TY - JOUR A1 - Ahnen, M. L. A1 - Ansoldi, S. A1 - Antonelli, L. A. A1 - Arcaro, C. A1 - Babic, A. A1 - Banerjee, B. A1 - Bangale, P. A1 - Barres de Almeida, U. A1 - Barrio, J. A. A1 - Gonzalez, J. Becerra A1 - Bednarek, W. A1 - Bernardini, E. A1 - Berti, A. A1 - Bhattacharyya, W. A1 - Blanch, O. A1 - Bonnoli, G. A1 - Carosi, R. A1 - Carosi, A. A1 - Chatterjee, A. A1 - Colak, S. M. A1 - Colin, P. A1 - Colombo, E. A1 - Contreras, J. L. A1 - Cortina, J. A1 - Covino, S. A1 - Cumani, P. A1 - Da Vela, P. A1 - Dazzi, F. A1 - De Angelis, A. A1 - De Lotto, B. A1 - Delfino, M. A1 - Delgado, Jose Miguel Martins A1 - Di Pierro, F. A1 - Doert, M. A1 - Dominguez, A. A1 - Prester, D. Dominis A1 - Doro, M. A1 - Glawion, D. Eisenacher A1 - Engelkemeier, M. A1 - Ramazani, V. Fallah A1 - Fernandez-Barral, A. A1 - Fidalgo, D. A1 - Fonseca, M. V. A1 - Font, L. A1 - Fruck, C. A1 - Galindo, D. A1 - Lopez, R. J. Garcia A1 - Garczarczyk, M. A1 - Gaug, M. A1 - Giammaria, P. A1 - Godinovic, N. A1 - Gora, D. A1 - Guberman, D. A1 - Hadasch, D. A1 - Hahn, A. A1 - Hassan, T. A1 - Hayashida, M. A1 - Herrera, J. A1 - Hose, J. A1 - Hrupec, D. A1 - Ishio, K. A1 - Konno, Y. A1 - Kubo, H. A1 - Kushida, J. A1 - Kuvezdic, D. A1 - Lelas, D. A1 - Lindfors, E. A1 - Lombardi, S. A1 - Longo, F. A1 - Lopez, M. A1 - Maggio, C. A1 - Majumdar, P. A1 - Makariev, M. A1 - Maneva, G. A1 - Manganaro, M. A1 - Maraschi, L. A1 - Mariotti, M. A1 - Martinez, M. A1 - Mazin, D. A1 - Menzel, U. A1 - Minev, M. A1 - Miranda, J. M. A1 - Mirzoyan, R. A1 - Moralejo, A. A1 - Moreno, V. A1 - Moretti, E. A1 - Nagayoshi, T. A1 - Neustroev, V. A1 - Niedzwiecki, A. A1 - Nievas Rosillo, M. A1 - Nigro, C. A1 - Nilsson, K. A1 - Ninci, D. A1 - Nishijima, K. A1 - Noda, K. A1 - Nogues, L. A1 - Paiano, S. A1 - Palacio, J. A1 - Paneque, D. A1 - Paoletti, R. A1 - Paredes, J. M. A1 - Pedaletti, G. A1 - Peresano, M. A1 - Perri, L. A1 - Persic, M. A1 - Moroni, P. G. Prada A1 - Prandini, E. A1 - Puljak, I. A1 - Garcia, J. R. A1 - Reichardt, I. A1 - Ribo, M. A1 - Rico, J. A1 - Righi, C. A1 - Rugliancich, A. A1 - Saito, T. A1 - Satalecka, K. A1 - Schroeder, S. A1 - Schweizer, T. A1 - Shore, S. N. A1 - Sitarek, J. A1 - Snidaric, I. A1 - Sobczynska, D. A1 - Stamerra, A. A1 - Strzys, M. A1 - Suric, T. A1 - Takalo, L. A1 - Tavecchio, F. A1 - Temnikov, P. A1 - Terzic, T. A1 - Teshima, M. A1 - Torres-Alba, N. A1 - Treves, A. A1 - Tsujimoto, S. A1 - Vanzo, G. A1 - Vazquez Acosta, M. A1 - Vovk, I. A1 - Ward, J. E. A1 - Will, M. A1 - Zaric, D. A1 - Arbet-Engels, A. A1 - Baack, D. A1 - Balbo, M. A1 - Biland, A. A1 - Blank, M. A1 - Bretz, T. A1 - Bruegge, K. A1 - Bulinski, M. A1 - Buss, J. A1 - Dmytriiev, A. A1 - Dorner, D. A1 - Einecke, S. A1 - Elsaesser, D. A1 - Herbst, T. A1 - Hildebrand, D. A1 - Kortmann, L. A1 - Linhoff, L. A1 - Mahlke, M. A1 - Mannheim, K. A1 - Mueller, S. A. A1 - Neise, D. A1 - Neronov, A. A1 - Noethe, M. A1 - Oberkirch, J. A1 - Paravac, A. A1 - Rhode, W. A1 - Schleicher, B. A1 - Schulz, F. A1 - Sedlaczek, K. A1 - Shukla, A. A1 - Sliusar, V. A1 - Walter, R. A1 - Archer, A. A1 - Benbow, W. A1 - Bird, R. A1 - Brose, Robert A1 - Buckley, J. H. A1 - Bugaev, V. A1 - Christiansen, J. L. A1 - Cui, W. A1 - Daniel, M. K. A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Feng, Q. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Gillanders, G. H. A1 - Gueta, O. A1 - Hanna, D. A1 - Hervet, O. A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Hughes, G. A1 - Huetten, M. 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 - Park, N. A1 - Petrashyk, A. A1 - Pichel, A. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, G. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Rovero, A. C. A1 - Rulten, C. A1 - Sadeh, I. A1 - Santander, M. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Shahinyan, K. A1 - Sushch, Iurii A1 - Tyler, J. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Wells, R. M. A1 - Wilcox, P. A1 - Wilhel, A. A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Williamson, T. J. A1 - Zitzer, B. A1 - Perri, M. A1 - Verrecchia, F. A1 - Leto, C. A1 - Villata, M. A1 - Raiteri, C. M. A1 - Jorstad, S. G. A1 - Larionov, V. M. A1 - Blinov, D. A. A1 - Grishina, T. S. A1 - Kopatskaya, E. N. A1 - Larionova, E. G. A1 - Nikiforova, A. A. A1 - Morozova, D. A. A1 - Troitskaya, Yu. V. A1 - Troitsky, I. S. A1 - Kurtanidze, O. M. A1 - Nikolashvili, M. G. A1 - Kurtanidze, S. O. A1 - Kimeridze, G. N. A1 - Chigladze, R. A. A1 - Strigachev, A. A1 - Sadun, A. C. T1 - Extreme HBL behavior of Markarian 501 during 2012 JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal / European Southern Observatory (ESO) N2 - Aims. We aim to characterize the multiwavelength emission from Markarian 501 (Mrk 501), quantify the energy-dependent variability, study the potential multiband correlations, and describe the temporal evolution of the broadband emission within leptonic theoretical scenarios. Methods. We organized a multiwavelength campaign to take place between March and July of 2012. Excellent temporal coverage was obtained with more than 25 instruments, including the MAGIC, FACT and VERITAS Cherenkov telescopes, the instruments on board the Swift and Fermi spacecraft, and the telescopes operated by the GASP-WEBT collaboration. Results. Mrk 501 showed a very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray flux above 0.2 TeV of similar to 0.5 times the Crab Nebula flux (CU) for most of the campaign. The highest activity occurred on 2012 June 9, when the VHE flux was similar to 3 CU, and the peak of the high-energy spectral component was found to be at similar to 2 TeV. Both the X-ray and VHE gamma-ray spectral slopes were measured to be extremely hard, with spectral indices <2 during most of the observing campaign, regardless of the X-ray and VHE flux. This study reports the hardest Mrk 501 VHE spectra measured to date. The fractional variability was found to increase with energy, with the highest variability occurring at VHE. Using the complete data set, we found correlation between the X-ray and VHE bands; however, if the June 9 flare is excluded, the correlation disappears (significance <3 sigma) despite the existence of substantial variability in the X-ray and VHE bands throughout the campaign. Conclusions. The unprecedentedly hard X-ray and VHE spectra measured imply that their low- and high-energy components peaked above 5 keV and 0.5 TeV, respectively, during a large fraction of the observing campaign, and hence that Mrk 501 behaved like an extreme high-frequency-peaked blazar (EHBL) throughout the 2012 observing season. This suggests that being an EHBL may not be a permanent characteristic of a blazar, but rather a state which may change over time. The data set acquired shows that the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) of Mrk 501, and its transient evolution, is very complex, requiring, within the framework of synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) models, various emission regions for a satisfactory description. Nevertheless the one-zone SSC scenario can successfully describe the segments of the SED where most energy is emitted, with a significant correlation between the electron energy density and the VHE gamma-ray activity, suggesting that most of the variability may be explained by the injection of high-energy electrons. The one-zone SSC scenario used reproduces the behavior seen between the measured X-ray and VHE gamma-ray fluxes, and predicts that the correlation becomes stronger with increasing energy of the X-rays. KW - astroparticle physics KW - acceleration of particles KW - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal KW - BL Lacertae objects: general KW - BL Lacertae objects: individual: Mrk501 Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833704 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 620 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abeysekara, A. U. A1 - Archer, A. A1 - Benbow, Wystan A1 - Bird, Ralph A1 - Brill, A. A1 - Brose, Robert A1 - Buckley, J. H. A1 - Christiansen, Jessie L. A1 - Chromey, A. J. A1 - Daniel, M. K. A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Feng, Qi A1 - Finley, John P. A1 - Fortson, L. A1 - Furniss, Amy A1 - Gillanders, Gerard H. A1 - Gueta, O. 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 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Kieda, David A1 - Krause, Maria A1 - Krennrich, F. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, Reshmi A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Otte, A. N. A1 - Park, N. A1 - Petrashyk, A. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Pueschel, Elisa A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Richards, Gregory T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Rulten, C. A1 - Sadeh, I. A1 - Santander, Marcos A1 - Scott, S. S. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Shahinyan, Karlen A1 - Tyler, J. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Wells, R. M. A1 - Wilcox, P. A1 - Wilhelm, Alina A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Williamson, T. J. A1 - Zitzer, B. A1 - Kaur, A. T1 - VERITAS Observations of the BL Lac Object TXS 0506+056 JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics ; Part 2, Letters N2 - On 2017 September 22, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory reported the detection of the high-energy neutrino event IC 170922A, of potential astrophysical origin. It was soon determined that the neutrino direction was consistent with the location of the gamma-ray blazar TXS 0506+056. (3FGL J0509.4+ 0541), which was in an elevated gamma-ray emission state as measured by the Fermi satellite. Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) observations of the neutrino/blazar region started on 2017 September 23 in response to the neutrino alert and continued through 2018 February 6. While no significant very-high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) emission was observed from the blazar by VERITAS in the two-week period immediately following the IceCube alert, TXS 0506+ 056 was detected by VERITAS with a significance of 5.8 standard deviations (sigma) in the full 35 hr data set. The average photon flux of the source during this period was (8.9 +/- 1.6). x. 10(-12) cm(-2) s(-1), or 1.6% of the Crab Nebula flux, above an energy threshold of 110 GeV, with a soft spectral index of 4.8. +/-. 1.3. KW - astroparticle physics KW - BL Lacertae objects: individual (TXS 0506+056, VER J0509+057) KW - gamma rays: galaxies KW - quasars: general KW - neutrinos Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aad053 SN - 2041-8205 SN - 2041-8213 VL - 861 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 - Buckley, J. H. A1 - Chromey, A. J. A1 - Cui, Wei A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Feng, Qi A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Fortson, Lucy A1 - Furniss, Amy A1 - Gent, A. A1 - Gueta, O. A1 - Hanna, David A1 - Hassan, T. A1 - Hervet, Olivier 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 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Kieda, David A1 - Krennrich, F. A1 - Kumar, S. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Lin, T. T. Y. A1 - McCann, A. A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, Reshmi A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Otte, Adam Nepomuk A1 - Pandel, D. A1 - Park, N. A1 - Petrashyk, A. A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Pueschel, Elisa A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Richards, Gregory T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Sadeh, I A1 - Santander, Marcos A1 - Scott, S. S. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Shahinyan, Karlen A1 - Sushch, Iurii A1 - Tyler, J. A1 - Wakely, S. P. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Wells, R. M. A1 - Wilcox, P. A1 - Wilhelm, Alina A1 - Williams, D. A. A1 - Williamson, T. J. A1 - Zitzer, B. T1 - A Search for Pulsed Very High-energy Gamma-Rays from 13 Young Pulsars in Archival VERITAS Data JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - We conduct a search for periodic emission in the very high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray band (E > 100 GeV) from a total of 13 pulsars in an archival VERITAS data set with a total exposure of over 450 hr. The set of pulsars includes many of the brightest young gamma-ray pulsars visible in the Northern Hemisphere. The data analysis resulted in nondetections of pulsed VHE gamma-rays from each pulsar. Upper limits on a potential VHE gamma-ray flux are derived at the 95% confidence level above three energy thresholds using two methods. These are the first such searches for pulsed VHE emission from each of the pulsars, and the obtained limits constrain a possible flux component manifesting at VHEs as is seen for the Crab pulsar. KW - gamma rays: general KW - pulsars: general KW - stars: neutron Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab14f4 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 876 IS - 2 PB - IOP Publ. Ltd. CY - Bristol ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abeysekara, A. U. A1 - Archer, A. A1 - Benbow, Wystan A1 - Bird, Ralph A1 - Brill, A. A1 - Brose, Robert A1 - Buchovecky, M. A1 - Calderon-Madera, D. A1 - Christiansen, J. L. A1 - Cui, W. A1 - Daniel, M. K. A1 - Falcone, A. A1 - Feng, Q. A1 - Fernandez-Alonso, M. A1 - Finley, J. P. A1 - Fortson, Lucy A1 - Furniss, Amy A1 - Gent, A. A1 - Giuri, C. A1 - Gueta, O. A1 - Hanna, David A1 - Hassan, T. A1 - Hervet, Oliver A1 - Holder, J. A1 - Hughes, G. A1 - Humensky, T. B. A1 - Johnson, Caitlin A. A1 - Kaaret, P. A1 - Kertzman, M. A1 - Kieda, David A1 - Krause, Maria A1 - Krennrich, F. A1 - Kumar, S. A1 - Lang, M. J. A1 - Maier, Gernot A1 - Moriarty, P. A1 - Mukherjee, Reshmi A1 - Nievas-Rosillo, M. A1 - Ong, R. A. A1 - Pfrang, Konstantin Johannes A1 - Pohl, Martin A1 - Prado, R. R. A1 - Pueschel, Elisa A1 - Quinn, J. A1 - Ragan, K. A1 - Reynolds, P. T. A1 - Ribeiro, D. A1 - Richards, G. T. A1 - Roache, E. A1 - Rovero, A. C. A1 - Sadeh, Iftach A1 - Santander, M. A1 - Sembroski, G. H. A1 - Shahinyan, Karlen A1 - Sushch, Iurii A1 - Svraka, T. A1 - Weinstein, A. A1 - Wells, R. M. A1 - Wilcox, Patrick A1 - Wilhelm, Alina A1 - Williams, David Arnold A1 - Williamson, T. J. A1 - Zitzer, B. T1 - Measurement of the Extragalactic Background Light Spectral Energy Distribution with VERITAS JF - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics N2 - The extragalactic background light (EBL), a diffuse photon field in the optical and infrared range, is a record of radiative processes over the universe?s history. Spectral measurements of blazars at very high energies (>100 GeV) enable the reconstruction of the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the EBL, as the blazar spectra are modified by redshift- and energy-dependent interactions of the gamma-ray photons with the EBL. The spectra of 14 VERITAS-detected blazars are included in a new measurement of the EBL SED that is independent of EBL SED models. The resulting SED covers an EBL wavelength range of 0.56?56 ?m, and is in good agreement with lower limits obtained by assuming that the EBL is entirely due to radiation from cataloged galaxies. KW - Extragalactic astronomy KW - Active galactic nuclei KW - Diffuse radiation KW - Cosmology Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab4817 SN - 0004-637X SN - 1538-4357 VL - 885 IS - 2 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 -