Distance estimation of gamma-ray emitting BL Lac objects from imaging observations

TL;DR

This study develops a method to estimate the distances of gamma-ray emitting BL Lac objects by detecting their host galaxies through deep imaging, providing redshift constraints even when spectroscopic methods are ineffective.

Contribution

It introduces a novel imaging redshift technique using host galaxy detection as a standard candle, applicable to BL Lac objects with featureless spectra.

Findings

Redshifts for 9 out of 17 blazars were estimated.

The imaging redshift methods are consistent with other approaches.

Combined constraints narrow down the redshift for the most distant source.

Abstract

Direct redshift determination of BL Lac objects is highly challenging as the emission in the optical and near-infrared (NIR) bands is largely dominated by the non-thermal emission from the relativistic jet that points very close to our line of sight. Therefore, their optical spectra often show no emission lines from the host galaxy. In this work, we aim to overcome this difficulty by attempting to detect the host galaxy and derive redshift constraints based on assumptions on the galaxy magnitude ("imaging redshifts"). Imaging redshifts are derived by obtaining deep optical images under good seeing conditions, so that it is possible to detect the host galaxy as weak extension of the point-like source. We then derive the imaging redshift by using the host galaxy as a standard candle using two different methods. We determine imaging redshift for 9 out of 17 blazars that we observed as part of this program. The redshift range of these targets is 0.28-0.60 and the two methods used to derive the redshift give very consistent results within the uncertainties. We also performed a detailed comparison of the imaging redshifts with those obtained by other methods, like direct spectroscopic constraints or looking for groups of galaxies close to the blazar. We show that the constraints from different methods are consistent and that for example in the case of J2156.0+1818, which is the most distant source for which we detect the host galaxy, combining the three constraints narrows down the redshift to $0.63<z<0.71$. This makes the source interesting for future studies of extragalactic background light in the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory era.