The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2023)

Multiwavelength Observations of the Blazar PKS 0735+178 in Spatial and Temporal Coincidence with an Astrophysical Neutrino Candidate IceCube-211208A

  • A. Acharyya,
  • C. B. Adams,
  • A. Archer,
  • P. Bangale,
  • J. T. Bartkoske,
  • P. Batista,
  • W. Benbow,
  • A. Brill,
  • J. H. Buckley,
  • J. L. Christiansen,
  • A. J. Chromey,
  • M. Errando,
  • A. Falcone,
  • Q. Feng,
  • G. M. Foote,
  • L. Fortson,
  • A. Furniss,
  • G. Gallagher,
  • W. Hanlon,
  • D. Hanna,
  • O. Hervet,
  • C. E. Hinrichs,
  • J. Hoang,
  • J. Holder,
  • T. B. Humensky,
  • W. Jin,
  • P. Kaaret,
  • M. Kertzman,
  • M. Kherlakian,
  • D. Kieda,
  • T. K. Kleiner,
  • N. Korzoun,
  • S. Kumar,
  • M. J. Lang,
  • M. Lundy,
  • G. Maier,
  • C. E McGrath,
  • M. J. Millard,
  • J. Millis,
  • C. L. Mooney,
  • P. Moriarty,
  • R. Mukherjee,
  • S. O’Brien,
  • R. A. Ong,
  • M. Pohl,
  • E. Pueschel,
  • J. Quinn,
  • K. Ragan,
  • P. T. Reynolds,
  • D. Ribeiro,
  • E. Roache,
  • I. Sadeh,
  • A. C. Sadun,
  • L. Saha,
  • M. Santander,
  • G. H. Sembroski,
  • R. Shang,
  • M. Splettstoesser,
  • A. Kaushik Talluri,
  • J. V. Tucci,
  • V. V. Vassiliev,
  • A. Weinstein,
  • D. A. Williams,
  • S. L. Wong,
  • J. Woo,
  • The VERITAS Collaboration,
  • F. Aharonian,
  • J. Aschersleben,
  • M. Backes,
  • V. Barbosa Martins,
  • R. Batzofin,
  • Y. Becherini,
  • D. Berge,
  • K. Bernlöhr,
  • B. Bi,
  • M. Böttcher,
  • C. Boisson,
  • J. Bolmont,
  • M. de Bony de Lavergne,
  • J. Borowska,
  • M. Bouyahiaoui,
  • F. Bradascio,
  • M. Breuhaus,
  • R. Brose,
  • F. Brun,
  • B. Bruno,
  • T. Bulik,
  • C. Burger-Scheidlin,
  • S. Caroff,
  • S. Casanova,
  • R. Cecil,
  • J. Celic,
  • M. Cerruti,
  • T. Chand,
  • S. Chandra,
  • A. Chen,
  • J. Chibueze,
  • O. Chibueze,
  • G. Cotter,
  • S. Dai,
  • J. Damascene Mbarubucyeye,
  • A. Djannati-Ataï,
  • A. Dmytriiev,
  • V. Doroshenko,
  • S. Einecke,
  • J.-P. Ernenwein,
  • G. Fichet de Clairfontaine,
  • M. Filipovic,
  • G. Fontaine,
  • M. Füßling,
  • S. Funk,
  • S. Gabici,
  • S. Ghafourizadeh,
  • G. Giavitto,
  • D. Glawion,
  • J. F. Glicenstein,
  • P. Goswami,
  • G. Grolleron,
  • L. Haerer,
  • J. A. Hinton,
  • T. L. Holch,
  • M. Holler,
  • D. Horns,
  • M. Jamrozy,
  • F. Jankowsky,
  • V. Joshi,
  • I. Jung-Richardt,
  • E. Kasai,
  • K. Katarzyński,
  • R. Khatoon,
  • B. Khélifi,
  • S. Klepser,
  • W. Kluźniak,
  • K. Kosack,
  • D. Kostunin,
  • R. G. Lang,
  • S. Le Stum,
  • A. Lemière,
  • J.-P. Lenain,
  • F. Leuschner,
  • T. Lohse,
  • A. Luashvili,
  • I. Lypova,
  • J. Mackey,
  • D. Malyshev,
  • V. Marandon,
  • P. Marchegiani,
  • A. Marcowith,
  • G. Martí-Devesa,
  • R. Marx,
  • A. Mitchell,
  • R. Moderski,
  • L. Mohrmann,
  • A. Montanari,
  • E. Moulin,
  • T. Murach,
  • K. Nakashima,
  • J. Niemiec,
  • A. Priyana Noel,
  • P. O’Brien,
  • L. Olivera-Nieto,
  • E. de Ona Wilhelmi,
  • M. Ostrowski,
  • S. Panny,
  • M. Panter,
  • G. Peron,
  • D. A. Prokhorov,
  • G. Pühlhofer,
  • M. Punch,
  • A. Quirrenbach,
  • P. Reichherzer,
  • A. Reimer,
  • O. Reimer,
  • H. Ren,
  • M. Renaud,
  • F. Rieger,
  • B. Rudak,
  • E. Ruiz-Velasco,
  • V. Sahakian,
  • A. Santangelo,
  • M. Sasaki,
  • J. Schäfer,
  • F. Schüssler,
  • H. M. Schutte,
  • U. Schwanke,
  • J. N. S. Shapopi,
  • A. Specovius,
  • S. Spencer,
  • Ł. Stawarz,
  • R. Steenkamp,
  • S. Steinmassl,
  • I. Sushch,
  • H. Suzuki,
  • T. Takahashi,
  • T. Tanaka,
  • R. Terrier,
  • C. van Eldik,
  • M. Vecchi,
  • J. Veh,
  • C. Venter,
  • J. Vink,
  • R. White,
  • A. Wierzcholska,
  • Yu Wun Wong,
  • M. Zacharias,
  • D. Zargaryan,
  • A. A. Zdziarski,
  • A. Zech,
  • S. Zouari,
  • N. Żywucka,
  • The H.E.S.S. Collaboration,
  • K. Mori

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ace327
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 954, no. 1
p. 70

Abstract

Read online

We report on multiwavelength target-of-opportunity observations of the blazar PKS 0735+178, located 2.°2 away from the best-fit position of the IceCube neutrino event IceCube-211208A detected on 2021 December 8. The source was in a high-flux state in the optical, ultraviolet, X-ray, and GeV γ -ray bands around the time of the neutrino event, exhibiting daily variability in the soft X-ray flux. The X-ray data from Swift-XRT and NuSTAR characterize the transition between the low-energy and high-energy components of the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED), and the γ -ray data from Fermi-LAT, VERITAS, and H.E.S.S. require a spectral cutoff near 100 GeV. Both the X-ray and γ -ray measurements provide strong constraints on the leptonic and hadronic models. We analytically explore a synchrotron self-Compton model, an external Compton model, and a lepto-hadronic model. Models that are entirely based on internal photon fields face serious difficulties in matching the observed SED. The existence of an external photon field in the source would instead explain the observed γ -ray spectral cutoff in both the leptonic and lepto-hadronic models and allow a proton jet power that marginally agrees with the Eddington limit in the lepto-hadronic model. We show a numerical lepto-hadronic model with external target photons that reproduces the observed SED and is reasonably consistent with the neutrino event despite requiring a high jet power.

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