A two-component model for the high-energy variability of blazars. Application to PKS 2155-304

REYNOSO, M. M; ROMERO, M. C.; MEDINA, M. C.

ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS

EDP SCIENCES S A

Lugar: Paris; Año: 2012 vol. 545 p. 1 - 9

0004-6361

Aims: We study the production of very-high-energy emission in blazars as a superposition of a steady component from a baryonic jet and a time-dependent contribution from an inner e-e+ beam launched by the black hole. Methods: Both primary relativistic electrons and protons are injected in the jet, and the particle distributions along it are found by solving a one-dimensional transport equation that accounts for convection and cooling. The short-timescale variability of the emission is explained by local pair injections in turbulent regions of the inner beam. Results: For illustration, we apply the model to the case of PKS 2155-304, reproducing a quiescent state of emission with inverse Compton and synchrotron radiation from primary electrons, as well as proton-proton interactions in the jet. The latter also yield an accompanying neutrino flux that could be observed with a new generation km-scale detector in the northern hemisphere such as KM3NeT.