Gamma-ray flares from the jet of the blazar CTA 102 in 2016-2018

TL;DR

This study analyzes multi-wavelength observations of the blazar CTA 102 from 2016-2018, revealing that gamma-ray flares are likely caused by shock interactions in the jet, with emission sites varying over time.

Contribution

It provides a detailed multi-wavelength analysis linking gamma-ray flares to shock interactions and multiple emission sites in CTA 102's jet, advancing understanding of flare origins.

Findings

Gamma-ray and optical/X-ray emissions are nearly simultaneous, indicating a common origin.

Radio and gamma-ray emissions show variable time lags, suggesting multiple emission sites.

Gamma-ray flares are associated with shock-shock interactions in the jet.

Abstract

CTA 102 is a $\gamma$-ray bright blazar that exhibited multiple flares in observations by the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope during the period of 2016-2018. We present results from the analysis of multi-wavelength light curves aiming at revealing the nature of $\gamma$-ray flares from the relativistic jet in the blazar. We analyse radio, optical, X-ray, and $\gamma$-ray data obtained in a period from 2012 September 29 to 2018 October 8. We identify six flares in the $\gamma$-ray light curve, showing a harder-when-brighter-trend in the $\gamma$-ray spectra. We perform a cross-correlation analysis of the multi-wavelength light curves. We find nearly zero time lags between the $\gamma$-ray and optical and X-ray light curves, implying a common spatial origin for the emission in these bands. We find significant correlations between the $\gamma$-ray and radio light curves as well as negative/positive time lags with the $\gamma$-ray emission lagging/leading the radio during different flaring periods. The time lags between $\gamma$-ray and radio emission propose the presence of multiple $\gamma$-ray emission sites in the source. As seen in 43 GHz images from the Very Long Baseline Array, two moving disturbances (or shocks) were newly ejected from the radio core. The $\gamma$-ray flares from 2016 to 2017 are temporally coincident with the interaction between a traveling shock and a quasi-stationary one at $\sim$0.1 mas from the core. The other shock is found to emerge from the core nearly simultaneous with the $\gamma$-ray flare in 2018. Our results suggest that the $\gamma$-ray flares originated from shock-shock interactions.