Through The Ring Of Fire: $\gamma$-Ray Variability In Blazars By A Moving Plasmoid Passing A Local Source Of Seed Photons

TL;DR

This paper models orphan gamma-ray flares in blazars by simulating a moving plasmoid passing through a seed photon source, supported by VLBA polarimetry, to explain isolated high-energy variability.

Contribution

It introduces a numerical model of blazar gamma-ray variability involving a propagating plasmoid and a jet sheath, explaining orphan flares with observational support.

Findings

Synthetic light curves match observed orphan flare in PKS 1510-089.

Polarimetric data supports the existence of a jet sheath as seed photon source.

Estimated sheath luminosity suggests it significantly contributes seed photons.

Abstract

Blazars exhibit flares across the electromagnetic spectrum. Many $\gamma$-ray flares are highly correlated with flares detected at optical wavelengths; however, a small subset appears to occur in isolation, with little or no variability detected at longer wavelengths. These "orphan" $\gamma$-ray flares challenge current models of blazar variability, most of which are unable to reproduce this type of behavior. We present numerical calculations of the time-variable emission of a blazar based on a proposal by Marscher et al. (2010) to explain such events. In this model, a plasmoid ("blob") propagates relativistically along the spine of a blazar jet and passes through a synchrotron-emitting ring of electrons representing a shocked portion of the jet sheath. This ring supplies a source of seed photons that are inverse-Compton scattered by the electrons in the moving blob. The model includes the effects of radiative cooling, a spatially varying magnetic field, and acceleration of the blob's bulk velocity. Synthetic light curves produced by our model are compared to the observed light curves from an orphan flare that was coincident with the passage of a superluminal knot through the inner jet of the blazar PKS 1510$-$089. In addition, we present Very Long Baseline Array polarimetric observations that point to the existence of a jet sheath in PKS 1510$-$089, thus providing further observational support for the plausibility of our model. An estimate of the bolometric luminosity of the sheath within PKS 1510$-$089 is made, yielding $L_{\rm sh} \sim 3 \times 10^{45} ~ \rm erg ~ \rm s^{-1}$. This indicates that the sheath within PKS 1510$-$089 is potentially a very important source of seed photons.