Temporal and Spectral Analysis of 1ES 2344+514 in Two Flaring States Observed by VERITAS

TL;DR

This study analyzes the temporal and spectral characteristics of the blazar 1ES 2344+514 during two distinct flaring episodes observed by VERITAS, providing detailed multiwavelength light curves and spectra to understand its variability.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed temporal and spectral analysis of 1ES 2344+514 during two recent flaring states with extensive VERITAS monitoring.

Findings

Detected significant flux increases during both flares.

Provided detailed multiwavelength light curves.

Characterized spectral changes between flare and pre-flare states.

Abstract

VERITAS observed the bright blazar 1ES 2344+514 during two flaring periods, one from Dec. 17 to Dec. 18, 2015 (MJD 57373-57374) with a peak flux of ~60% of the Crab and another from Nov. 28 to Dec. 3, 2021 (MJD 59546-59551) with a peak flux of ~20% of the Crab. This blazar, located at a redshift of z = 0.044, is classified as an extreme high-frequency-peaked BL Lacertae object (HBL). It is known to be variable, including several previous day-scale flares: Whipple on Dec. 20, 1995, VERITAS on Dec. 7, 2007, and MAGIC on Aug. 11, 2016. The VERITAS near-nightly monitoring of 1ES 2344+514 during the 2015-2016 and 2021-2022 seasons provides good coverage of the pre- and post-flare flux as well as the rise/fall time of the flares. We present the multiwavelength light curves of each flare as well as the very high-energy spectra in the two flare states and the two pre-flare states.