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A search for enhanced very high energy GAMMA-RAY emission from the 2013 march crab nebula flare
(2014)
In 2013 March, a flaring episode from the Crab Nebula lasting similar to 2 weeks was detected by Fermi-LAT (Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope). The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) provides simultaneous observations throughout this period. During the flare, Fermi-LAT detected a 20 fold increase in flux above the average synchrotron flux >100 MeV seen from the Crab Nebula. Simultaneous measurements with VERITAS are consistent with the non-variable long-term average Crab Nebula flux at TeV energies. Assuming a linear correlation between the very high energy flux change >1 TeV and the flux change seen in the Fermi-LAT band >100 MeV during the period of simultaneous observations, the linear correlation factor can be constrained to be at most 8.6 x 10(-3) with 95% confidence.
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 >.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We report the discovery of TeV gamma-ray emission coincident with the shell-type radio supernova remnant (SNR) CTA 1 using the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory. The source, VER J0006+729, was detected as a 6.5 standard deviation excess over background and shows an extended morphology, approximated by a two-dimensional Gaussian of semimajor (semiminor) axis 0.degrees 30 (0.degrees 24) and a centroid 5’ from the Fermi gamma-ray pulsar PSR J0007+7303 and its X-ray pulsar wind nebula (PWN). The photon spectrum is well described by a power-law dN/dE = N-0(E/3 TeV)(-Gamma), with a differential spectral index of Gamma = 2.2 +/- 0.2(stat) +/- 0.3(sys), and normalization N-0 = (9.1 +/- 1.3(stat) +/- 1.7(sys)) x 10(-14) cm(-2) s(-1) TeV-1. The integral flux, F-gamma = 4.0 x 10(-12) erg cm(-2) s(-1) above 1 TeV, corresponds to 0.2% of the pulsar spin-down power at 1.4 kpc. The energetics, colocation with the SNR, and the relatively small extent of the TeV emission strongly argue for the PWN origin of the TeV photons. We consider the origin of the TeV emission in CTA 1.
We report the discovery of an unidentified, extended source of very-high-energy gamma-ray emission, VER J2019+407, within the radio shell of the supernova remnant SNR G78.2+2.1, using 21.4 hr of data taken by the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory in 2009. These data confirm the preliminary indications of gamma-ray emission previously seen in a two-year (2007-2009) blind survey of the Cygnus region by VERITAS. VER J2019+407, which is detected at a post-trials significance of 7.5 standard deviations in the 2009 data, is localized to the northwestern rim of the remnant in a region of enhanced radio and X-ray emission. It has an intrinsic extent of 0 degrees.23 +/- 0 degrees.03(stat-0 degrees.02sys)(+0 degrees.04) and its spectrum is well-characterized by a differential power law (dN/dE = N-0 x (E/TeV)-Gamma) with a photon index of Gamma = 2.37 +/- 0.14(stat) +/- 0.20(sys) and a flux normalization of N-0 = 1.5 +/- 0.2(stat) +/- 0.4(sys) x 10(-12) photon TeV-1 cm(-2) s(-1). This yields an integral flux of 5.2 +/- 0.8(stat) +/- 1.4(sys) x 10(-12) photon cm(-2) s(-1) above 320 GeV, corresponding to 3.7% of the Crab Nebula flux. We consider the relationship of the TeV gamma-ray emission with the GeV gamma-ray emission seen from SNR G78.2+2.1 as well as that seen from a nearby cocoon of freshly accelerated cosmic rays. Multiple scenarios are considered as possible origins for the TeV gamma-ray emission, including hadronic particle acceleration at the SNR shock.
Introducing the CTA concept
(2013)
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a new observatory for very high-energy (VHE) gamma rays. CTA has ambitions science goals, for which it is necessary to achieve full-sky coverage, to improve the sensitivity by about an order of magnitude, to span about four decades of energy, from a few tens of GeV to above 100 TeV with enhanced angular and energy resolutions over existing VHE gamma-ray observatories. An international collaboration has formed with more than 1000 members from 27 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America. In 2010 the CTA Consortium completed a Design Study and started a three-year Preparatory Phase which leads to production readiness of CTA in 2014. In this paper we introduce the science goals and the concept of CTA, and provide an overview of the project.
We summarize broadband observations of the TeV-emitting blazar 1ES 1959+650, including optical R-band observations by the robotic telescopes Super-LOTIS and iTelescope, UV observations by Swift Ultraviolet and Optical Telescope, X-ray observations by the Swift X-ray Telescope, high-energy gamma-ray observations with the Fermi Large Area Telescope, and very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray observations by VERITAS above 315 GeV, all taken between 2012 April 17 and 2012 June 1 (MJD 56034 and 56079). The contemporaneous variability of the broadband spectral energy distribution is explored in the context of a simple synchrotron self Compton (SSC) model. In the SSC emission scenario, we find that the parameters required to represent the high state are significantly different than those in the low state. Motivated by possible evidence of gas in the vicinity of the blazar, we also investigate a reflected emission model to describe the observed variability pattern. This model assumes that the non-thermal emission from the jet is reflected by a nearby cloud of gas, allowing the reflected emission to re-enter the blob and produce an elevated gamma-ray state with no simultaneous elevated synchrotron flux. The model applied here, although not required to explain the observed variability pattern, represents one possible scenario which can describe the observations. As applied to an elevated VHE state of 66% of the Crab Nebula flux, observed on a single night during the observation period, the reflected emission scenario does not support a purely leptonic non-thermal emission mechanism. The reflected emission model does, however, predict a reflected photon field with sufficient energy to enable elevated gamma-ray emission via pion production with protons of energies between 10 and 100 TeV.
We report on deep observations of the extended TeV gamma-ray source MGRO J1908+06 made with the VERITAS very high energy gamma-ray observatory. Previously, the TeV emission has been attributed to the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) of the Fermi-LAT pulsar PSR J1907+0602. We detect MGRO J1908+06 at a significance level of 14 standard deviations (14 sigma) and measure a photon index of 2.20 +/- 0.10(stat) +/- 0.20(sys). The TeV emission is extended, covering the region near PSR J1907+0602 and also extending toward SNR G40.5-0.5. When fitted with a two-dimensional Gaussian, the intrinsic extension has a standard deviation of sigma(src) = 0 degrees.44 +/- 0 degrees.02. In contrast to other TeV PWNe of similar age in which the TeV spectrum softens with distance from the pulsar, the TeV spectrum measured near the pulsar location is consistent with that measured at a position near the rim of G40.5-0.5, 0 degrees.33 away.
We report on VERITAS observations of the BL Lac object B2 1215+30 between 2008 and 2012. During this period, the source was detected at very high energies (VHEs; E > 100 GeV) by VERITAS with a significance of 8.9s and showed clear variability on timescales larger than months. In 2011, the source was found to be in a relatively bright state and a power-law fit to the differential photon spectrum yields a spectral index of 3.6 +/- 0.4(stat) +/- 0.3(syst) with an integral flux above 200 GeV of (8.0 +/- 0.9(stat) +/- 3.2(syst)) x 10(-12) cm(-2) s(-1). No short term variability could be detected during the bright state in 2011. Multi-wavelength data were obtained contemporaneously with the VERITAS observations in 2011 and cover optical (Super-LOTIS, MDM, Swift/UVOT), X-ray (Swift/XRT), and gamma-ray (Fermi-LAT) frequencies. These were used to construct the spectral energy distribution (SED) of B2 1215+30. A one-zone leptonic model is used to model the blazar emission and the results are compared to those of MAGIC from early 2011 and other VERITAS-detected blazars. The SED can be reproduced well with model parameters typical for VHE-detected BL Lac objects.
We present the results of a multiwavelength observational campaign on the TeV binary system LS I +61 degrees 303 with the VERITAS telescope array (>200 GeV), Fermi-LAT (0.3-300 GeV), and Swift/XRT (2-10 keV). The data were taken from 2011 December through 2012 January and show a strong detection in all three wavebands. During this period VERITAS obtained 24.9 hr of quality selected livetime data in which LS I +61 degrees 303 was detected at a statistical significance of 11.9 sigma. These TeV observations show evidence for nightly variability in the TeV regime at a post-trial significance of 3.6 sigma. The combination of the simultaneously obtained TeV and X-ray fluxes do not demonstrate any evidence for a correlation between emission in the two bands. For the first time since the launch of the Fermi satellite in 2008, this TeV detection allows the construction of a detailed MeV-TeV spectral energy distribution from LS I +61 degrees 303. This spectrum shows a distinct cutoff in emission near 4 GeV, with emission seen by the VERITAS observations following a simple power-law above 200 GeV. This feature in the spectrum of LS I +61 degrees 303, obtained from overlapping observations with Fermi-LAT and VERITAS, may indicate that there are two distinct populations of accelerated particles producing the GeV and TeV emission.
We report on the VERITAS observations of the high-frequency peaked BL Lac object 1ES 1959+650 in the period 2007-2011. This source is detected at TeV energies by VERITAS at 16.4 standard deviation (sigma) significance in 7.6 hr of observation in a low flux state. A multiwavelength spectral energy distribution (SED) is constructed from contemporaneous data from VERITAS, Fermi-LAT, RXTE PCA, and Swift UVOT. Swift XRT data is not included in the SED due to a lack of simultaneous observations with VERITAS. In contrast to the orphan gamma-ray flare exhibited by this source in 2002, the X-ray flux of the source is found to vary by an order of magnitude, while other energy regimes exhibit less variable emission. A quasi-equilibrium synchrotron self-Compton model with an additional external radiation field is used to describe three SEDs corresponding to the lowest, highest, and average X-ray states. The variation in the X-ray spectrum is modeled by changing the electron injection spectral index, with minor adjustments of the kinetic luminosity in electrons. This scenario produces small-scale flux variability of the order of less than or similar to 2 in the high energy (E > 1MeV) and very high energy (E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray regimes, which is corroborated by the Fermi-LAT, VERITAS, and Whipple 10 m telescope light curves.
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.
Multiwavelength observations of the AGN 1ES 0414+009 with veritas, FERMI-LAT, SWIFT-XRT, AND MDM
(2012)
We present observations of the BL Lac object 1ES 0414+009 in the >200 GeV gamma-ray band by the VERITAS array of Cherenkov telescopes. 1ES 0414+009 was observed by VERITAS between 2008 January and 2011 February, resulting in 56.2 hr of good quality pointed observations. These observations resulted in a detection of 822 events from the source corresponding to a statistical significance of 6.4 standard deviations (6.4 sigma) above the background. The source flux, showing no evidence for variability, is measured as (5.2 +/- 1.1(stat) +/- 2.6(sys)) x 10(-12) photons cm(-2) s(-1) above 200 GeV, equivalent to approximately 2% of the Crab Nebula flux above this energy. The differential photon spectrum from 230 GeV to 850 GeV is well fit by a power law with a photon index of Gamma = 3.4 +/- 0.5(stat) +/- 0.3(sys) and a flux normalization of (1.6 +/- 0.3(stat) +/- 0.8(sys)) x 10(-11) photons cm(-2) s(-1) at 300 GeV. We also present multiwavelength results taken in the optical (MDM), x-ray (Swift-XRT), and GeV (Fermi-LAT) bands and use these results to construct a broadband spectral energy distribution (SED). Modeling of this SED indicates that homogenous one-zone leptonic scenarios are not adequate to describe emission from the system, with a lepto-hadronic model providing a better fit to the data.
The variability of the blazar Markarian 421 in TeV gamma rays over a 14-year time period has been explored with the Whipple 10 m telescope. It is shown that the dynamic range of its flux variations is large and similar to that in X-rays. A correlation between the X-ray and TeV energy bands is observed during some bright flares and when the complete data sets are binned on long timescales. The main database consists of 878.4 h of observation with the Whipple telescope, spread over 783 nights. The peak energy response of the telescope was 400 GeV with 20% uncertainty. This is the largest database of any TeV-emitting active galactic nucleus (AGN) and hence was used to explore the variability profile of Markarian 421. The tithe-averaged flux from Markarian 421 over this period was 0.446 +/- 0.008 Crab flux units. The flux exceeded 10 Crab flux units on three separate occasions. For the 2000-2001 season the average flux reached 1.86 Crab units, while in the 1996-1997 season the average flux was only 0.23 Crab units.