Multiwavelength polarization observations of IXPE blazars

This is a 32-hour polarimetric monitoring of 13 Very High Energy (VHE) $\gamma$-ray emitting blazars. The result will provide simultaneous optical data to directly support the VHE $\gamma$-ray data obtained with our blazar monitoring programs at MAGIC and LST-1. Due to the highly magnetized nature of blazar jets, multiwavelength polarization studies are considered to be effective in trying to answer some of the biggest open questions in AGN physics, namely: Do low and high energy emissions originate from the same region in the jet? What mechanisms/models are responsible for the emissions and particle accelerations? Do blazar subclasses show different polarization behaviors? Our results from this monitoring program in conjunction with VHE $\gamma$-ray and X-ray monitoring data are essential to answer these questions.

Monitoring program

The OB generator will be used to request all ToO observations. Scripts to perform all the requested operations will be automatically created and placed in the directory ~/scripts/67-015/. An email will be sent automatically to the observer, which contains all the information about the requested observations, the names and locations of the scripts, instructions for observing and comments from the creator of the trigger.
To summarise:

Go to the directory
  cd ~/scripts/71-003
List the available scripts
  ls -lrt

and execute the OB generated scripts requested in the trigger email.

Program Tracking
Proposal	71-003
Semester	P71: 20250401 - 20251001
Principal Investigator	Pouya M. Kouch
Programme	Multiwavelength polarization observations of IXPE blazars
Instrument	ALFOSC
Time Allocation	To be scheduled close to IXPE dates
Total Nights	35h
Type	Monitoring
Notes
Total Time Spent	03:53 (hh:mm)

Proposal	Date	Time	Type	Targets	Files	Comments	Status
71-003	2025-04-03	00:00	Monitoring	-	-	No observations due to weather.	Failed
71-003	2025-04-04	00:32	Monitoring	ON325, ON231, 1ES1218+304, Mrk501, 1ES1959+650	ALId040116 - ALId040140	Clear skies and seeing between 1.0''-1.2''	Observed
71-003	2025-04-08	00:20	Monitoring	S5_0716+714 , PG1553+113 , PKS1510-089	ALId080061 - ALId080065 , ALId080079 - ALId080083 , ALId080085 - ALId080089	Battling clouds throughout the night. Patches of clear skies appeared and multiple attempts were made to observe targets, with only partial success. Grey skies and seeing around 1.4"	Observed
71-003	2025-04-09	00:00	Monitoring			100% humidity throughout the night. Could not open.	Failed
71-003	2025-04-13	01:42	Monitoring	S5_0716+714, S4_0954+65, 1ES1011+496, Mrk421, 1ES1218+304, ON325, ON231, PKS1510-089, Mrk501, PG1553+113, 1ES1959+650, BL_Lac	ALId130085 - ALId130089, ALId130097 - ALId130126, ALId130132 - ALId130158	Targets observed with clear skies and seeing between 0.8" and 1.5".	Observed
71-003	2025-04-22	01:19	Monitoring	S5_0716+714, S4_0954+65, 1ES1011+496, Mrk421, ON231, ON325, 1ES1218+304, PKS1510-089, PG1553+113, Mrk501, BL_Lac, 1ES1959+650	ALId220054 - ALId220068, ALId220075 - ALId220080, ALId220114 - ALId2201139, ALId220152 - ALId220156, ALId220167 - ALId220182	Clear skies and seeing between 0.8''-1.3''	Observed

Should any of the observations have been carried out using the OB system, you will find additional information HERE