The Redshift of the BL Lac Object TXS 0506+056

Abstract

The bright BL Lac object TXS 0506+056 is the most likely counterpart of the IceCube neutrino event EHE 170922A. The lack of this redshift prevents a comprehensive understanding of the modeling of the source. We present high signal-to-noise optical spectroscopy, in the range 4100–9000 Å, obtained at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias. The spectrum is characterized by a power-law continuum and is marked by faint interstellar features. In the regions unaffected by these features, we found three very weak (EW ∼ 0.1 Å) emission lines that we identify with [O ii ] 3727 Å, [O iii ] 5007 Å, and [N ii ] 6583 Å, yielding the redshift z  = 0.3365 ± 0.0010.