2025ApJ...988..268L


Query : 2025ApJ...988..268L

2025ApJ...988..268L - Astrophys. J., 988, 268 (2025/August-1)

Two-component γ-Ray Emission Spectrum and X-Ray Polarization of the Radio Galaxy Pictor A.

LI J.-X., HU X.-K., LIAN J.-S., YU Y.-W., DENG W., LIU K., ZHANG H.-M., CHEN L. and ZHANG J.

Abstract (from CDS):

Pictor A is a γ-ray emitting radio galaxy and has a bright hotspot called the western hotspot (WHS), located ∼4' away from the nucleus. In this work, we present an analysis of its 16 yr Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data and report the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) observations for this source. Our analysis of the Fermi-LAT observations reveals evidence of two components in the average γ-ray spectrum of Pictor A, exhibiting a statistically significant hardening from Γγ,1 = 3.25 ± 0.15 to Γγ,2 = 1.81 ± 0.07 at a break energy of 2.46 ± 0.09 GeV. Notably, variability of γ-rays is evident in Pictor A, predominantly driven by the component below the break energy, while the component above the break energy remains stable. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that a power-law function provides an adequate fit for the high-flux-state spectrum, while a broken-power-law function remains necessary to accurately model the low-flux-state spectrum. We suggest that the low-energy component originates from the nucleus, while the high-energy component primarily stems from WHS. The broadband spectral energy distributions of both nucleus and WHS can be well represented by a simple leptonic model, with both γ-ray components attributed to the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) process. Analysis of IXPE data provides upper limits on the polarization degree of ΠX < 6.6% for the nucleus and ΠX < 56.4% for the WHS within the 2-8 keV band. For the nucleus, this result aligns with X-ray emission originating from the SSC process. However, the upper limit of ΠX < 56.4% for WHS is insufficient to conclusively determine the X-ray emission mechanism in this region.

Abstract Copyright: © 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

Journal keyword(s): Relativistic jets - Radio galaxies - Non-thermal radiation sources - Spectropolarimetry - X-ray active galactic nuclei

Simbad objects: 6

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Number of rows : 6
N Identifier Otype ICRS (J2000)
RA
ICRS (J2000)
DEC
Mag U Mag B Mag V Mag R Mag I Sp type #ref
1850 - 2026
#notes
1 NGC 1316 rG 03 22 41.789 -37 12 29.52 9.81 9.15 8.53 7.66   ~ 1491 1
2 QSO B0514-459 Bla 05 15 45.2501347656 -45 56 43.198786536   18.18 17.5 17.31   ~ 132 1
3 ESO 252-18A Sy1 05 19 49.7229323856 -45 46 43.852662732   15.73 15.77 14.85   ~ 714 0
4 M 87 AGN 12 30 49.42338414 +12 23 28.0436859 10.16 9.59 8.63   7.49 ~ 7815 3
5 NAME Centaurus A BLL 13 25 27.61521044 -43 01 08.8050291   8.18 6.84 6.66   ~ 4774 3
6 NGC 6251 Bla 16 32 31.96989253 +82 32 16.3999044 15.24 14.66 12.89 7.62   ~ 772 1

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