Fermi gamma-ray space telescope observations of gamma-ray outbursts from 3C 454.3 in 2009 December and 2010 April

The flat spectrum radio quasar 3C 454.3 underwent an extraordinary outburst in 2009 December when it became the brightest γ-ray source in the sky for over 1 week. Its daily flux measured with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope at photon energies E>100 MeV reached F 100 = 22 ± 1 × 10–6 photon cm–2 s–1, representing the highest daily flux of any blazar ever recorded in high-energy γ-rays. It again became the brightest source in the sky in 2010 April, triggering a pointed-mode observation by Fermi. The correlated γ-ray temporal and spectral properties during these exceptional events are presented and discussed. The main results show flux variability over time scales less than 3 hr and very mild spectral variability with an indication of gradual hardening preceding major flares. The light curves during periods of enhanced activity in 2008 July-August and 2010 December show strong resemblance, with a flux plateau of a few days preceding the major flare. No consistent loop pattern emerged in the γ-ray spectral index versus the flux plane as would be expected in acceleration and cooling scenarios. The maximum energy of a photon from 3C 454.3 is ≈20 GeV and a minimum Doppler factor of ≈13 is derived. The γ-ray spectrum of 3C 454.3 shows a significant spectral break between ≈2 and 3 GeV that is very weakly dependent on the flux state, even when the flux changes by an order of magnitude.