@phdthesis{Schulz2014,
  author    = {Schulz, Anneli},
  title     = {Search for gamma-ray emission from bow shocks of runaway stars},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-73905},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {123},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {The mystery of the origin of cosmic rays has been tackled for more than hundred years and is still not solved. Cosmic rays are detected with energies spanning more than 10 orders of magnitude and reaching energies up to ~10²¹ eV, far higher than any man-made accelerator can reach. Different theories on the astrophysical objects and processes creating such highly energetic particles have been proposed. A very prominent explanation for a process producing highly energetic particles is shock acceleration. The observation of high-energy gamma rays from supernova remnants, some of them revealing a shell like structure, is clear evidence that particles are accelerated to ultrarelativistic energies in the shocks of these objects. The environments of supernova remnants are complex and challenge detailed modelling of the processes leading to high-energy gamma-ray emission. The study of shock acceleration at bow shocks, created by the supersonic movement of individual stars through the interstellar medium, offers a unique possibility to determine the physical properties of shocks in a less complex environment. The shocked medium is heated by the stellar and the shock excited radiation, leading to thermal infrared emission. 28 bow shocks have been discovered through their infrared emission. Nonthermal radiation in radio and X-ray wavelengths has been detected from two bow shocks, pointing to the existence of relativistic particles in these systems. Theoretical models of the emission processes predict high-energy and very high-energy emission at a flux level in reach of current instruments. This work presents the search for gamma-ray emission from bow shocks of runaway stars in the energy regime from 100MeV to ~100TeV. The search is performed with the large area telescope (LAT) on-board the Fermi satellite and the H.E.S.S. telescopes located in the Khomas Highland in Namibia. The Fermi-LAT was launched in 2008 and is continuously scanning the sky since then. It detects photons with energies from 20MeV to over 300 GeV and has an unprecedented sensitivity. The all-sky coverage allows us to study all 28 bow shocks of runaway stars listed in the E-BOSS catalogue of infrared bow shocks. No significant emission was detected from any of the objects, although predicted by several theoretical models describing the non-thermal emission of bow shocks of runaway stars. The H.E.S.S. experiment is the most sensitive system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. It detects photons from several tens of GeV to ~100TeV. Seven of the bow shocks have been observed with H.E.S.S. and the data analysis is presented in this thesis. The analyses of the very-high energy data did not reveal significant emission from any of the sources either. This work presents the first systematic search for gamma-ray emission from bow shocks of runaway stars. For the first time Fermi-LAT data was specifically analysed to reveal emission from bow shocks of runaway stars. In the TeV regime no searches for emission from theses objects have been published so far, the study presented here is the first in this energy regime. The level of the gamma-ray emission from bow shocks of runaway stars is constrained by the calculated upper limits over six orders in magnitude in energy. The upper limits calculated for the bow shocks of runaway stars in the course of this work, constrain several models. For the best candidate, ζ Ophiuchi, the upper limits in the Fermi-LAT energy range are lower than the predictions by a factor ~5. This challenges the assumptions made in this model and gives valuable input for further modelling approaches. The analyses were performed with the software packages provided by the H.E.S.S. and Fermi collaborations. The development of a unified analysis framework for gamma-ray data, namely GammaLib/ctools, is rapidly progressing within the CTA consortium. Recent implementations and cross-checks with current software frameworks are presented in the Appendix.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Mayer2014,
  author    = {Mayer, Michael},
  title     = {Pulsar wind nebulae at high energies},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-71504},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {142},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) are the most abundant TeV gamma-ray emitters in the Milky Way. The radiative emission of these objects is powered by fast-rotating pulsars, which donate parts of their rotational energy into winds of relativistic particles. This thesis presents an in-depth study of the detected population of PWNe at high energies. To outline general trends regarding their evolutionary behaviour, a time-dependent model is introduced and compared to the available data. In particular, this work presents two exceptional PWNe which protrude from the rest of the population, namely the Crab Nebula and N 157B. Both objects are driven by pulsars with extremely high rotational energy loss rates. Accordingly, they are often referred to as energetic twins. Modelling the non-thermal multi-wavelength emission of N157B gives access to specific properties of this object, like the magnetic field inside the nebula. Comparing the derived parameters to those of the Crab Nebula reveals large intrinsic differences between the two PWNe. Possible origins of these differences are discussed in context of the resembling pulsars. Compared to the TeV gamma-ray regime, the number of detected PWNe is much smaller in the MeV-GeV gamma-ray range. In the latter range, the Crab Nebula stands out by the recent detection of gamma-ray flares. In general, the measured flux enhancements on short time scales of days to weeks were not expected in the theoretical understanding of PWNe. In this thesis, the variability of the Crab Nebula is analysed using data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT). For the presented analysis, a new gamma-ray reconstruction method is used, providing a higher sensitivity and a lower energy threshold compared to previous analyses. The derived gamma-ray light curve of the Crab Nebula is investigated for flares and periodicity. The detected flares are analysed regarding their energy spectra, and their variety and commonalities are discussed. In addition, a dedicated analysis of the flare which occurred in March 2013 is performed. The derived short-term variability time scale is roughly 6h, implying a small region inside the Crab Nebula to be responsible for the enigmatic flares. The most promising theories explaining the origins of the flux eruptions and gamma-ray variability are discussed in detail. In the technical part of this work, a new analysis framework is presented. The introduced software, called gammalib/ctools, is currently being developed for the future CTA observa- tory. The analysis framework is extensively tested using data from the H. E. S. S. experiment. To conduct proper data analysis in the likelihood framework of gammalib/ctools, a model describing the distribution of background events in H.E.S.S. data is presented. The software provides the infrastructure to combine data from several instruments in one analysis. To study the gamma-ray emitting PWN population, data from Fermi-LAT and H. E. S. S. are combined in the likelihood framework of gammalib/ctools. In particular, the spectral peak, which usually lies in the overlap energy regime between these two instruments, is determined with the presented analysis framework. The derived measurements are compared to the predictions from the time-dependent model. The combined analysis supports the conclusion of a diverse population of gamma-ray emitting PWNe.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Balzer2014,
  author    = {Balzer, Arnim},
  title     = {Crab flare observations with H.E.S.S. phase II},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-72545},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {The H.E.S.S. array is a third generation Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope (IACT) array. It is located in the Khomas Highland in Namibia, and measures very high energy (VHE) gamma-rays. In Phase I, the array started data taking in 2004 with its four identical 13 m telescopes. Since then, H.E.S.S. has emerged as the most successful IACT experiment to date. Among the almost 150 sources of VHE gamma-ray radiation found so far, even the oldest detection, the Crab Nebula, keeps surprising the scientific community with unexplained phenomena such as the recently discovered very energetic flares of high energy gamma-ray radiation. During its most recent flare, which was detected by the Fermi satellite in March 2013, the Crab Nebula was simultaneously observed with the H.E.S.S. array for six nights. The results of the observations will be discussed in detail during the course of this work. During the nights of the flare, the new 24 m × 32 m H.E.S.S. II telescope was still being commissioned, but participated in the data taking for one night. To be able to reconstruct and analyze the data of the H.E.S.S. Phase II array, the algorithms and software used by the H.E.S.S. Phase I array had to be adapted. The most prominent advanced shower reconstruction technique developed by de Naurois and Rolland, the template-based model analysis, compares real shower images taken by the Cherenkov telescope cameras with shower templates obtained using a semi-analytical model. To find the best fitting image, and, therefore, the relevant parameters that describe the air shower best, a pixel-wise log-likelihood fit is done. The adaptation of this advanced shower reconstruction technique to the heterogeneous H.E.S.S. Phase II array for stereo events (i.e. air showers seen by at least two telescopes of any kind), its performance using MonteCarlo simulations as well as its application to real data will be described.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Holler2014,
  author    = {Holler, Markus},
  title     = {Photon reconstruction for the H.E.S.S. 28 m telescope and analysis of Crab Nebula and galactic centre observations},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-72099},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {In the presented thesis, the most advanced photon reconstruction technique of ground-based γ-ray astronomy is adapted to the H.E.S.S. 28 m telescope. The method is based on a semi-analytical model of electromagnetic particle showers in the atmosphere. The properties of cosmic γ-rays are reconstructed by comparing the camera image of the telescope with the Cherenkov emission that is expected from the shower model. To suppress the dominant background from charged cosmic rays, events are selected based on several criteria. The performance of the analysis is evaluated with simulated events. The method is then applied to two sources that are known to emit γ-rays. The first of these is the Crab Nebula, the standard candle of ground-based γ-ray astronomy. The results of this source confirm the expected performance of the reconstruction method, where the much lower energy threshold compared to H.E.S.S. I is of particular importance. A second analysis is performed on the region around the Galactic Centre. The analysis results emphasise the capabilities of the new telescope to measure γ-rays in an energy range that is interesting for both theoretical and experimental astrophysics. The presented analysis features the lowest energy threshold that has ever been reached in ground-based γ-ray astronomy, opening a new window to the precise measurement of the physical properties of time-variable sources at energies of several tens of GeV.},
  language  = {en}
}