X-ray spectral evolution of TeV BL Lacertae objects: eleven years of observations with BeppoSAX, XMM-Newton and Swift satellites

Abstract

Context. Many of the extragalactic sources detected in γ rays at TeV energies are BL Lac objects. In particular, they belong to the subclass of high frequency peaked BL Lacs (HBLs), as their spectral energy distributions exhibit a first peak in the X-ray band. At a closer look, their X-ray spectra appear to be generally curved into a log-parabolic shape. In a previous investigation of Mrk 421, two correlations were found between the spectral parameters. One involves the height S p increasing with the position Ep of the first peak; this was interpreted as a signature of synchrotron emission from relativistic electrons. The other involves the curvature parameter b decreasing as E p increases; this points toward statistical/stochastic acceleration processes for the emitting electrons. Aims. We analyse X-ray spectra of several TeV HBLs to pinpoint their behaviours in the E p - Sp and E p - b planes and to compare them with Mrk 421. Methods. We perfom X-ray spectral analyses of a sample of 15 BL Lacs. We report the whole set of observations obtained with the BeppoSAX, XMM-Newton and Swift satellites between 29/06/96 and 07/04/07. We focus on five sources (PKS 0548-322, 1H 1426+418, Mrk 501, 1ES 1959+650, PKS 2155-304) whose X-ray observations warrant detailed searching of correlations or trends. Results. Within our database, we find that four out of five sources, namely PKS 0548-322, 1H 1426+418, Mrk 501 and 1ES 1959+650, follow similar trends as Mrk 421 in the E p - S p plane, while PKS 2155-304 differs. As for the E p - b plane, all TeV HBLs follow a similar behaviour. Conclusions. The trends exhibited by Mrk 421 appear to be shared by several TeV HBLs, such as to warrant discussing predictions from the X-ray spectral evolution to that of TeV emissions.