Larionov, V. M., Jorstad, S. G., Marscher, A. P., Villata, M., Raiteri, C. M., Smith, P. S., Agudo, I., Savchenko, S. S., Morozova, D. A., Acosta-Pulido, J. A., Aller, M. F., Aller, H. D., Andreeva, T. S., Arkharov, A. A., Bachev, R., Bonnoli, G., Borman, G. A., Bozhilov, V., Calcidese, P., Carnerero, M. I., Carosati, D., Casadio, C., Chen, W. -P, Damljanovic, G., Dementyev, A. V. et al. 2020. "Multiwavelength behaviour of the blazar 3C 279: decade-long study from γ-ray to radio." Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 492 3829–3848. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa082.
We report the results of decade-long (2008-2018) γ-ray to 1 GHz radio monitoring of the blazar 3C 279, including GASP/WEBT, Fermi and Swift data, as well as polarimetric and spectroscopic data. The X-ray and γ-ray light curves correlate well, with no delay ≳ 3 h, implying general cospatiality of the emission regions. The γ-ray-optical flux-flux relation changes with activity state, ranging from a linear to a more complex dependence. The behaviour of the Stokes parameters at optical and radio wavelengths, including 43 GHz Very Long Baseline Array images, supports either a predominantly helical magnetic field or motion of the radiating plasma along a spiral path. Apparent speeds of emission knots range from 10 to 37c, with the highest values requiring bulk Lorentz factors close to those needed to explain γ-ray variability on very short time-scales. The Mg II emission line flux in the `blue' and `red' wings correlates with the optical synchrotron continuum flux density, possibly providing a variable source of seed photons for inverse Compton scattering. In the radio bands, we find progressive delays of the most prominent light-curve maxima with decreasing frequency, as expected from the frequency dependence of the τ = 1 surface of synchrotron self- absorption. The global maximum in the 86 GHz light curve becomes less prominent at lower frequencies, while a local maximum, appearing in 2014, strengthens toward decreasing frequencies, becoming pronounced at ∼5 GHz. These tendencies suggest different Doppler boosting of stratified radio-emitting zones in the jet.
