Using the SED to locate the Gamma-ray emission site of powerful blazars

TL;DR

This paper introduces a diagnostic method linking observable properties of blazars to determine whether their gamma-ray emission originates near the broad line region or farther out at the molecular torus, aiding understanding of emission site locations.

Contribution

The paper presents a new diagnostic connecting observable spectral features to the gamma-ray emission site in blazars, enabling better localization of emission regions.

Findings

Preliminary results support the diagnostic's effectiveness.

Method can distinguish emission sites based on multiwavelength data.

Potential to understand how emission location varies with source power.

Abstract

The location of the Gamma-ray emission of powerful blazars is a matter of active debate. Is the location within the UV emitting sub-pc scale broad line region, or farther out at pc scales where the molecular torus IR emission dominates? We present a diagnostic that connects three observables, the synchrotron and external Compton peak frequencies and the Compton dominance (the ratio of Compton to synchrotron luminosity) to the seed photon energy and energy density. We discuss encouraging preliminary results and discuss how to use our diagnostic to understand the location of the Gamma-ray emission as a function of source power through the use of multiwavelength observations.