Timing and spectral properties of the X-ray emission from the blazar 1ES 1426+428

• Published in: Astronomy letters 2009-09, Vol.35 (9), p.579-586
• Main Authors: Fidelis, V. V., Yakubovskyi, D. A., Voytkova, Yu. V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Astronomy; Astrophysics and Astroparticles; Earth, ocean, space; Emissions; Exact sciences and technology; Gamma rays; Observations and Techniques; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quasars; Studies; X-rays
• ISSN: 1063-7737; 1562-6873
• DOI: 10.1134/S1063773709090011

Most of the extragalactic sources from which very-high-energy (VHE, E > 10 11 eV) gamma-ray fluxes have been detected belong to the category of high-energy peaked BL Lacertae objects (HBLs)—the sources in which the synchrotron radiation peaks in the UV or X-ray band. They often have higher X-ray luminosities than the VHE gamma-ray energy output, which makes them the most valuable objects for studying the characteristic spectral and temporal variations in the region of the synchrotron peak of the spectral energy distribution. The blazar 1ES 1426+428 belonging to this category is a target of many multiwavelength studies, both orbital and ground-based ones. The properties of its X-ray emission have also been investigated using RXTE/PCA, XMM-Newton, and SWIFT observations. Archival PCA/RXTE data with a total exposure time in 2002 and 2004 of ≈120 h and the most recent available background and calibration files have been used. The extracted light curves of 1ES 1426+428 in the 2.9–24 keV energy band have shown an intense flaring activity on various time scales. Analysis of the observational data has also confirmed the spectral hardening with increasing X-ray intensity typical of blazars. The flaring state of the object is also characterized by a flat spectrum, which steepens with decreasing flux. The previously detected evidence of a spectral hysteresis in a separate flare has also been confirmed. Observations of 1ES 1426+428 with the SWIFT/XRT telescope and the EPIC instrument onboard XMM-Newton have revealed several intermediate-intensity flares in the 1.5–12 keV energy band with flux variations reaching a factor of 2, while analysis of the light curves has revealed a correlation between two components of the X-ray emission from the object.