The historical 1900 and 1913 outbursts of the binary blazar candidate OJ287

Hudec, R.; Bašta, Milan; Pihajoki, Pauli; Valtonen, M. J.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219323

Cited by 50 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The only exception is OJ 287 (z = 0.306), for which a regular flux brightening recurrence every ∼12 years was reported (Sillanpaa et al, 1988b;Takalo, 1994) and confirmed by the detection of 9 equally spaced maxima -of which the latest 4 are very well sampled -in the optical light curve so far (see Fig. 5; Sillanpää et al , 1996;Hudec et al, 2013;Pihajoki et al, 2013a). The period is ascribed to the presence of a binary system of massive black holes at the center of the nucleus, that produce outbursts, often accompanied by precursors, when approaching pericenter (Valtonen et al , 2008).…”

Section: Flux Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 79%

An optical view of BL Lacertae objects

Falomo

Pian²,

Treves

2014

Astron Astrophys Rev

138

109

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BL Lac objects are active nuclei, hosted in massive elliptical galaxies, the emission of which is dominated by a relativistic jet closely aligned with the line of sight. This implies the existence of a parent population of sources with a misaligned jet, that have been identified with low-power radiogalaxies. The spectrum of BL Lacs, dominated by non-thermal emission over the whole electromagnetic range, together with bright compact radio cores, high luminosities, rapid and large amplitude flux variability at all frequencies and strong polarization make these sources an optimal laboratory for high energy astrophysics. A most distinctive characteristic of the class is the weakness or absence of spectral lines, that historically hindered the identification of their nature and ever thereafter proved to be a hurdle in the determination of their distance. In this paper we review the main observational facts that contribute to the present basic interpretation of this class of active galaxies. We overview the history of the BL Lac objects research field and their population as it emerged from multi-wavelength surveys. The properties of the flux variability and polarization, compared with those at radio, X-ray and gamma-ray frequencies, are summarized together with the present knowledge of the host galaxies, their environments, and central black hole masses. We focus this review on the optical observations, that played a crucial role in the early phase of BL Lacs studies, and, in spite of extensive radio, X-ray, and recently gamma-ray observations, could represent the future major contribution to the unveiling of the origin of these sources. In particular they could provide a firm conclusion on the long debated issue of the cosmic evolution of this class of active galactic nuclei and on the connection between formation of supermassive black holes and relativistic jets.

show abstract

Section: Flux Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 79%

An optical view of BL Lacertae objects

Falomo

Pian²,

Treves

2014

Astron Astrophys Rev

138

109

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The model predicted the optical brightness level for every two-week interval from 1996 until 2030, and also explained the brightness of OJ287 at similar steps from 1900 up to 1996. Even though the number of historical data points has increased by an order of magnitude since 1995, the calculated two-week averages give a fair explanation of the past behavior (Hudec et al 2013). As to the future predictions, the two-week points have been correct from 1996 to 2010 with surprisingly small errors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

A helical jet model for OJ287

Valtonen

Pihajoki

2013

A&A

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Context. The quasar OJ287 has been under observation for over 120 years. The quasi-periodic nature of its optical light curve has led to a binary black hole model as a common explanation of the quasar. The radio jet of OJ287 has been under investigation for a shorter time, about 30 years. It has a complicated structure that varies dramatically over a time scale of a few years. Aims. Here we propose that this structure arises from a helical jet being observed from a small and varying viewing angle. The viewing angle variation is taken to be in tune with the binary orbital motion. Methods. We calculated the effect of the secondary black hole on the inner edge of the accretion disk of the primary using particle simulations. We presumed that the axis of the helix is perpendicular to the disk. We then followed the jet motion on its helical path and projected the jet to the sky plane. This projection was compared with observations both at mm waves and cm waves. Results. We find that this model reproduces the observations well if the changes in the axis of the conical helix propagate outwards with a relativistic speed of about 0.85c. In particular, this model explains at the same time the long-term optical brightness variations as varying Doppler beaming in a component close to the core, i.e., at parsec scale in real linear distance, while the mm and cm radio jet observations are explained as being due to jet wobble at much larger (100 parsec scale) distances from the core.

show abstract

“…It exhibits high levels of optical activity roughly every 12 years, which has been observed since 1888 by using old photographic plates, and more recently, via optical photometry (Sillanpää et al 1988 [1]; Hudec et al 2013 [2]). One of the key features of this activity is that it comes in pairs of outbursts which are separated by at least 1.1 years, with the separation being a function of the cycle number.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Polarization and Spectral Energy Distribution in OJ 287 during the 2016/17 Outbursts

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:We report optical photometric and polarimetric observations of the blazar OJ 287 gathered during 2016/17. The high level of activity, noticed after the General Relativity Centenary flare, is argued to be part of the follow-up flares that exhibited high levels of polarization and originated in the primary black hole jet. We propose that the follow-up flares were induced as a result of accretion disk perturbations, travelling from the site of impact towards the primary SMBH. The timings inferred from our observations allowed us to estimate the propagation speed of these perturbations. Additionally, we make predictions for the future brightness of OJ 287.

show abstract

The historical 1900 and 1913 outbursts of the binary blazar candidate OJ287

Cited by 50 publications

References 32 publications

An optical view of BL Lacertae objects

An optical view of BL Lacertae objects

A helical jet model for OJ287

Polarization and Spectral Energy Distribution in OJ 287 during the 2016/17 Outbursts

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About