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Dark matter constraints from a joint analysis of dwarf Spheroidal galaxy observations with VERITAS
(2017)
Archambault, S. ; Archer, A. ; Benbow, W. ; Bird, R. ; Bourbeau, E. ; Brantseg, T. ; Buchovecky, M. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Byrum, K. ; Cerruti, M. ; Christiansen, J. L. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Daniel, M. K. ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fleischhack, H. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Geringer-Sameth, A. ; Griffin, S. ; Grube, J. ; Hütten, M. ; Hakansson, N. ; Hanna, D. ; Hervet, O. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Hummensky, B. ; Johnson, C. A. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kar, P. ; Kelley-Hoskins, N. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, D. ; Koushiappas, S. ; Krause, M. ; Krennrich, F. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lin, T. T. Y. ; McArthur, S. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nieto, D. ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Pohl, M. ; Popkow, A. ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, G. T. ; Roache, E. ; Rulten, C. ; Sadeh, I. ; Santander, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, K. ; Smith, A. W. ; Staszak, D. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Trepanier, S. ; Tucci, J. V. ; Tyler, J. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weinstein, A. ; Wilcox, P. ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B.
We present constraints on the annihilation cross section of weakly interacting massive particles dark matter based on the joint statistical analysis of four dwarf galaxies with VERITAS. These results are derived from an optimized photon weighting statistical technique that improves on standard imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope (IACT) analyses by utilizing the spectral and spatial properties of individual photon events. We report on the results of similar to 230 hours of observations of five dwarf galaxies and the joint statistical analysis of four of the dwarf galaxies. We find no evidence of gamma-ray emission from any individual dwarf nor in the joint analysis. The derived upper limit on the dark matter annihilation cross section from the joint analysis is 1.35 x 10(-23) cm(3) s(-1) at 1 TeV for the bottom quark (b (b) over bar) final state, 2.85 x 10(-24) cm(3) s(-1) at 1 TeV for the tau lepton (tau+tau(-)) final state and 1.32 x 10-25 cm(3) s(-1) at 1 TeV for the gauge boson (gamma gamma) final state.
Archambault, S. ; Archer, A. ; Benbow, W. ; Bird, Ralph ; Bourbeau, E. ; Bouvier, A. ; Buchovecky, M. ; Bugaev, V. ; Cardenzana, J. V. ; Cerruti, M. ; Ciupik, L. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Daniel, M. K. ; Errando, M. ; Falcone, A. ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fleischhack, H. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Gillanders, G. H. ; Griffin, S. ; Hanna, D. ; Hervet, O. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Hutten, M. ; Johnson, C. A. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kar, P. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, D. ; Krause, M. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lin, T. T. Y. ; Maier, G. ; McArthur, S. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nieto, D. ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Pohl, Martin ; Popkow, A. ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, G. T. ; Roache, E. ; Rulten, C. ; Sadeh, I. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, K. ; Staszak, D. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Trepanier, S. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weinstein, A. ; Wilcox, P. ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B.
Imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) are equipped with sensitive photomultiplier tube (PMT) cameras. Exposure to high levels of background illumination degrades the efficiency of and potentially destroys these photo-detectors over time, so IACTs cannot be operated in the same configuration in the presence of bright moonlight as under dark skies. Since September 2012, observations have been carried out with the VERITAS IACTs under bright moonlight (defined as about three times the night-sky-background (NSB) of a dark extragalactic field, typically occurring when Moon illumination > 35%) in two observing modes, firstly by reducing the voltage applied to the PMTs and, secondly, with the addition of ultra-violet (UV) bandpass filters to the cameras. This has allowed observations at up to about 30 times previous NSB levels (around 80% Moon illumination), resulting in 30% more observing time between the two modes over the course of a year. These additional observations have already allowed for the detection of a flare from the 1ES 1727 + 502 and for an observing program targeting a measurement of the cosmic-ray positron fraction. We provide details of these new observing modes and their performance relative to the standard VERITAS observations. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Abeysekara, A. U. ; Benbow, Wystan ; Bird, Ralph ; Brantseg, T. ; Brose, Robert ; Buchovecky, M. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, Wei ; Daniel, M. K. ; Falcone, A. ; Feng, Qi ; Finley, John P. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, Amy ; Gillanders, Gerard H. ; Gunawardhana, Isuru ; Huetten, M. ; Hanna, David ; Hervet, O. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Johnson, Caitlin A. ; Kaaret, Philip ; Kar, P. ; Kertzman, M. ; Krennrich, F. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lin, T. T. Y. ; McArthur, S. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, Reshmi ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, Adam Nepomuk ; Park, N. ; Petrashyk, A. ; Pohl, Martin ; 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 ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weinstein, A. ; Wells, R. M. ; Wilcox, P. ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B. ; Jorstad, Svetlana G. ; Marscher, Alan P. ; Lister, Matthew L. ; Kovalev, Yuri Y. ; Pushkarev, A. B. ; Savolainen, Tuomas ; Agudo, I. ; Molina, S. N. ; Gomez, J. L. ; Larionov, Valeri M. ; Borman, G. A. ; Mokrushina, A. A. ; Tornikoski, Merja ; Lahteenmaki, A. ; Chamani, W. ; Enestam, S. ; Kiehlmann, S. ; Hovatta, Talvikki ; Smith, P. S. ; Pontrelli, P.
Combined with measurements made by very-long-baseline interferometry, the observations of fast TeV gamma-ray flares probe the structure and emission mechanism of blazar jets. However, only a handful of such flares have been detected to date, and only within the last few years have these flares been observed from lower-frequency-peaked BL. Lac objects and flat-spectrum radio quasars. We report on a fast TeV gamma-ray flare from the blazar BL. Lacertae observed by the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). with a rise time of similar to 2.3 hr and a decay time of similar to 36 min. The peak flux above 200 GeV is (4.2 +/- 0.6) x 10(-6) photon m(-2) s(-1) measured with a 4-minute-binned light curve, corresponding to similar to 180% of the flux that is observed from the Crab Nebula above the same energy threshold. Variability contemporaneous with the TeV gamma-ray flare was observed in GeV gamma-ray, X-ray, and optical flux, as well as in optical and radio polarization. Additionally, a possible moving emission feature with superluminal apparent velocity was identified in Very Long Baseline Array observations at 43 GHz, potentially passing the radio core of the jet around the time of the gamma-ray flare. We discuss the constraints on the size, Lorentz factor, and location of the emitting region of the flare, and the interpretations with several theoretical models that invoke relativistic plasma passing stationary shocks.
Abeysekara, A. U. ; Archer, A. ; Benbow, Wystan ; Bird, Ralph ; Brill, A. ; Brose, Robert ; Buckley, J. H. ; Christiansen, Jessie L. ; Chromey, A. J. ; Daniel, M. K. ; Falcone, A. ; Feng, Qi ; Finley, John P. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, Amy ; Gillanders, Gerard H. ; Gueta, O. ; 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. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, Reshmi ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Petrashyk, A. ; Pohl, Martin ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, Gregory T. ; Roache, E. ; Rulten, C. ; Sadeh, I. ; Santander, Marcos ; Scott, S. S. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, Karlen ; Tyler, J. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weinstein, A. ; Wells, R. M. ; Wilcox, P. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, D. A. ; Williamson, T. J. ; Zitzer, B. ; Kaur, A.
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.
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.
Archer, A. ; Benbow, W. ; Bird, R. ; Brose, Robert ; Buchovecky, M. ; Bugaev, V. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Daniel, M. K. ; Falcone, A. ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fleischhack, H. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Hanna, D. ; Hervet, O. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Hutten, M. ; Johnson, C. A. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kelley-Hoskins, N. ; Kieda, D. ; Krause, M. ; Krennrich, F. ; Kumar, S. ; Lang, M. J. ; Maier, G. ; McArthur, S. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nieto, D. ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Petrashyk, A. ; Pohl, Martin ; Popkow, A. ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, G. T. ; Roache, E. ; Rulten, C. ; Sadeh, I. ; Tyler, J. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weiner, O. M. ; Wilcox, P. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, D. A. ; Wissel, S. A. ; Zitzer, B.
We present a new measurement of the energy spectrum of iron nuclei in cosmic rays from 20 TeV to 500 TeV; The measurement makes use of a template-based analysis method, which, for the first time, is applied to the energy reconstruction of iron-induced air showers recorded by the VERITAS array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The event selection makes use of the direct Cherenkov light which is emitted by charged particles before the first interaction, as well as other parameters related to the shape of the recorded air shower images. The measured spectrum is well described by a power law dF/dE = f(0) center dot (E/E-0)(-gamma) over the full energy range, with gamma = 2.82 +/- 0.30(stat)(-0.27)(+0.24)(syst) and f(0) = (4.82 +/- 0.98(stat)(-2.70)(+2.12)(syst)) x 10(-7) m(-2) s(-1) TeV-1 sr(-1) at E-0 = 50 TeV, with no indication of a cutoff or spectral break. The measured differential flux is compatible with previous results, with improved statistical uncertainty at the highest energies.
Archer, A. ; Benbow, W. ; Bird, R. ; Brose, Robert ; Buchovecky, M. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Daniel, M. K. ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Gillanders, G. ; Huetten, M. ; Hanna, D. ; Hervet, O. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; 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. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, A. N. ; Petrashyk, A. ; Pohl, M. ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, G. T. ; Roache, E. ; Rulten, C. ; Sadeh, I. ; Santander, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Staszak, D. ; Sushch, I. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Wells, R. M. ; Wilcox, P. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, D. A. ; Williamson, T. J. ; Zitzer, B.
Cosmic-ray electrons and positrons (CREs) at GeV-TeV energies are a unique probe of our local Galactic neighborhood. CREs lose energy rapidly via synchrotron radiation and inverse-Compton scattering processes while propagating within the Galaxy, and these losses limit their propagation distance. For electrons with TeV energies, the limit is on the order of a kiloparsec. Within that distance, there are only a few known astrophysical objects capable of accelerating electrons to such high energies. It is also possible that the CREs are the products of the annihilation or decay of heavy dark matter (DM) particles. VERITAS, an array of imaging air Cherenkov telescopes in southern Arizona, is primarily utilized for gamma-ray astronomy but also simultaneously collects CREs during all observations. We describe our methods of identifying CREs in VERITAS data and present an energy spectrum, extending from 300 GeV to 5 TeV, obtained from approximately 300 hours of observations. A single power-law fit is ruled out in VERITAS data. We find that the spectrum of CREs is consistent with a broken power law, with a break energy at 710 +/- 40(stat) +/- 140(syst) GeV.
VERITAS and Fermi-LAT Observations of TeV Gamma-Ray Sources Discovered by HAWC in the 2HWC Catalog
(2018)
Abeysekara, A. U. ; Archer, A. ; Benbow, Wystan ; Bird, Ralph ; Brose, Robert ; Buchovecky, M. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Chromey, A. J. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, Wei ; Daniel, M. K. ; Falcone, A. ; Feng, Qi ; Finley, John P. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, Amy ; Huetten, M. ; Hanna, David ; Hervet, O. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Johnson, Caitlin A. ; Kaaret, Philip ; Kar, P. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, David ; Krause, M. ; Krennrich, F. ; Kumar, S. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lin, T. T. Y. ; McArthur, S. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, Reshmi ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, Adam Nepomuk ; Park, Nahee ; Petrashyk, A. ; Pohl, Martin ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, Gregory T. ; Roache, E. ; Rulten, C. ; Sadeh, I. ; Santander, Marcos ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, Karlen ; Sushch, I. ; Tyler, J. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weinstein, A. ; Wells, R. M. ; Wilcox, P. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, D. A. ; Williamson, T. J. ; Zitzer, B. ; Abdollahi, S. ; Ajello, Marco ; Baldini, Luca ; Barbiellini, G. ; Bastieri, Denis ; Bellazzini, Ronaldo ; Berenji, B. ; Bissaldi, Elisabetta ; Blandford, R. D. ; Bonino, R. ; Bottacini, E. ; Brandt, Terri J. ; Bruel, P. ; Buehler, R. ; Cameron, R. A. ; Caputo, R. ; Caraveo, P. A. ; Castro, D. ; Cavazzuti, E. ; Charles, Eric ; Chiaro, G. ; Ciprini, S. ; Cohen-Tanugi, Johann ; Costantin, D. ; Cutini, S. ; de Palma, F. ; Di Lalla, N. ; Di Mauro, M. ; Di Venere, L. ; Dominguez, A. ; Favuzzi, C. ; Fegan, S. J. ; Franckowiak, Anna ; Fukazawa, Yasushi ; Funk, Stefan ; Fusco, Piergiorgio ; Gargano, Fabio ; Gasparrini, Dario ; Giglietto, Nicola ; Giordano, F. ; Giroletti, Marcello ; Green, D. ; Grenier, I. A. ; Guillemot, L. ; Guiriec, Sylvain ; Hays, Elizabeth ; Hewitt, John W. ; Horan, D. ; Johannesson, G. ; Kensei, S. ; Kuss, M. ; Larsson, Stefan ; Latronico, L. ; Lemoine-Goumard, Marianne ; Li, J. ; Longo, Francesco ; Loparco, Francesco ; Lovellette, M. N. ; Lubrano, Pasquale ; Magill, Jeffrey D. ; Maldera, Simone ; Mazziotta, Mario Nicola ; McEnery, J. E. ; Michelson, P. F. ; Mitthumsiri, W. ; Mizuno, Tsunefumi ; Monzani, Maria Elena ; Morselli, Aldo ; Moskalenko, Igor V. ; Negro, M. ; Nuss, E. ; Ojha, R. ; Omodei, Nicola ; Orienti, M. ; Orlando, E. ; Palatiello, M. ; Paliya, Vaidehi S. ; Paneque, D. ; Perkins, Jeremy S. ; Persic, M. ; Pesce-Rollins, Melissa ; Petrosian, Vahe' ; Piron, F. ; Porter, Troy A. ; Principe, G. ; Raino, S. ; Rando, Riccardo ; Rani, B. ; Razzano, Massimilano ; Razzaque, Soebur ; Reimer, A. ; Reimer, Olaf ; Reposeur, T. ; Sgro, C. ; Siskind, E. J. ; Spandre, Gloria ; Spinelli, P. ; Suson, D. J. ; Tajima, Hiroyasu ; Thayer, J. B. ; Thompson, David J. ; Torres, Diego F. ; Tosti, Gino ; Troja, Eleonora ; Valverde, J. ; Vianello, Giacomo ; Vogel, M. ; Wood, K. ; Yassine, M. ; Alfaro, R. ; Alvarez, C. ; Alvarez, J. D. ; Arceo, R. ; Arteaga-Velazquez, J. C. ; Rojas, D. Avila ; Ayala Solares, H. A. ; Becerril, A. ; Belmont-Moreno, E. ; BenZvi, S. Y. ; Bernal, A. ; Braun, J. ; Brisbois, C. ; Caballero-Mora, K. S. ; Capistran, T. ; Carraminana, A. ; Casanova, Sabrina ; Castillo, M. ; Cotti, U. ; Cotzomi, J. ; Coutino de Leon, S. ; De Leon, C. ; De la Fuente, E. ; Dichiara, S. ; Dingus, B. L. ; DuVernois, M. A. ; Diaz-Velez, J. C. ; Engel, K. ; Enriquez-Rivera, O. ; Fiorino, D. W. ; Fleischhack, H. ; Fraija, N. ; Garcia-Gonzalez, J. A. ; Garfias, F. ; Gonzalez Munoz, A. ; Gonzalez, M. M. ; Goodman, J. A. ; Hampel-Arias, Z. ; Harding, J. P. ; Hernandez, S. ; Hernandez-Almada, A. ; Hona, B. ; Hueyotl-Zahuantitla, F. ; Hui, C. M. ; Huntemeyer, P. ; Iriarte, A. ; Jardin-Blicq, A. ; Joshi, V. ; Kaufmann, S. ; Lara, A. ; Lauer, R. J. ; Lee, W. H. ; Lennarz, D. ; Leon Vargas, H. ; Linnemann, J. T. ; Longinotti, A. L. ; Luis-Raya, G. ; Luna-Garcia, R. ; Lopez-Coto, R. ; Malone, K. ; Marinelli, S. S. ; Martinez, O. ; Martinez-Castellanos, I. ; Martinez-Castro, J. ; Martinez-Huerta, H. ; Matthews, J. A. ; Miranda-Romagnoli, P. ; Moreno, E. ; Mostafa, M. ; Nayerhoda, A. ; Nellen, L. ; Newbold, M. ; Nisa, M. U. ; Noriega-Papaqui, R. ; Pelayo, R. ; Pretz, J. ; Perez-Perez, E. G. ; Ren, Z. ; Rho, C. D. ; Riviere, C. ; Rosa-Gonzalez, D. ; Rosenberg, M. ; Ruiz-Velasco, E. ; Salazar, H. ; Greus, F. Salesa ; Sandoval, A. ; Schneider, M. ; Arroyo, M. Seglar ; Sinnis, G. ; Smith, A. J. ; Springer, R. W. ; Surajbali, P. ; Taboada, Ignacio ; Tibolla, O. ; Tollefson, K. ; Torres, I. ; Ukwatta, Tilan N. ; Villasenor, L. ; Weisgarber, T. ; Westerhoff, Stefan ; Wisher, I. G. ; Wood, J. ; Yapici, Tolga ; Yodh, G. ; Zepeda, A. ; Zhou, H.
The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) collaboration recently published their 2HWC catalog, listing 39 very high energy (VHE; >100 GeV) gamma-ray sources based on 507 days of observation. Among these, 19 sources are not associated with previously known teraelectronvolt (TeV) gamma-ray sources. We have studied 14 of these sources without known counterparts with VERITAS and Fermi-LAT. VERITAS detected weak gamma-ray emission in the 1 TeV-30 TeV band in the region of DA 495, a pulsar wind nebula coinciding with 2HWC J1953+294, confirming the discovery of the source by HAWC. We did not find any counterpart for the selected 14 new HAWC sources from our analysis of Fermi-LAT data for energies higher than 10 GeV. During the search, we detected gigaelectronvolt (GeV) gamma-ray emission coincident with a known TeV pulsar wind nebula, SNR G54.1+0.3 (VER J1930+188), and a 2HWC source, 2HWC J1930+188. The fluxes for isolated, steady sources in the 2HWC catalog are generally in good agreement with those measured by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. However, the VERITAS fluxes for SNR G54.1+0.3, DA 495, and TeV J2032+4130 are lower than those measured by HAWC, and several new HAWC sources are not detected by VERITAS. This is likely due to a change in spectral shape, source extension, or the influence of diffuse emission in the source region.
Abeysekara, A. U. ; Benbow, Wystan ; Bird, Ralph ; Brill, A. ; Brose, Robert ; Buckley, J. H. ; Chromey, A. J. ; Daniel, M. K. ; Falcone, A. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, Amy ; Gent, A. ; Gillanders, Gerald H. ; Hanna, David ; Hassan, T. ; Hervet, O. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Kaaret, Philip ; Kar, P. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, David ; Krause, Maria ; Krennrich, F. ; Kumar, S. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lin, T. T. Y. ; Maier, Gernot ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, Reshmi ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, Adam Nepomuk ; Park, Nahee ; Petrashyk, A. ; Pohl, Martin ; Pueschel, Elisa ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Richards, Gregory T. ; Roache, E. ; Sadeh, I. ; Santander, Marcos ; Schlenstedt, S. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Sushch, Iurii ; Tyler, J. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weinstein, A. ; Wells, R. M. ; Wilcox, P. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, David A. ; Williamson, T. J. ; Zitzer, B. ; Acciari, V. A. ; Ansoldi, S. ; Antonelli, L. A. ; Engels, A. Arbet ; Baack, D. ; Babic, A. ; Banerjee, B. ; de Almeida, U. Barres ; Barrio, J. A. ; Becerra Gonzalez, Josefa ; Bednarek, Wlodek ; Bernardini, Elisa ; Berti, A. ; Besenrieder, J. ; Bhattacharyya, W. ; Bigongiari, C. ; Biland, A. ; Blanch, O. ; Bonnoli, G. ; Busetto, G. ; Carosi, R. ; Ceribella, G. ; Cikota, S. ; Colak, S. M. ; Colin, P. ; Colombo, E. ; Contreras, J. L. ; Cortina, J. ; Covino, S. ; Da Vela, P. ; Dazzi, F. ; De Angelis, A. ; De Lotto, B. ; Delfino, M. ; Delgado, J. ; Di Pierro, F. ; Do Souto Espinera, E. ; Dominguez, A. ; Prester, D. Dominis ; Dorner, D. ; Doro, M. ; Einecke, S. ; Elsaesser, D. ; Ramazani, V. Fallah ; Fattorini, A. ; Fernandez-Barral, A. ; Ferrara, G. ; Fidalgo, D. ; Foffano, L. ; Fonseca, M. V. ; Font, L. ; Fruck, C. ; Galindo, D. ; Gallozzi, S. ; Lopez, R. J. Garcia ; Garczarczyk, M. ; Gasparyan, S. ; Gaug, Markus ; Giammaria, P. ; Godinovic, N. ; Guberman, D. ; Hadasch, D. ; Hahn, A. ; Herrera, J. ; Hoang, J. ; Hrupec, D. ; Inoue, S. ; Ishio, K. ; Iwamura, Y. ; Kubo, H. ; Kushida, J. ; Kuvezdic, D. ; Lamastra, A. ; Lelas, D. ; Leone, Francesco ; Lindfors, E. ; Lombardi, S. ; Longo, Francesco ; Lopez, M. ; Lopez-Oramas, A. ; Machado de Oliveira Fraga, B. ; Maggio, C. ; Majumdar, P. ; Makariev, M. ; Mallamaci, M. ; Maneva, G. ; Manganaro, M. ; Mannheim, K. ; Maraschi, L. ; Mariotti, M. ; Martinez, M. ; Masuda, S. ; Mazin, D. ; Minev, M. ; Miranda, J. M. ; Mirzoyan, R. ; Molina, E. ; Moralejo, A. ; Moreno, V. ; Moretti, E. ; Munar-Adrover, Pere ; Neustroev, V. ; Niedzwiecki, Andrzej ; Rosillo, Mireia Nievas ; Nigro, C. ; Nilsson, Kari ; Ninci, D. ; Nishijima, K. ; Noda, K. ; Nogues, L. ; Noethe, M. ; Paiano, Simona ; Palacio, J. ; Paneque, D. ; Paoletti, R. ; Paredes, J. M. ; Pedaletti, G. ; Penil, P. ; Peresano, M. ; Persic, M. ; Moroni, P. G. Prada ; Prandini, E. ; Puljak, I. ; Garcia, J. R. ; Rhode, W. ; Ribo, Marc ; Rico, J. ; Righi, C. ; Rugliancich, A. ; Saha, Lab ; Sahakyan, Narek ; Saito, T. ; Satalecka, K. ; Schweizer, T. ; Sitarek, J. ; Snidaric, I. ; Sobczynska, D. ; Somero, A. ; Stamerra, A. ; Strzys, M. ; Suric, T. ; Tavecchio, Fabrizio ; Temnikov, P. ; Terzic, T. ; Teshima, M. ; Torres-Alba, N. ; Tsujimoto, S. ; van Scherpenberg, J. ; Vanzo, G. ; Vazquez Acosta, M. ; Vovk, I. ; Will, M. ; Zaric, D.
We report on observations of the pulsar/Be star binary system PSR J2032+4127/MT91 213 in the energy range between 100 GeV and 20 TeV with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array and Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov telescope arrays. The binary orbit has a period of approximately 50 years, with the most recent periastron occurring on 2017 November 13. Our observations span from 18 months prior to periastron to one month after. A new point-like gamma-ray source is detected, coincident with the location of PSR J2032+4127/MT91 213. The gamma-ray light curve and spectrum are well characterized over the periastron passage. The flux is variable over at least an order of magnitude, peaking at periastron, thus providing a firm association of the TeV source with the pulsar/Be star system. Observations prior to periastron show a cutoff in the spectrum at an energy around 0.5 TeV. This result adds a new member to the small population of known TeV binaries, and it identifies only the second source of this class in which the nature and properties of the compact object are firmly established. We compare the gamma-ray results with the light curve measured with the X-ray Telescope on board the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and with the predictions of recent theoretical models of the system. We conclude that significant revision of the models is required to explain the details of the emission that we have observed, and we discuss the relationship between the binary system and the overlapping steady extended source, TeV J2032+4130.
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.