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Main Authors: Wierzcholska, Alicja, Siejkowski, Hubert
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.15465
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author Wierzcholska, Alicja
Siejkowski, Hubert
author_facet Wierzcholska, Alicja
Siejkowski, Hubert
contents X-ray observations are essential to achieve a deeper understanding of the broadband emission mechanism in blazars. Here, we present a long-term spectral and temporal analysis of X-ray and optical observations of 1E 0229+200 collected with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from 2008 to 2024, complemented by hard X-ray observations from the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array NuSTAR. The blazar 1ES 0229+200 is a high-frequency, peaked BL Lac object, known for its exceptionally hard very high-energy (VHE) $γ$-ray spectrum extending up to 10 TeV. In August 2021, NuSTAR observed the source in a low X-ray state, revealing a concave spectral shape with a distinct upturn around 25 keV. This feature contrasts with previous observations performed with NuSTAR and Swift-BAT, which showed no such spectral upturn. Previous observations of 1ES 0229+200 and broadband SED (spectral energy distribution) modelling suggest that its X-ray emission extends beyond 100 keV without a significant cutoff. The newly detected spectral upturn may indicate a transition between the synchrotron and inverse Compton components or could be linked to photohadronic processes involving high-energy neutrinos. We discuss the implications of this finding in the context of blazar spectral energy distributions, particularly the potential existence of a third SED bump in the kiloelectronvolt to megaelectronvolt range. The observed spectral features support the hypothesis that 1ES 0229+200 could be a source of high-energy neutrino emission.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_15465
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Disentangling two spectral components in the X-ray emission of the blazar 1ES 0229+200
Wierzcholska, Alicja
Siejkowski, Hubert
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
X-ray observations are essential to achieve a deeper understanding of the broadband emission mechanism in blazars. Here, we present a long-term spectral and temporal analysis of X-ray and optical observations of 1E 0229+200 collected with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory from 2008 to 2024, complemented by hard X-ray observations from the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array NuSTAR. The blazar 1ES 0229+200 is a high-frequency, peaked BL Lac object, known for its exceptionally hard very high-energy (VHE) $γ$-ray spectrum extending up to 10 TeV. In August 2021, NuSTAR observed the source in a low X-ray state, revealing a concave spectral shape with a distinct upturn around 25 keV. This feature contrasts with previous observations performed with NuSTAR and Swift-BAT, which showed no such spectral upturn. Previous observations of 1ES 0229+200 and broadband SED (spectral energy distribution) modelling suggest that its X-ray emission extends beyond 100 keV without a significant cutoff. The newly detected spectral upturn may indicate a transition between the synchrotron and inverse Compton components or could be linked to photohadronic processes involving high-energy neutrinos. We discuss the implications of this finding in the context of blazar spectral energy distributions, particularly the potential existence of a third SED bump in the kiloelectronvolt to megaelectronvolt range. The observed spectral features support the hypothesis that 1ES 0229+200 could be a source of high-energy neutrino emission.
title Disentangling two spectral components in the X-ray emission of the blazar 1ES 0229+200
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.15465