# The Synchrotron Peak Shift during High-Energy Flares of Blazars

## 1 Introduction

66 blazar-type AGNs have been detected by the EGRET instrument on board the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory as sources of $`\gamma `$-rays above 100 MeV (Hartman et al. 1999). These objects are identified with flat-spectrum radio sources classified as BL Lac objects or flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs). Many of these objects exhibit variability at all wavelengths, generally with the most rapid variability, on time scales of hours to days, observed at the highest $`\gamma `$-ray energies (e.g., Bloom et al. 1997; Wagner et al. 1995; Mukherjee et al. 1997). The broadband (radio–$`\gamma `$-ray) emission from blazars is most probably emitted via nonthermal synchrotron radiation and Comptonization of soft photons by energetic particles in relativistic outflows powered by accreting supermassive black holes. Potential sources of soft photons which are Compton-scattered to produce the $`\gamma `$-ray emission include internal synchrotron photons (e.g., Marscher & Gear 1985, Maraschi et al. 1992, Bloom & Marscher 1996), jet synchrotron radiation rescattered by circumnuclear material (Ghisellini & Madau 1996, Bednarek 1998, Böttcher & Dermer 1998), and accretion-disk radiation which enters the jet directly (Dermer & Schlickeiser 1993) and/or after being scattered by surrounding BLR clouds and circumnuclear debris (e.g., Sikora, Begelman & Rees 1994; Blandford & Levinson 1995; Dermer, Sturner, & Schlickeiser 1997; Protheroe & Biermann 1997).

In recent years, extensive simultaneous broadband observations of blazars have enabled detailed modeling of their broadband spectra. A general result of these modeling efforts appears to be that the spectra of high-frequency peaked BL Lac objects (HBLs) are well reproduced using a synchrotron-self Compton (SSC) model, where the radio through X-ray radiation is produced by nonthermal synchrotron radiation of ultrarelativistic electrons and the $`\gamma `$-ray emission, extending in some cases up to TeV energies, results from Compton scattering of the synchrotron radiation by the same population of electrons (e. g., Mastichiadis & Kirk 1997 for Mrk 421, Pian et al. 1998 for Mrk 501). However, a critical question in this case is whether the primary acceleration mechanism is able to accelerate electrons up to the required ultrarelativistic energies, which are $`1`$ TeV if the recent HEGRA detection of $`>25`$ TeV photons from Mrk 501 (Aharonian et al. 1999) is real. On the other hand, FSRQs are more successfully modeled assuming that the soft seed photons for Comptonization are external to the jet (EC for external Comptonization; e. g., Dermer et al. 1997 for 3C 273, Sambruna et al. 1997 and Mukherjee et al. 1999 for PKS 0528+134, Böttcher et al. 1997 for 3C 279).

There appears to be a more or less continuous sequence of spectral properties of different objects, HBL $``$ LBL $``$ FSRQ, characterized by increasing $`\gamma `$-ray luminosity, increasing dominance of the energy output in the $`\gamma `$-ray component over the synchrotron component, and a shift of the peaks in the $`\nu F_\nu `$ spectra of both components towards lower energies. This sequence can be understood in terms of increasing dominance of the EC over the SSC mechanism (Fossati et al. 1997, Ghisellini et al. 1998). Recently, Böttcher & Collmar (1998) and Mukherjee et al. (1999) have suggested that in the case of FSRQs a similar sequence might also occur between different intensity states of the same object, and have applied this idea to the various states of PKS 0528+134. There, it was assumed that the high states of PKS 0528+134 are characterized by a high bulk Lorentz factor of the ultrarelativistic material in the jet, implying that the external radiation field is more strongly boosted into the comoving rest frame than during the quiescent state. This effect, leading to a stronger dependence of the EC radiation on the Doppler factor than of the SSC radiation, was first pointed out by Dermer (1995).

In Fig. 1, the fit results to two extreme states of PKS 0528+134 from Mukherjee et al. (1999) are compared. The figure reveals an important prediction of the model adopted in that paper: During the $`\gamma `$-ray high state we expect that the synchrotron spectrum peaks at lower frequencies than in the low state. Unfortunately, the peaks of the $`\nu F_\nu `$ synchrotron spectra of most FSRQs are in the infrared and thus very hard to observe. For this reason, the results of detailed modeling of the synchrotron component of an FSRQ have to be regarded with caution since in most cases the shape of the synchrotron spectrum is not well enough constrained to allow an exact determination of jet parameters. Note, for example, that in Ghisellini et al. (1998) in many cases the 9-parameter model adopted there is used to effectively fit less than 10 data points, and that the model IR – optical spectra of PKS 0528+134 calculated in Mukherjee et al. (1999) for several observing periods are extremely poorly constrained. In the very low $`\gamma `$-ray states of PKS 0528+134 (VPs 39, 337, and 616), even the $`\gamma `$-ray spectrum is very poorly constrained.

Therefore it is important to demonstrate that the predicted synchrotron peak shift does not depend on the details of the adopted jet model and is not a consequence of fine-tuning of parameters. In Section 2, I will present an analytical estimate of the synchrotron peak shift on the basis of very simple, general arguments. In Section 3, several FSRQs are suggested as promising candidates to test the prediction made in this Letter. I summarize in Section 4.

## 2 Estimate of the synchrotron peak shift

The shift of the $`\nu F_\nu `$ peak of the synchrotron spectrum during a $`\gamma `$-ray flare of an FSRQ will be determined on the basis of the following general assumptions: (a) The $`\gamma `$-ray flare is predominantly caused by an enhancement of the energy density $`u_{ext}^{}`$ of external photons in the rest frame comoving with a component (blob) of ultrarelativistic material moving along the jet. This enhancement can be caused by an increasing bulk Lorentz factor $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ of the jet material. We have $`u_{ext}^{}=\mathrm{\Gamma }^2u_{ext}`$. (b) The electrons in the blob have a non-thermal distribution with a peak at the energy $`\gamma _b`$ which is determined by the balance of an energy-independent acceleration rate $`\dot{\gamma }_{acc}`$ to the radiative energy loss rate (cf. Ghisellini et al. 1998). (c) During a flare, the radiative energy loss rate of relativistic electrons in the blob is dominated by Compton scattering of external photons in the Thomson regime.

The assumptions (b) and (c) imply that $`\gamma _b\dot{\gamma }_{acc}^{1/2}u_{ext}^{1/2}\mathrm{\Gamma }^1`$. The jets of blazars are directed at a small angle $`\theta \mathrm{\Gamma }^1`$ with respect to our line of sight. Thus, to a good approximation, the Doppler factor $`\delta =\left(\mathrm{\Gamma }[1\beta _\mathrm{\Gamma }\mathrm{cos}\theta ]\right)^1\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Then, the observed peak of the synchrotron component depends on the bulk Lorentz factor and the external photon density as

$$ϵ_{sy}B^{}\gamma _b^2\mathrm{\Gamma }\dot{\gamma }_{acc}B^{}u_{ext}^1\mathrm{\Gamma }^1,$$
(1)   
where $`B^{}`$ is the magnetic field strength in the comoving frame. The apparent bolometric luminosity in the synchrotron component varies acording to

$$L_{sy}B_{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}\mathrm{\Gamma }^4\gamma _b^2\dot{\gamma }_{acc}B_{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}\mathrm{\Gamma }^2u_{ext}^1.$$
(2)   
A plausible way to estimate the magnetic field strength might be the assumption of equipartition of magnetic field energy density to the energy density of ultrarelativistic electrons in the jet. However, our conclusions do not depend on the particular choice of $`B^{}`$. If equipartition applies, then $`B^{}\dot{\gamma }_{acc}^{1/4}u_{ext}^{1/4}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{1/2}`$, and Eqs.(1) and (2) become (the superscript $`ep`$ denotes the equipartition case)

$$ϵ_{sy}^{ep}\dot{\gamma }_{acc}^{5/4}u_{ext}^{5/4}\mathrm{\Gamma }^{3/2}$$
(3)   
and

$$L_{sy}^{ep}\dot{\gamma }_{acc}^{3/2}u_{ext}^{3/2}\mathrm{\Gamma }.$$
(4)   
Assuming Thomson scattering at the $`\nu F_\nu `$ peak of the Compton component (this is a reasonable assumption for the peak at several MeV – 10 GeV, while beyond that energy Klein-Nishina effects may become important), the $`\gamma `$-ray spectrum peaks at

$$ϵ_Cϵ_{ext}\gamma _b^2\mathrm{\Gamma }^2ϵ_{ext}\dot{\gamma }_{acc}u_{ext}^1$$
(5)   
where $`ϵ_{ext}`$ is the mean photon energy of the external photon field in the stationary frame of the AGN. The apparent bolometric luminosity in the Compton component depends on $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ and $`u_{ext}`$ through

$$L_Cu_{ext}\mathrm{\Gamma }^6\gamma _b^2\dot{\gamma }_{acc}\mathrm{\Gamma }^4,$$
(6)   
independent of the external photon density. Remarkably, this implies that an enhancement of the external photon density $`u_{ext}`$, e. g., due to structural changes of the circumnuclear material does not produce a $`\gamma `$-ray flare, although it leads to spectral variability, shifting both spectral components to lower frequencies.

Now let us consider the effect of a variation of the bulk Lorentz factor as a possible cause of a $`\gamma `$-ray flare. Eqs. (1), (3), and (5) predict a shift of the synchrotron peak to lower frequencies, while the $`\gamma `$-ray peak should remain at basically the same photon energy. The ratio of the luminosities in both components varies according to $`L_C/L_{sy}\mathrm{\Gamma }^2u_{ext}B_{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}`$ or $`L_C/L_{sy}^{ep}\mathrm{\Gamma }^3u_{ext}^{3/2}\dot{\gamma }_{acc}^{1/2}`$, respectively. If $`u_{ext}`$ and $`\dot{\gamma }_{acc}`$ remain constant and equipartition applies, this yields a variation $`L_C(L_{sy}^{ep})^4`$, thus predicting a much stronger relative variation of the two spectral components than predicted by the SSC model which was ruled out for 3C 279 for this reason by the observation of a variation of the $`\gamma `$-ray component by amplitudes greater than the square of the amplitudes of variation of the synchrotron component (Wehrle et al. 1998).

The synchrotron peak is still shifted to lower energies even if the increase of the bulk Lorentz factor is physically related to a more efficient particle acceleration in the comoving frame, as long as during the flare the product $`\dot{\gamma }_{acc}\mathrm{\Gamma }^1`$ is lower than during the quiescent state. In this case, Eqs. (1), (3), and (5) predict that the $`\gamma `$-ray spectrum becomes spectrally harder, while at the same time the synchrotron peak shifts to lower energies. In fact, spectral hardening of the $`\gamma `$-ray spectrum during flares is a common feature in EGRET-detected FSRQs (e. g., Collmar et al. 1997, Hartman et al. 1996, Wehrle et al. 1998).

This flaring behavior is in qualitative contrast to the flares observed in HBLs where a shift of both the synchrotron and the Compton peaks to higher frequencies is observed (e. g., Catanese et al. 1997, Pian et al. 1998, Kataoka et al. 1999). These objects are believed to be qualitatively different from FSRQs because (a) the broad-line regions surrounding the central engine are weak or absent and the isotropic luminosity of the central accretion disk is generally weaker than in quasars, implying that the external soft photon field is much weaker than in the FSRQ case and hence negligible compared to the intrinsic synchrotron radiation field, and (b) Compton scattering events near the $`\nu F_\nu `$ peak of the $`\gamma `$-ray spectrum most probably occur in the extreme Klein-Nishina regime, thus rendering Compton cooling rather inefficient. The flaring behavior of these sources seems to be dominated by an enhanced efficiency of electron acceleration in the jet which shifts both spectral components towards higher photon energies (Mastichiadis & Kirk 1997, Pian et al. 1998).

Therefore, I propose that the qualitatively different behavior of the synchrotron peak during a $`\gamma `$-ray flare may serve as a diagnostic to determine the dominant electron cooling and radiation mechanism at $`\gamma `$-ray energies.

## 3 Candidate sources

As mentioned earlier, most of the bright and well-observed FSRQs (e. g., PKS 0528+134: Mukherjee et al. 1996, or 3C 279: Wehrle et al. 1998) have their synchrotron peak in the infrared where it is very hard to observe. Fig. 3 of Werhle et al. (1998) seems to indicate a shift of the synchrotron peak of 3C 279 to lower frequencies during the 1996 flare state. However, the peak frequency range is not covered in any of the observing periods presented there. Thus, the determination of the peak frequency from the existing data on 3C 279 would necessarily be model dependent.

A much more promising candidate to test the predictions presented in this Letter is its “sister” source 3C 273 (von Montigny et al. 1997). This source appears to be ideal for such a study for several reasons. (1) It is a very bright radio and IR source, persistently detectable from radio through IR and optical frequencies. (2) During flares it is a strong EGRET source, allowing an easy detection of a $`\gamma `$-ray flare even with the degraded sensitivity of EGRET. (3) The strong big blue bump yields a very exact determination of the luminosity ($`310^{46}`$ erg s<sup>-1</sup>) and spectrum of the underlying accretion disc of the AGN which facilitates the normalization of model calculations.

In Fig. 2, the simultaneous radio spectra of three epochs before, during, and after the prominent $`\gamma `$-ray flare of 3C 273 in 1993 November (von Montigny et al. 1997) are presented. A comparison of the flare-state radio spectrum (open circles connected by solid lines) to the pre-flare and post-flare spectra seems to indicate a softening of the synchrotron spectrum during the flare, in perfect agreement with the expectation if the $`\gamma `$-rays are produced by the EC mechanism.

At frequencies above 100 GHz, the radio spectra shown in Fig. 2 are simultaneous to within 1 day. However, the radio spectrum shortly (i. e. a few days) prior to the 1993 $`\gamma `$-ray flare was not monitored simultaneously with reasonable spectral coverage at $`>100`$ GHz. The pre-flare period closest to the 1993 $`\gamma `$-ray flare for which such a simultaneous radio spectrum was available, was about 100 days before the flare. At that time, 3C273 was not in the field of view of EGRET so that we can not be sure that the source was in its quiescent state. Furthermore, the broadband spectrum of 3C273 shown in von Montigny et al. (1997) and in Kubo et al. (1998) suggests that the actual synchrotron peak is located at higher frequencies, $`\nu _{sy}10^{13}`$ Hz, which have not been monitored in regular, short time intervals in the von Montigny et al. (1997) campaign.

Therefore, although this result seems very promising, it needs more solid confirmation by future broadband campaigns with good spectral and temporal coverage of the $`100`$ GHz – $`10^{14}`$ Hz frequency range in order to allow a reliable, model-independent determination of the synchrotron peak of precisely simultaneous snapshot spectra in different $`\gamma `$-ray states of the source.

In order to test the predictions presented here, it is particularly important that the synchrotron spectrum prior to a $`\gamma `$-ray flare is known. An apparent shift of the synchrotron peak towards higher frequencies following a $`\gamma `$-ray flare is also predicted by alternative models, for example by the Marscher & Gear (1985) SSC model where a radio flare is delayed with respect to an outburst at $`\gamma `$-rays due to the finite synchrotron cooling time of electrons in the jet.

A few other FSRQs also emit a high flux at multi-GHz frequencies and might therefore allow the precise determination of the synchrotron peak and its shift during $`\gamma `$-ray flares in future campaigns. In particular, PKS 0420-014 (Radecke et al. 1995, von Montigny et al. 1995), PKS 0521-365 (Pian et al. 1996), and 3C454.3 (= PKS 2251+158; von Montigny et al. 1995) have successfully been observed with near-complete frequency coverage of their synchrotron peak, located at $`10^{12}`$$`10^{13}`$ Hz. These sources may serve as test cases for the predictions presented in this Letter.

## 4 Summary

On the basis of very general arguments I have shown that the synchrotron $`\nu F_\nu `$ peak in the broadband spectra of EGRET-detected FSRQs is expected to shift towards lower frequencies during $`\gamma `$-ray flares, if Comptonization of external radiation is the dominant electron cooling and radiation mechanism at $`\gamma `$-ray energies. This behavior is qualitatively different from most probably SSC-dominated HBLs where both the synchrotron and the $`\gamma `$-ray component shift towards higher frequencies during the flare state. I propose this qualitative difference as a new diagnostic tool to distinguish between the two competing radiation mechanisms potentially responsible for the production of $`\gamma `$-rays in the jets of blazars. Results of a broadband campaign on 3C 273 have been used to support the prediction of the external-Comptonization model, but future campaigns with more continuous frequency and temporal coverage in the radio – IR spectral range are needed to draw solid conclusions. Other promising candidates for such campaigns include the FSRQs PKS 0420-014, PKS 0521-365, and 3C454.3.

I thank R. Mukherjee and P. Sreekumar for valuable discussions, drawing my attention to this problem, and for useful comments on the manuscript. I also thank the referee, S. D. Bloom, for very useful suggestions. This work was supported by NASA grant NAG 5-4055.