Speaker
Description
The identification of environmental large-scale structures in active galactic nuclei typically relies on the analysis of absorption and emission lines in their optical spectrum. In BL Lac objects, however, the dominant non-thermal jet emission obscures thermal signatures, making such detections challenging.
Despite this complexity, these environmental photon fields may interact with gamma rays of the blazar jet through gamma-gamma pair production. This interaction reduces the original flux of gamma rays emitted by the source and produces observable absorption features in its spectral energy distribution. Interestingly, assuming protons accelerated in the jet, the same seed photon fields can trigger proton-photon interactions, acting as targets for the production of high-energy neutrinos.
In this contribution, we explore how gamma-ray absorption features in BL Lac spectra provide indirect diagnostics of their environment and may be linked to neutrino emission. Furthermore, we present a set of simulations exploring the optimal physical conditions for the production of neutrino fluxes compatible with the sensitivities of current and upcoming neutrino detectors.