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Ackermann, Margit ; Ajello, M. ; Allafort, A. J. ; Baldini, L. ; Ballet, J. ; Barbiellini, G. ; Bastieri, D. ; Belfiore, A. ; Bellazzini, R. ; Berenji, B. ; Blandford, R. D. ; Bloom, E. D. ; Bonamente, E. ; Borgland, A. W. ; Bottacini, E. ; Brigida, M. ; Bruel, P. ; Buehler, R. ; Buson, S. ; Caliandro, G. A. ; Cameron, R. A. ; Caraveo, P. A. ; Casandjian, J. M. ; Cecchi, C. ; Chekhtman, A. ; Cheung, C. C. ; Chiang, J. ; Ciprini, S. ; Claus, R. ; Cohen-Tanugi, J. ; de Angelis, A. ; de Palma, F. ; Dermer, C. D. ; do Couto e Silva, E. ; Drell, P. S. ; Dumora, D. ; Favuzzi, C. ; Fegan, S. J. ; Focke, W. B. ; Fortin, P. ; Fukazawa, Y. ; Fusco, P. ; Gargano, F. ; Germani, S. ; Giglietto, N. ; Giordano, F. ; Giroletti, M. ; Glanzman, T. ; Godfrey, G. ; Grenier, I. A. ; Guillemot, L. ; Guiriec, S. ; Hadasch, D. ; Hanabata, Y. ; Harding, A. K. ; Hayashida, M. ; Hayashi, K. ; Hays, E. ; Johannesson, G. ; Johnson, A. S. ; Kamae, T. ; Katagiri, H. ; Kataoka, J. ; Kerr, M. ; Knoedlseder, J. ; Kuss, M. ; Lande, J. ; Latronico, L. ; Lee, S. -H. ; Longo, F. ; Loparco, F. ; Lott, B. ; Lovellette, M. N. ; Lubrano, P. ; Martin, P. ; Mazziotta, Mario Nicola ; McEnery, J. E. ; Mehault, J. ; Michelson, P. F. ; Mitthumsiri, W. ; Mizuno, T. ; Monte, C. ; Monzani, M. E. ; Morselli, A. ; Moskalenko, I. V. ; Murgia, S. ; Naumann-Godo, M. ; Nolan, P. L. ; Norris, J. P. ; Nuss, E. ; Ohsugi, T. ; Okumura, A. ; Orlando, E. ; Ormes, J. F. ; Ozaki, M. ; Paneque, D. ; Parent, D. ; Pesce-Rollins, M. ; Pierbattista, M. ; Piron, F. ; Pohl, Martin ; Prokhorov, D. ; Raino, S. ; Rando, R. ; Razzano, M. ; Reposeur, T. ; Ritz, S. ; Parkinson, P. M. Saz ; Sgro, C. ; Siskind, E. J. ; Smith, P. D. ; Spinelli, P. ; Strong, A. W. ; Takahashi, H. ; Tanaka, T. ; Thayer, J. G. ; Thayer, J. B. ; Thompson, D. J. ; Tibaldo, L. ; Torres, D. F. ; Tosti, G. ; Tramacere, A. ; Troja, E. ; Uchiyama, Y. ; Vandenbroucke, J. ; Vasileiou, V. ; Vianello, G. ; Vitale, V. ; Waite, A. P. ; Wang, P. ; Winer, B. L. ; Wood, K. S. ; Yang, Z. ; Zimmer, S. ; Bontemps, S.
The origin of Galactic cosmic rays is a century-long puzzle. Indirect evidence points to their acceleration by supernova shockwaves, but we know little of their escape from the shock and their evolution through the turbulent medium surrounding massive stars. Gamma rays can probe their spreading through the ambient gas and radiation fields. The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) has observed the star-forming region of Cygnus X. The 1- to 100-gigaelectronvolt images reveal a 50-parsec-wide cocoon of freshly accelerated cosmic rays that flood the cavities carved by the stellar winds and ionization fronts from young stellar clusters. It provides an example to study the youth of cosmic rays in a superbubble environment before they merge into the older Galactic population.
Abeysekara, A. U. ; Archambault, S. ; Archer, A. ; Benbow, Wystan ; Bird, Ralph ; Buchovecky, M. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Byrum, K. ; Cerruti, M. ; Chen, X. ; Ciupik, L. ; Cui, W. ; Dickinson, H. J. ; Eisch, J. D. ; Errando, M. ; Falcone, A. ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fleischhack, H. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Gillanders, G. H. ; Griffin, S. ; Grube, J. ; Hutten, M. ; Hakansson, N. ; Hanna, D. ; Holder, J. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Johnson, C. A. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kar, P. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, D. ; Krause, M. ; Krennrich, F. ; Kumar, S. ; Lang, M. J. ; Maier, G. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Meagher, K. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nguyen, T. ; Nieto, D. ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Pelassa, V. ; Pohl, Martin ; Popkow, A. ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, G. T. ; Roache, E. ; Rulten, C. ; Santander, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, K. ; Staszak, D. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Tucci, J. V. ; Tyler, J. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weiner, O. M. ; Weinstein, A. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, D. A. ; Fegan, S. ; Giebels, B. ; Horan, D. ; Berdyugin, A. ; Kuan, J. ; Lindfors, E. ; Nilsson, K. ; Oksanen, A. ; Prokoph, H. ; Reinthal, R. ; Takalo, L. ; Zefi, F.
B2 1215+30 is a BL-Lac-type blazar that was first detected at TeV energies by the MAGIC atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes and subsequently confirmed by the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) observatory with data collected between 2009 and 2012. In 2014 February 08, VERITAS detected a large-amplitude flare from B2. 1215+30 during routine monitoring observations of the blazar 1ES. 1218+304, located in the same field of view. The TeV flux reached 2.4 times the Crab Nebula flux with a variability timescale of <3.6 hr. Multiwavelength observations with Fermi-LAT, Swift, and the Tuorla Observatory revealed a correlated high GeV flux state and no significant optical counterpart to the flare, with a spectral energy distribution where the gamma-ray luminosity exceeds the synchrotron luminosity. When interpreted in the framework of a onezone leptonic model, the observed emission implies a high degree of beaming, with Doppler factor delta > 10, and an electron population with spectral index p < 2.3.
Abeysekara, A. U. ; Archambault, S. ; Archer, A. ; Benbow, W. ; Bird, R. ; Buchovecky, M. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Byrum, K. ; Cardenzana, J. V. ; Cerruti, M. ; Chen, Xuhui ; Christiansen, J. L. ; Ciupik, L. ; Cui, W. ; Dickinson, H. J. ; Eisch, J. D. ; Errando, M. ; Falcone, A. ; Fegan, D. J. ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fleischhack, H. ; Fortin, P. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Gillanders, G. H. ; Griffin, S. ; Grube, J. ; Gyuk, G. ; Huetten, M. ; Hakansson, Nils ; Hanna, D. ; Holder, J. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Johnson, C. A. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kar, P. ; Kelley-Hoskins, N. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, D. ; Krause, M. ; Krennrich, F. ; Kumar, S. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lin, T. T. Y. ; Maier, G. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Meagher, K. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nieto, D. ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Perkins, J. S. ; Petrashyk, A. ; Pohl, Martin ; Popkow, A. ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Ratliff, G. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, G. T. ; Roache, E. ; Santander, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, K. ; Staszak, D. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Tucci, J. V. ; Tyler, J. ; Vincent, S. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weiner, O. M. ; Weinstein, A. ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B.
The F-type star KIC. 8462852 has recently been identified as an exceptional target for search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) observations. We describe an analysis methodology for optical SETI, which we have used to analyze nine hours of serendipitous archival observations of KIC. 8462852 made with the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory between 2009 and 2015. No evidence of pulsed optical beacons, above a pulse intensity at the Earth of approximately 1 photon m(-2), is found. We also discuss the potential use of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays in searching for extremely short duration optical transients in general.
A Search for Pulsed Very High-energy Gamma-Rays from 13 Young Pulsars in Archival VERITAS Data
(2019)
Archer, A. ; Benbow, Wystan ; Bird, Ralph ; Brose, Robert ; Buchovecky, M. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Chromey, A. J. ; Cui, Wei ; Falcone, A. ; Feng, Qi ; Finley, J. P. ; Fortson, Lucy ; Furniss, Amy ; Gent, A. ; Gueta, O. ; Hanna, David ; Hassan, T. ; Hervet, Olivier ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Johnson, Caitlin A. ; Kaaret, Philip ; Kar, P. ; Kelley-Hoskins, N. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, David ; Krennrich, F. ; Kumar, S. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lin, T. T. Y. ; McCann, A. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, Reshmi ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, Adam Nepomuk ; Pandel, D. ; Park, N. ; Petrashyk, A. ; Pohl, Martin ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Richards, Gregory T. ; Roache, E. ; Sadeh, I ; Santander, Marcos ; Scott, S. S. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, Karlen ; Sushch, Iurii ; Tyler, J. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weinstein, A. ; Wells, R. M. ; Wilcox, P. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, D. A. ; Williamson, T. J. ; Zitzer, B.
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.
Abeysekara, A. U. ; Archer, A. ; Benbow, Wystan ; Bird, Ralph ; Brose, Robert ; Buchovecky, M. ; Bugaev, V. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, Wei ; Errando, Manel ; Falcone, A. ; Feng, Qi ; Finley, John P. ; Flinders, A. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, Amy ; Gillanders, Gerard H. ; Huetten, M. ; Hanna, David ; Hervet, O. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Johnson, Caitlin A. ; Kaaret, Philip ; Kar, P. ; Kelley-Hoskins, N. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, David ; Krause, Maria ; Krennrich, F. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lin, T. T. Y. ; Maier, Gernot ; McArthur, S. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, Reshmi ; Ong, R. A. ; Park, N. ; Perkins, Jeremy S. ; Petrashyk, A. ; Pohl, Martin ; Popkow, Alexis ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, Gregory T. ; Roache, E. ; Rulten, C. ; Sadeh, I. ; Santander, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, Karlen ; Tyler, J. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weiner, O. M. ; Weinstein, A. ; Wells, R. M. ; Wilcox, P. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, David A. ; Zitzer, B. ; Vurm, Indrek ; Beloborodov, Andrei
On 2015 March 23, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) responded to a Swift-Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) detection of a gamma-ray burst, with observations beginning 270 s after the onset of BAT emission, and only 135 s after the main BAT emission peak. No statistically significant signal is detected above 140 GeV. The VERITAS upper limit on the fluence in a 40-minute integration corresponds to about 1% of the prompt fluence. Our limit is particularly significant because the very-high-energy (VHE) observation started only similar to 2 minutes after the prompt emission peaked, and Fermi-Large Area Telescope observations of numerous other bursts have revealed that the high-energy emission is typically delayed relative to the prompt radiation and lasts significantly longer. Also, the proximity of GRB 150323A (z = 0.593) limits the attenuation by the extragalactic background light to similar to 50% at 100-200 GeV. We conclude that GRB 150323A had an intrinsically very weak high-energy afterglow, or that the GeV spectrum had a turnover below similar to 100 GeV. If the GRB exploded into the stellar wind of a massive progenitor, the VHE non-detection constrains the wind density parameter to be A greater than or similar to 3 x 10(11) g . cm(-1), consistent with a standard Wolf-Rayet progenitor. Alternatively, the VHE emission from the blast wave would be weak in a very tenuous medium such as the interstellar medium, which therefore cannot be ruled out as the environment of GRB 150323A.
Abeysekara, A. U. ; Archer, A. ; Aune, Taylor ; Benbow, Wystan ; Bird, Ralph ; Brose, Robert ; Buchovecky, M. ; Bugaev, V. ; Cui, Wei ; Daniel, M. K. ; Falcone, A. ; Feng, Qi ; Finley, John P. ; Fleischhack, H. ; Flinders, A. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, Amy ; Gotthelf, Eric V. ; Grube, J. ; Hanna, David ; Hervet, O. ; Holder, J. ; Huang, K. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Huetten, M. ; Johnson, Caitlin A. ; Kaaret, Philip ; Kar, P. ; Kelley-Hoskins, N. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, David ; Krause, Maria ; Kumar, S. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lin, T. T. Y. ; Maier, Gernot ; McArthur, S. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, Reshmi ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, Adam Nepomuk ; Pandel, Dirk ; Park, Nahee ; Petrashyk, A. ; Pohl, Martin ; Popkow, Alexis ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, Gregory T. ; Roache, E. ; Rousselle, J. ; Rulten, C. ; Sadeh, I. ; Santander, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, Karlen ; Tyler, J. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Ward, J. E. ; Weinstein, A. ; Wells, R. M. ; Wilcox, P. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, David A. ; Zitzer, B.
We present results from deep observations toward the Cygnus region using 300 hr of very high energy (VHE)gamma-ray data taken with the VERITAS Cerenkov telescope array and over 7 yr of high-energy.-ray data taken with the Fermi satellite at an energy above 1 GeV. As the brightest region of diffuse gamma-ray emission in the northern sky, the Cygnus region provides a promising area to probe the origins of cosmic rays. We report the identification of a potential Fermi-LAT counterpart to VER J2031+415 (TeV J2032+4130) and resolve the extended VHE source VER J2019+368 into two source candidates (VER J2018+367* and VER J2020+368*) and characterize their energy spectra. The Fermi-LAT morphology of 3FGL J2021.0+4031e (the Gamma Cygni supernova remnant) was examined, and a region of enhanced emission coincident with VER J2019+407 was identified and jointly fit with the VERITAS data. By modeling 3FGL J2015.6+3709 as two sources, one located at the location of the pulsar wind nebula CTB 87 and one at the quasar QSO J2015+371, a continuous spectrum from 1 GeV to 10 TeV was extracted for VER J2016+371 (CTB 87). An additional 71 locations coincident with Fermi-LAT sources and other potential objects of interest were tested for VHE gamma-ray emission, with no emission detected and upper limits on the differential flux placed at an average of 2.3% of the Crab Nebula flux. We interpret these observations in a multiwavelength context and present the most detailed gamma-ray view of the region to date.
Context. RX J1713.7-3946 is the brightest shell-type supernova remnant (SNR) of the TeV gamma-ray sky. Earlier Fermi-LAT results on low energy gamma-ray emission suggested that, despite large uncertainties in the background determination, the spectrum is inconsistent with a hadronic origin.
Aims. We update the GeV-band spectra using improved estimates for the diffuse Galactic gamma-ray emission and more than double the volume of data. We further investigate the viability of hadronic emission models for RX J1713.7-3946.
Methods. We produced a high-resolution map of the diffuse Galactic gamma-ray background corrected for the HI self-absorption and used it in the analysis of more than five years worth of Fermi-LAT data. We used hydrodynamic scaling relations and a kinetic transport equation to calculate the acceleration and propagation of cosmic rays in SNR. We then determined spectra of hadronic gamma-ray emission from RX J1713.7-3946, separately for the SNR interior and the cosmic-ray precursor region of the forward shock, and computed flux variations that would allow us to test the model with observations.
Results. We find that RX J1713.7-3946 is now detected by Fermi-LAT with very high statistical significance, and the source morphology is best described by that seen in the TeV band. The measured spectrum of RX J1713.7-3946 is hard with index gamma = 1.53 +/- 0.07, and the integral flux above 500 MeV is F = (5 : 5 +/- 1 : 1) x 10(-9) photons cm(-2) s(-1). We demonstrate that scenarios based on hadronic emission from the cosmic-ray precursor region are acceptable for RX J1713.7-3946, and we predict a secular flux increase at a few hundred GeV at the level of around 15% over ten years, which may be detectable with the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory.
The maximum cosmic-ray energy achievable by acceleration by a relativistic blast wave is derived. It is shown that forward shocks from long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in the interstellar medium accelerate protons to large enough energies, and have a sufficient energy budget, to produce the Galactic cosmic-ray component just below the ankle at 4 x 10(18) eV, as per an earlier suggestion. It is further argued that, were extragalactic long GRBs responsible for the component above the ankle as well, the occasional Galactic GRB within the solar circle would contribute more than the observational limits on the outward flux from the solar circle, unless an avoidance scenario, such as intermittency and/or beaming, allows the present-day local flux to be less than 10(-3) of the average. Difficulties with these avoidance scenarios are noted.
Arlen, T. ; Aune, T. ; Beilicke, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Bouvier, A. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Byrum, K. ; Cannon, A. ; Cesarini, A. ; Ciupik, L. ; Collins-Hughes, E. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Dickherber, R. ; Dumm, J. ; Falcone, A. ; Federici, S. ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Finnegan, G. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Galante, N. ; Gall, D. ; Godambe, S. ; Griffin, S. ; Grube, J. ; Gyuk, G. ; Holder, J. ; Huan, H. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Imran, A. ; Kaaret, P. ; Karlsson, N. ; Kertzman, M. ; Khassen, Y. ; Kieda, D. ; Krawczynski, H. ; Krennrich, F. ; Lee, K. ; Madhavan, A. S. ; Maier, G. ; Majumdar, P. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nelson, T. ; de Bhroithe, A. O'Faolain ; Ong, R. A. ; Orr, M. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Perkins, J. S. ; Pohl, Martin ; Prokoph, H. ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reyes, L. C. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Roache, E. ; Ruppel, J. ; Saxon, D. B. ; Schroedter, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Skole, C. ; Smith, A. W. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Tesic, G. ; Theiling, M. ; Thibadeau, S. ; Tsurusaki, K. ; Varlotta, A. ; Vivier, M. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Ward, J. E. ; Weinstein, A. ; Welsing, R. ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B. ; Pfrommer, C. ; Pinzke, A.
Observations of radio halos and relics in galaxy clusters indicate efficient electron acceleration. Protons should likewise be accelerated and, on account of weak energy losses, can accumulate, suggesting that clusters may also be sources of very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission. We report here on VHE gamma-ray observations of the Coma galaxy cluster with the VERITAS array of imaging Cerenkov telescopes, with complementing Fermi Large Area Telescope observations at GeV energies. No significant gamma-ray emission from the Coma Cluster was detected. Integral flux upper limits at the 99% confidence level were measured to be on the order of (2-5) x 10(-8) photonsm(-2) s(-1) (VERITAS, >220 GeV) and similar to 2 x 10(-6) photonsm(-2) s(-1) (Fermi, 1-3GeV), respectively. We use the gamma-ray upper limits to constrain cosmic rays (CRs) and magnetic fields in Coma. Using an analytical approach, the CR-to-thermal pressure ratio is constrained to be < 16% from VERITAS data and <1.7% from Fermi data (averaged within the virial radius). These upper limits are starting to constrain the CR physics in self-consistent cosmological cluster simulations and cap the maximum CR acceleration efficiency at structure formation shocks to be <50%. Alternatively, this may argue for non-negligible CR transport processes such as CR streaming and diffusion into the outer cluster regions. Assuming that the radio-emitting electrons of the Coma halo result from hadronic CR interactions, the observations imply a lower limit on the central magnetic field in Coma of similar to(2-5.5) mu G, depending on the radial magnetic field profile and on the gamma-ray spectral index. Since these values are below those inferred by Faraday rotation measurements in Coma (for most of the parameter space), this renders the hadronic model a very plausible explanation of the Coma radio halo. Finally, since galaxy clusters are dark matter (DM) dominated, the VERITAS upper limits have been used to place constraints on the thermally averaged product of the total self-annihilation cross section and the relative velocity of the DM particles, <sigma nu >.
Aliu, E. ; Aune, T. ; Barnacka, Anna ; Beilicke, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Berger, K. ; Biteau, Jonathan ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Byrum, K. ; Cardenzana, J. V. ; Cerruti, M. ; Chen, Xuhui ; Ciupik, L. ; Connaughton, V. ; Cui, W. ; Dickinson, H. J. ; Eisch, J. D. ; Errando, M. ; Falcone, A. ; Federici, Simone ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fleischhack, H. ; Fortin, P. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Galante, N. ; Gillanders, G. H. ; Griffin, S. ; Griffiths, S. T. ; Grube, J. ; Gyuk, G. ; Hakansson, Nils ; Hanna, D. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Johnson, C. A. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kar, P. ; Kertzman, M. ; Khassen, Y. ; Kieda, D. ; Krawczynski, H. ; Krennrich, F. ; Lang, M. J. ; Madhavan, A. S. ; Maier, G. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Meagher, K. ; Millis, J. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nieto, D. ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Pohl, Martin ; Popkow, A. ; Prokoph, H. ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Rajotte, J. ; Reyes, L. C. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, G. T. ; Roache, E. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, K. ; Smith, A. W. ; Staszak, D. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Tucci, J. V. ; Tyler, J. ; Varlotta, A. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Vincent, S. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weiner, O. M. ; Weinstein, A. ; Welsing, R. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B. ; McEnery, J. E. ; Perkins, J. S. ; Veres, P. ; Zhu, S.
Prompt emission from the very fluent and nearby (z = 0.34) gamma-ray burst GRB130427A was detected by several orbiting telescopes and by ground-based, wide-field-of-view optical transient monitors. Apart from the intensity and proximity of this GRB, it is exceptional due to the extremely long-lived high-energy (100 MeV to 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission, which was detected by the Large Area Telescope on the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope for similar to 70 ks after the initial burst. The persistent, hard-spectrum, high-energy emission suggests that the highest-energy gamma rays may have been produced via synchrotron self-Compton processes though there is also evidence that the high-energy emission may instead be an extension of the synchrotron spectrum. VERITAS, a ground-based imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope array, began follow-up observations of GRB130427A similar to 71 ks (similar to 20 hr) after the onset of the burst. The GRB was not detected with VERITAS; however, the high elevation of the observations, coupled with the low redshift of the GRB, make VERITAS a very sensitive probe of the emission from GRB130427A for E > 100 GeV. The non-detection and consequent upper limit derived place constraints on the synchrotron self-Compton model of high-energy gamma-ray emission from this burst.
There is an observational correlation between astrophysical shocks and nonthermal particle distributions extending to high energies. As a first step toward investigating the possible feedback of these particles on the shock at the microscopic level, we perform particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations of a simplified environment consisting of uniform, interpenetrating plasmas, both with and without an additional population of cosmic rays. We vary the relative density of the counterstreaming plasmas, the strength of a homogeneous parallel magnetic field, and the energy density in cosmic rays. We compare the early development of the unstable spectrum for selected configurations without cosmic rays to the growth rates predicted from linear theory, for assurance that the system is well represented by the PIC technique. Within the parameter space explored, we do not detect an unambiguous signature of any cosmic-ray-induced effects on the microscopic instabilities that govern the formation of a shock. We demonstrate that an overly coarse distribution of energetic particles can artificially alter the statistical noise that produces the perturbative seeds of instabilities, and that such effects can be mitigated by increasing the density of computational particles.
Many solar wind observations at 1 au indicate that the proton (as well as electron) temperature anisotropy is limited. The data distribution in the (A(a), beta(a),(parallel to))-plane have a rhombic-shaped form around beta(a),(parallel to) similar to 1. The boundaries of the temperature anisotropy at beta(a),(parallel to) > 1 can be well explained by the threshold conditions of the mirror (whistler) and oblique proton (electron) firehose instabilities in a bi-Maxwellian plasma, whereas the physical mechanism of the similar restriction at beta(a),(parallel to) < 1 is still under debate. One possible option is Coulomb collisions, which we revisit in the current work. We derive the relaxation rate nu(A)(aa) of the temperature anisotropy in a bi-Maxwellian plasma that we then study analytically and by observed proton data from WIND. We found that nu(A)(pp) increases toward small beta(p),(parallel to) < 1. We matched the data distribution in the (A(p), beta(p),(parallel to))-plane with the constant contour nu(A)(pp) = 2.8 . 10(-6) s(-1), corresponding to the minimum value for collisions to play a role. This contour fits rather well the left boundary of the rhombic-shaped data distribution in the (A(p), beta(p),(parallel to))-plane. Thus, Coulomb collisions are an interesting candidate for explaining the limitations of the temperature anisotropy in the solar wind with small beta(a),(parallel to) < 1 at 1 au.
Archambault, S. ; Aune, T. ; Behera, B. ; Beilicke, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Berger, K. ; Bird, R. ; Biteau, Jonathan ; Bugaev, V. ; Byrum, K. ; Cardenzana, J. V. ; Cerruti, M. ; Chen, Xuhui ; Ciupik, L. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, Wei ; Dumm, J. ; Errando, M. ; Falcone, A. ; Federici, Simone ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fleischhack, H. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Galante, N. ; Gillanders, G. H. ; Griffin, S. ; Griffiths, S. T. ; Grube, J. ; Gyuk, G. ; Hanna, D. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Johnson, C. A. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kertzman, M. ; Khassen, Y. ; Kieda, D. ; Krawczynski, H. ; Krennrich, F. ; Kumar, S. ; Lang, M. J. ; Madhavan, A. S. ; Maier, G. ; McCann, A. ; Meagher, K. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nieto, Daniel ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Pohl, Martin ; Popkow, A. ; Prokoph, H. ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Rajotte, J. ; Reyes, L. C. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, G. T. ; Roache, E. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, K. ; Staszak, D. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Tucci, J. V. ; Tyler, J. ; Varlotta, A. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Vincent, S. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weinstein, A. ; Welsing, R. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, D. A. ; Ackermann, Margit ; Ajello, M. ; Albert, A. ; Baldini, L. ; Bastieri, D. ; Bellazzini, R. ; Bissaldi, E. ; Bregeon, Johan ; Buehler, R. ; Buson, S. ; Caliandro, G. A. ; Cameron, R. A. ; Caraveo, P. A. ; Cavazzuti, E. ; Charles, E. ; Chiang, J. ; Ciprini, S. ; Claus, R. ; Cutini, S. ; de Angelis, A. ; de Palma, F. ; Dermer, C. D. ; Digel, S. W. ; Di Venere, L. ; Drell, P. S. ; Favuzzi, C. ; Franckowiak, A. ; Fusco, P. ; Gargano, F. ; Gasparrini, D. ; Giglietto, N. ; Giordano, F. ; Giroletti, M. ; Grenier, I. A. ; Guiriec, S. ; Jogler, T. ; Kuss, M. ; Larsson, S. ; Latronico, L. ; Longo, F. ; Loparco, F. ; Lubrano, P. ; Madejski, G. M. ; Mayer, M. ; Mazziotta, Mario Nicola ; Michelson, P. F. ; Mizuno, T. ; Monzani, M. E. ; Morselli, Aldo ; Murgia, S. ; Nuss, E. ; Ohsugi, T. ; Ormes, J. F. ; Paneque, D. ; Perkins, J. S. ; Piron, F. ; Pivato, G. ; Raino, S. ; Razzano, M. ; Reimer, A. ; Reimer, Olaf ; Ritz, S. ; Schaal, M. ; Sgro, C. ; Siskind, E. J. ; Spinelli, P. ; Takahashi, H. ; Tibaldo, L. ; Tinivella, M. ; Troja, E. ; Vianello, G. ; Werner, M. ; Wood, M.
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.
Federici, S. ; Pohl, Martin ; Ruppel, J. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Hofmann, Werner ; Martinez, M. ; Knapp, J.
Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has had a major breakthrough with the impressive results obtained using systems of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has a huge potential in astrophysics, particle physics and cosmology. CTA is an international initiative to build the next generation instrument, with a factor of 5-10 improvement in sensitivity in the 100 GeV-10 TeV range and the extension to energies well below 100 GeV and above 100 TeV. CTA will consist of two arrays (one in the north, one in the south) for full sky coverage and will be operated as open observatory. The design of CTA is based on currently available technology. This document reports on the status and presents the major design concepts of CTA.
Actis, M. ; Agnetta, G. ; Aharonian, Felix A. ; Akhperjanian, A. G. ; Aleksic, J. ; Aliu, E. ; Allan, D. ; Allekotte, I. ; Antico, F. ; Antonelli, L. A. ; Antoranz, P. ; Aravantinos, A. ; Arlen, T. ; Arnaldi, H. ; Artmann, S. ; Asano, K. ; Asorey, H. G. ; Baehr, J. ; Bais, A. ; Baixeras, C. ; Bajtlik, S. ; Balis, D. ; Bamba, A. ; Barbier, C. ; Barcelo, M. ; Barnacka, Anna ; Barnstedt, Jürgen ; de Almeida, U. Barres ; Barrio, J. A. ; Basso, S. ; Bastieri, D. ; Bauer, C. ; Becerra Gonzalez, J. ; Becherini, Yvonne ; Bechtol, K. C. ; Becker, J. ; Beckmann, Volker ; Bednarek, W. ; Behera, B. ; Beilicke, M. ; Belluso, M. ; Benallou, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Berdugo, J. ; Berger, K. ; Bernardino, T. ; Bernlöhr, K. ; Biland, A. ; Billotta, S. ; Bird, T. ; Birsin, E. ; Bissaldi, E. ; Blake, S. ; Blanch Bigas, O. ; Bobkov, A. A. ; Bogacz, L. ; Bogdan, M. ; Boisson, Catherine ; Boix Gargallo, J. ; Bolmont, J. ; Bonanno, G. ; Bonardi, A. ; Bonev, T. ; Borkowski, Janett ; Botner, O. ; Bottani, A. ; Bourgeat, M. ; Boutonnet, C. ; Bouvier, A. ; Brau-Nogue, S. ; Braun, I. ; Bretz, T. ; Briggs, M. S. ; Brun, Pierre ; Brunetti, L. ; Buckley, H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Buehler, R. ; Bulik, Tomasz ; Busetto, G. ; Buson, S. ; Byrum, K. ; Cailles, M. ; Cameron, R. A. ; Canestrari, R. ; Cantu, S. ; Carmona, E. ; Carosi, A. ; Carr, John ; Carton, P. H. ; Casiraghi, M. ; Castarede, H. ; Catalano, O. ; Cavazzani, S. ; Cazaux, S. ; Cerruti, B. ; Cerruti, M. ; Chadwick, M. ; Chiang, J. ; Chikawa, M. ; Cieslar, M. ; Ciesielska, M. ; Cillis, A. N. ; Clerc, C. ; Colin, P. ; Colome, J. ; Compin, M. ; Conconi, P. ; Connaughton, V. ; Conrad, Jan ; Contreras, J. L. ; Coppi, P. ; Corlier, M. ; Corona, P. ; Corpace, O. ; Corti, D. ; Cortina, J. ; Costantini, H. ; Cotter, G. ; Courty, B. ; Couturier, S. ; Covino, S. ; Croston, J. ; Cusumano, G. ; Daniel, M. K. ; Dazzi, F. ; Deangelis, A. ; de Cea del Pozo, E. ; Dal Pino, E. M. de Gouveia ; de Jager, O. ; de la Calle Perez, I. ; De La Vega, G. ; De Lotto, B. ; de Naurois, M. ; Wilhelmi, E. de Ona ; de Souza, V. ; Decerprit, B. ; Deil, C. ; Delagnes, E. ; Deleglise, G. ; Delgado, C. ; Dettlaff, T. ; Di Paolo, A. ; Di Pierro, F. ; Diaz, C. ; Dick, J. ; Dickinson, H. ; Digel, S. W. ; Dimitrov, D. ; Disset, G. ; Djannati-Ataï, A. ; Doert, M. ; Domainko, W. ; Dorner, D. ; Doro, M. ; Dournaux, J. -L. ; Dravins, D. ; Drury, L. ; Dubois, F. ; Dubois, R. ; Dubus, G. ; Dufour, C. ; Durand, D. ; Dyks, J. ; Dyrda, M. ; Edy, E. ; Egberts, Kathrin ; Eleftheriadis, C. ; Elles, S. ; Emmanoulopoulos, D. ; Enomoto, R. ; Ernenwein, J. -P. ; Errando, M. ; Etchegoyen, A. ; Falcone, A. D. ; Farakos, K. ; Farnier, C. ; Federici, S. ; Feinstein, F. ; Ferenc, D. ; Fillin-Martino, E. ; Fink, D. ; Finley, C. ; Finley, J. P. ; Firpo, R. ; Florin, D. ; Foehr, C. ; Fokitis, E. ; Font, Ll. ; Fontaine, G. ; Fontana, A. ; Foerster, A. ; Fortson, L. ; Fouque, N. ; Fransson, C. ; Fraser, G. W. ; Fresnillo, L. ; Fruck, C. ; Fujita, Y. ; Fukazawa, Y. ; Funk, S. ; Gaebele, W. ; Gabici, S. ; Gadola, A. ; Galante, N. ; Gallant, Y. ; Garcia, B. ; Garcia Lopez, R. J. ; Garrido, D. ; Garrido, L. ; Gascon, D. ; Gasq, C. ; Gaug, M. ; Gaweda, J. ; Geffroy, N. ; Ghag, C. ; Ghedina, A. ; Ghigo, M. ; Gianakaki, E. ; Giarrusso, S. ; Giavitto, G. ; Giebels, B. ; Giro, E. ; Giubilato, P. ; Glanzman, T. ; Glicenstein, J. -F. ; Gochna, M. ; Golev, V. ; Gomez Berisso, M. ; Gonzalez, A. ; Gonzalez, F. ; Granena, F. ; Graciani, R. ; Granot, J. ; Gredig, R. ; Green, A. ; Greenshaw, T. ; Grimm, O. ; Grube, J. ; Grudzinska, M. ; Grygorczuk, J. ; Guarino, V. ; Guglielmi, L. ; Guilloux, F. ; Gunji, S. ; Gyuk, G. ; Hadasch, D. ; Haefner, D. ; Hagiwara, R. ; Hahn, J. ; Hallgren, A. ; Hara, S. ; Hardcastle, M. J. ; Hassan, T. ; Haubold, T. ; Hauser, M. ; Hayashida, M. ; Heller, R. ; Henri, G. ; Hermann, G. ; Herrero, A. ; Hinton, James Anthony ; Hoffmann, D. ; Hofmann, W. ; Hofverberg, P. ; Horns, D. ; Hrupec, D. ; Huan, H. ; Huber, B. ; Huet, J. -M. ; Hughes, G. ; Hultquist, K. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Huppert, J. -F. ; Ibarra, A. ; Illa, J. M. ; Ingjald, J. ; Inoue, S. ; Inoue, Y. ; Ioka, K. ; Jablonski, C. ; Jacholkowska, A. ; Janiak, M. ; Jean, P. ; Jensen, H. ; Jogler, T. ; Jung, I. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kabuki, S. ; Kakuwa, J. ; Kalkuhl, C. ; Kankanyan, R. ; Kapala, M. ; Karastergiou, A. ; Karczewski, M. ; Karkar, S. ; Karlsson, N. ; Kasperek, J. ; Katagiri, H. ; Katarzynski, K. ; Kawanaka, N. ; Kedziora, B. ; Kendziorra, E. ; Khelifi, B. ; Kieda, D. ; Kifune, T. ; Kihm, T. ; Klepser, S. ; Kluzniak, W. ; Knapp, J. ; Knappy, A. R. ; Kneiske, T. ; Knoedlseder, J. ; Koeck, F. ; Kodani, K. ; Kohri, K. ; Kokkotas, K. ; Komin, N. ; Konopelko, A. ; Kosack, K. ; Kossakowski, R. ; Kostka, P. ; Kotula, J. ; Kowal, G. ; Koziol, J. ; Kraehenbuehl, T. ; Krause, J. ; Krawczynski, H. ; Krennrich, F. ; Kretzschmann, A. ; Kubo, H. ; Kudryavtsev, V. A. ; Kushida, J. ; La Barbera, N. ; La Parola, V. ; La Rosa, G. ; Lopez, A. ; Lamanna, G. ; Laporte, P. ; Lavalley, C. ; Le Flour, T. ; Le Padellec, A. ; Lenain, J. -P. ; Lessio, L. ; Lieunard, B. ; Lindfors, E. ; Liolios, A. ; Lohse, T. ; Lombardi, S. ; Lopatin, A. ; Lorenz, E. ; Lubinski, P. ; Luz, O. ; Lyard, E. ; Maccarone, M. C. ; Maccarone, T. ; Maier, G. ; Majumdar, P. ; Maltezos, S. ; Malkiewicz, P. ; Mana, C. ; Manalaysay, A. ; Maneva, G. ; Mangano, A. ; Manigot, P. ; Marin, J. ; Mariotti, M. ; Markoff, S. ; Martinez, G. ; Martinez, M. ; Mastichiadis, A. ; Matsumoto, H. ; Mattiazzo, S. ; Mazin, D. ; McComb, T. J. L. ; McCubbin, N. ; McHardy, I. ; Medina, C. ; Melkumyan, D. ; Mendes, A. ; Mertsch, P. ; Meucci, M. ; Michalowski, J. ; Micolon, P. ; Mineo, T. ; Mirabal, N. ; Mirabel, F. ; Miranda, J. M. ; Mirzoyan, R. ; Mizuno, T. ; Moal, B. ; Moderski, R. ; Molinari, E. ; Monteiro, I. ; Moralejo, A. ; Morello, C. ; Mori, K. ; Motta, G. ; Mottez, F. ; Moulin, Emmanuel ; Mukherjee, R. ; Munar, P. ; Muraishi, H. ; Murase, K. ; Murphy, A. Stj. ; Nagataki, S. ; Naito, T. ; Nakamori, T. ; Nakayama, K. ; Naumann, C. L. ; Naumann, D. ; Nayman, P. ; Nedbal, D. ; Niedzwiecki, A. ; Niemiec, J. ; Nikolaidis, A. ; Nishijima, K. ; Nolan, S. J. ; Nowak, N. ; O'Brien, P. T. ; Ochoa, I. ; Ohira, Y. ; Ohishi, M. ; Ohka, H. ; Okumura, A. ; Olivetto, C. ; Ong, R. A. ; Orito, R. ; Orr, M. ; Osborne, J. P. ; Ostrowski, M. ; Otero, L. ; Otte, A. N. ; Ovcharov, E. ; Oya, I. ; Ozieblo, A. ; Paiano, S. ; Pallota, J. ; Panazol, J. L. ; Paneque, D. ; Panter, M. ; Paoletti, R. ; Papyan, G. ; Paredes, J. M. ; Pareschi, G. ; Parsons, R. D. ; Arribas, M. Paz ; Pedaletti, G. ; Pepato, A. ; Persic, M. ; Petrucci, P. O. ; Peyaud, B. ; Piechocki, W. ; Pita, S. ; Pivato, G. ; Platos, L. ; Platzer, R. ; Pogosyan, L. ; Pohl, Martin ; Pojmanski, G. ; Ponz, J. D. ; Potter, W. ; Prandini, E. ; Preece, R. ; Prokoph, H. ; Puehlhofer, G. ; Punch, M. ; Quel, E. ; Quirrenbach, A. ; Rajda, P. ; Rando, R. ; Rataj, M. ; Raue, M. ; Reimann, C. ; Reimann, O. ; Reimer, A. ; Reimer, O. ; Renaud, M. ; Renner, S. ; Reymond, J. -M. ; Rhode, W. ; Ribo, M. ; Ribordy, M. ; Rico, J. ; Rieger, F. ; Ringegni, P. ; Ripken, J. ; Ristori, P. ; Rivoire, S. ; Rob, L. ; Rodriguez, S. ; Roeser, U. ; Romano, Patrizia ; Romero, G. E. ; Rosier-Lees, S. ; Rovero, A. C. ; Roy, F. ; Royer, S. ; Rudak, B. ; Rulten, C. B. ; Ruppel, J. ; Russo, F. ; Ryde, F. ; Sacco, B. ; Saggion, A. ; Sahakian, V. ; Saito, K. ; Saito, T. ; Sakaki, N. ; Salazar, E. ; Salini, A. ; Sanchez, F. ; Sanchez Conde, M. A. ; Santangelo, A. ; Santos, E. M. ; Sanuy, A. ; Sapozhnikov, L. ; Sarkar, S. ; Scalzotto, V. ; Scapin, V. ; Scarcioffolo, M. ; Schanz, T. ; Schlenstedt, S. ; Schlickeiser, R. ; Schmidt, T. ; Schmoll, J. ; Schroedter, M. ; Schultz, C. ; Schultze, J. ; Schulz, A. ; Schwanke, U. ; Schwarzburg, S. ; Schweizer, T. ; Seiradakis, J. ; Selmane, S. ; Seweryn, K. ; Shayduk, M. ; Shellard, R. C. ; Shibata, T. ; Sikora, M. ; Silk, J. ; Sillanpaa, A. ; Sitarek, J. ; Skole, C. ; Smith, N. ; Sobczynska, D. ; Sofo Haro, M. ; Sol, H. ; Spanier, F. ; Spiga, D. ; Spyrou, S. ; Stamatescu, V. ; Stamerra, A. ; Starling, R. L. C. ; Stawarz, L. ; Steenkamp, R. ; Stegmann, Christian ; Steiner, S. ; Stergioulas, N. ; Sternberger, R. ; Stinzing, F. ; Stodulski, M. ; Straumann, U. ; Suarez, A. ; Suchenek, M. ; Sugawara, R. ; Sulanke, K. H. ; Sun, S. ; Supanitsky, A. D. ; Sutcliffe, P. ; Szanecki, M. ; Szepieniec, T. ; Szostek, A. ; Szymkowiak, A. ; Tagliaferri, G. ; Tajima, H. ; Takahashi, H. ; Takahashi, K. ; Takalo, L. ; Takami, H. ; Talbot, R. G. ; Tam, P. H. ; Tanaka, M. ; Tanimori, T. ; Tavani, M. ; Tavernet, J. -P. ; Tchernin, C. ; Tejedor, L. A. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Temnikov, P. ; Tenzer, C. ; Terada, Y. ; Terrier, R. ; Teshima, M. ; Testa, V. ; Tibaldo, L. ; Tibolla, O. ; Tluczykont, M. ; Peixoto, C. J. Todero ; Tokanai, F. ; Tokarz, M. ; Toma, K. ; Torres, D. F. ; Tosti, G. ; Totani, T. ; Toussenel, F. ; Vallania, P. ; Vallejo, G. ; van der Walt, J. ; van Eldik, C. ; Vandenbroucke, J. ; Vankov, H. ; Vasileiadis, G. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Vegas, I. ; Venter, L. ; Vercellone, S. ; Veyssiere, C. ; Vialle, J. P. ; Videla, M. ; Vincent, P. ; Vink, J. ; Vlahakis, N. ; Vlahos, L. ; Vogler, P. ; Vollhardt, A. ; Volpe, F. ; Von Gunten, H. P. ; Vorobiov, S. ; Wagner, S. ; Wagner, R. M. ; Wagner, B. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Walter, P. ; Walter, R. ; Warwick, R. ; Wawer, P. ; Wawrzaszek, R. ; Webb, N. ; Wegner, P. ; Weinstein, A. ; Weitzel, Q. ; Welsing, R. ; Wetteskind, H. ; White, R. ; Wierzcholska, A. ; Wilkinson, M. I. ; Williams, D. A. ; Winde, M. ; Wischnewski, R. ; Wisniewski, L. ; Wolczko, A. ; Wood, M. ; Xiong, Q. ; Yamamoto, T. ; Yamaoka, K. ; Yamazaki, R. ; Yanagita, S. ; Yoffo, B. ; Yonetani, M. ; Yoshida, A. ; Yoshida, T. ; Yoshikoshi, T. ; Zabalza, V. ; Zagdanski, A. ; Zajczyk, A. ; Zdziarski, A. ; Zech, Alraune ; Zietara, K. ; Ziolkowski, P. ; Zitelli, V. ; Zychowski, P.
Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has had a major breakthrough with the impressive results obtained using systems of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy has a huge potential in astrophysics, particle physics and cosmology. CTA is an international initiative to build the next generation instrument, with a factor of 5-10 improvement in sensitivity in the 100 GeV-10 TeV range and the extension to energies well below 100 GeV and above 100 TeV. CTA will consist of two arrays (one in the north, one in the south) for full sky coverage and will be operated as open observatory. The design of CTA is based on currently available technology. This document reports on the status and presents the major design concepts of CTA.
Aliu, E. ; Arlen, T. ; Aune, T. ; Beilicke, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Bouvier, A. ; Bradbury, S. M. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Byrum, K. ; Cannon, A. ; Cesarini, A. ; Christiansen, J. L. ; Ciupik, L. ; Collins-Hughes, E. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Dickherber, R. ; Duke, C. ; Errando, M. ; Falcone, A. ; Finley, J. P. ; Finnegan, G. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Galante, N. ; Gall, D. ; Gibbs, K. ; Gillanders, G. H. ; Godambe, S. ; Griffin, S. ; Grube, J. ; Guenette, R. ; Gyuk, G. ; Hanna, D. ; Holder, J. ; Huan, H. ; Hughes, G. ; Hui, C. M. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Imran, A. ; Kaaret, P. ; Karlsson, N. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, D. ; Krawczynski, H. ; Krennrich, F. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lyutikov, M. ; Madhavan, A. S. ; Maier, G. ; Majumdar, P. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; McCutcheon, M. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nunez, P. ; Ong, R. A. ; Orr, M. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Perkins, J. S. ; Pizlo, F. ; Pohl, Martin ; Prokoph, H. ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reyes, L. C. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Roache, E. ; Rose, H. J. ; Ruppel, J. ; Saxon, D. B. ; Schroedter, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Sentuerk, G. D. ; Smith, A. W. ; Staszak, D. ; Tesic, G. ; Theiling, M. ; Thibadeau, S. ; Tsurusaki, K. ; Tyler, J. ; Varlotta, A. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Vincent, S. ; Vivier, M. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Ward, J. E. ; Weekes, T. C. ; Weinstein, A. ; Weisgarber, T. ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B.
We report the detection of pulsed gamma rays from the Crab pulsar at energies above 100 giga-electron volts (GeV) with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) array of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The detection cannot be explained on the basis of current pulsar models. The photon spectrum of pulsed emission between 100 mega-electron volts and 400 GeV is described by a broken power law that is statistically preferred over a power law with an exponential cutoff. It is unlikely that the observation can be explained by invoking curvature radiation as the origin of the observed gamma rays above 100 GeV. Our findings require that these gamma rays be produced more than 10 stellar radii from the neutron star.
The current paradigm of cosmic-ray (CR) origin states that the greater part of galactic CRs is produced by supernova remnants. The interaction of supernova ejecta with the interstellar medium after a supernova's explosions results in shocks responsible for CR acceleration via diffusive shock acceleration (DSA). We use particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations and a combined PIC-magnetohydrodynamic (PIC-MHD) technique to investigate whether DSA can occur in oblique high Mach number shocks. Using the PIC method, we follow the formation of the shock and determine the fraction of the particles that gets involved in DSA. With this result, we use PIC-MHD simulations to model the large-scale structure of the plasma and the magnetic field surrounding the shock and find out whether or not the reflected particles can generate upstream turbulence and trigger DSA. We find that the feasibility of this process in oblique shocks depends strongly on the Alfvenic Mach number, and the DSA process is more likely to be triggered at high Mach number shocks.
Benbow, W. ; Bird, R. ; Brill, A. ; Brose, Robert ; Chromey, A. J. ; Daniel, M. K. ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Gillanders, G. H. ; Giuri, C. ; Gueta, O. ; Hanna, D. ; Halpern, J. P. ; Hassan, Tarek ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Joyce, Amy M. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kar, P. ; Kelley-Hoskins, N. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, D. ; Krause, M. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lin, T. T. Y. ; Maier, Gernot ; Matthews, N. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nieto, D. ; Nievas-Rosillos, M. ; Ong, R. A. ; Park, N. ; Petrashyk, A. ; Pohl, Martin ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, John ; Ragan, K. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, G. T. ; Roache, E. ; Rulten, C. ; Sadeh, Iftach ; Santander, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, K. ; Sushch, Iurii ; Wakely, S. P. ; Wells, R. M. ; Wilcox, P. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, David A. ; Williamson, T. J.
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.
Archambault, S. ; Arlen, T. ; Aune, T. ; Behera, B. ; Beilicke, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Bird, R. ; Bouvier, A. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Byrum, K. ; Cesarini, A. ; Ciupik, L. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Errando, M. ; Falcone, A. ; Federici, Simone ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Galante, N. ; Gall, D. ; Gillanders, G. H. ; Griffin, S. ; Grube, J. ; Gyuk, G. ; Hanna, D. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kertzman, M. ; Khassen, Y. ; Kieda, D. ; Krawczynski, H. ; Krennrich, F. ; Kumar, S. ; Lang, M. J. ; Madhavan, A. S. ; Maier, G. ; Majumdar, P. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Millis, J. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; de Bhroithe, A. O'Faolain ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Perkins, J. S. ; Pohl, Martin ; Popkow, A. ; Prokoph, H. ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reyes, L. C. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, G. T. ; Roache, E. ; Saxon, D. B. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Smith, A. W. ; Staszak, D. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Theiling, M. ; Varlotta, A. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Vincent, S. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weekes, T. C. ; Weinstein, A. ; Welsing, R. ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B. ; Boettcher, Markus ; Fegan, S. J. ; Fortin, P. ; Halpern, J. P. ; Kovalev, Y. Y. ; Lister, M. L. ; Liu, J. ; Pushkarev, A. B. ; Smith, P. S.
We report the detection of a new TeV gamma-ray source, VER J0521+211, based on observations made with the VERITAS imaging atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope Array. These observations were motivated by the discovery of a cluster of >30 GeV photons in the first year of Fermi Large Area Telescope observations. VER J0521+211 is relatively bright at TeV energies, with a mean photon flux of (1.93 +/- 0.13(stat) +/- 0.78(sys)) x 10(-11) cm(-2) s(-1) above 0.2 TeV during the period of the VERITAS observations. The source is strongly variable on a daily timescale across all wavebands, from optical to TeV, with a peak flux corresponding to similar to 0.3 times the steady Crab Nebula flux at TeV energies. Follow-up observations in the optical and X-ray bands classify the newly discovered TeV source as a BL Lac-type blazar with uncertain redshift, although recent measurements suggest z = 0.108. VER J0521+211 exhibits all the defining properties of blazars in radio, optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths.
Acciari, V. A. ; Aliu, E. ; Arlen, T. ; Aune, T. ; Beilicke, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Bradbury, S. M. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Byrum, K. ; Cannon, A. ; Cesarini, A. ; Ciupik, L. ; Collins-Hughes, E. ; Cui, W. ; Dickherber, R. ; Duke, C. ; Errando, M. ; Finley, J. P. ; Finnegan, G. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Galante, N. ; Gall, D. ; Gillanders, G. H. ; Godambe, S. ; Griffin, S. ; Grube, J. ; Guenette, R. ; Gyuk, G. ; Hanna, D. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, J. P. ; Hui, C. M. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Kaaret, P. ; Karlsson, N. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, D. ; Krawczynski, H. ; Krennrich, F. ; Lang, M. J. ; LeBohec, S. ; Madhavan, A. S. ; Maier, G. ; Majumdar, P. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Ong, R. A. ; Orr, M. ; Otte, A. N. ; Pandel, D. ; Park, N. H. ; Perkins, J. S. ; Pohl, Martin ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reyes, L. C. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Roache, E. ; Rose, H. J. ; Saxon, D. B. ; Schroedter, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Senturk, G. Demet ; Slane, P. ; Smith, A. W. ; Tesic, G. ; Theiling, M. ; Thibadeau, S. ; Tsurusaki, K. ; Varlotta, A. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Vincent, S. ; Vivier, M. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Ward, J. E. ; Weekes, T. C. ; Weinstein, A. ; Weisgarber, T. ; Williams, D. A. ; Wood, M. ; Zitzer, B.
We report the discovery of TeV gamma-ray emission from the Type Ia supernova remnant (SNR) G120.1+1.4, known as Tycho's SNR. Observations performed in the period 2008-2010 with the VERITAS ground-based gamma-ray observatory reveal weak emission coming from the direction of the remnant, compatible with a point source located at 00(h)25(m)27(s).0, +64 degrees 10'50 '' (J2000). The TeV photon spectrum measured by VERITAS can be described with a power law dN/dE = C(E/3.42 TeV)(-Gamma) with Gamma = 1.95 +/- 0.51(stat) +/- 0.30(sys) and C = (1.55 +/- 0.43(stat) +/- 0.47(sys)) x 10(-14) cm(-2) s(-1) TeV-1. The integral flux above 1 TeV corresponds to similar to 0.9% of the steady Crab Nebula emission above the same energy, making it one of the weakest sources yet detected in TeV gamma rays. We present both leptonic and hadronic models that can describe the data. The lowest magnetic field allowed in these models is similar to 80 mu G, which may be interpreted as evidence for magnetic field amplification.