Fermi gamma-ray space telescope observations of gamma-ray outbursts from 3C 454.3 in 2009 december and 2010 april

The flat spectrum radio quasar 3C 454.3 underwent an extraordinary outburst in 2009 December when it became the brightest γ -ray source in the sky for over 1 week. Its daily flux measured with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope at photon energiesE > 100 MeV reached F100 = 22 ± 1 × 10 ^-6 photon cm^-2 s^-1, representing the highest daily flux of any blazar ever recorded in high-energy γ -rays. It again became the brightest source in the sky in 2010 April, triggering a pointed-mode observation by Fermi. The correlated γ -ray temporal and spectral properties during these exceptional events are presented and discussed. The main results show flux variability over time scales less than 3 hr and very mild spectral variability with an indication of gradual hardening preceding major flares. The light curves during periods of enhanced activity in 2008 July-August and 2010 December show strong resemblance, with a flux plateau of a few days preceding the major flare. No consistent loop pattern emerged in the γ -ray spectral index versus the flux plane as would be expected in acceleration and cooling scenarios. The maximum energy of a photon from 3C 454.3 is ≈20 GeV and a minimum Doppler factor of ≈13 is derived. The γ -ray spectrum of 3C 454.3 shows a significant spectral break between ≈2 and 3 GeV that is very weakly dependent on the flux state, even when the flux changes by an order of magnitude.