Time-resolved multiwavelength observations of the blazar VER J0521+211 from radio to gamma-ray energies

Abstract

VER J0521+211 (RGB J0521.8+2112) is one of the brightest and most powerful blazars detected in the TeV gamma-ray regime. It is located at a redshift of z = 0:108 and since its discovery in 2009, VER J0521+211 has exhibited an average TeV flux exceeding 0.1 times that of the Crab Nebula, corresponding to an isotropic luminosity of 3-1044 erg s-1. We present data from a comprehensive multiwavelength campaign on this object extending between November 2012 and February 2014, including single-dish radio observations, optical photometry and polarimetry, UV, X-ray, GeV and TeV gamma-ray data (VERITAS, MAGIC). Significant flux variability was observed at all wavelengths, including a long-lasting high state at gamma-ray energies in Fall 2013. Nightly-resolved spectra at X-ray and TeV energies are be presented, and emission mechanisms explaining the observed flux and spectral variability are discussed.