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We present very-high-energy gamma-ray observations of the BL Lac object 1ES 2344+514 taken by the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System between 2007 and 2015. 1ES 2344+514 is detected with a statistical significance above the background of 20.8 sigma in 47.2 h (livetime) of observations, making this the most comprehensive very-high-energy study of 1ES 2344+514 to date. Using these observations, the temporal properties of 1ES 2344+514 are studied on short and long times-scales. We fit a constant-flux model to nightly and seasonally binned light curves and apply a fractional variability test to determine the stability of the source on different time-scales. We reject the constant-flux model for the 2007-2008 and 2014-2015 nightly binned light curves and for the long-term seasonally binned light curve at the > 3 sigma level. The spectra of the time-averaged emission before and after correction for attenuation by the extragalactic background light are obtained. The observed time-averaged spectrum above 200 GeV is satisfactorily fitted (x(2)/NDF = 7.89/6) by a power-law function with an index Gamma = 2.46 +/- 0.06(stat) +/- 0.20(sys) and extends to at least 8 TeV. The extragalactic-backgroundlight-deabsorbed spectrum is adequately fit (x(2)/NDF = 6.73/6) by a power-law function with an index Gamma = 2.15 +/- 0.06(stat) +/- 0.20(sys) while an F-test indicates that the power law with an exponential cut-off function provides a marginally better fit (x(2)/NDF = 2.56/5) at the 2.1 sigma level. The source location is found to be consistent with the published radio location and its spatial extent is consistent with a point source.
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.
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.
We present the results of 16 Swift-triggered Gamma-ray burst (GRB) follow-up observations taken with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) telescope array from 2007 January to 2009 June. The median energy threshold and response time of these observations were 260 GeV and 320 s, respectively. Observations had an average duration of 90 minutes. Each burst is analyzed independently in two modes: over the whole duration of the observations and again over a shorter timescale determined by the maximum VERITAS sensitivity to a burst with a t(-1.5) time profile. This temporal model is characteristic of GRB afterglows with high-energy, long-lived emission that have been detected by the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi satellite. No significant very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission was detected and upper limits above the VERITAS threshold energy are calculated. The VERITAS upper limits are corrected for gamma-ray extinction by the extragalactic background light and interpreted in the context of the keV emission detected by Swift. For some bursts the VHE emission must have less power than the keV emission, placing constraints on inverse Compton models of VHE emission.
We present results from multiwavelength observations of the BL Lacertae object 1ES 1741 + 196, including results in the very high energy gamma-ray regime using the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). The VERITAS time-averaged spectrum, measured above 180 GeV, is well modelled by a power law with a spectral index of 2.7 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.2(syst). The integral flux above 180 GeV is (3.9 +/- 0.8(stat) +/- 1.0(syst)) x 10(-8) m(-2) s(-1), corresponding to 1.6 per cent of the Crab nebula flux on average. The multiwavelength spectral energy distribution of the source suggests that 1ES 1741+196 is an extreme-high-frequency-peaked BL Lacertae object. The observations analysed in this paper extend over a period of six years, during which time no strong flares were observed in any band. This analysis is therefore one of the few characterizations of a blazar in a non-flaring state.
Context. NGC 253 is one of only two starburst galaxies found to emit gamma-rays from hundreds of MeV to multi-TeV energies. Accurate measurements of the very-high-energy (VHE; E> 100 GeV) and high-energy (HE; E > 60 MeV) spectra are crucial to study the underlying particle accelerators, probe the dominant emission mechanism(s) and to study cosmic-ray interaction and transport. Aims. The measurement of the VHE gamma-ray emission of NGC 253 published in 2012 by H.E.S.S. was limited by large systematic uncertainties. Here, the most up to date measurement of the gamma-ray spectrum of NGC 253 is investigated in both HE and VHE gamma-rays. Assuming a hadronic origin of the gamma-ray emission, the measurement uncertainties are propagated into the interpretation of the accelerated particle population. Methods. The data of H.E.S.S. observations are reanalysed using an updated calibration and analysis chain. The improved Fermi-LAT analysis employs more than 8 yr of data processed using pass 8. The cosmic-ray particle population is evaluated from the combined HE-VHE gamma-ray spectrum using NAIMA in the optically thin case. Results. The VHE gamma-ray energy spectrum is best fit by a power-law distribution with a flux normalisation of (1.34 +/- 0.14(stat) +/- 0.27(sys)) x 10(-13) cm(-2) s(-1) TeV-1 at 1 TeV - about 40% above, but compatible with the value obtained in Abramowski et al. (2012). The spectral index Gamma = 2.39 +/- 0.14(stat) +/- 0.25(sys) is slightly softer than but consistent with the previous measurement within systematic errors. In the Fermi energy range an integral flux of F(E > 60 MeV) = (1.56 +/- 0.28(stat) +/- 0.15(sys)) x 10(-8) cm(-2) s(-1) is obtained. At energies above similar to 3 GeV the HE spectrum is consistent with a power-law ranging into the VHE part of the spectrum measured by H.E.S.S. with an overall spectral index Gamma = 2.22 +/- 0.06(stat). Conclusions. Two scenarios for the starburst nucleus are tested, in which the gas in the starburst nucleus acts as either a thin or a thick target for hadronic cosmic rays accelerated by the individual sources in the nucleus. In these two models, the level to which NGC 253 acts as a calorimeter is estimated to a range of f(cal) = 0.1 to 1 while accounting for the measurement uncertainties. The presented spectrum is likely to remain the most accurate measurements until the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) has collected a substantial set of data towards NGC 253.
The blazar Mrk 501 (z = 0.034) was observed at very-high-energy (VHE, E greater than or similar to 100 GeV) gamma-ray wavelengths during a bright flare on the night of 2014 June 23-24 (MJD 56832) with the H.E.S.S. phase-II array of Cherenkov telescopes. Data taken that night by H.E.S.S. at large zenith angle reveal an exceptional number of gamma-ray photons at multi-TeV energies, with rapid flux variability and an energy coverage extending significantly up to 20 TeV. This data set is used to constrain Lorentz invariance violation (LIV) using two independent channels: a temporal approach considers the possibility of an energy dependence in the arrival time of gamma-rays, whereas a spectral approach considers the possibility of modifications to the interaction of VHE gamma-rays with extragalactic background light (EBL) photons. The non-detection of energy-dependent time delays and the non-observation of deviations between the measured spectrum and that of a supposed power-law intrinsic spectrum with standard EBL attenuation are used independently to derive strong constraints on the energy scale of LIV (E-QG) in the subluminal scenario for linear and quadratic perturbations in the dispersion relation of photons. For the case of linear perturbations, the 95% confidence level limits obtained are E-QG,E-1 > 3.6 x 10(17) GeV using the temporal approach and E-QG,E-1 > 2.6 x 10(19) GeV using the spectral approach. For the case of quadratic perturbations, the limits obtained are E-QG,E-2 > 8.5 x 10(10) GeV using the temporal approach and E-QG,E-2 > 7.8 x 10(11) GeV using the spectral approach.
We show that moderate energy relaxation in the formation of dark matter halos invariably leads to profiles that match those observed in the central regions of galaxies. The density profile of the central region is universal and insensitive to either the seed perturbation shape or the details of the relaxation process. The profile has a central core; the multiplication of the central density by the core radius is almost independent of the halo mass, in accordance with observations. In the core area the density distribution behaves as an Einasto profile with low index (n similar to 0.5); it has an extensive region with rho proportional to r(-2) at larger distances. This is exactly the shape that observations suggest for the central region of galaxies. On the other hand, this shape does not fit the galaxy cluster profiles. A possible explanation of this fact is that the relaxation is violent in the case of galaxy clusters; however, it is not violent enough when galaxies or smaller dark matter structures are considered. We discuss the reasons for this.
Context. Blazars are variable sources on various timescales over a broad energy range spanning from radio to very high energy (>100 GeV, hereafter VHE). Mrk 501 is one of the brightest blazars at TeV energies and has been extensively studied since its first VHE detection in 1996. However, most of the gamma-ray studies performed on Mrk 501 during the past years relate to flaring activity, when the source detection and characterization with the available gamma-ray instrumentation was easier to perform.
Aims. Our goal is to characterize the source gamma-ray emission in detail, together with the radio-to-X-ray emission, during the non-flaring (low) activity, which is less often studied than the occasional flaring (high) activity.
Methods. We organized a multiwavelength (MW) campaign on Mrk 501 between March and May 2008. This multi-instrument effort included the most sensitive VHE gamma-ray instruments in the northern hemisphere, namely the imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes MAGIC and VERITAS, as well as Swift, RXTE, the F-GAMMA, GASP-WEBT, and other collaborations and instruments. This provided extensive energy and temporal coverage of Mrk 501 throughout the entire campaign.
Results. Mrk 501 was found to be in a low state of activity during the campaign, with a VHE flux in the range of 10%-20% of the Crab nebula flux. Nevertheless, significant flux variations were detected with various instruments, with a trend of increasing variability with energy and a tentative correlation between the X-ray and VHE fluxes. The broadband spectral energy distribution during the two different emission states of the campaign can be adequately described within the homogeneous one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model, with the (slightly) higher state described by an increase in the electron number density.
Conclusions. The one-zone SSC model can adequately describe the broadband spectral energy distribution of the source during the two months covered by the MW campaign. This agrees with previous studies of the broadband emission of this source during flaring and non-flaring states. We report for the first time a tentative X-ray-to-VHE correlation during such a low VHE activity. Although marginally significant, this positive correlation between X-ray and VHE, which has been reported many times during flaring activity, suggests that the mechanisms that dominate the X-ray/VHE emission during non-flaring-activity are not substantially different from those that are responsible for the emission during flaring activity.
Context. The High Energy Stereoscopic System Galactic plane survey (HGPS) is to date the most comprehensive census of Galactic gamma -ray sources at very high energies (VHE; 100 GeV <= E <= 100 TeV). As a consequence of the limited sensitivity of this survey, the 78 detected gamma -ray sources comprise only a small and biased subsample of the overall population. The larger part consists of currently unresolved sources, which contribute to large-scale diffuse emission to a still uncertain amount.Aims. We study the VHE gamma -ray source population in the Milky Way. For this purpose population-synthesis models are derived based on the distributions of source positions, extents, and luminosities.Methods. Several azimuth-symmetric and spiral-arm models are compared for spatial source distribution. The luminosity and radius function of the population are derived from the source properties of the HGPS data set and are corrected for the sensitivity bias of the HGPS. Based on these models, VHE source populations are simulated and the subsets of sources detectable according to the HGPS are compared with HGPS sources.Results. The power-law indices of luminosity and radius functions are determined to range between -1.6 and -1.9 for luminosity and -1.1 and -1.6 for radius. A two-arm spiral structure with central bar is discarded as spatial distribution of VHE sources, while azimuth-symmetric distributions and a distribution following a four-arm spiral structure without bar describe the HGPS data reasonably well. The total number of Galactic VHE sources is predicted to be in the range from 800 to 7000 with a total luminosity and flux of (1.6-6.3) x 10(36) ph s(-1) and (3-15) x 10(-10) ph cm(-2) s(-1), respectively.Conclusions. Depending on the model, the HGPS sample accounts for (68-87)% of the emission of the population in the scanned region. This suggests that unresolved sources represent a critical component of the diffuse emission measurable in the HGPS. With the foreseen jump in sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array, the number of detectable sources is predicted to increase by a factor between 5 and 9.