Lacerate object 1ES 1218+304 at its highest X-ray flux level

We here report a monitor of the BL Lac object 1 ES 1218+304 in both B-and R-bands by the GWAC-F60 A telescope in eight nights,when it was triggered to be at its highest X-ray flux in history by the VERITAS Observatory and Swift follow-ups.Both ANOVA and χ^(2)-test enable us to clearly reveal an intraday variability in optical wavelengths in seven out of the eight nights.A bluer-when-brighter chromatic relationship has been clearly identified in five out of the eight nights,which can be well explained by the shock-in-jet model.In addition,a quasi-periodic oscillation phenomenon in both bands could be tentatively identified in the first night.A positive delay between the two bands has been revealed in three out of the eight nights,and a negative one in the other nights.The identified minimum time delay enables us to estimate the MBH=2.8 × 10^(7) M_(⊙) that is invalid.

The debeamed luminosity, sychrotron peak frequency and black hole mass of BL Lac objects

We estimate the intrinsic luminosities and synchrotron peak frequencies using the derived Doppler factor for a sample of 170 BL Lac objects, of which the synchrotron peak frequency is derived by fitting the SED constructed with the collected multi-band data from the literature. We find that the debeamed radio and optical core luminosities follow the same correlation found for FR I radio galaxies, which is in support of the unification of the BL Lac objects and the FR I galaxies based on orientation. For the debeamed luminosity at the synchrotron peak frequency, we find a significant positive correlation between the luminosity and intrinsic synchrotron peak frequency. This implies that the more powerful sources may have the majority of jet emission at higher frequency. At the synchrotron peak frequency, the intrinsic luminosity and black hole mass show strong positive correlation, while mild correlation is found in the case of jet power, indicating that the more powerful sources may have more massive black holes.

Comparison between TeV and non-TeV BL Lac Objects

BL Lacertae objects（BL Lacs） are the dominant population of Te V emitting blazars. In this work, we investigate whether there are any special observational properties associated with Te V sources.To do so, we will compare the observational properties of Te V detected BL Lacs（Te V BLs） with non-Te V detected BL Lac objects（non-Te V BLs）. From the 3rd Fermi/LAT source catalog（3FGL）, we can obtain662 BL Lacs, out of which 47 are Te V BLs and 615 are non-Te V BLs. Their multi-wavelength flux densities（FpR, FO, FX and Fγ）, photon spectral indexes（α^phXand α^phγ）, and effective spectral indexes（αRO and αOX）are compiled from the available literature. Then the luminosities（log ν LR, log ν LO, log ν LX, log ν Lγ）are calculated. From comparisons, we find that Te V BLs are different from low synchrotron peaked BLs and intermediate synchrotron peaked BLs, but Te V BLs show similar properties to high synchrotron peaked（HSP） BLs. Therefore, we concentrated on a comparison between Te V HSP BLs and non-Te V HSP BLs.Analysis results suggest that Te V HSP BLs and non-Te V HSP BLs exhibit some differences in their αRO and αphγ, but their other properties are quite similar.

Discovery of a variable broad absorption line in the BL Lac object PKS B0138-097

We report the discovery of a broad absorption line （BAL） of - 10^4 km s^-1 in width in the previously known BL Lac object PKS 0138-097, which we tentatively identified as an Mg II BAL. This is the first detection of a BAL, which is sometimes seen in powerful quasars with high accretion rates, in a BL Lac object. The BAL was clearly detected in its spectra spanning two epochs at a high luminosity state taken in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS）, while it disappeared in three SDSS spectra taken at a low luminosity state. The BAL and its variability pattern were also found in its historical multi-epoch spectra in the literature, but have been overlooked previously. In its high resolution radio maps, PKS 0138-097 shows a core plus a one- sided parsec-scale jet. The BAL variability can be interpreted as follows： The optical emission is dominated by the core in a high state and by the jet in a low state and the BAL material is located between the core and jet so that the BAL appears only when the core is shining. Our discovery suggests that outflows may also be produced in active galactic nuclei at a low accreting state.

On the Geometry of Broad-Line Regions in BL Lac Objects

The geometry of broad-line regions （BLRs） in active galactic nuclei （AGNs） is still controversial. We use a sample of BL Lac objects, of which the black hole masses Mbh are estimated from their host galaxy absolute magnitude at R-band, MR, by using the empirical relation between MR and black hole mass Mbh. The sizes of the broad-line regions for MglI are derived from the widths of MglI lines and the black hole masses. Compared with the empirical relation between BLR size RBLR and MgII line luminosity LMglI, it is found the BLR sizes in the BL Lac objects derived in this paper are 2-3 orders of magnitude higher. If the BLR geometry of these sources is disklike, then the viewing angle between the axis and the line of sight is in the range of - 2° - 15°, which is consistent with the unification scheme.

Properties of BL Lac Objects with Redshift ≤ 0.2

We present a large sample which includes 82 BL Lac objects with red- shifts below 0.2 from recent literature. We find strong correlations in both flux and luminosity between the radio (5 GHz) and optical bands (5500 A). The correlations in other bands are very weak. Five TeV BL Lacs and two suspect sources are found to have similar properties as high- frequency- peaked BL Lacs (HBLs). Our results suggest that both the radio and optical emissions are from the same radiation mech- anism in the SSC model. The TeV BL Lac candidates should be HBLs or HBL-like objects with small redshifts.

Intra-day variability of BL Lacertae from 2016 to 2018

We monitored BL Lacertae in the B,V,R and I bands for 14 nights during the period of 2016-2018.The source showed significant intra-day variability on 12 nights.We performed color-magnitude analysis and found that the source exhibited bluer-when-brighter chromatism.This bluer-when-brighter behavior is at least partly caused by the larger variation amplitude at shorter wavelengths.The variations at different wavelengths are correlated well and show no inter-band time lag.

Explaining the Multiwavelength Emission of Hard-Te V BL Lac Objects Using a Truncated Conical Jet Model

Hard-Te V BL Lac objects are newly identified populations of active galactic nuclei with the emittedγ-ray photons well above Te V energies.In this paper,we explain the multiwavelength emission of six Hard-Te V BL Lac objects by using a truncated conical emission region of the jet,where the electron distribution is obtained by numerically solving the evolution equation along the jet self-consistently.For comparison,we also apply the model to Mrk 421and Mrk 501,which are the potential candidates for the hard Te V emissions.We demonstrate that the model can satisfactorily reproduce the spectral energy distributions of eight sources,particularly of six Hard-Te V sources,where no extreme minimum Lorentz factor of the electron population is required.In contrast with Mrk 421 and Mrk 501,six Hard-Te V sources have rather low magnetization in emitting regions and high cutoff energies of the electron distributions.

Gamma-ray Emission from the γ-ray-loud BL Lac Objects

Using the HST observation data of BL Lac objects by Urry et al. and γ-ray observation data, we find that there is a correlation between Fγ and Fonuclei forγ-ray-loud BL Lac objects (correlation coefficients: 7γ=0.63,p = 4.0 × 10-2), but no correlation between Fγ and Fohost, where Fonuclei and Fohost are the fluxes of nuclei and host galaxy in V-band. For 19γ-ray-loud BL Lac objects with observed spectral index in multi-wavebands, the spectral index correlations between any two bands are as follow: (1) there is a strong correlation between aγ and aK for 15 BL Lac objects(γ = 0.84,p = 3.11 × 10-4); (2) the correlation between aγ and ao for 12 BL Lac objects isγ = 0.82, p = 1.5 × 10-3; (3) there is no correlation between a7 and ax for 16 BL Lac objects. The results, together with characteristic double-humped shape of their SEDs, show that the synchrotron self-Compton mechanism might be a main mechanism for theγ-ray emission of the BL Lac objects. The electrons emitting JR and optical radiation via synchrotron are also responsible for upscattering these photons toγ-rays, and a variability in IR-optical regime should be accompanied by a change in theγ-rays.

A Quasi-periodic Oscillation of ~4.6 yr in the Radio Light Curves of Blazar PKS 0607-157

We present periodicity search analyses on long-term radio light curves at 4.8,8,and 14.5 GHz of blazar PKS 0607–157 observed by the University of Michigan Radio Astronomical Observatory telescope.The highly variable radio emissions are approximately distributed as a log-normal probability distribution function.The Power Spectral Density for the radio light curves can be well characterized by a power-law model.Using the Weighted Wavelet Z-transform and Lomb-Scargle periodogram methods,significant Quasi-periodic Oscillation(QPO)of∼4.6 yr in the radio light curve has been observed above the 3σconfidence level,which presents an interesting case among blazar QPO phenomena.We explore three plausible physical models to explain the observed QPOs:a supermassive binary black hole system,Lense-Thirring precession of the disk,and helical motion of plasma blobs within the jet.

Photometric Monitoring of Blazar 3C 66A with the Yunnan University Astronomical Observatory 1 m Telescope

3C 66A is one of our first batches of photometric monitoring objects with the 1 m optical telescope at Yunnan University Astronomical Observatory.In the present work,the observational campaign was performed from 2021 November 1 to 2022 February 27 in the Johnson-Morgan system V and R bands.The average magnitudes in each band were■=15.52±0.18 mag and■=15.07±0.17 mag.The overall variability amplitudes wereΔV=■,Amp=70.27%andΔR=■,Amp=68.56%,respectively.Most of the intraday variabilities(IDVs)occurred in 2021 December and 2022 February.The minimal rise/decay timescale was about 6 minutes(5.82±2.74 minutes and 6.18±2.81 minutes on 2022 February 11,6.99±3.70 minutes and 6.17±2.91 minutes on 2022 February 12).Durations of these rapid variabilities were from 11.99 to 179.67 minutes.The discrete correlation function analyses between V and R bands showed significantly correlated variability.Color index analysis of ID Vs showed that the spectrums do not change with variabilities.

Comprehensive Study of the Blazars from Fermi-LAT LCR: The Log-Normal Flux Distribution and Linear rms–Flux Relation

Fermi-LAT LCR provides continuous and regularly sampled gamma-ray light curves, spanning about 14 yr, for a large sample of blazars. The log-normal flux distribution and linear rms–flux relation of the light curves for a few Fermi blazars have been examined in previous studies. However, the probability that blazars exhibit the log-normal flux distribution and linear rms–flux relation in their gamma-ray light curves has not been systematically explored.In this study, we comprehensively research the distribution of γ-ray flux and the statistical characteristics on a large sample of 1414 variable blazars from the Fermi-LAT LCR catalog, including 572 FSRQs, 477 BL Lacs, and 365BCUs, and statistically compare their flux distributions with normal and log-normal distributions. The results indicate that the probability of not rejecting log-normal is 42.05% for the large sample, and there is still a 2.05%probability of not rejecting normality, based on the joint of Kolmogorov–Smirnov, Shapiro–Wilk, and Normality tests. We further find that the probability that BL Lacs conform to the log-normal distribution is higher than that of FSRQs. Besides, after removing sources with less than 200 data points from this large sample, a sample of 549blazars, which is still a large sample compared to the previous studies, was obtained. Based on dividing the light curves into segments every 20 points(or 40 points, or one year), we fitted the linear rms–flux relation of these three different sets and found that the Pearson correlation coefficients are all close to 1 for most blazars. This result indicates a strong linear correlation between the rms and the flux of these 549 blazars. The log-normal distribution and linear rms–flux relation indicate that the variability of the γ-ray flux for most blazars is a non-linear and multiplicative process.