PKS2005-489 at VHE: Four years of monitoring with HESS and simultaneous multi-wavelength observations

Abstract

Aims: Our aim is to study the very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) Γ-ray emission from BL Lac objects and the evolution in time of their broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED). Methods: VHE observations of the high-frequency peaked BL Lac object PKS 2005-489 were made with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) from 2004 through 2007. Three simultaneous multi-wavelength campaigns at lower energies were performed during the HESS data taking, consisting of several individual pointings with the XMM-Newton and RXTE satellites. Results: A strong VHE signal, ∼17ρ total, from PKS 2005-489 was detected during the four years of HESS observations (90.3 h live time). The integral flux above the average analysis threshold of 400 GeV is ∼3% of the flux observed from the Crab Nebula and varies weakly on time scales from days to years. The average VHE spectrum measured from ∼300 GeV to ∼5 TeV is characterized by a power law with a photon index, Γ = 3.20 ± 0.16stat ± 0.10syst At X-ray energies the flux is observed to vary by more than an order of magnitude between 2004 and 2005. Strong changes in the X-ray spectrum (ΔΓX ≈ 0.7) are also observed, which appear to be mirrored in the VHE band. Conclusions: The SED of PKS 2005-4 constructed for the first time with contemporaneous data on both humps, shows significant evolution. The large flux variations in the X-ray band, coupled with weak or no variations in the VHE band and a similar spectral behavior, suggest the emergence of a new, separate, harder emission component in September 2005. © 2010 ESO.