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  - Archer, A.
A1  - Benbow, Wystan
A1  - Bird, Ralph
A1  - Brose, Robert
A1  - Buchovecky, M.
A1  - Bugaev, V
A1  - Cui, Wei
A1  - Danie, M. K.
A1  - Falcone, A.
A1  - Feng, Qi
A1  - Finley, John P.
A1  - Flinders, A.
A1  - Fortson, L.
A1  - Furniss, Amy
A1  - Gillanders, Gerard H.
A1  - Huttens, M.
A1  - Hanna, David
A1  - Hervet, O.
A1  - Holder, J.
A1  - Hughes, G.
A1  - Humensky, T. B.
A1  - Johnson, Caitlin A.
A1  - Kaaret, Philip
A1  - Kar, P.
A1  - Kelley-Hoskins, N.
A1  - Kieda, David
A1  - Krause, Maria
A1  - Krennrich, F.
A1  - Kumar, S.
A1  - Lang, M. J.
A1  - Lin, T. T. Y.
A1  - McArthur, S.
A1  - Moriarty, P.
A1  - Mukherjee, Reshmi
A1  - Nieto, Daniel
A1  - Ong, R. A.
A1  - Otte, A. N.
A1  - Park, Nahee
A1  - Petrashyk, A.
A1  - Pohl, Martin
A1  - Popkow, Alexis
A1  - Pueschel, Elisa
A1  - Quinn, J.
A1  - Ragan, K.
A1  - Reynold, P. T.
A1  - Richards, Gregory T.
A1  - Roache, E.
A1  - Rulten, C.
A1  - Sadeh, I
A1  - Sembroski, G. H.
A1  - Shahinyan, Karlen
A1  - Tyler, J.
A1  - Wakely, S. P.
A1  - Weiner, O. M.
A1  - Weinstein, A.
A1  - Wells, R. M.
A1  - Wilcox, P.
A1  - Wilhelm, Alina
A1  - Williams, David A.
A1  - Brisken, W. F.
A1  - Pontrelli, P.
T1  - HESS J1943+213
BT  - An extreme blazar shining through the galactic plane
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
N2  - HESS J1943+213 is a very high energy (VHE; > 100 GeV) gamma-ray source in the direction of the Galactic plane. Studies exploring the classification of the source are converging toward its identification as an extreme synchrotron BL Lac object. Here we present 38 hr of VERITAS observations of HESS J1943+213 taken over 2 yr. The source is detected with a significance of similar to 20 standard deviations, showing a remarkably stable flux and spectrum in VHE gamma-rays. Multifrequency Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the source confirm the extended, jet-like structure previously found in the 1.6 GHz band with the European VLBI Network and detect this component in the 4.6 and 7.3 GHz bands. The radio spectral indices of the core and the jet and the level of polarization derived from the VLBA observations are in a range typical for blazars. Data from VERITAS, Fermi-LAT, Swift-XRT, the FLWO 48 ' telescope, and archival infrared and hard X-ray observations are used to construct and model the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the source with a synchrotron self-Compton model. The well-measured gamma-ray peak of the SED with VERITAS and Fermi-LAT provides constraining upper limits on the source redshift. Possible contribution of secondary gamma-rays from ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray-initiated electromagnetic cascades to the gamma-ray emission is explored, finding that only a segment of the VHE spectrum can be accommodated with this process. A variability search is performed across X-ray and gamma-ray bands. No statistically significant flux or spectral variability is detected.
KW  - astroparticle physics
KW  - BL Lacertae objects: individual (HESS J1943+213, VER J1943+213)
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - galaxies: jets
KW  - galaxies: nuclei
KW  - gamma rays: galaxies
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aacbd0
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
VL  - 862
IS  - 1
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Arlen, T.
A1  - Aune, T.
A1  - Beilicke, M.
A1  - Benbow, W.
A1  - Bouvier, A.
A1  - Buckley, J. H.
A1  - Bugaev, V.
A1  - Cesarini, A.
A1  - Ciupik, L.
A1  - Connolly, M. P.
A1  - Cui, W.
A1  - Dickherber, R.
A1  - Dumm, J.
A1  - Errando, M.
A1  - Falcone, A.
A1  - Federici, S.
A1  - Feng, Q.
A1  - Finley, J. P.
A1  - Finnegan, G.
A1  - Fortson, L.
A1  - Furniss, A.
A1  - Galante, N.
A1  - Gall, D.
A1  - Griffin, S.
A1  - Grube, J.
A1  - Gyuk, G.
A1  - Hanna, D.
A1  - Holder, J.
A1  - Humensky, T. B.
A1  - Kaaret, P.
A1  - Karlsson, N.
A1  - Kertzman, M.
A1  - Khassen, Y.
A1  - Kieda, D.
A1  - Krawczynski, H.
A1  - Krennrich, F.
A1  - Maier, G.
A1  - Moriarty, P.
A1  - Mukherjee, R.
A1  - Nelson, T.
A1  - de Bhroithe, A. O'Faolain
A1  - Ong, R. A.
A1  - Orr, M.
A1  - Park, N.
A1  - Perkins, J. S.
A1  - Pichel, A.
A1  - Pohl, Martin
A1  - Prokoph, H.
A1  - Quinn, J.
A1  - Ragan, K.
A1  - Reyes, L. C.
A1  - Reynolds, P. T.
A1  - Roache, E.
A1  - Saxon, D. B.
A1  - Schroedter, M.
A1  - Sembroski, G. H.
A1  - Staszak, D.
A1  - Telezhinsky, Igor O.
A1  - Tesic, G.
A1  - Theiling, M.
A1  - Tsurusaki, K.
A1  - Varlotta, A.
A1  - Vincent, S.
A1  - Wakely, S. P.
A1  - Weekes, T. C.
A1  - Weinstein, A.
A1  - Welsing, R.
A1  - Williams, D. A.
A1  - Zitzer, B.
A1  - Jorstad, S. G.
A1  - MacDonald, N. R.
A1  - Marscher, A. P.
A1  - Smith, P. S.
A1  - Walker, R. C.
A1  - Hovatta, T.
A1  - Richards, J.
A1  - Max-Moerbeck, W.
A1  - Readhead, A.
A1  - Lister, M. L.
A1  - Kovalev, Y. Y.
A1  - Pushkarev, A. B.
A1  - Gurwell, M. A.
A1  - Lahteenmaki, A.
A1  - Nieppola, E.
A1  - Tornikoski, M.
A1  - Jarvela, E.
T1  - Rapid TeV Gamma-Ray flaring of bl lacertae
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
N2  - We report on the detection of a very rapid TeV gamma-ray flare from BL Lacertae on 2011 June 28 with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). The flaring activity was observed during a 34.6 minute exposure, when the integral flux above 200 GeV reached (3.4 +/- 0.6) x 10(-6) photons m(-2) s(-1), roughly 125% of the Crab Nebula flux measured by VERITAS. The light curve indicates that the observations missed the rising phase of the flare but covered a significant portion of the decaying phase. The exponential decay time was determined to be 13 +/- 4 minutes, making it one of the most rapid gamma-ray flares seen from a TeV blazar. The gamma-ray spectrum of BL Lacertae during the flare was soft, with a photon index of 3.6 +/- 0.4, which is in agreement with the measurement made previously by MAGIC in a lower flaring state. Contemporaneous radio observations of the source with the Very Long Baseline Array revealed the emergence of a new, superluminal component from the core around the time of the TeV gamma-ray flare, accompanied by changes in the optical polarization angle. Changes in flux also appear to have occurred at optical, UV, and GeV gamma-ray wavelengths at the time of the flare, although they are difficult to quantify precisely due to sparse coverage. A strong flare was seen at radio wavelengths roughly four months later, which might be related to the gamma-ray flaring activities. We discuss the implications of these multiwavelength results.
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - galaxies: individual (BL Lacertae, VER J2202+422)
KW  - gamma rays: galaxies
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/762/2/92
SN  - 0004-637X
VL  - 762
IS  - 2
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Furniss, Amy
A1  - Worseck, Gabor
A1  - Fumagalli, Michele
A1  - Johnson, Caitlin A.
A1  - Williams, David A.
A1  - Pontrelli, P.
A1  - Prochaska, J. Xavier
T1  - Spectroscopic Redshift of the Gamma-Ray Blazar B2 1215+30 from Ly alpha Emission
JF  - The astronomical journal
N2  - We report on Cosmic Origin Spectrograph observations of the gamma-ray bright blazar B2 1215+30, collected in 2015 November. These observations allow for the confirmation of the source redshift from the detection of a Lyα emission feature at λ ~ 1374 Å. The emission feature places the source at a redshift of z = 0.1305 ± 0.003, confirming the source's ground-based spectral measurement. The gamma-ray emission of the source is discussed in the context of the source distance, required for the accurate reconstruction of the intrinsic gamma-ray emission taking the absorption by the extragalactic background light into account. The source distance is found to be low enough that the previously reported detection of an exceptional flaring event from B2 1215+30 in 2014 cannot be used to investigate opacity-specific spectral and variability characteristics introduced by possible ultra-high-energy cosmic-ray propagation.
KW  - galaxies:distances and redshifts
KW  - galaxies: individual (B2 1215+30)
KW  - gamma rays: galaxies
KW  - ultraviolet: galaxies
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aaf28b
SN  - 0004-6256
SN  - 1538-3881
VL  - 157
IS  - 2
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Zhang, Haocheng
A1  - Chen, Xuhui
A1  - Boettcher, Markus
T1  - Synchrotron polarization in blazars
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
N2  - We present a detailed analysis of time-and energy-dependent synchrotron polarization signatures in a shock-in-jet model for gamma-ray blazars. Our calculations employ a full three-dimensional radiation transfer code, assuming a helical magnetic field throughout the jet. The code considers synchrotron emission from an ordered magnetic field, and takes into account all light-travel-time and other relevant geometric effects, while the relevant synchrotron self-Compton and external Compton effects are handled with the two-dimensional Monte-Carlo/Fokker-Planck (MCFP) code. We consider several possible mechanisms through which a relativistic shock propagating through the jet may affect the jet plasma to produce a synchrotron and high-energy flare. Most plausibly, the shock is expected to lead to a compression of the magnetic field, increasing the toroidal field component and thereby changing the direction of the magnetic field in the region affected by the shock. We find that such a scenario leads to correlated synchrotron + synchrotron-self-Compton flaring, associated with substantial variability in the synchrotron polarization percentage and position angle. Most importantly, this scenario naturally explains large polarization angle rotations by greater than or similar to 180 degrees, as observed in connection with gamma-ray flares in several blazars, without the need for bent or helical jet trajectories or other nonaxisymmetric jet features.
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - galaxies: jets
KW  - gamma rays: galaxies
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - relativistic processes
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/789/1/66
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
VL  - 789
IS  - 1
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  -