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A change in the optical polarization associated with a γ-ray flare in the blazar 3C 279

  • A. A. Abdo
  • , M. Ackermann
  • , M. Ajello
  • , M. Axelsson
  • , L. Baldini
  • , J. Ballet
  • , G. Barbiellini
  • , D. Bastieri
  • , B. M. Baughmanl
  • , K. Bechtol
  • , R. Bellazzini
  • , B. Berenji
  • , R. D. Blandford
  • , E. D. Bloom
  • , D. C.J. Bock
  • , J. R. Bogart
  • , E. Bonamente
  • , A. W. Borgland
  • , A. Bouvier
  • , J. Bregeon
  • A. Brez, M. Brigida, P. Bruel, T. H. Burnett, S. Buson, G. A. Caliandro, R. A. Cameron, P. A. Caraveo, J. M. Casandjian, E. Cavazzuti, C. Cecchi, Ö Çelik, A. Chekhtman, C. C. Cheung, J. Chiang, S. Ciprini, R. Claus, J. Cohen-Tanugi, W. Collmar, L. R. Cominsky, J. Conrad, S. Corbel, R. Corbet, L. Costamante, S. Cutini, C. D. Dermer, A. De Angelis, F. De Palma, S. W. Digel, E. Do Couto E Silva, P. S. Drell, R. Dubois, D. Dumora, C. Farnier, C. Favuzzi, S. J. Fegan, E. C. Ferrara, W. B. Focke, P. Fortin, M. Frailis, L. Fuhrmann, Y. Fukazawa, S. Funk, P. Fusco, F. Gargano, D. Gasparrini, N. Gehrels, S. Germani, B. Giebels, N. Giglietto, P. Giommi, F. Giordano, M. Giroletti, T. Glanzman, G. Godfrey, I. A. Grenier, J. E. Grove, L. Guillemot, S. Guiriec, Y. Hanabata, A. K. Harding, M. Hayashida, E. Hays, D. Horan, R. E. Hughes, G. Iafrate, R. Itoh, M. S. Jackson, G. Jóhannesson, A. S. Johnson, W. N. Johnson, M. Kadler, T. Kamae, H. Katagiri, J. Kataoka, N. Kawai, M. Kerr, J. Knödlseder, M. L. Kocian, M. Kuss, J. Lande, S. Larsson, L. Latronico, M. Lemoine-Goumard, F. Longo, F. Loparco, B. Lott, M. N. Lovellette, P. Lubrano, J. MacQuart, G. M. Madejski, A. Makeev, W. Max-Moerbeck, M. N. Mazziotta, W. McConville, J. E. McEnery, S. McGlynn, C. Meurer, P. F. Michelson, W. Mitthumsiri, T. Mizuno, A. A. Moiseev, C. Monte, M. E. Monzani, A. Morselli, I. V. Moskalenko, S. Murgia, I. Nestoras, P. L. Nolan, J. P. Norris, E. Nuss, T. Ohsugi, A. Okumura, N. Omodei, E. Orlando, J. F. Ormes, D. Paneque, J. H. Panetta, D. Parent, V. Pavlidou, T. J. Pearson, V. Pelassa, M. Pepe, M. Pesce-Rollins, F. Piron, T. A. Porter, S. Rainò, R. Rando, M. Razzano, A. Readhead, A. Reimer, O. Reimer, T. Reposeur, L. C. Reyes, J. L. Richards, L. S. Rochester, A. Y. Rodriguez, M. Roth, F. Ryde, H. F.W. Sadrozinski, D. Sanchez, A. Sander, P. M. Saz Parkinson, J. D. Scargle, C. Sgrò, M. S. Shaw, C. Shrader, E. J. Siskind, D. A. Smith, P. D. Smith, G. Spandre, P. Spinelli, L. Stawarz, M. Stevenson, M. S. Strickman, D. J. Suson, H. Tajima, H. Takahashi, T. Takahashi, T. Tanaka, G. B. Taylor, J. B. Thayer, J. G. Thayer, D. J. Thompson, L. Tibaldo, D. F. Torres, G. Tosti, A. Tramacere, Y. Uchiyama, T. L. Usher, V. Vasileiou, N. Vilchez, V. Vitale, A. P. Waite, P. Wang, A. E. Wehrle, B. L. Winer, K. S. Wood, T. Ylinen, J. A. Zensus, M. Ziegler, M. Uemura, Y. Ikejiri, K. S. Kawabata, M. Kino, K. Sakimoto, M. Sasada, S. Sato, M. Yamanaka, M. Villata, C. M. Raiteri, I. Agudo, H. D. Aller, M. F. Aller, E. Angelakis, A. A. Arkharov, U. Bach, E. Bený́tez, A. Berdyugin, D. A. Blinov, M. Boettcher, C. S. Buemi, W. P. Chen, M. Dolci, D. Dultzin, N. V. Efimova, M. A. Gurwell, C. Gusbar, J. L. Gómez, J. Heidt, D. Hiriart, T. Hovatta, S. G. Jorstad, T. S. Konstantinova, E. N. Kopatskaya, E. Koptelova, O. M. Kurtanidze, A. Lahteenmaki, V. M. Larionov, E. G. Larionova, P. Leto, H. C. Lin, E. Lindfors, A. P. Marscher, I. M. McHardy, D. A. Melnichuk, M. Mommert, K. Nilsson, A. Di Paola, R. Reinthal, G. M. Richter, M. Roca-Sogorb, P. Roustazadeh, L. A. Sigua, L. O. Takalo, M. Tornikoski, C. Trigilio, I. S. Troitsky, G. Umana, C. Villforth, K. Grainge, R. Moderski, K. Nalewajko, M. Sikora
  • Naval Research Laboratory
  • National Research Council
  • Stanford University
  • Stockholm University
  • Oskar Klein Centre
  • Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa
  • Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CNRS and CEA
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  • University of Trieste
  • University of Padova
  • Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA)
  • University of California, Berkeley
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  • University of Perugia
  • Politecnico di Bari
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  • INAF Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica, Milan
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  • INAF Istituto di Radioastronomia
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  • Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg
  • Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU) Erlangen-Nürnberg and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen
  • Universities Space Research Association
  • Waseda University
  • Tokyo Institute of Technology
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Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

It is widely accepted that strong and variable radiation detected over all accessible energy bands in a number of active galaxies arises from a relativistic, Doppler-boosted jet pointing close to our line of sight. The size of the emitting zone and the location of this region relative to the central supermassive black hole are, however, poorly known, with estimates ranging from light-hours to a light-year or more. Here we report the coincidence of a gamma (γ)-ray flare with a dramatic change of optical polarization angle. This provides evidence for co-spatiality of optical and γ-ray emission regions and indicates a highly ordered jet magnetic field. The results also require a non-axisymmetric structure of the emission zone, implying a curved trajectory for the emitting material within the jet, with the dissipation region located at a considerable distance from the black hole, at about 10 5 gravitational radii.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)919-923
Number of pages5
JournalNature
Volume463
Issue number7283
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Feb 2010

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