CTA 102 -- year over year receiving you
M. Zacharias, M. Boettcher, F. Jankowsky, J.-P. Lenain, S.J. Wagner,, A. Wierzcholska

TL;DR
This paper analyzes the prolonged high-activity state of the FSRQ CTA 102, attributing the peak gamma-ray and optical fluxes to gas cloud ablation by the jet, and contextualizes this within a two-year high-state period.
Contribution
It introduces the cloud-ablation scenario as an explanation for CTA 102's extended high-activity state and provides a detailed interpretation of the observed lightcurve.
Findings
Peak activity linked to gas cloud ablation by the jet
Two-year high-state characterized by increased flux and variability
Contextualization of the activity within a broader high-state period
Abstract
The FSRQ CTA 102 (z=1.032) has been tremendously active over the last few years. During its peak activity lasting several months in late 2016 and early 2017, the gamma-ray and optical fluxes rose by up to a factor 100 above the quiescence level. We have interpreted the peak activity as the ablation of a gas cloud by the relativistic jet, which can nicely account for the months-long lightcurve in 2016 and 2017. The peak activity was in the middle of a 2-year-long high-state, which was characterized by increased fluxes and increased rms variability compared to the previous low-states, and which was flanked by two bright flares. In this presentation, we put the cloud-ablation scenario into the broader context of the 2-year-long high-state.
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena · Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae · Radiation Therapy and Dosimetry
