The red blazar PMN J2345−1555 becomes blue

Abstract

Abstract The flat spectrum radio quasar PMN J2345−1555 is a bright γ-ray source, that recently underwent a flaring episode in the infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV) and γ-ray bands. The flux changed quasi-simultaneously at different frequencies, suggesting that it was produced by a single population of emitting particles, hence by a single and well-localized region of the jet. While the overall spectral energy distribution (SED) before the flare was typical of powerful blazars (namely two broad humps peaking in the far-IR and below 100 MeV bands, respectively), during the flare the peaks moved to the optical–UV and to energies larger than 1 GeV, to resemble low power BL Lac objects, even if the observed bolometric luminosity increased by more than one order of magnitude. We interpret this behaviour as due to a change of the location of the emission region in the jet, from within the broad-line region, to just outside. The corresponding decrease of the radiation energy density as seen in the comoving frame of the jet allowed the relativistic electrons to be accelerated to higher energies, and thus produce a ‘bluer’ SED.