Probing the Gamma-Ray Emission Region of Five TeV Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars

Abstract

The location of γ-ray emission of blazars remains a contested topic, inspiring the development of numerous investigative techniques to address this issue. In this work, we analyzed Fermi γ-ray light curves in the GeV and MeV bands, employing the discrete cross-correlation function method to discern time lags between the two bands. For 4C +21.35, Ton 599, B2 1420+32, and PKS 1510-089, we identified a time lag spanning several days, while for PKS 1441+25, the time lag was not statistically found. The results imply that the soft photons necessary for inverse Compton scattering predominantly originate from the dusty torus in the first four sources, whereas for PKS 1441+25, they seem to be sourced mainly from the broad-line region. Further analysis of the opacity (τ γ γ ) and the GeV spectra study supports the conclusion that the location of the dissipation region must be beyond the BLR to avoid significant absorption. Notably, for PKS 1441+25, the emission region is also posited to lie outside yet proximate to the BLR. The parameters of describing the emission region were obtained by fitting broadband spectral energy distribution with contemporaneous observation data. Our findings suggest that for the five TeV FSRQs, during TeV flaring events, the jet appears to maintain an equilibrium between the energy density of the magnetic field and that of the particles for all investigated sources, with the exceptions of 4C +21.35 and PKS 1441+25. In terms of the overall jet power, particle energy is the dominant contributor, and the observed blazar radiation cannot be solely attributed to the magnetic field, except in the case of 4C +21.35. Consequently, magnetic reconnection is unlikely to be the primary mechanism behind particle acceleration in these systems.