Related papers: Blue Quasars and Blazar Unification Schemes
We study the X-ray spectra of 114 flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQ) using the hardness ratios as given in the WGA catalogue of ROSAT sources. This sample includes all WGA FSRQ with high-quality data and comprises about 20 per cent of…
We discuss the relation between the power carried by relativistic jets and the nuclear power provided by accretion, for a group of blazars including FSRQs and BL Lac objects. They are characterized by good quality broad band X-ray data…
ROSAT observations of a large sample of bright gamma-ray (E > 100 MeV) blazars are presented. Results of a detailed spectral analysis in the soft $\sim$ 0.1-2.0 keV energy range are discussed in relation to the overall energy distribution…
We propose a sequence (the Blazar main sequence, BMS) that links the two main components of the Blazar class, namely, the Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars and the BL Lacertae objects, and yields all their distinctive features in a correlated…
Blazars can be divided into two subtypes, flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) and BL Lac objects, which have been distinguished phenomenologically by the strength of their optical emission lines, while their physical nature and relationship…
We present a study of a sample of 223 radio-loud quasars (up to redshift $<$0.3) in order to investigate their spectral properties. Twenty-six of these radio-loud quasars are identified as Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs) and fifty-four…
Context. Blazars are a distinct subclass of active galactic nuclei (AGN), known for their fast variability, high polarization, and intense emission across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to gamma rays. Gamma-ray blazar…
Average Spectral Energy Distributions (SED) for different subgroups of blazars are derived from available homogeneous (but small) data sets, including the gamma-ray band. Comparing Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQ) with BL Lacs extracted…
The flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) are a sub-class of blazars characterised by prominent optical emission lines and a collimated large-scale jet along the observer line of sight. An X-ray spectral flattening has been reported in FSRQs…
Blazars radiate from relativistic jets launched by a supermassive black hole along our line of sight; the subclass of FSRQs exhibits broad emission lines, a telltale sign of a gas-rich environment and high accretion rate, contrary to the…
We present the first observations at medium-hard X-rays with ASCA in 1998 August--November of four Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs), characterized by unusually steep soft X-ray spectra (photon index, \Gamma_{0.2-2.4 keV} \sim 2-2.5), as…
Many quasi-simultaneous optical observations of 17 blazars are obtained from previous papers published over the last 19 years in order to investigate the spectral slope variability and understand the radiation mechanism of blazars. The…
We started a follow-up investigation of the Deep X-ray Radio Blazar Survey objects with declination >-10 deg. We undertook a survey with the EVN at 5GHz to make the first images of a complete sample of weak blazars, aiming at a comparison…
We measure the spectral properties of a representative sub-sample of 187 quasars, drawn from the Parkes Half-Jansky, Flat-radio-spectrum Sample (PHFS). Quasars with a wide range of rest-frame optical/UV continuum slopes are included in the…
We study the BL Lac objects detected in the one year all sky survey of the Fermi satellite, with a energy spectral slope alpha_gamma in the [0.1-100 GeV] band greater than 1.2. In the alpha_gamma vs gamma-ray luminosity plane, these BL Lacs…
In this study, we analyze the $\sim 16$ yr Fermi-LAT data of 160 blazars consisting of 92 flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), 64 BL Lacertae type objects (BL Lacs), and 4 blazar candidates of unknown type objects (BCU), and exhibit their…
We present simultaneous optical and X-ray data from Swift for a sample of FSRQs selected from the EMSS survey. We present also a complete analysis of Swift and INTEGRAL data on 4 blazars recently discussed as possibly challenging the trends…
Multi-Messenger observations and theory of astrophysical objects is fast becoming a critical research area in the astrophysics scientific community. In particular, point-like objects like that of BL Lac, flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQ),…
We used the data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope to characterise the {\gamma}-ray flux variability of blazars on month-like time scales. Our sample consists of 1120 blazars of which 481 are flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) and…
Blazars constitute the most enigmatic class of extragalactic gamma-ray sources, and their observational features have been ascribed to a relativistic jet closely aligned to the line of sight. They are generally divided in two main classes:…