Optical spectral characterization of the gamma-ray blazars S4 0954+65, TXS 1515-273 and RX J0812.0+0237

TL;DR

This paper presents new optical spectroscopic data for three gamma-ray blazars, determining their redshifts, confirming their BL Lac classification, and analyzing their emission properties to understand their nature and emission regions.

Contribution

It provides the first redshift measurements for TXS 1515-273 and RX J0812.0+0237 and offers detailed optical spectral analysis to classify and characterize these blazars.

Findings

Redshifts determined for all three blazars.

TXS 1515-273 and RX J0812.0+0237 classified as BL Lac objects.

S4 0954+65 shows properties of a transitional blazar.

Abstract

The study of gamma-ray blazars is usually hindered due to the lack of information on their redshifts and on their low energy photon fields. This information is key to understand the effect on the gamma-ray absorption due to either extragalactic background light and/or intrinsic absorption and emission processes. All this information has also an impact on the determination of the location of the emitting region within the relativistic jets. In this work a new optical spectroscopic characterization is presented for three gamma-ray blazars: S4 0954+65, TXS 1515-273 and RX J0812.0+0237. For all the three targets the redshift determination is successful, and for the first time in the case of TXS 1515-273 and RX J0812.0+0237. Their classification as BL~Lac type is confirmed based on these new optical spectra. For S4 0954+65 (z=$0.3694\pm0.0011$) an estimation on the disk, broad line region and torus luminosities is performed based on the observed optical emission lines. The results from this study are compatible with the nature of S4 0954+65 as a transitional blazar. In the case of TXS 1515-273 ($z=0.1281\pm 0.0004$), although its optical spectrum is dominated by the continuum emission from the jet, applying the pPXF technique, the stellar population can be unveiled and is compatible with an old and metallic population. It is also the case of RX J0812.0+0237 ($z=0.1721\pm 0.0002$). Moreover, this work confirms that the optical spectrum from RX J0812.0+0237 is compatible with an extreme blazar classification.