Detection of gamma-ray flare from FSRQ OP 313 with MACE Telescope
ATel #17003; Nijil Mankuzhiyil on behalf of MACE Team (BARC Mumbai)
on 30 Jan 2025; 04:04 UT
Credential Certification: Nijil Mankuzhiyil (nijil@barc.gov.in)
Subjects: Gamma Ray, TeV, VHE, AGN, Blazar
The MACE telescope reports the detection of very-high-energy gamma-ray flare from the flat spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ) OP 313 (R.A. = 197.61943 deg, Dec. = +32.34549 deg, J2000.0, redshift z = 0.997) above 80 GeV. The MACE observations were carried out on 2025/01/26, following recent detection of strong gamma-ray activity from this source by Fermi-LAT (Atel #16970) and MAGIC (Atel #16977).
The preliminary analysis of the data from MACE revealed gamma-ray flare from OP 313 with a statistical significance of 5.8 standard deviations in ~2.5 hours of observations, corresponding to ~40% Crab Nebula flux above 80 GeV. MACE observed OP 313 on 27th and 28th January 2025 also. However, the data analysis is delayed due to technical issues in data transfer from the observatory.
The detection of enhanced gamma-ray activity was also reported by VERITAS (ATel #16993) and MAGIC (Atel #17000). Additionally, optical outbursts associated with this source have also been reported (Atel #16979, #16991).
MACE, a 21m-diameter imaging atmospheric cherenkov telescope is located at Hanle, Ladakh. MACE will continue to monitor OP 313 in coming days. Further, multi-wavelength observations are strongly encouraged.