Investigation of the Flaring Activity of BL Lac in July–November 2021

• Published in: Astronomy letters 2023-05, Vol.49 (5), p.216-228
• Main Authors: Ugol’kova, L. S., Pshirkov, M. S., Goranskij, V. P., Ikonnikova, N. P., Safonov, B. S., Tatarnikov, A. M., Shimanovskaya, E. V., Burlak, M. A., Afonina, M. D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Astronomy; Astrophysics and Astroparticles; Brightness; Flares; Fluxes; Gamma ray fluxes; Gamma rays; Infrared photometry; Linear polarization; Observations and Techniques; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Polarization; Telescopes
• ISSN: 1063-7737; 1562-6873
• DOI: 10.1134/S1063773723050067

The source BL Lac exhibited an enhanced activity from August 2020 to July 2022. This activity peaked in July–August 2021. In this period the source reached historic brightness maxima in various energy ranges. Observations of this nonstandard maximum were carried out by the SAI staff of the Crimean Station of SAI and with the telescopes of the Caucasus Mountain Observatory (CMO SAI MSU). Optical and near-infrared photometric data as well as optical polarimetric data were obtained. When investigating the correlation between the optical and gamma-ray fluxes and between the optical and infrared fluxes, its high degree with an almost zero lag was confirmed—this means that the emission regions spatially coincide or are very close together. The degree of linear polarization in the investigated period changed in a wide range, reaching 20 , with an anticorrelation between the degree of linear polarization and the brightness of the object having been observed. A similar pattern of variation was also observed in the preceding flares of this object. The changes in the electric vector position angle (EVPA) show a dependence on the rate of change of the object’s brightness. The EVPA changed greatly during flares and slowly at the times of a slow change in the intensity.