First detection of VHE gamma-ray signal from the FSRQ TON 0599

TL;DR

This paper reports the first detection of VHE gamma-ray emission from the FSRQ TON 0599, analyzing its spectral and temporal properties, and modeling its broadband emission with a leptonic scenario.

Contribution

First VHE gamma-ray detection of TON 0599, providing insights into its emission zone and spectral evolution during a flare.

Findings

VHE gamma-ray emission detected with MAGIC in December 2017.

Spectral connection between VHE and HE gamma-ray bands observed.

Emission zone likely beyond the broad line region, with spectral cutoff around 50 GeV.

Abstract

TON\,0599 (z=0.7247) belongs to the few flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) detected in the very high energy (VHE, $E > 100$\,GeV) gamma-ray band. Its redshift makes it currently one of the farthest VHE gamma-ray sources. It was detected for the first time with the MAGIC telescopes on 2017 December 15, and observed until December 29. The flux reached a maximum of about 50 per cent of the Crab Nebula flux above 80 GeV on the second night of observation, after which we witnessed a gradual decrease of the flux. The VHE gamma-ray spectrum connects smoothly to the one in the high energy ($E > 100$\,MeV) band obtained from simultaneous observations with {\textit Fermi}-LAT. It features a cut-off at energies around 50\,GeV, indicating the location of the gamma-ray emission zone beyond the broad line region. In addition, we were able to follow the spectral evolution during the fading phase of the flare. Multiwavelength analysis based on observations in optical, near-infrared, and radio bands acquired by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) Collaboration from November to March, as well as observations in X-ray and optical--UV bands with instruments on board the \textit{Swift} satellite, shows strong correlation between different bands. We model the broadband emission with a simple one-zone leptonic model, where the high-energy peak is predominantly produced by external Compton (EC) scattering of photons from the dusty torus.