XMM–NuSTAR Observation and Multiwavelength Spectral Energy Distribution Modeling of Blazar 4FGL J1520.8–0348

Abstract

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) can power relativistic jets, which are called blazars when pointed close to our line of sight. Depending on the presence or absence of emission lines in their optical spectra, blazars are categorized into flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) or BL Lacertae (BL Lac) objects. According to the “blazar sequence,” as synchrotron peak frequency ( νpksy ) shifts to higher energies, the synchrotron peak luminosity decreases. This means that BL Lac objects as luminous as FSRQs, and with synchrotron peak frequencies νpksy>1015 Hz, should not exist. Detected as a high-synchrotron peak (HSP; νpksy>1015 Hz) BL Lac object, 4FGL J1520.8-0348 shows high γ-ray luminosity (L γ > 1046 erg s−1), being at a high redshift of z = 1.46. Since it is an outlier in the “blazar sequence,” the process of its jet acceleration and power may be different from bona fide BL Lac objects. In this work, we constrain its spectral energy distribution (SED) by modeling the multiwavelength data from infrared to γ-ray regime. Simultaneous X-ray data were obtained from X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission and Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array to constrain the synchrotron emission and underlying electron distribution. On undertaking the SED modeling of the source, including the effect of extragalactic background light, we conclude that the source is more likely to be a “blue FSRQ” or “masquerading BL Lac” where the BL Lac object is actually an FSRQ in disguise.