What can we learn from high energy flares in the Fermi sample of FSRQs : from a case study to dozens of objects

¹ INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziale, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Rome, Italy
² INAF-Oservatorio Astronomico di Brera, via E. Bianchi 46, I-23807, Merate, Italy
³ INFN sez. Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Rome, Italy
⁴ INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, via P. Giuria 1, I-10125 Torino, Italy

^a. e-mail: luigi.pacciani@iaps.inaf.it

Published online: 9 December 2013

Abstract

In 2008 the flat spectrum radio quasar GB6 J1239+0443 (z=1.762), underwent an high activity period at all wavelengths. In particular, at optical-uv wavelengths, the source underwent a flux enhancement of a factor 15–30 in 6 years, and >10 in half a year, showing a transition from accretion disk to synchrotron jet dominated emission. During the flare, Fermi observed a flat gamma-ray spectrum, extended up to 15 GeV, with no statistically-significant absorption from the broad line region (BLR), suggesting that the blazar-zone is located beyond it. We obtained the same findings from the modeling of the broad-band spectral energy distribution for the flaring activity periods, which is well constrained by the multiwavelength data collected, and from the accretion disk luminosity and black hole mass that we estimated from the archival data. Other authors suggested that 4C +21.35, PMN J2345-1555, and 3C 279 underwent high energy flares originating from outside or just beyond the BLR.We report here the first results obtained in our study, while we will report the results on the complete sample in a forthcoming paper where we will show the multiwavelength spectra on a dozen of FSRQ which we propose radiate gamma-rays far from the central SMBH, and we will discuss the scenarios originating from this result.