TY - JOUR A1 - Orienti, M. A1 - Finke, J. A1 - Raiteri, C. M. A1 - Hovatta, T. A1 - Larsson, J. A1 - Max-Moerbeck, W. A1 - Perkins, J. A1 - Readhead, A. C. S. A1 - Richards, J. L. A1 - Beilicke, M. A1 - Benbow, W. A1 - Berger, K. A1 - Bird, R. A1 - Bugaev, V. A1 - Cardenzana, J. V. A1 - Cerruti, M. A1 - Chen, Xuhui A1 - Ciupik, L. A1 - Dickinson, H. J. A1 - Eisch, J. D. A1 - Errando, M. A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Fleischhack, H. A1 - Fortin, P. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Furniss, A. A1 - Gerard, L. A1 - Gillanders, G. H. A1 - Griffiths, S. T. A1 - Grube, J. A1 - Gyuk, G. A1 - Hakansson, Nils A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Humensky, T. B. A1 - Kar, P. A1 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Khassen, Y. A1 - Kieda, D. A1 - Krennrich, F. A1 - Kumar, S. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Maier, G. A1 - McCann, A. A1 - Meagher, K. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, R. A1 - Nieto, D. A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Otte, A. N. A1 - Pohl, Manuela A1 - Popkow, A. A1 - Prokoph, H. A1 - Pueschel, Elisa A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, G. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Rousselle, J. A1 - Santander, M. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Smith, A. W. A1 - Staszak, D. A1 - Telezhinsky, Igor O. A1 - Tucci, J. V. A1 - Tyler, J. A1 - Varlotta, A. A1 - Vassiliev, V. V. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Welsing, R. A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Zitzer, B. T1 - The most powerful flaring activity from the NLSyl PMN J0948+0022 JF - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society N2 - We report on multifrequency observations performed during 2012 December-2013 August of the first narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy detected in gamma-rays, PMN J0948+0022 (z = 0.5846). A y -ray flare was observed by the Large Area Telescope on board Fermi during 2012 December-2013 January, reaching a daily peak flux in the 0.1-100 GeV energy range of (155 31) x 10 8 ph cm(-2) S-1 on 2013 January 1, corresponding to an apparent isotropic luminosity of similar to 1.5 x 1048 erg s(-1). The y -ray flaring period triggered Swift and Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) observations in addition to radio and optical monitoring by Owens Valley Radio Observatory, Monitoring Of Jets in Active galactic nuclei with VLBA Experiments, and Catalina Real-time Transient Survey. A strong flare was observed in optical, UV, and X-rays on 2012 December 30, quasi-simultaneously to the y -ray flare, reaching a record flux for this source from optical to y gamma-rays. VERITAS observations at very high energy (E > 100 GeV) during 2013 January 6-17 resulted in an upper limit of F>0.2 Trev < 4.0 x 10(-12) ph cm(-2) s(-1). We compared the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the flaring state in 2013 January with that of an intermediate state observed in 2011. The two SEDs, modelled as synchrotron emission and an external Compton scattering of seed photons from a dust torus, can be modelled by changing both the electron distribution parameters and the magnetic field. KW - galaxies: active-galaxies: individual: PMN J0948+0022 KW - galaxies: nuclei KW - galaxies: Seyfert KW - gamma-rays: general Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu2251 SN - 0035-8711 SN - 1365-2966 VL - 446 IS - 3 SP - 2456 EP - 2467 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Furniss, A. A1 - Noda, K. A1 - Boggs, S. A1 - Chiang, J. A1 - Christensen, F. A1 - Craig, W. A1 - Giommi, P. A1 - Hailey, C. A1 - Harisson, F. A1 - Madejski, G. A1 - Nalewajko, K. A1 - Perri, M. A1 - Stern, D. A1 - Urry, M. A1 - Verrecchia, F. A1 - Zhang, W. A1 - Ahnen, M. L. A1 - Ansoldi, S. A1 - Antonelli, L. A. A1 - Antoranz, P. A1 - Babic, A. A1 - Banerjee, B. A1 - Bangale, P. A1 - de Almeida, U. Barres A1 - Barrio, J. A. A1 - Becerra Gonzalez, J. A1 - Bednarek, W. A1 - Bernardini, E. A1 - Biasuzzi, B. A1 - Biland, A. A1 - Blanch Bigas, O. A1 - Bonnefoy, S. A1 - Bonnoli, G. A1 - Borracci, F. A1 - Bretz, T. A1 - Carmona, E. A1 - Carosi, A. A1 - Chatterjee, A. A1 - Clavero, R. A1 - Colin, P. A1 - Colombo, E. A1 - Contreras, J. L. A1 - Cortina, J. A1 - Covino, S. A1 - Da Vela, P. A1 - Dazzi, F. A1 - De Angelis, A. A1 - De Caneva, G. A1 - De Lotto, B. A1 - de Ona Wilhelmi, E. A1 - Delgado Mendez, C. A1 - Di Pierro, F. A1 - Prester, Dijana Dominis A1 - Dorner, D. A1 - Doro, M. A1 - Einecke, S. A1 - Eisenacher Glawion, D. A1 - Elsaesser, D. A1 - Fernandez-Barral, A. A1 - Fidalgo, D. A1 - Fonseca, M. V. A1 - Font, L. A1 - Frantzen, K. A1 - Fruck, C. A1 - Galindo, D. A1 - Garcia Lopez, R. J. A1 - Garczarczyk, M. A1 - Garrido Terrats, D. A1 - Gaug, M. A1 - Giammaria, P. A1 - Godinovic, N. A1 - Gonzalez Munoz, A. A1 - Guberman, D. A1 - Hanabata, Y. A1 - Hayashida, M. A1 - Herrera, J. A1 - Hose, J. A1 - Hrupec, D. A1 - Hughes, G. A1 - Idec, W. A1 - Kellermann, H. A1 - Kodani, K. A1 - Konno, Y. A1 - Kubo, H. A1 - Kushida, J. A1 - La Barbera, A. A1 - Lelas, D. A1 - Lewandowska, N. A1 - Lindfors, E. A1 - Lombardi, S. A1 - Longo, F. A1 - Lopez, M. A1 - Lopez-Coto, R. A1 - Lopez-Oramas, A. A1 - Lorenz, E. A1 - Majumdar, P. A1 - Makariev, M. A1 - Mallot, K. A1 - Maneva, G. A1 - Manganaro, M. A1 - Mannheim, K. A1 - Maraschi, L. A1 - Marcote, B. A1 - Mariotti, M. A1 - Martinez, M. A1 - Mazin, D. A1 - Menzel, U. A1 - Miranda, J. M. A1 - Mirzoyan, R. A1 - Moralejo, A. A1 - Nakajima, D. A1 - Neustroev, V. A1 - Niedzwiecki, A. A1 - Nievas Rosillo, M. A1 - Nilsson, K. A1 - Nishijima, K. A1 - Orito, R. A1 - Overkemping, A. A1 - Paiano, S. A1 - Palacio, J. A1 - Palatiello, M. A1 - Paneque, D. A1 - Paoletti, R. A1 - Paredes, J. M. A1 - Paredes-Fortuny, X. A1 - Persic, M. A1 - Poutanen, J. A1 - Moroni, P. G. Prada A1 - Prandini, E. A1 - Puljak, I. A1 - Reinthal, R. A1 - Rhode, W. A1 - Ribo, M. A1 - Rico, J. A1 - Garcia, J. Rodriguez A1 - Saito, T. A1 - Saito, K. A1 - Satalecka, K. A1 - Scapin, V. A1 - Schultz, C. A1 - Schweizer, T. A1 - Shore, S. N. A1 - Sillanpaa, A. A1 - Sitarek, J. A1 - Snidaric, I. A1 - Sobczynska, D. A1 - Stamerra, A. A1 - Steinbring, T. A1 - Strzys, M. A1 - Takalo, L. A1 - Takami, H. A1 - Tavecchio, F. A1 - Temnikov, P. A1 - Terzic, T. A1 - Tescaro, D. A1 - Teshima, M. A1 - Thaele, J. A1 - Torres, D. F. A1 - Toyama, T. A1 - Treves, A. A1 - Verguilov, V. A1 - Vovk, I. A1 - Will, M. A1 - Zanin, R. A1 - Archer, A. A1 - Benbow, W. A1 - Bird, R. A1 - Biteau, Jonathan A1 - Bugaev, V. A1 - Cardenzana, J. V. A1 - Cerruti, M. A1 - Chen, Xuhui A1 - Ciupik, L. A1 - Connolly, M. P. A1 - Cui, W. A1 - Dickinson, H. J. A1 - Dumm, J. A1 - Eisch, J. D. A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Feng, Q. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Fleischhack, H. A1 - Fortin, P. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Gerard, L. A1 - Gillanders, G. H. A1 - Griffin, S. A1 - Griffiths, S. T. A1 - Grube, J. A1 - Gyuk, G. A1 - Hakansson, Nils A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Humensky, T. B. A1 - Johnson, C. A. A1 - Kaaret, P. A1 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Kieda, D. A1 - Krause, M. A1 - Krennrich, F. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Lin, T. T. Y. A1 - Maier, G. A1 - McArthur, S. A1 - McCann, A. A1 - Meagher, K. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, R. A1 - Nieto, D. A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Park, N. A1 - Petry, D. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Popkow, A. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Ratliff, G. A1 - Reyes, L. C. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, G. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Santander, M. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Shahinyan, K. A1 - Staszak, D. A1 - Telezhinsky, Igor O. A1 - Tucci, J. V. A1 - Tyler, J. A1 - Vassiliev, V. V. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Weiner, O. M. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Wilhelm, Alina A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Zitzer, B. A1 - Vince, O. A1 - Fuhrmann, L. A1 - Angelakis, E. A1 - Karamanavis, V. A1 - Myserlis, I. A1 - Krichbaum, T. P. A1 - Zensus, J. A. A1 - Ungerechts, H. A1 - Sievers, A. A1 - Bachev, R. A1 - Boettcher, Markus A1 - Chen, W. P. A1 - Damljanovic, G. A1 - Eswaraiah, C. A1 - Guver, T. A1 - Hovatta, T. A1 - Hughes, Z. A1 - Ibryamov, S. I. A1 - Joner, M. D. A1 - Jordan, B. A1 - Jorstad, S. G. A1 - Joshi, M. A1 - Kataoka, J. A1 - Kurtanidze, O. M. A1 - Kurtanidze, S. O. A1 - Lahteenmaki, A. A1 - Latev, G. A1 - Lin, H. C. A1 - Larionov, V. M. A1 - Mokrushina, A. A. A1 - Morozova, D. A. A1 - Nikolashvili, M. G. A1 - Raiteri, C. M. A1 - Ramakrishnan, V. A1 - Readhead, A. C. R. A1 - Sadun, A. C. A1 - Sigua, L. A. A1 - Semkov, E. H. A1 - Strigachev, A. A1 - Tammi, J. A1 - Tornikoski, M. A1 - Troitskaya, Y. V. A1 - Troitsky, I. S. A1 - Villata, M. T1 - First NuSTAR observations of MRK 501 within a radio to TeV multi-instrument campaign JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We report on simultaneous broadband observations of the TeV-emitting blazar Markarian 501 between 2013 April 1 and August 10, including the first detailed characterization of the synchrotron peak with Swift and NuSTAR. During the campaign, the nearby BL Lac object was observed in both a quiescent and an elevated state. The broadband campaign includes observations with NuSTAR, MAGIC, VERITAS, the Fermi Large Area Telescope, Swift X-ray Telescope and UV Optical Telescope, various ground-based optical instruments, including the GASP-WEBT program, as well as radio observations by OVRO, Metsahovi, and the F-Gamma consortium. Some of the MAGIC observations were affected by a sand layer from the Saharan desert, and had to be corrected using event-by-event corrections derived with a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) facility. This is the first time that LIDAR information is used to produce a physics result with Cherenkov Telescope data taken during adverse atmospheric conditions, and hence sets a precedent for the current and future ground-based gamma-ray instruments. The NuSTAR instrument provides unprecedented sensitivity in hard X-rays, showing the source to display a spectral energy distribution (SED) between 3 and 79 keV consistent with a log-parabolic spectrum and hard X-ray variability on hour timescales. None (of the four extended NuSTAR observations) show evidence of the onset of inverse-Compton emission at hard X-ray energies. We apply a single-zone equilibrium synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model to five simultaneous broadband SEDs. We find that the SSC model can reproduce the observed broadband states through a decrease in the magnetic field strength coinciding with an increase in the luminosity and hardness of the relativistic leptons responsible for the high-energy emission. KW - BL Lacertae objects: general KW - galaxies: individual (Markarian 501) KW - X-rays: galaxies Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/812/1/65 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 812 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Benbow, W. A1 - Bird, R. A1 - Brill, A. A1 - Brose, Robert A1 - Chromey, A. J. A1 - Daniel, M. K. A1 - Feng, Q. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Furniss, A. A1 - Gillanders, G. H. A1 - Giuri, C. A1 - Gueta, O. A1 - Hanna, D. A1 - Halpern, J. P. A1 - Hassan, Tarek A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Hughes, G. A1 - Humensky, T. B. A1 - Joyce, Amy M. A1 - Kaaret, P. A1 - Kar, P. A1 - Kelley-Hoskins, N. A1 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Kieda, D. A1 - Krause, M. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Lin, T. T. Y. A1 - Maier, Gernot A1 - Matthews, N. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, R. A1 - Nieto, D. A1 - Nievas-Rosillos, M. A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Park, N. A1 - Petrashyk, A. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Pueschel, Elisa A1 - Quinn, John A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, G. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Rulten, C. A1 - Sadeh, Iftach A1 - Santander, M. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Shahinyan, K. A1 - Sushch, Iurii A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Wells, R. M. A1 - Wilcox, P. A1 - Wilhelm, Alina A1 - Williams, David A. A1 - Williamson, T. J. T1 - Direct measurement of stellar angular diameters by the VERITAS Cherenkov telescopes JF - Nature astronomy N2 - The angular size of a star is a critical factor in determining its basic properties1. Direct measurement of stellar angular diameters is difficult: at interstellar distances stars are generally too small to resolve by any individual imaging telescope. This fundamental limitation can be overcome by studying the diffraction pattern in the shadow cast when an asteroid occults a star2, but only when the photometric uncertainty is smaller than the noise added by atmospheric scintillation3. Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes used for particle astrophysics observations have not generally been exploited for optical astronomy due to the modest optical quality of the mirror surface. However, their large mirror area makes them well suited for such high-time-resolution precision photometry measurements4. Here we report two occultations of stars observed by the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS)5 Cherenkov telescopes with millisecond sampling, from which we are able to provide a direct measurement of the occulted stars’ angular diameter at the ≤0.1 mas scale. This is a resolution never achieved before with optical measurements and represents an order of magnitude improvement over the equivalent lunar occultation method6. We compare the resulting stellar radius with empirically derived estimates from temperature and brightness measurements, confirming the latter can be biased for stars with ambiguous stellar classifications. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-019-0741-z SN - 2397-3366 VL - 3 IS - 6 SP - 511 EP - 516 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Archer, A. A1 - Benbow, W. A1 - Bird, R. A1 - Buchovecky, M. A1 - Buckley, J. H. A1 - Bugaev, V. A1 - Byrum, K. A1 - Cardenzana, J. V. A1 - Cerruti, M. A1 - Chen, Xuhui A1 - Ciupik, L. A1 - Collins-Hughes, E. A1 - Connolly, M. P. A1 - Eisch, J. D. A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Feng, Q. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Fleischhack, H. A1 - Flinders, A. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Furniss, A. A1 - Gillanders, G. H. A1 - Griffin, S. A1 - Grube, J. A1 - Gyuk, G. A1 - Hakansson, Nils A1 - Hanna, D. A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Humensky, T. B. A1 - Huetten, M. A1 - Johnson, C. A. A1 - Kaaret, P. A1 - Kar, P. A1 - Kelley-Hoskins, N. A1 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Kieda, D. A1 - Krause, M. A1 - Krennrich, F. A1 - Kumar, S. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - McArthur, S. A1 - McCann, A. A1 - Meagher, K. A1 - Millis, J. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, R. A1 - Nieto, D. A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Park, N. A1 - Pelassa, V. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Popkow, A. A1 - Pueschel, Elisa A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Ratliff, G. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, G. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Rousselle, J. A1 - Santander, M. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Shahinyan, K. A1 - Smith, A. W. A1 - Staszak, D. A1 - Telezhinsky, Igor O. A1 - Tucci, J. V. A1 - Tyler, J. A1 - Vassiliev, V. V. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Weiner, O. M. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Wilhelm, Alina A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Zitzer, B. A1 - Yusef-Zadeh, F. T1 - TEV GAMMA-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF THE GALACTIC CENTER RIDGE BY VERITAS JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - The Galactic Center ridge has been observed extensively in the past by both GeV and TeV gamma-ray instruments revealing a wealth of structure, including a diffuse component and the point sources G0.9+0.1 (a composite supernova remnant) and Sgr A* (believed to be associated with the supermassive black hole located at the center of our Galaxy). Previous very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray observations with the H.E.S.S.. experiment have also detected an extended TeV gamma-ray component along the Galactic plane in the >300 GeV gamma-ray regime. Here we report on observations of the Galactic Center ridge from 2010 to 2014 by the VERITAS telescope array in the >2 TeV energy range. From these observations we (1) provide improved measurements of the differential energy spectrum for Sgr A* in the >2 TeV gamma-ray regime, (2) provide a detection in the >2 TeV gamma-ray emission from the composite SNR G0.9+0.1 and an improved determination of its multi-TeV gamma-ray energy spectrum, and. (3) report on the detection of VER J1746-289, a localized enhancement of >2 TeV gamma-ray emission along the Galactic plane. KW - Galaxy: center KW - gamma rays: general KW - supernovae: individual (G0.9+0.1) Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/821/2/129 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 821 SP - 162 EP - 167 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Archer, A. A1 - Benbow, W. A1 - Bird, R. A1 - Brose, Robert A1 - Buchovecky, M. A1 - Bugaev, V. A1 - Connolly, M. P. A1 - Cui, W. A1 - Daniel, M. K. A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Feng, Q. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Fleischhack, H. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Furniss, A. A1 - Hanna, D. A1 - Hervet, O. A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Hughes, G. A1 - Humensky, T. B. A1 - Hutten, M. A1 - Johnson, C. A. A1 - Kaaret, P. A1 - Kelley-Hoskins, N. A1 - Kieda, D. A1 - Krause, M. A1 - Krennrich, F. A1 - Kumar, S. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Maier, G. A1 - McArthur, S. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, R. A1 - Nieto, D. A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Otte, A. N. A1 - Park, N. A1 - Petrashyk, A. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Popkow, A. A1 - Pueschel, Elisa A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, G. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Rulten, C. A1 - Sadeh, I. A1 - Tyler, J. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Weiner, O. M. A1 - Wilcox, P. A1 - Wilhelm, Alina A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Wissel, S. A. A1 - Zitzer, B. T1 - Measurement of the iron spectrum in cosmic rays by VERITAS JF - Physical review : D, Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology N2 - We present a new measurement of the energy spectrum of iron nuclei in cosmic rays from 20 TeV to 500 TeV; The measurement makes use of a template-based analysis method, which, for the first time, is applied to the energy reconstruction of iron-induced air showers recorded by the VERITAS array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The event selection makes use of the direct Cherenkov light which is emitted by charged particles before the first interaction, as well as other parameters related to the shape of the recorded air shower images. The measured spectrum is well described by a power law dF/dE = f(0) center dot (E/E-0)(-gamma) over the full energy range, with gamma = 2.82 +/- 0.30(stat)(-0.27)(+0.24)(syst) and f(0) = (4.82 +/- 0.98(stat)(-2.70)(+2.12)(syst)) x 10(-7) m(-2) s(-1) TeV-1 sr(-1) at E-0 = 50 TeV, with no indication of a cutoff or spectral break. The measured differential flux is compatible with previous results, with improved statistical uncertainty at the highest energies. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.98.022009 SN - 2470-0010 SN - 2470-0029 VL - 98 IS - 2 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Archer, A. A1 - Benbow, W. A1 - Bird, R. A1 - Brose, Robert A1 - Buchovecky, M. A1 - Buckley, J. H. A1 - Bugaev, V. A1 - Connolly, M. P. A1 - Cui, W. A1 - Daniel, M. K. A1 - Feng, Q. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Furniss, A. A1 - Gillanders, G. A1 - Huetten, M. A1 - Hanna, D. A1 - Hervet, O. A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Hughes, G. A1 - Humensky, T. B. A1 - Johnson, C. A. A1 - Kaaret, P. A1 - Kar, P. A1 - Kelley-Hoskins, N. A1 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Kieda, D. A1 - Krause, M. A1 - Krennrich, F. A1 - Kumar, S. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Lin, T. T. Y. A1 - Maier, G. A1 - McArthur, S. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, R. A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Otte, A. N. A1 - Petrashyk, A. A1 - Pohl, M. A1 - Pueschel, Elisa A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, G. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Rulten, C. A1 - Sadeh, I. A1 - Santander, M. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Staszak, D. A1 - Sushch, I. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Wells, R. M. A1 - Wilcox, P. A1 - Wilhelm, Alina A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Williamson, T. J. A1 - Zitzer, B. T1 - Measurement of cosmic-ray electrons at TeV energies by VERITAS JF - Physical review : D, Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology N2 - Cosmic-ray electrons and positrons (CREs) at GeV-TeV energies are a unique probe of our local Galactic neighborhood. CREs lose energy rapidly via synchrotron radiation and inverse-Compton scattering processes while propagating within the Galaxy, and these losses limit their propagation distance. For electrons with TeV energies, the limit is on the order of a kiloparsec. Within that distance, there are only a few known astrophysical objects capable of accelerating electrons to such high energies. It is also possible that the CREs are the products of the annihilation or decay of heavy dark matter (DM) particles. VERITAS, an array of imaging air Cherenkov telescopes in southern Arizona, is primarily utilized for gamma-ray astronomy but also simultaneously collects CREs during all observations. We describe our methods of identifying CREs in VERITAS data and present an energy spectrum, extending from 300 GeV to 5 TeV, obtained from approximately 300 hours of observations. A single power-law fit is ruled out in VERITAS data. We find that the spectrum of CREs is consistent with a broken power law, with a break energy at 710 +/- 40(stat) +/- 140(syst) GeV. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.98.062004 SN - 2470-0010 SN - 2470-0029 VL - 98 IS - 6 PB - American Physical Society CY - College Park ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Archer, A. A1 - Barnacka, Anna A1 - Beilicke, M. A1 - Benbow, W. A1 - Berger, K. A1 - Bird, R. A1 - Biteau, Jonathan A1 - Buckley, J. H. A1 - Bugaev, V. A1 - Byrum, K. A1 - Cardenzana, J. V. A1 - Cerruti, M. A1 - Chen, W. A1 - Chen, Xiaoming A1 - Ciupik, L. A1 - Connolly, M. P. A1 - Cui, W. A1 - Dickinson, H. J. A1 - Dumm, J. A1 - Eisch, J. D. A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Federici, Simone A1 - Feng, Q. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Fleischhack, H. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Furniss, A. A1 - Galante, N. A1 - Griffin, S. A1 - Griffiths, S. T. A1 - Grube, J. A1 - Gyuk, G. A1 - Hakansson, Nils A1 - Hanna, D. A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Hughes, G. A1 - Johnson, C. A. A1 - Kaaret, P. A1 - Kar, P. A1 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Khassen, Y. A1 - Kieda, D. A1 - Krawczynski, H. A1 - Kumar, S. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Maier, G. A1 - McArthur, S. A1 - McCann, A. A1 - Meagher, K. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, R. A1 - Nieto, D. A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Otte, A. N. A1 - Park, N. A1 - Perkins, J. S. A1 - Pohl, Manuela A1 - Popkow, A. A1 - Prokoph, H. A1 - Pueschel, Elisa A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Rajotte, J. A1 - Reyes, L. C. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, G. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Shahinyan, K. A1 - Smith, A. W. A1 - Staszak, D. A1 - Telezhinsky, Igor O. A1 - Tucci, J. V. A1 - Tyler, J. A1 - Varlotta, A. A1 - Vincent, S. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Welsing, R. A1 - Wilhelm, Alina A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Zajczyk, A. A1 - Zitzer, B. T1 - Very-high energy observations of the galactic center region by veritas IN 2010-2012 JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - The Galactic center is an interesting region for high-energy (0.1-100 GeV) and very-high-energy (E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray observations. Potential sources of GeV/TeV gamma-ray emission have been suggested, e.g., the accretion of matter onto the supermassive black hole, cosmic rays from a nearby supernova remnant (e.g., Sgr A East), particle acceleration in a plerion, or the annihilation of dark matter particles. The Galactic center has been detected by EGRET and by Fermi/LAT in the MeV/GeV energy band. At TeV energies, the Galactic center was detected with moderate significance by the CANGAROO and Whipple 10 m telescopes and with high significance by H.E.S.S., MAGIC, and VERITAS. We present the results from three years of VERITAS observations conducted at large zenith angles resulting in a detection of the Galactic center on the level of 18 standard deviations at energies above similar to 2.5 TeV. The energy spectrum is derived and is found to be compatible with hadronic, leptonic, and hybrid emission models discussed in the literature. Future, more detailed measurements of the high-energy cutoff and better constraints on the high-energy flux variability will help to refine and/or disentangle the individual models. KW - astroparticle physics KW - black hole physics KW - Galaxy: center KW - gamma rays: galaxies KW - methods: data analysis KW - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/790/2/149 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 790 IS - 2 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Archambault, S. A1 - Beilicke, M. A1 - Benbow, W. A1 - Berger, K. A1 - Bird, R. A1 - Bouvier, A. A1 - Buckley, J. H. A1 - Bugaev, V. A1 - Byrum, K. A1 - Cerruti, M. A1 - Chen, Xuhui A1 - Ciupik, L. A1 - Connolly, M. P. A1 - Cui, W. A1 - Duke, C. A1 - Dumm, J. A1 - Errando, M. A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Federici, Simone A1 - Feng, Q. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Furniss, A. A1 - Galante, N. A1 - Gillanders, G. H. A1 - Griffin, S. A1 - Griffiths, S. T. A1 - Grube, J. A1 - Gyuk, G. A1 - Hanna, D. A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Hughes, G. A1 - Humensky, T. B. A1 - Kaaret, P. A1 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Khassen, Y. A1 - Kieda, D. A1 - Krawczynski, H. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Madhavan, A. S. A1 - Maier, G. A1 - Majumdar, P. A1 - McArthur, S. A1 - McCann, A. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, R. A1 - Nieto, D. A1 - de Bhroithe, A. O'Faolain A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Otte, A. N. A1 - Pandel, D. A1 - Park, N. A1 - Perkins, J. S. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Popkow, A. A1 - Prokoph, H. A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Rajotte, J. A1 - Reyes, L. C. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, G. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Sheidaei, F. A1 - Smith, A. W. A1 - Staszak, D. A1 - Telezhinsky, Igor O. A1 - Theiling, M. A1 - Tucci, J. V. A1 - Tyler, J. A1 - Varlotta, A. A1 - Vincent, S. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Weekes, T. C. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Zitzer, B. A1 - McCollough, M. L. T1 - Veritas observatons of the microquasar cygnus X-3 JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We report results from TeV gamma-ray observations of the microquasar Cygnus X-3. The observations were made with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) over a time period from 2007 June 11 to 2011 November 28. VERITAS is most sensitive to gamma rays at energies between 85 GeV and 30 TeV. The effective exposure time amounts to a total of about 44 hr, with the observations covering six distinct radio/X-ray states of the object. No significant TeV gamma-ray emission was detected in any of the states, nor with all observations combined. The lack of a positive signal, especially in the states where GeV gamma rays were detected, places constraints on TeV gamma-ray production in Cygnus X-3. We discuss the implications of the results. KW - acceleration of particles KW - binaries: close KW - gamma rays: stars KW - X-rays: individual (Cygnus X-3) Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/779/2/150 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 779 IS - 2 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Archambault, S. A1 - Aune, T. A1 - Behera, B. A1 - Beilicke, M. A1 - Benbow, W. A1 - Berger, K. A1 - Bird, R. A1 - Biteau, Jonathan A1 - Bugaev, V. A1 - Byrum, K. A1 - Cardenzana, J. V. A1 - Cerruti, M. A1 - Chen, Xuhui A1 - Ciupik, L. A1 - Connolly, M. P. A1 - Cui, Wei A1 - Dumm, J. A1 - Errando, M. A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Federici, Simone A1 - Feng, Q. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Fleischhack, H. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Furniss, A. A1 - Galante, N. A1 - Gillanders, G. H. A1 - Griffin, S. A1 - Griffiths, S. T. A1 - Grube, J. A1 - Gyuk, G. A1 - Hanna, D. A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Hughes, G. A1 - Humensky, T. B. A1 - Johnson, C. A. A1 - Kaaret, P. A1 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Khassen, Y. A1 - Kieda, D. A1 - Krawczynski, H. A1 - Krennrich, F. A1 - Kumar, S. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Madhavan, A. S. A1 - Maier, G. A1 - McCann, A. A1 - Meagher, K. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, R. A1 - Nieto, Daniel A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Otte, A. N. A1 - Park, N. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Popkow, A. A1 - Prokoph, H. A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Rajotte, J. A1 - Reyes, L. C. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, G. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Shahinyan, K. A1 - Staszak, D. A1 - Telezhinsky, Igor O. A1 - Tucci, J. V. A1 - Tyler, J. A1 - Varlotta, A. A1 - Vassiliev, V. V. A1 - Vincent, S. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Welsing, R. A1 - Wilhelm, Alina A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Ackermann, Margit A1 - Ajello, M. A1 - Albert, A. A1 - Baldini, L. A1 - Bastieri, D. A1 - Bellazzini, R. A1 - Bissaldi, E. A1 - Bregeon, Johan A1 - Buehler, R. A1 - Buson, S. A1 - Caliandro, G. A. A1 - Cameron, R. A. A1 - Caraveo, P. A. A1 - Cavazzuti, E. A1 - Charles, E. A1 - Chiang, J. A1 - Ciprini, S. A1 - Claus, R. A1 - Cutini, S. A1 - de Angelis, A. A1 - de Palma, F. A1 - Dermer, C. D. A1 - Digel, S. W. A1 - Di Venere, L. A1 - Drell, P. S. A1 - Favuzzi, C. A1 - Franckowiak, A. A1 - Fusco, P. A1 - Gargano, F. A1 - Gasparrini, D. A1 - Giglietto, N. A1 - Giordano, F. A1 - Giroletti, M. A1 - Grenier, I. A. A1 - Guiriec, S. A1 - Jogler, T. A1 - Kuss, M. A1 - Larsson, S. A1 - Latronico, L. A1 - Longo, F. A1 - Loparco, F. A1 - Lubrano, P. A1 - Madejski, G. M. A1 - Mayer, M. A1 - Mazziotta, Mario Nicola A1 - Michelson, P. F. A1 - Mizuno, T. A1 - Monzani, M. E. A1 - Morselli, Aldo A1 - Murgia, S. A1 - Nuss, E. A1 - Ohsugi, T. A1 - Ormes, J. F. A1 - Paneque, D. A1 - Perkins, J. S. A1 - Piron, F. A1 - Pivato, G. A1 - Raino, S. A1 - Razzano, M. A1 - Reimer, A. A1 - Reimer, Olaf A1 - Ritz, S. A1 - Schaal, M. A1 - Sgro, C. A1 - Siskind, E. J. A1 - Spinelli, P. A1 - Takahashi, H. A1 - Tibaldo, L. A1 - Tinivella, M. A1 - Troja, E. A1 - Vianello, G. A1 - Werner, M. A1 - Wood, M. T1 - Deep broadband observations of the distant gamma-ray blazar PKS 1424+240 JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics ; Part 2, Letters N2 - We present deep VERITAS observations of the blazar PKS 1424+240, along with contemporaneous Fermi Large Area Telescope, Swift X-ray Telescope, and Swift UV Optical Telescope data between 2009 February 19 and 2013 June 8. This blazar resides at a redshift of z >= 0.6035, displaying a significantly attenuated gamma-ray flux above 100 GeV due to photon absorption via pair-production with the extragalactic background light. We present more than 100 hr of VERITAS observations over three years, a multiwavelength light curve, and the contemporaneous spectral energy distributions. The source shows a higher flux of (2.1 +/- 0.3) x 10(-7) photons m(-2) s(-1) above 120 GeV in 2009 and 2011 as compared to the flux measured in 2013, corresponding to (1.02 +/- 0.08) x 10-7 photons m(-2) s(-1) above 120 GeV. The measured differential very high energy (VHE; E >= 100 GeV) spectral indices are Gamma = 3.8 +/- 0.3, 4.3 +/- 0.6 and 4.5 +/- 0.2 in 2009, 2011, and 2013, respectively. No significant spectral change across the observation epochs is detected. We find no evidence for variability at gamma-ray opacities of greater than tau = 2, where it is postulated that any variability would be small and occur on timescales longer than a year if hadronic cosmic-ray interactions with extragalactic photon fields provide a secondary VHE photon flux. The data cannot rule out such variability due to low statistics. KW - BL Lacertae objects: individual (PKS 1424+240)-cosmic background radiation KW - gamma rays: galaxies Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/785/1/L16 SN - 2041-8205 SN - 2041-8213 VL - 785 IS - 1 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Archambault, S. A1 - Arlen, T. A1 - Aune, T. A1 - Beilicke, M. A1 - Benbow, W. A1 - Bird, R. A1 - Boettcher, Markus A1 - Bouvier, A. A1 - Buckley, J. H. A1 - Bugaev, V. A1 - Ciupik, L. A1 - Collins-Hughes, E. A1 - Connolly, M. P. A1 - Cui, W. A1 - Dickherber, R. A1 - Dumm, J. A1 - Errando, M. A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Federici, Simone A1 - Feng, Q. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Furniss, A. A1 - Galante, N. A1 - Gall, D. A1 - Garson, A. III. A1 - Gillanders, G. H. A1 - Griffin, S. A1 - Grube, J. A1 - Gusbar, C. A1 - Gyuk, G. A1 - Hanna, D. A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Hughes, G. A1 - Kaaret, P. A1 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Khassen, Y. A1 - Kieda, D. A1 - Krawczynski, H. A1 - Lamerato, A. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Li, K. A1 - Madhavan, A. S. A1 - Maier, G. A1 - Majumdar, P. A1 - McArthur, S. A1 - McCann, A. A1 - Millis, J. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, R. A1 - Nieto, D. A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Orr, M. A1 - Otte, A. N. A1 - Park, N. A1 - Perkins, J. S. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Popkow, A. A1 - Prokoph, H. A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, G. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Roustazadeh, P. A1 - Saxon, D. B. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Senturk, G. D. A1 - Skole, C. A1 - Staszak, D. A1 - Telezhinsky, Igor O. A1 - Tesic, G. A1 - Theiling, M. A1 - Varlotta, A. A1 - Vassiliev, V. V. A1 - Vincent, S. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Welsing, R. A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Zitzer, B. T1 - Test of models of the cosmic infrared background with multiwavelength observations of the blazar 1ES 1218+30.4 IN 2009 JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We present the results of a multi-wavelength campaign targeting the blazar 1ES 1218+30.4 with observations with the 1.3 m McGraw-Hill optical telescope, the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope, and the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). The RXTE and VERITAS observations were spread over a 13 day period and revealed clear evidence for flux variability, and a strong X-ray and gamma-ray flare on 2009 February 26 (MJD 54888). The campaign delivered a well-sampled broadband energy spectrum with simultaneous RXTE and VERITAS very high energy (VHE, > 100 GeV) observations, as well as contemporaneous optical and Fermi observations. The 1ES 1218+30.4 broadband energy spectrum-the first with simultaneous X-ray and VHE gamma-ray energy spectra-is of particular interest as the source is located at a high cosmological redshift for a VHE source (z = 0.182), leading to strong absorption of VHE gamma rays by photons from the optical/infrared extragalactic background light (EBL) via gamma VHE +gamma EBL -> e(+) e(-)pair-creation processes. We model the data with a one-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission model and with the extragalactic absorption predicted by several recent EBL models. We find that the observations are consistent with the SSC scenario and all the EBL models considered in this work. We discuss observational and theoretical avenues to improve on the EBL constraints. KW - BL Lacertae objects: general KW - BL Lacertae objects: individual (1ES1218+30.4) KW - cosmic background radiation KW - diffuse radiation KW - galaxies: jets KW - gamma rays: galaxies Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/788/2/158 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 788 IS - 2 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER -