The long-lasting activity in the flat spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ) CTA 102
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Date
2019Author
Zacharias, Michael
Böttcher, Markus
Jankowsky, Felix
Lenain, Jean-Philippe
Wagner, Stefan J.
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The flat spectrum radio quasar CTA 102 ( z=1.032 ) went through a tremendous phase of variability. Since early 2016 the gamma-ray flux level has been significantly higher than in previous years. It was topped by a four month long giant outburst, where peak fluxes were more than 100 times higher than the quiescence level. Similar trends are observable in optical and X-ray energies. We have explained the giant outburst as the ablation of a gas cloud by the relativistic jet that injects additional matter into the jet and can self-consistently explain the long-term light curve. Here, we argue that the cloud responsible for the giant outburst is part of a larger system that collides with the jet and is responsible for the years-long activity in CTA 102
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http://hdl.handle.net/10394/32383https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/7/1/34/pdf
https://doi.org/10.3390/galaxies7010034