Multiband Optical Photometric and Spectroscopic Monitoring of the 2024 Flare Event in Transition Blazar OP313
TianFang Zhang, Mitsuru Kokubo, Mamoru Doi, Haruna Hagio, Hibiki Seki, Ichiro Takahashi, Katsuhiro L. Murata, Kazuya Matsubayashi, Keisuke Isogai, Koji Kawabata, Mahito Sasada, Masafumi Niwano, Masaki Hashizume, Megumi Shidatsu, Narikazu Higuchi, Ryo Imazawa, Shigeaki Joshima, Shigeyuki Sako, Shunsuke Hayatsu, Yoichi Yatsu, Wataru Iwakiri, Yoshiyuki Kubo
Published: 2025/10/1
Abstract
Blazars are active galactic nuclei known for their extreme variability, offering unique opportunities to study jet physics and high-energy emission mechanisms. In 2024, the Flat Spectrum Radio Quasar (FSRQ) OP313 underwent a remarkable flare event, during which the gamma-ray flux observed by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi/LAT) increased by a factor of 60 over its average value. The flare peak lasted less than two days. Using optical telescopes, we conducted 100-day time-scale observations. Multi-wavelength data revealed that OP313 entered an active state 50 days prior to the flare and remained active for at least 50 days afterward. We propose that this prolonged activity results from variations in electron density within the shock front due to changes in the accretion rate. Concurrently, OP313's spectrum transitioned from an FSRQ-like state to a BL Lac-like state, characterized by a significant increase in the synchrotron peak frequency and the disappearance of broad-line region emission lines. In the post-flare phase, we observed a decoupling between synchrotron radiation and inverse Compton scattering, along with a possible decrease in the magnetic field strength within the shock front.