The $\gamma$-ray sky seen at X-ray energies I. Searching for the connection between X-rays and $\gamma$-rays in Fermi BL Lac objects

TL;DR

This study investigates the relationship between X-ray and gamma-ray emissions in BL Lac objects, finding most gamma-ray sources have X-ray counterparts but no direct flux correlation, suggesting complex emission mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive analysis of X-ray and gamma-ray emission links in a large sample of BL Lac objects using archival Swift/XRT and Fermi data.

Findings

96% of Fermi BL Lacs above a certain gamma-ray flux have X-ray counterparts.

No clear correlation between X-ray and gamma-ray fluxes or spectral shapes.

X-ray flux correlates with mid-infrared color, indicating a connection to emission mechanisms.

Abstract

BL Lac objects are an extreme type of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that belong to the largest population of $\gamma$-ray sources: blazars. This class of AGNs shows a double-bumped spectral energy distribution that is commonly described in terms of a synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission process, whereas the low-energy component that dominates their emission between the infrared and the X-ray band is tightly connected to the high-energy component that peaks in the $\gamma$-rays. Two strong connections that link radio and mid-infrared emission of blazars to the emission in the $\gamma$-ray band are well established. They constitute the basis for associating $\gamma$-ray sources with their low-energy counterparts. We searched for a possible link between X-ray and $\gamma$-ray emissions for the subclass of BL Lacs using all archival Swift/XRT observations combined with Fermi data for a selected sample of 351 sources. Analyzing $\sim$2400 ks of Swift/XRT observations that were carried out until December 2018, we discovered that above the $\gamma$-ray flux threshold $F_{\gamma}\approx3\times10^{-12}\,\rm{erg}\,\rm{cm}^{-2}\,\rm{s}^{-1}$, 96\% of all \emph{Fermi} BL Lacs have an X-ray counterpart that is detected with signal-to-noise ratio higher than 3. We did not find any correlation or clear trend between X-ray and $\gamma$-ray fluxes and/or spectral shapes, but we discovered a correlation between the X-ray flux and the mid-infrared color. Finally, we discuss on a possible interpretation of our results in the SSC framework.