B2 1420 + 32 is a changing blazer, study finds

An international team of astronomers has made a multi-wave photometric and spectroscopic view of a blazar called a B2 1420 + 32. which is. The results are reported in a paper published on March 15 on arXiv.org.

Blazars, classified as members of a larger group of active galaxies that host an active galactic nucleus (AGN), are the most abundant extragalactic gamma-ray sources. Their distinctive features are relevant jets that are identified almost directly on Earth. Based on their optical transmission properties, astronauts divide blazars into two classes: flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) in which visible and wide optical transmission lines, and BL Lacertae (BL Lacs) objects, which do not.

One of the most common features of AGNs is high frequency variation on multiple time ranges. However, the mechanisms behind this variability remain a matter of debate. Suggested explanations include changes in dust extinction, changes in dispersion from the collection disc or associated compression regions, stellar tidal disturbances, supernovae in the nuclear regions, and even gravitational microlensing. .

AGNs are divided into several broad categories, including Type I (also known as quasars, Seyfert I) which show a blue continuum from a collection disk and broad distribution lines created by photoionization and Type II (or Seyfert II), which show only narrow lines and or continuous variability. Some AGNs move from one class to another and are therefore called “variable-view” sources. Studying variable sight onions in blazars can provide a useful insight into understanding the origin and acceleration of radio jets grains.

Now, a group of astronauts led by Hora D. Mishra of the University of Oklahoma is reporting the discovery of a new, changing blazer. Using mainly the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT), they found that the B2 1420 + 32 blazer, at a refraction of 0.682 and with a black mass of about 400 million solar supplies, ‘moving back and forth between the FSRQ spectrum optical and the BL Lac spectrum several times, while also developing new celestial features.

“Our multivariate and spectroscopic study observations show that B2 1420 + 32 exhibits spatial and temporal variability,” the researchers wrote in the paper.

The study found that B2 1420 + 32 exhibits large-scale spectral variability in both continuous and linear transmission, along with dramatic gamma-ray and optical variability, on week-to-month timeframes.

According to the paper, the gamma-ray and optical currents increased by 1500 factors (8 mags) and 40 (4 mags), respectively, between 2016 and 2019. The astronomers noted that the range of optical variability has been seen as never before, as the unique optical flower is augmented by a factor of 100 (5 mags) compared to observations made in 1995.

Overall, the researchers concluded that B2 1420 + 32 is a variable blazar that switches between FSRQ and BL Lac due to dramatic changes in the jet continuum fl ux weakening properties. the line. They confirmed that, as in B2 1420 + 32, no previous variability was previously observed in any blazer.

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