X-Ray Polarization Variability of High Spectral Peak BL Lacertaes: Cases of 1ES 1959+650 and PKS 2155-304

Xin Ke Hu, Yu Wei Yu, Jin Zhang, Tan Zheng Wu, Ji Shun Lian, Xiang Gao Wang, Hai Ming Zhang, En Wei Liang

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3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The high-energy-peaked BL Lacertae objects (HBLs) are the main targets of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) for investigating the mechanisms of radiation and particle acceleration in jets. In this Letter, we report the first IXPE observations of two HBLs, 1ES 1959+650 and PKS 2155-304. Both sources exhibit X-ray polarization with a confidence level exceeding 99%, as well as significant variability in polarization across different time intervals and energy ranges. Notably, PKS 2155-304 demonstrates the highest X-ray polarization among all blazars detected by IXPE within its entire energy band (2-8 keV), with a polarization degree of ΠX = 21.9% ± 1.9% (MDP99 ∼ 6.0%). An even higher polarization is observed in the 3-4 keV band, reaching ΠX = 28.6% ± 2.7% (MDP99 ∼ 8.1%) with a confidence level of 10.8σ. Furthermore, no polarization is detected above the 5 keV energy band. For 1ES 1959+650, the highest detected polarization degree in the 2-8 keV band is ΠX = 12.4% ± 0.7% (MDP99 ∼ 2.2%), with an electric vector position angle (EVPA) of ψ X = 19.°7 ± 1.°6. The X-ray polarization of 1ES 1959+650 exhibits evident variability, accompanied by the variations of ψ X, flux, spectrum, and energy bin. We discuss possible implications of these observational findings, including the variability in polarization, rotation of EVPA, and transition between synchrotron and synchrotron-self-Compton. We speculate that the X-rays observed during different IXPE observations originate from distinct regions in the jet and may involve diverse mechanisms for particle acceleration.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberL41
JournalAstrophysical Journal Letters
Volume963
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2024

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