2024/06/05 by Lei, Hai, Zhang, Ying-Kang, Jiang, Xiong +5
#FOS: Physical sciences #High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2406.03658
High-redshift (z >3) γ-ray blazars are rare, but they are crucial for our understanding of jet evolution, γ-ray production and propagation, and the growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe. A new analysis of Fermi-LAT data reveals a significant (5σ), spectrally soft (Γ≃ 3.0) γ-ray source in a specific 4-month epoch, cospatial with PKS 0201+113 (z = 3.64). Monitoring of PKS 0201+113 at 15 GHz by the Owens Valley Radio Observatory 40 m Telescope from 2008 to 2023 shows a prominent flare that dominates the radio light curve. The maximum of the radio flare coincides with the γ-ray flare, strongly suggesting an association (\textrmp-value=0.023) between the γ-ray and the radio sources. PKS 0201+113 is only the third γ-ray blazar to be identified with z> 3.5, and it is the first such object to be identified by the detection of quasi-simultaneous γ-ray and radio flares. The jet properties of this peculiar blazar have been investigated. A detailed study of a two-zone leptonic model is presented that fits the broadband spectral energy distribution. An alternative scenario is also briefly discussed.