The physical properties of candidate neutrino-emitter blazars

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Azzollini, Alessandra, Buson, Sara, Coleiro, Alexis, de Clairfontaine, Gaëtan Fichet, Pfeiffer, Leonard, Zaballa, Jose Maria Sanchez, Boughelilba, Margot, Lincetto, Massimiliano
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866914016824131584
author Azzollini, Alessandra
Buson, Sara
Coleiro, Alexis
de Clairfontaine, Gaëtan Fichet
Pfeiffer, Leonard
Zaballa, Jose Maria Sanchez
Boughelilba, Margot
Lincetto, Massimiliano
author_facet Azzollini, Alessandra
Buson, Sara
Coleiro, Alexis
de Clairfontaine, Gaëtan Fichet
Pfeiffer, Leonard
Zaballa, Jose Maria Sanchez
Boughelilba, Margot
Lincetto, Massimiliano
contents The processes governing the production of astrophysical high-energy neutrinos are still debated, and the sources originating them remain an open question. Among the putative emitters, active galactic nuclei have gained increasing attention. Blazars, in particular, stand out due to their ability to accelerate particles in environments with external radiation fields. Recent observations suggest they may contribute to the neutrino flux detected by IceCube. We study the physical properties of a subsample of 52 blazars proposed as candidate neutrino emitters, based on a positional cross-correlation analysis between IceCube hotspots and the 5BZCat catalog. We aim to provide a first characterization of their central engines and physical nature, to explore the potential link with neutrino production. We analyze the optical spectroscopic properties of the 52 candidate neutrino-emitter blazars to infer their accretion regime. The study is complemented by radio and $γ$-ray data, which trace the intrinsic jet power. We compare the sample to other blazar populations in the literature, perform statistical tests, and explore, through simulations, the applicability of methods that include censored data. Overall, the target sample shows properties compatible with the reference samples. We observe a mild tendency to prefer objects with intense radiation fields, typical of radiatively efficient accretors, and high radio power. Among them, 24 are detected by Fermi-LAT, spanning various $γ$-ray luminosities. We also show that statistical tests commonly used in the literature need to be handled with caution, as they are sensitive to the number of censored data and the sample size.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_03613
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The physical properties of candidate neutrino-emitter blazars
Azzollini, Alessandra
Buson, Sara
Coleiro, Alexis
de Clairfontaine, Gaëtan Fichet
Pfeiffer, Leonard
Zaballa, Jose Maria Sanchez
Boughelilba, Margot
Lincetto, Massimiliano
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies
The processes governing the production of astrophysical high-energy neutrinos are still debated, and the sources originating them remain an open question. Among the putative emitters, active galactic nuclei have gained increasing attention. Blazars, in particular, stand out due to their ability to accelerate particles in environments with external radiation fields. Recent observations suggest they may contribute to the neutrino flux detected by IceCube. We study the physical properties of a subsample of 52 blazars proposed as candidate neutrino emitters, based on a positional cross-correlation analysis between IceCube hotspots and the 5BZCat catalog. We aim to provide a first characterization of their central engines and physical nature, to explore the potential link with neutrino production. We analyze the optical spectroscopic properties of the 52 candidate neutrino-emitter blazars to infer their accretion regime. The study is complemented by radio and $γ$-ray data, which trace the intrinsic jet power. We compare the sample to other blazar populations in the literature, perform statistical tests, and explore, through simulations, the applicability of methods that include censored data. Overall, the target sample shows properties compatible with the reference samples. We observe a mild tendency to prefer objects with intense radiation fields, typical of radiatively efficient accretors, and high radio power. Among them, 24 are detected by Fermi-LAT, spanning various $γ$-ray luminosities. We also show that statistical tests commonly used in the literature need to be handled with caution, as they are sensitive to the number of censored data and the sample size.
title The physical properties of candidate neutrino-emitter blazars
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.03613