Physical origin of very-high-energy gamma rays from the low-luminosity active galactic nucleus NGC 4278 and implications for neutrino observations

Abstract

Relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are known to accelerate particles to extreme energies, yet the physical origin of very-high-energy (VHE) emission from low-luminosity (LL) AGNs remains unclear. NGC 4278, a nearby LL AGN, has recently been identified as a VHE source following detections by LHAASO. In this work, we present a multiwavelength and multimessenger analysis to investigate the origin of this emission. Swift X-Ray Telescope monitoring reveals a quasi-quiescent state characterized by the low X-ray flux. Modeling the broadband spectral energy distribution with the leptohadronic code AMES, we find that a standard one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model underpredicts the VHE flux, unless a relatively high Doppler factor ($δ\gtrsim 6$) is invoked. Alternatively, an external inverse-Compton (EIC) scenario-scattering seed photons from a radiatively inefficient accretion flow-provides a good description of the broadband emission with modest jet power and Doppler factor. We further explore neutrino production within a leptohadronic framework. The EIC model in the quasi-quiescent state yields the largest predicted number of muon neutrinos, reaching $N_{ν_μ} \sim 0.001$ over 15 yr of IceCube observations (assuming that 0.1\% of the Eddington luminosity is converted into high-energy protons). Future multimessenger observations are essential to unveil the details of the high-energy processes of NGC 4278.