TY  - JOUR
A1  - Aliu, E.
A1  - Arlen, T.
A1  - Aune, T.
A1  - Beilicke, M.
A1  - Benbow, W.
A1  - Boettcher, Markus
A1  - Bouvier, A.
A1  - Bradbury, S. M.
A1  - Buckley, J. H.
A1  - Bugaev, V.
A1  - Cannon, A.
A1  - Cesarini, A.
A1  - Ciupik, L.
A1  - Collins-Hughes, E.
A1  - Connolly, M. P.
A1  - Cui, W.
A1  - Dickherber, R.
A1  - Errando, M.
A1  - Falcone, A.
A1  - Finley, J. P.
A1  - Fortson, L.
A1  - Furniss, A.
A1  - Galante, N.
A1  - Gall, D.
A1  - Gillanders, G. H.
A1  - Godambe, S.
A1  - Griffin, S.
A1  - Grube, J.
A1  - Gyuk, G.
A1  - Hanna, D.
A1  - Holder, J.
A1  - Huan, H.
A1  - Hughes, G.
A1  - Hui, C. M.
A1  - Humensky, T. B.
A1  - Kaaret, P.
A1  - Karlsson, N.
A1  - Kertzman, M.
A1  - Kieda, D.
A1  - Krawczynski, H.
A1  - Krennrich, F.
A1  - Madhavan, A. S.
A1  - Maier, G.
A1  - Majumdar, P.
A1  - McArthur, S.
A1  - McCann, A.
A1  - Moriarty, P.
A1  - Mukherjee, R.
A1  - Ong, R. A.
A1  - Orr, M.
A1  - Otte, A. N.
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  - Rose, H. J.
A1  - Ruppel, J.
A1  - Saxon, D. B.
A1  - Schroedter, M.
A1  - Sembroski, G. H.
A1  - Skole, C.
A1  - Smith, A. W.
A1  - Staszak, D.
A1  - Tesic, G.
A1  - Theiling, M.
A1  - Thibadeau, S.
A1  - Tsurusaki, K.
A1  - Tyler, J.
A1  - Varlotta, A.
A1  - Vincent, S.
A1  - Vivier, M.
A1  - Wakely, S. P.
A1  - Ward, J. E.
A1  - Weinstein, A.
A1  - Weisgarber, T.
A1  - Williams, D. A.
T1  - Veritas observations of unusual extragalactic transient swift J164449.3+573451
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics ; Part 2, Letters
N2  - We report on very high energy (>100 GeV) gamma-ray observations of Swift J164449.3+573451, an unusual transient object first detected by the Swift Observatory and later detected by multiple radio, optical, and X-ray observatories. A total exposure of 28 hr was obtained on Swift J164449.3+573451 with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System ( VERITAS) during 2011 March 28-April 15. We do not detect the source and place a differential upper limit on the emission at 500 GeV during these observations of 1.4 x 10(-12) erg cm(-2) s(-1) (99% confidence level). We also present time-resolved upper limits and use a flux limit averaged over the X-ray flaring period to constrain various emission scenarios that can accommodate both the radio-through-X-ray emission detected from the source and the lack of detection by VERITAS.
KW  - accretion, accretion disks
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - gamma rays: galaxies
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/738/2/L30
SN  - 2041-8205
VL  - 738
IS  - 2
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Archambault, S.
A1  - Archer, A.
A1  - Benbow, W.
A1  - Bird, R.
A1  - Biteau, Jonathan
A1  - Buchovecky, M.
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  - Eisch, J. D.
A1  - Errando, M.
A1  - Falcone, A.
A1  - Feng, Q.
A1  - Finley, J. P.
A1  - Fleischhack, H.
A1  - Fortin, P.
A1  - Fortson, L.
A1  - Furniss, A.
A1  - Gillanders, G. H.
A1  - Griffin, S.
A1  - Grube, J.
A1  - Gyuk, G.
A1  - Huetten, M.
A1  - Hakansson, Nils
A1  - Hanna, D.
A1  - Holder, J.
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  - Maier, G.
A1  - McArthur, S.
A1  - McCann, A.
A1  - Meagher, K.
A1  - Moriarty, P.
A1  - Mukherjee, R.
A1  - Nguyen, T.
A1  - Nieto, D.
A1  - Ong, R. A.
A1  - Otte, A. N.
A1  - Park, N.
A1  - Perkins, J. S.
A1  - Pichel, 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  - Rovero, A. C.
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  - Vincent, S.
A1  - Wakely, S. P.
A1  - Weiner, O. M.
A1  - Weinstein, A.
A1  - Williams, D. A.
A1  - Zitzer, B.
A1  - Fumagalli, M.
A1  - Prochaska, J. X.
T1  - UPPER LIMITS FROM FIVE YEARS OF BLAZAR OBSERVATIONS WITH THE VERITAS CHERENKOV TELESCOPES
JF  - The astronomical journal
N2  - Between the beginning of its full-scale scientific operations in 2007 and 2012, the VERITAS Cherenkov telescope array observed more than 130 blazars; of these, 26 were detected as very-high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray sources. In this work, we present the analysis results of a sample of 114 undetected objects. The observations constitute a total live-time of similar to 570 hr. The sample includes several unidentified Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) sources (located at high Galactic latitude) as well as all the sources from the second Fermi-LAT catalog that are contained within the field of view of the VERITAS observations. We have also performed optical spectroscopy measurements in order to estimate the redshift of some of these blazars that do not have spectroscopic distance estimates. We present new optical spectra from the Kast instrument on the Shane telescope at the Lick observatory for 18 blazars included in this work, which allowed for the successful measurement or constraint on the redshift of four of them. For each of the blazars included in our sample, we provide the flux upper limit in the VERITAS energy band. We also study the properties of the significance distributions and we present the result of a stacked analysis of the data set, which shows a 4s excess.
KW  - BL Lacertae objects: general
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - gamma rays: galaxies
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/142
SN  - 0004-6256
SN  - 1538-3881
VL  - 151
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
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  - Chen, Xuhui
A1  - Chatterjee, Ritaban
A1  - Zhang, Haocheng
A1  - Pohl, Martin
A1  - Fossati, Giovanni
A1  - Boettcher, Markus
A1  - Bailyn, Charles D.
A1  - Bonning, Erin W.
A1  - Buxton, Michelle
A1  - Coppi, Paolo
A1  - Isler, Jedidah
A1  - Maraschi, Laura
A1  - Urry, Meg
T1  - Magnetic field amplification and flat spectrum radio quasars
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - We perform time-dependent, spatially resolved simulations of blazar emission to evaluate several flaring scenarios related to magnetic-field amplification and enhanced particle acceleration. The code explicitly accounts for light-travel-time effects and is applied to flares observed in the flat spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ) PKS 0208-512, which show optical/gamma-ray correlation at some times, but orphan optical flares at other times. Changes in both the magnetic field and the particle acceleration efficiency are explored as causes of flares. Generally, external Compton (EC) emission appears to describe the available data better than a synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) scenario, and in particular orphan optical flares are difficult to produce in the SSC framework. X-ray soft-excesses, gamma-ray spectral hardening, and the detections at very high energies of certain FSRQs during flares find natural explanations in the EC scenario with particle acceleration change. Likewise, optical flares with/without gamma-ray counterparts can be explained by different allocations of energy between the magnetization and particle acceleration, which may be related to the orientation of the magnetic field relative to the jet flow. We also calculate the degree of linear polarization and polarization angle as a function of time for a jet with helical magnetic field. Tightening of the magnetic helix immediately downstream of the jet perturbations, where flares occur, can be sufficient to explain the increases in the degree of polarization and a rotation by a parts per thousand yen180A degrees of the observed polarization angle, if light-travel-time effects are properly considered.
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - galaxies: jets
KW  - quasars: individual: PKS 0208-512
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu713
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 441
IS  - 3
SP  - 2188
EP  - 2199
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Chen, Xuhui
A1  - Pohl, Martin
A1  - Bottcher, Markus
A1  - Gao, Shan
T1  - Particle diffusion and localized acceleration in inhomogeneous AGN jets - II. Stochastic variation
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - We study the stochastic variation of blazar emission under a 2D spatially resolved leptonic jet model we previously developed. Random events of particle acceleration and injection in small zones within the emission region are assumed to be responsible for flux variations. In addition to producing spectral energy distributions that describe the observed flux of Mrk 421, we further analyse the timing properties of the simulated light curves, such as the power spectral density (PSD) at different bands, flux-flux correlations, aswell as the cross-correlation function between X-rays and TeV gamma-rays. We find spectral breaks in the PSD at a time-scale comparable to the dominant characteristic time-scale in the system, which is usually the predefined decay time-scale of an acceleration event. Cooling imposes a delay, and so PSDs taken at lower energy bands in each emission component (synchrotron or inverse Compton) generally break at longer time-scales. The flux-flux correlation between X-rays and TeV gamma-rays can be either quadratic or linear, depending on whether or not there are large variation of the injection into the particle acceleration process. When the relationship is quadratic, the TeV flares lag the X-ray flares, and the optical and GeV flares are large enough to be comparable to the ones in X-ray. When the relationship is linear, the lags are insignificant, and the optical and GeV flares are small.
KW  - acceleration of particles
KW  - diffusion
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - BL Lacertae objects: individual: Mrk 421
KW  - galaxies: jets
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw528
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 458
SP  - 3260
EP  - 3271
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Chen, Xuhui
A1  - Pohl, Martin
A1  - Böttcher, Markus
T1  - Particle diffusion and localized acceleration in inhomogeneous AGN jets - I. Steady-state spectra
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - We study the acceleration, transport, and emission of particles in relativistic jets. Localized stochastic particle acceleration, spatial diffusion, and synchrotron as well as synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) emission are considered in a leptonic model. To account for inhomogeneity, we use a 2D axisymmetric cylindrical geometry for both relativistic electrons and magnetic field. In this first phase of our work, we focus on steady-state spectra that develop from a time-dependent model. We demonstrate that small isolated acceleration region in a much larger emission volume are sufficient to accelerate particles to high energy. Diffusive escape from these small regions provides a natural explanation for the spectral form of the jet emission. The location of the acceleration regions within the jet is found to affect the cooling break of the spectrum in this diffusive model. Diffusion-caused energy-dependent inhomogeneity in the jets predicts that the SSC spectrum is harder than the synchrotron spectrum. There can also be a spectral hardening towards the high-energy section of the synchrotron spectrum, if particle escape is relatively slow. These two spectral hardening effects indicate that the jet inhomogeneity might be a natural explanation for the unexpected hard. gamma-ray spectra observed in some blazars.
KW  - acceleration of particles
KW  - diffusion
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - galaxies:active
KW  - galaxies: jets
Y1  - 2015
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu2438
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 447
IS  - 1
SP  - 530
EP  - 544
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Collaboration, H. E. S. S.
A1  - Abramowski, Attila
A1  - Aharonian, Felix A.
A1  - Benkhali, Faical  Ait
A1  - Akhperjanian, A. G.
A1  - Angüner, Ekrem Oǧuzhan
A1  - Anton, Gisela
A1  - Balenderan, Shangkari
A1  - Balzer, Arnim
A1  - Barnacka, Anna
A1  - Becherini, Yvonne
A1  - Tjus, J. Becker
A1  - Bernlöhr, K.
A1  - Birsin, E.
A1  - Bissaldi, E.
A1  - Biteau, Jonathan
A1  - Boettcher, Markus
A1  - Boisson, Catherine
A1  - Bolmont, J.
A1  - Bordas, Pol
A1  - Brucker, J.
A1  - Brun, Francois
A1  - Brun, Pierre
A1  - Bulik, Tomasz
A1  - Carrigan, Svenja
A1  - Casanova, Sabrina
A1  - Cerruti, M.
A1  - Chadwick, Paula M.
A1  - Chalme-Calvet, R.
A1  - Chaves, Ryan C. G.
A1  - Cheesebrough, A.
A1  - Chretien, M.
A1  - Colafrancesco, Sergio
A1  - Cologna, Gabriele
A1  - Conrad, Jan
A1  - Couturier, C.
A1  - Cui, Y.
A1  - Dalton, M.
A1  - Daniel, M. K.
A1  - Davids, I. D.
A1  - Degrange, B.
A1  - Deil, C.
A1  - de Wilt, P.
A1  - Dickinson, H. J.
A1  - Djannati-Ataï, A.
A1  - Domainko, W.
A1  - Dubus, G.
A1  - Dutson, K.
A1  - Dyks, J.
A1  - Dyrda, M.
A1  - Edwards, T.
A1  - Egberts, Kathrin
A1  - Eger, P.
A1  - Espigat, P.
A1  - Farnier, C.
A1  - Fegan, S.
A1  - Feinstein, F.
A1  - Fernandes, M. V.
A1  - Fernandez, D.
A1  - Fiasson, A.
A1  - Fontaine, G.
A1  - Foerster, A.
A1  - Fuessling, M.
A1  - Gajdus, M.
A1  - Gallant, Y. A.
A1  - Garrigoux, T.
A1  - Giavitto, G.
A1  - Giebels, B.
A1  - Glicenstein, J. F.
A1  - Grondin, M. -H.
A1  - Grudzinska, M.
A1  - Haeffner, S.
A1  - Hahn, J.
A1  - Harris, J.
A1  - Heinzelmann, G.
A1  - Henri, G.
A1  - Hermann, G.
A1  - Hervet, O.
A1  - Hillert, A.
A1  - Hinton, James Anthony
A1  - Hofmann, W.
A1  - Hofverberg, P.
A1  - Holler, M.
A1  - Horns, Dieter
A1  - Jacholkowska, A.
A1  - Jahn, C.
A1  - Jamrozy, M.
A1  - Janiak, M.
A1  - Jankowsky, F.
A1  - Jung, I.
A1  - Kastendieck, M. A.
A1  - Katarzynski, K.
A1  - Katz, U.
A1  - Kaufmann, S.
A1  - Khelifi, B.
A1  - Kieffer, M.
A1  - Klepser, S.
A1  - Klochkov, D.
A1  - Kluzniak, W.
A1  - Kneiske, T.
A1  - Kolitzus, D.
A1  - Komin, Nu.
A1  - Kosack, K.
A1  - Krakau, S.
A1  - Krayzel, F.
A1  - Krueger, P. P.
A1  - Laffon, H.
A1  - Lamanna, G.
A1  - Lefaucheur, J.
A1  - Lemiere, A.
A1  - Lemoine-Goumard, M.
A1  - Lenain, J. -P.
A1  - Lennarz, D.
A1  - Lohse, T.
A1  - Lopatin, A.
A1  - Lu, C. -C.
A1  - Marandon, V.
A1  - Marcowith, Alexandre
A1  - Marx, R.
A1  - Maurin, G.
A1  - Maxted, N.
A1  - Mayer, M.
A1  - McComb, T. J. L.
A1  - Mehault, J.
A1  - Meintjes, P. J.
A1  - Menzler, U.
A1  - Meyer, M.
A1  - Moderski, R.
A1  - Mohamed, M.
A1  - Moulin, Emmanuel
A1  - Murach, T.
A1  - Naumann, C. L.
A1  - de Naurois, M.
A1  - Niemiec, J.
A1  - Nolan, S. J.
A1  - Oakes, L.
A1  - Ohm, S.
A1  - Wilhelmi, E. de Ona
A1  - Opitz, B.
A1  - Ostrowski, M.
A1  - Oya, I.
A1  - Panter, M.
A1  - Parsons, R. D.
A1  - Arribas, M. Paz
A1  - Pekeur, N. W.
A1  - Pelletier, G.
A1  - Perez, J.
A1  - Petrucci, P. -O.
A1  - Peyaud, B.
A1  - Pita, S.
A1  - Poon, H.
A1  - Puehlhofer, G.
A1  - Punch, M.
A1  - Quirrenbach, A.
A1  - Raab, S.
A1  - Raue, M.
A1  - Reimer, A.
A1  - Reimer, O.
A1  - Renaud, M.
A1  - de los Reyes, R.
A1  - Rieger, F.
A1  - Rob, L.
A1  - Romoli, C.
A1  - Rosier-Lees, S.
A1  - Rowell, G.
A1  - Rudak, B.
A1  - Rulten, C. B.
A1  - Sahakian, V.
A1  - Sanchez, David M.
A1  - Santangelo, Andrea
A1  - Schlickeiser, R.
A1  - Schuessler, F.
A1  - Schulz, A.
A1  - Schwanke, U.
A1  - Schwarzburg, S.
A1  - Schwemmer, S.
A1  - Sol, H.
A1  - Spengler, G.
A1  - Spies, F.
A1  - Stawarz, L.
A1  - Steenkamp, R.
A1  - Stegmann, Christian
A1  - Stinzing, F.
A1  - Stycz, Kornelia
A1  - Sushch, Iurii
A1  - Szostek, A.
A1  - Tavernet, J. -P.
A1  - Tavernier, T.
A1  - Taylor, A. M.
A1  - Terrier, R.
A1  - Tluczykont, M.
A1  - Trichard, C.
A1  - Valerius, K.
A1  - van Eldik, C.
A1  - van Soelen, B.
A1  - Vasileiadis, G.
A1  - Venter, C.
A1  - Viana, A.
A1  - Vincent, P.
A1  - Voelk, H. J.
A1  - Volpe, F.
A1  - Vorster, M.
A1  - Vuillaume, T.
A1  - Wagner, S. J.
A1  - Wagner, P.
A1  - Ward, M.
A1  - Weidinger, M.
A1  - Weitzel, Q.
A1  - White, R.
A1  - Wierzcholska, A.
A1  - Willmann, P.
A1  - Woernlein, A.
A1  - Wouters, D.
A1  - Zabalza, V.
A1  - Zacharias, M.
A1  - Zajczyk, A.
A1  - Zdziarski, A. A.
A1  - Zech, Alraune
A1  - Zechlin, H. -S.
T1  - HESS observations of the Crab during its March 2013 GeV gamma-ray flare
JF  - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal
N2  - Context. On March 4, 2013 the Fermi-EAT and AGILE reported a flare from the direction of the Crab nebula in which the high-energy (HE; E > 100 MeV) flux was six times above its quiescent level. Simultaneous observations in other energy bands give us hints about the emission processes during the flare episode and the physics of pulsar wind nebulae in general.
 Aims. We search for variability in the emission of the Crab nebula at very-high energies (VHF,; E > 100 GeV), using contemporaneous data taken with the H.E.S.S. array of Cherenkov telescopes.
 Methods. Observational data taken with the H.E.S.S. instrument on five consecutive days during the flare were analysed for the flux and spectral shape of the emission from the Crab nebula. Night-wise light curves are presented with energy thresholds of 1 TeV and 5 TeV.
 Results. The observations conducted with H.E.S.S. on March 6 to March 10, 2013 show no significant changes in the flux. They limit the variation in the integral flux above 1 TeV to less than 63% and the integral flux above 5 TeV to less than 78% at a 95% confidence level.
KW  - gamma rays: ISM
KW  - ISM: individual objects: Crab nebula
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - relativistic processes
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201323013
SN  - 0004-6361
SN  - 1432-0746
VL  - 562
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - De Becker, M.
A1  - del Valle, Maria Victoria
A1  - Romero, G. E.
A1  - Peri, C. S.
A1  - Benaglia, P.
T1  - X- ray study of bow shocks in runaway stars
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - Massive runaway stars produce bow shocks through the interaction of their winds with the interstellar medium, with the prospect for particle acceleration by the shocks. These objects are consequently candidates for non-thermal emission. Our aim is to investigate the X-ray emission from these sources. We observed with XMM-Newton a sample of five bow shock runaways, which constitutes a significant improvement of the sample of bow shock runaways studied in X-rays so far. A careful analysis of the data did not reveal any X-ray emission related to the bow shocks. However, X-ray emission from the stars is detected, in agreement with the expected thermal emission from stellar winds. On the basis of background measurements we derive conservative upper limits between 0.3 and 10 keV on the bow shocks emission. Using a simple radiation model, these limits together with radio upper limits allow us to constrain some of the main physical quantities involved in the non-thermal emission processes, such as the magnetic field strength and the amount of incident infrared photons. The reasons likely responsible for the non-detection of non-thermal radiation are discussed. Finally, using energy budget arguments, we investigate the detectability of inverse Compton X-rays in a more extended sample of catalogued runaway star bow shocks. From our analysis we conclude that a clear identification of non-thermal X-rays from massive runaway bow shocks requires one order of magnitude (or higher) sensitivity improvement with respect to present observatories.
KW  - acceleration of particles
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - stars: earlytype
KW  - X-rays: stars
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx1826
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 471
SP  - 4452
EP  - 4464
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - del Valle, Maria Victoria
A1  - Müller, A. L.
A1  - Romero, G. E.
T1  - High-energy radiation from collisions of high-velocity clouds and the Galactic disc
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - High-velocity clouds (HVCs) are interstellar clouds of atomic hydrogen that do not follow normal Galactic rotation and have velocities of a several hundred kilometres per second. A considerable number of these clouds are falling down towards the Galactic disc. HVCs form large and massive complexes, so if they collide with the disc a great amount of energy would be released into the interstellar medium. The cloud-disc interaction produces two shocks: one propagates through the cloud and the other through the disc. The properties of these shocks depend mainly on the cloud velocity and the disc-cloud density ratio. In this work, we study the conditions necessary for these shocks to accelerate particles by diffusive shock acceleration and we study the non-thermal radiation that is produced. We analyse particle acceleration in both the cloud and disc shocks. Solving a time-dependent two-dimensional transport equation for both relativistic electrons and protons, we obtain particle distributions and non-thermal spectral energy distributions. In a shocked cloud, significant synchrotron radio emission is produced along with soft gamma rays. In the case of acceleration in the shocked disc, the non-thermal radiation is stronger; the gamma rays, of leptonic origin, might be detectable with current instruments. A large number of protons are injected into the Galactic interstellar medium, and locally exceed the cosmic ray background. We conclude that under adequate conditions the contribution from HVC-disc collisions to the galactic population of relativistic particles and the associated extended non-thermal radiation might be important.
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - ISM: clouds
KW  - cosmic rays
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx2984
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 475
IS  - 4
SP  - 4298
EP  - 4308
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi
A1  - Frederiksen, J. T.
A1  - Nordlund, A.
A1  - Mizuno, Y.
A1  - Hardee, P. E.
A1  - Niemiec, J.
A1  - Gomez, J. L.
A1  - Dutan, I.
A1  - Meli, A.
A1  - Sol, H.
A1  - Pohl, Martin
A1  - Hartmann, D. H.
T1  - EVOLUTION OF GLOBAL RELATIVISTIC JETS: COLLIMATIONS AND EXPANSION WITH
kKHI AND THE WEIBEL INSTABILITY
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
N2  - In the study of relativistic jets one of the key open questions is their interaction with the environment. Here. we study the initial evolution of both electron-proton (e(-) - p(+)) and electron-positron (e(+/-)) relativistic jets, focusing on their lateral interaction with ambient plasma. We follow the evolution of toroidal magnetic fields generated by both the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz and Mushroom instabilities. For an e(-) - p(+) jet, the induced magnetic field collimates the jet and electrons are perpendicularly accelerated. As the instabilities saturate and subsequently weaken, the magnetic polarity switches from clockwise to counterclockwise in the middle of the jet. For an e(+/-) jet, we find strong mixing of electrons and positrons with the ambient plasma, resulting in the creation of a bow shock. The merging of current filaments generates density inhomogeneities that. initiate a forward shock. Strong jet-ambient plasma mixing prevents a full development of the jet (on the scale studied), revealing evidence for both jet collimation and particle acceleration in the forming bow shock. Differences in the magnetic field structure generated by e(-) - p(+) and e(+/-) jets may contribute to the polarization properties of the observed emission in AGN jets and gamma-ray bursts.
KW  - acceleration of particles
KW  - plasmas
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - relativistic processes
KW  - stars: jets
KW  - Sun: magnetic fields
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/820/2/94
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
VL  - 820
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Nishikawa, Ken-Ichi
A1  - Hardee, P. E.
A1  - Dutan, I.
A1  - Niemiec, J.
A1  - Medvedev, M.
A1  - Mizuno, Y.
A1  - Meli, A.
A1  - Sol, H.
A1  - Zhang, B.
A1  - Pohl, Martin
A1  - Hartmann, D. H.
T1  - Magnetic agnetic field generation in core-sheath jets via the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
N2  - We have investigated magnetic field generation in velocity shears via the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (kKHI) using a relativistic plasma jet core and stationary plasma sheath. Our three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations consider plasma jet cores with Lorentz factors of 1.5, 5, and 15 for both electron-proton and electron-positron plasmas. For electron-proton plasmas, we find generation of strong large-scale DC currents and magnetic fields that extend over the entire shear surface and reach thicknesses of a few tens of electron skin depths. For electron-positron plasmas, we find generation of alternating currents and magnetic fields. Jet and sheath plasmas are accelerated across the shear surface in the strong magnetic fields generated by the kKHI. The mixing of jet and sheath plasmas generates a transverse structure similar to that produced by the Weibel instability.
KW  - acceleration of particles
KW  - magnetic fields
KW  - plasmas
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - relativistic processes
KW  - stars: jets
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/793/1/60
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
VL  - 793
IS  - 1
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Ohm, Stefan
A1  - Hoischen, Clemens
T1  - On the expected gamma-ray emission from nearby flaring stars
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - Stellar flares have been extensively studied in soft X-rays (SXRs) by basically every X-ray mission. Hard X-ray (HXR) emission from stellar superflares, however, have only been detected from a handful of objects over the past years. One very extreme event was the superflare from the young M-dwarf DGCVn binary star system, which triggered Swift/BAT as if it was a gamma-ray burst. In this work, we estimate the expected gamma-ray emission from DGCVn and the most extreme stellar flares by extrapolating from solar flares based on measured solar energetic particles (SEPs), as well as thermal and non-thermal emission properties. We find that ions are plausibly accelerated in stellar superflares to 100 GeV energies, and possibly up to TeV energies in the associated coronal mass ejections. The corresponding pi(0)-decay gamma-ray emission could be detectable from stellar superflares with ground-based gamma-ray telescopes. On the other hand, the detection of gamma-ray emission implies particle densities high enough that ions suffer significant losses due to inelastic proton-proton scattering. The next-generation Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) should be able to probe superflares from M dwarfs in the solar neighbourhood and constrain the energy in interacting cosmic rays and/or their maximum energy. The detection of gamma-ray emission from stellar flares would open a new window for the study of stellar physics, the underlying physical processes in flares and their impact on habitability of planetary systems.
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - stars: flare
KW  - stars: individual: DGCVn-gamma rays: stars
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx2806
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 474
IS  - 1
SP  - 1335
EP  - 1341
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Sushch, Iurii
A1  - Brose, Robert
A1  - Pohl, Martin
T1  - Modeling of the spatially resolved nonthermal emission from the Vela Jr. supernova remnant
JF  - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal
N2  - Vela Jr. (RX J0852.0-4622) is one of just a few known supernova remnants (SNRs) with a resolved shell across the whole electromagnetic spectrum from radio to very-high-energy (>100 GeV; VHE) gamma-rays. Its proximity and large size allow for detailed spatially resolved observations of the source, making Vela Jr. one of the primary sources used for the study of particle acceleration and emission mechanisms in SNRs. High-resolution X-ray observations reveal a steepening of the spectrum toward the interior of the remnant. In this study we aim for a self-consistent radiation model of Vela Jr. which at the same time would explain the broadband emission from the source and its intensity distribution. We solve the full particle transport equation combined with the high-resolution one-dimensional (1D) hydrodynamic simulations (using Pluto code) and subsequently calculate the radiation from the remnant. The equations are solved in the test particle regime. We test two models for the magnetic field profile downstream of the shock: damped magnetic field, which accounts for the damping of strong magnetic turbulence downstream, and transported magnetic field. Neither of these scenarios can fully explain the observed radial dependence of the X-ray spectrum under spherical symmetry. We show, however, that the softening of the spectrum and the X-ray intensity profile can be explained under the assumption that the emission is enhanced within a cone.
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - acceleration of particles
KW  - cosmic rays
KW  - ISM: supernova remnants
KW  - X-rays: individuals: Vela Jr (RX J08520-4622)
KW  - shock waves
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201832879
SN  - 1432-0746
SN  - 0004-6361
VL  - 618
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Vieyro, Florencia L.
A1  - Romero, Gustavo Esteban
A1  - Bosch-Ramon, Valentin
A1  - Marcote, Benito
A1  - del Valle, Maria Victoria
T1  - A model for the repeating FRB 121102 in the AGN scenario
JF  - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal
N2  - Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are transient sources of unknown origin. Recent radio and optical observations have provided strong evidence for an extragalactic origin of the phenomenon and the precise localization of the repeating FRB 121102. Observations using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) have revealed the existence of a continuum non-thermal radio source consistent with the location of the bursts in a dwarf galaxy. All these new data rule out several models that were previously proposed, and impose stringent constraints to new models. Aims. We aim to model FRB 121102 in light of the new observational results in the active galactic nucleus (AGN) scenario. Methods. We propose a model for repeating FRBs in which a non-steady relativistic e(+)-beam, accelerated by an impulsive magneto-hydrodynamic driven mechanism, interacts with a cloud at the centre of a star-forming dwarf galaxy. The interaction generates regions of high electrostatic field called cavitons in the plasma cloud. Turbulence is also produced in the beam. These processes, plus particle isotropization, the interaction scale, and light retardation effects, provide the necessary ingredients for short-lived, bright coherent radiation bursts. Results. The mechanism studied in this work explains the general properties of FRB 121102, and may also be applied to other repetitive FRBs. Conclusions. Coherent emission from electrons and positrons accelerated in cavitons provides a plausible explanation of FRBs.
KW  - radio continuum: general
KW  - galaxies: dwarf
KW  - galaxies: jets
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201730556
SN  - 1432-0746
VL  - 602
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wilhelm, Alina
A1  - Telezhinsky, Igor
A1  - Dwarkadas, Vikram V.
A1  - Pohl, Martin
T1  - Stochastic re-acceleration and magnetic-field damping in Tycho’s supernova remnant
JF  - Astronomy and astrophysics
N2  - Context.
Tycho's supernova remnant (SNR) is associated with the historical supernova (SN) event SN 1572 of Type Ia. The explosion occurred in a relatively clean environment, and was visually observed, providing an age estimate. This SNR therefore represents an ideal astrophysical test-bed for the study of cosmic-ray acceleration and related phenomena. A number of studies suggest that shock acceleration with particle feedback and very efficient magnetic-field amplification combined with Alfvenic drift are needed to explain the rather soft radio spectrum and the narrow rims observed in X-rays. 

Aims.
We show that the broadband spectrum of Tycho's SNR can alternatively be well explained when accounting for stochastic acceleration as a secondary process. The re-acceleration of particles in the turbulent region immediately downstream of the shock should be efficient enough to impact particle spectra over several decades in energy. The so-called Alfvenic drift and particle feedback on the shock structure are not required in this scenario. Additionally, we investigate whether synchrotron losses or magnetic-field damping play a more profound role in the formation of the non-thermal filaments. 

Methods. 
We solved the full particle transport equation in test-particle mode using hydrodynamic simulations of the SNR plasma flow. The background magnetic field was either computed from the induction equation or follows analytic profiles, depending on the model considered. Fast-mode waves in the downstream region provide the diffusion of particles in momentum space.

Results.
We show that the broadband spectrum of Tycho can be well explained if magnetic-field damping and stochastic re-acceleration of particles are taken into account. Although not as efficient as standard diffusive shock acceleration, stochastic acceleration leaves its imprint on the particle spectra, which is especially notable in the emission at radio wavelengths. We find a lower limit for the post-shock magnetic-field strength similar to 330 mu G, implying efficient amplification even for the magnetic-field damping scenario. Magnetic-field damping is necessary for the formation of the filaments in the radio range, while the X-ray filaments are shaped by both the synchrotron losses and magnetic-field damping.
KW  - acceleration of particles
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - ISM: supernova remnants
KW  - cosmic rays
KW  - ISM: individual objects: Tycho's SNR
KW  - shock waves
Y1  - 2020
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201936079
SN  - 0004-6361
SN  - 1432-0746
VL  - 639
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Xue, Rui
A1  - Liu, Ruo-Yu
A1  - Wang, Xiang-Yu
A1  - Yan, Huirong
A1  - Böttcher, Markus
T1  - On the minimum jet power of TeV BL Lac objects in the p-gamma model
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
N2  - We study the requirement of the jet power in the conventional p-gamma models (photopion production and Bethe-Heitler pair production) for TeV BL Lac objects. We select a sample of TeV BL Lac objects whose spectral energy distributions are difficult to explain by the one-zone leptonic model. Based on the relation between the p-gamma interaction efficiency and the opacity of gamma gamma absorption, we find that the detection of TeV emission poses upper limits on the p-gamma interaction efficiencies in these sources and hence minimum jet powers can be derived accordingly. We find that the obtained minimum jet powers exceed the Eddington luminosity of the supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Implications for the accretion mode of the SMBHs in these BL Lac objects and the origin of their TeV emissions are discussed.
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - galaxies: jets
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aaf720
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
VL  - 871
IS  - 1
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Zacharias, Michael
A1  - Chen, Xuhui
A1  - Wagner, Stefan
T1  - Attenuation of TeV gamma-rays by the starlight photon field of the host galaxy
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - The absorption of TeV gamma-ray photons produced in relativistic jets by surrounding soft photon fields is a long-standing problem of jet physics. In some cases, the most likely emission site close to the central black hole is ruled out because of the high opacity caused by strong optical and infrared photon sources, such as the broad-line region. Mostly neglected for jet modelling is the absorption of gamma-rays in the starlight photon field of the host galaxy. Analysing the absorption for arbitrary locations and observation angles of the gamma-ray emission site within the host galaxy, we find that the distance to the galaxy centre, the observation angle, and the distribution of starlight in the galaxy are crucial for the amount of absorption. We derive the absorption value for a sample of 20 TeV-detected blazars with a redshift z(r) < 0.2. The absorption value of the gamma-ray emission located in the galaxy centre may be as high as 20 per cent, with an average value of 6 per cent. This is important in order to determine the intrinsic blazar parameters. We see no significant trends in our sample between the degree of absorption and host properties, such as starlight emissivity, galactic size, half-light radius, and redshift. While the uncertainty of the spectral properties of the extragalactic background light exceeds the effect of absorption by stellar light from the host galaxy in distant objects, the latter is a dominant effect in nearby sources. It may also be revealed in a differential comparison of sources with similar redshifts.
KW  - opacity
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - gamma-rays: galaxies
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw3032
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 465
IS  - 3
SP  - 3767
EP  - 3774
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
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  -