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Aliu, E. ; Archambault, S. ; Arlen, T. ; Aune, T. ; Behera, B. ; Beilicke, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Berger, K. ; Bird, R. ; Bouvier, A. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Byrum, K. ; Cerruti, M. ; Chen, Xuhui ; Ciupik, L. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Duke, C. ; Dumm, J. ; Errando, M. ; Falcone, A. ; Federici, S. ; 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. ; Hanna, D. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Johnson, C. A. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kertzman, M. ; Khassen, Y. ; Kieda, D. ; Krawczynski, H. ; Krennrich, F. ; Lang, M. J. ; Madhavan, A. S. ; Maier, G. ; Majumdar, P. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Meagher, K. ; Millis, J. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nieto, D. ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Perkins, J. S. ; Pohl, M. ; Popkow, A. ; Prokoph, H. ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reyes, L. C. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, G. T. ; Roache, E. ; 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. ; Zajczyk, A. ; Zitzer, B.
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 >.
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.
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.
Aliu, E. ; Archambault, S. ; Arlen, T. ; Aune, T. ; Beilicke, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Bouvier, A. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Cesarini, A. ; Ciupik, L. ; Collins-Hughes, E. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Dickherber, R. ; Duke, C. ; Dumm, J. ; Dwarkadas, Vikram V. ; Errando, M. ; Falcone, A. ; Federici, S. ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Finnegan, G. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Galante, N. ; Gall, D. ; Gillanders, G. H. ; Godambe, S. ; Gotthelf, E. V. ; Griffin, S. ; Grube, J. ; Gyuk, G. ; Hanna, D. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kargaltsev, O. ; Karlsson, N. ; Khassen, Y. ; Kieda, D. ; Krawczynski, H. ; Krennrich, F. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lee, K. ; Madhavan, A. S. ; Maier, G. ; Majumdar, P. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nelson, T. ; de Bhroithe, A. O&rsquo ; Faolain ; Ong, R. A. ; Orr, M. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Perkins, J. S. ; Pohl, M. ; Prokoph, H. ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reyes, L. C. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Roache, E. ; Roberts, M. ; Saxon, D. B. ; Schroedter, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Slane, P. ; Smith, A. W. ; Staszak, D. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Tesic, G. ; Theiling, M. ; Thibadeau, S. ; Tsurusaki, K. ; Tyler, J. ; Varlotta, A. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Vincent, S. ; Vivier, M. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weekes, T. C. ; Weinstein, A. ; Welsing, R. ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B.
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.
tAliu, E. ; Archambault, S. ; Arlen, T. ; Aune, T. ; Beilicke, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Bird, R. ; Bouvier, A. ; Bradbury, S. M. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Byrum, K. ; Cannon, A. ; Cesarini, A. ; Ciupik, L. ; Collins-Hughes, E. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Dickherber, R. ; Duke, C. ; Dumm, J. ; Dwarkadas, Vikram V. ; Errando, M. ; Falcone, A. ; Federici, Simone ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Finnegan, G. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Galante, N. ; Gall, D. ; Gillanders, G. H. ; Godambe, S. ; Gotthelf, E. V. ; Griffin, S. ; Grube, J. ; Gyuk, G. ; Hanna, D. ; Holder, J. ; Huan, H. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Kaaret, P. ; Karlsson, N. ; Kertzman, M. ; Khassen, Y. ; Kieda, D. ; Krawczynski, H. ; Krennrich, F. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lee, K. ; Madhavan, A. S. ; Maier, G. ; Majumdar, P. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Millis, J. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nelson, T. ; de Bhroithe, A. O'Faolain ; Ong, R. A. ; Orr, M. ; Otte, A. N. ; Pandel, D. ; Park, N. ; Perkins, J. S. ; Pohl, Martin ; Popkow, A. ; Prokoph, H. ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Reyes, L. C. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Roache, E. ; Rose, H. J. ; Ruppel, Jens ; Saxon, D. B. ; Schroedter, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Sentuerk, G. D. ; Skole, C. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Tesic, G. ; Theiling, M. ; Thibadeau, S. ; Tsurusaki, K. ; Tyler, J. ; Varlotta, A. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Vincent, S. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Ward, J. E. ; Weekes, T. C. ; Weinstein, A. ; Weisgarber, T. ; Welsing, R. ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B.
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.
Aliu, E. ; Archambault, S. ; Arlen, T. ; Aune, T. ; Beilicke, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Boettcher, Markus ; Bouvier, A. ; Bradbury, S. M. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Byrum, K. ; Cannon, A. ; Cesarini, A. ; Ciupik, L. ; Collins-Hughes, E. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Coppi, P. ; Cui, W. ; Decerprit, G. ; Dickherber, R. ; Dumm, J. ; Errando, Manel ; Falcone, A. ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Finnegan, G. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Galante, N. ; Gall, D. ; Godambe, S. ; Griffin, S. ; Grube, J. ; Gyuk, G. ; Hanna, D. ; Hawkins, K. ; Holder, J. ; Huan, H. ; Hughes, G. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Kaaret, P. ; Karlsson, N. ; Kertzman, M. ; Khassen, Y. ; Kieda, D. ; Krawczynski, H. ; Krennrich, F. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lee, K. ; Madhavan, A. S. ; Maier, G. ; Majumdar, P. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, Reshmi ; Ong, R. A. ; Orr, M. ; Otte, A. N. ; Palma, N. ; Park, N. ; Perkins, J. S. ; Pichel, A. ; 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. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Tesic, G. ; Theiling, M. ; Thibadeau, S. ; Tsurusaki, K. ; Varlotta, A. ; Vivier, M. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Ward, J. E. ; Weekes, T. C. ; Weinstein, A. ; Weisgarber, T. ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B. ; Fortin, P. ; Horan, D.
We report on the discovery of high-energy (HE; E > 0.1 GeV) and very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission from the high-frequency-peaked BL Lac object RBS 0413. VERITAS, a ground-based gamma-ray observatory, detected VHE. rays from RBS 0413 with a statistical significance of 5.5 standard deviations (sigma) and a gamma-ray flux of (1.5 +/- 0.6(stat) +/- 0.7(syst)) x 10(-8) photons m(-2) s(-1) (similar to 1% of the Crab Nebula flux) above 250 GeV. The observed spectrum can be described by a power law with a photon index of 3.18 +/- 0.68(stat) +/- 0.30(syst). Contemporaneous observations with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected HE gamma rays from RBS 0413 with a (stat)istical significance of more than 9 sigma, a power-law photon index of 1.57 +/- 0.12(stat-0.12sys')(+0.11) and a gamma-ray flux between 300 MeV and 300 GeV of (1.64 +/- 0.43(stat-0.22sys)(+ 0.31)) x 10(-5) photons m(-2) s(-1). We present the results from Fermi-LAT and VERITAS, including a spectral energy distribution modeling of the gamma-ray, quasi-simultaneous X-ray (Swift-XRT), ultraviolet (Swift-UVOT), and R-band optical (MDM) data. We find that, if conditions close to equipartition are required, both the combined synchrotron self-Compton/external-Compton and the lepto-hadronic models are preferred over a pure synchrotron self-Compton model.
Furniss, A. ; Noda, K. ; Boggs, S. ; Chiang, J. ; Christensen, F. ; Craig, W. ; Giommi, P. ; Hailey, C. ; Harisson, F. ; Madejski, G. ; Nalewajko, K. ; Perri, M. ; Stern, D. ; Urry, M. ; Verrecchia, F. ; Zhang, W. ; Ahnen, M. L. ; Ansoldi, S. ; Antonelli, L. A. ; Antoranz, P. ; Babic, A. ; Banerjee, B. ; Bangale, P. ; de Almeida, U. Barres ; Barrio, J. A. ; Becerra Gonzalez, J. ; Bednarek, W. ; Bernardini, E. ; Biasuzzi, B. ; Biland, A. ; Blanch Bigas, O. ; Bonnefoy, S. ; Bonnoli, G. ; Borracci, F. ; Bretz, T. ; Carmona, E. ; Carosi, A. ; Chatterjee, A. ; Clavero, R. ; Colin, P. ; Colombo, E. ; Contreras, J. L. ; Cortina, J. ; Covino, S. ; Da Vela, P. ; Dazzi, F. ; De Angelis, A. ; De Caneva, G. ; De Lotto, B. ; de Ona Wilhelmi, E. ; Delgado Mendez, C. ; Di Pierro, F. ; Prester, Dijana Dominis ; Dorner, D. ; Doro, M. ; Einecke, S. ; Eisenacher Glawion, D. ; Elsaesser, D. ; Fernandez-Barral, A. ; Fidalgo, D. ; Fonseca, M. V. ; Font, L. ; Frantzen, K. ; Fruck, C. ; Galindo, D. ; Garcia Lopez, R. J. ; Garczarczyk, M. ; Garrido Terrats, D. ; Gaug, M. ; Giammaria, P. ; Godinovic, N. ; Gonzalez Munoz, A. ; Guberman, D. ; Hanabata, Y. ; Hayashida, M. ; Herrera, J. ; Hose, J. ; Hrupec, D. ; Hughes, G. ; Idec, W. ; Kellermann, H. ; Kodani, K. ; Konno, Y. ; Kubo, H. ; Kushida, J. ; La Barbera, A. ; Lelas, D. ; Lewandowska, N. ; Lindfors, E. ; Lombardi, S. ; Longo, F. ; Lopez, M. ; Lopez-Coto, R. ; Lopez-Oramas, A. ; Lorenz, E. ; Majumdar, P. ; Makariev, M. ; Mallot, K. ; Maneva, G. ; Manganaro, M. ; Mannheim, K. ; Maraschi, L. ; Marcote, B. ; Mariotti, M. ; Martinez, M. ; Mazin, D. ; Menzel, U. ; Miranda, J. M. ; Mirzoyan, R. ; Moralejo, A. ; Nakajima, D. ; Neustroev, V. ; Niedzwiecki, A. ; Nievas Rosillo, M. ; Nilsson, K. ; Nishijima, K. ; Orito, R. ; Overkemping, A. ; Paiano, S. ; Palacio, J. ; Palatiello, M. ; Paneque, D. ; Paoletti, R. ; Paredes, J. M. ; Paredes-Fortuny, X. ; Persic, M. ; Poutanen, J. ; Moroni, P. G. Prada ; Prandini, E. ; Puljak, I. ; Reinthal, R. ; Rhode, W. ; Ribo, M. ; Rico, J. ; Garcia, J. Rodriguez ; Saito, T. ; Saito, K. ; Satalecka, K. ; Scapin, V. ; Schultz, C. ; Schweizer, T. ; Shore, S. N. ; Sillanpaa, A. ; Sitarek, J. ; Snidaric, I. ; Sobczynska, D. ; Stamerra, A. ; Steinbring, T. ; Strzys, M. ; Takalo, L. ; Takami, H. ; Tavecchio, F. ; Temnikov, P. ; Terzic, T. ; Tescaro, D. ; Teshima, M. ; Thaele, J. ; Torres, D. F. ; Toyama, T. ; Treves, A. ; Verguilov, V. ; Vovk, I. ; Will, M. ; Zanin, R. ; Archer, A. ; Benbow, W. ; Bird, R. ; Biteau, Jonathan ; Bugaev, V. ; Cardenzana, J. V. ; Cerruti, M. ; Chen, Xuhui ; Ciupik, L. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Dickinson, H. J. ; Dumm, J. ; Eisch, J. D. ; Falcone, A. ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fleischhack, H. ; Fortin, P. ; Fortson, L. ; Gerard, L. ; Gillanders, G. H. ; Griffin, S. ; Griffiths, S. T. ; Grube, J. ; Gyuk, G. ; Hakansson, Nils ; Holder, J. ; Humensky, T. B. ; Johnson, C. A. ; Kaaret, P. ; Kertzman, M. ; Kieda, D. ; Krause, M. ; Krennrich, F. ; Lang, M. J. ; Lin, T. T. Y. ; Maier, G. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Meagher, K. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nieto, D. ; Ong, R. A. ; Park, N. ; Petry, D. ; Pohl, Martin ; Popkow, A. ; Ragan, K. ; Ratliff, G. ; Reyes, L. C. ; 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. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weiner, O. M. ; Weinstein, A. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B. ; Vince, O. ; Fuhrmann, L. ; Angelakis, E. ; Karamanavis, V. ; Myserlis, I. ; Krichbaum, T. P. ; Zensus, J. A. ; Ungerechts, H. ; Sievers, A. ; Bachev, R. ; Boettcher, Markus ; Chen, W. P. ; Damljanovic, G. ; Eswaraiah, C. ; Guver, T. ; Hovatta, T. ; Hughes, Z. ; Ibryamov, S. I. ; Joner, M. D. ; Jordan, B. ; Jorstad, S. G. ; Joshi, M. ; Kataoka, J. ; Kurtanidze, O. M. ; Kurtanidze, S. O. ; Lahteenmaki, A. ; Latev, G. ; Lin, H. C. ; Larionov, V. M. ; Mokrushina, A. A. ; Morozova, D. A. ; Nikolashvili, M. G. ; Raiteri, C. M. ; Ramakrishnan, V. ; Readhead, A. C. R. ; Sadun, A. C. ; Sigua, L. A. ; Semkov, E. H. ; Strigachev, A. ; Tammi, J. ; Tornikoski, M. ; Troitskaya, Y. V. ; Troitsky, I. S. ; Villata, M.
We report on simultaneous broadband observations of the TeV-emitting blazar Markarian 501 between 2013 April 1 and August 10, including the first detailed characterization of the synchrotron peak with Swift and NuSTAR. During the campaign, the nearby BL Lac object was observed in both a quiescent and an elevated state. The broadband campaign includes observations with NuSTAR, MAGIC, VERITAS, the Fermi Large Area Telescope, Swift X-ray Telescope and UV Optical Telescope, various ground-based optical instruments, including the GASP-WEBT program, as well as radio observations by OVRO, Metsahovi, and the F-Gamma consortium. Some of the MAGIC observations were affected by a sand layer from the Saharan desert, and had to be corrected using event-by-event corrections derived with a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) facility. This is the first time that LIDAR information is used to produce a physics result with Cherenkov Telescope data taken during adverse atmospheric conditions, and hence sets a precedent for the current and future ground-based gamma-ray instruments. The NuSTAR instrument provides unprecedented sensitivity in hard X-rays, showing the source to display a spectral energy distribution (SED) between 3 and 79 keV consistent with a log-parabolic spectrum and hard X-ray variability on hour timescales. None (of the four extended NuSTAR observations) show evidence of the onset of inverse-Compton emission at hard X-ray energies. We apply a single-zone equilibrium synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model to five simultaneous broadband SEDs. We find that the SSC model can reproduce the observed broadband states through a decrease in the magnetic field strength coinciding with an increase in the luminosity and hardness of the relativistic leptons responsible for the high-energy emission.
Aliu, E. ; Archambault, S. ; Arlen, T. ; Aune, T. ; Barnacka, Anna ; Beilicke, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Berger, K. ; Bird, R. ; Bouvier, A. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Cerruti, M. ; Chen, X. ; Ciupik, L. ; Collins-Hughes, E. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Dumm, J. ; Eisch, J. D. ; Falcone, A. ; Federici, S. ; 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, N. ; Hanna, D. ; Holder, J. ; Hughes, G. ; Hughes, Z. ; 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. ; Majumdar, P. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Meagher, K. ; Millis, J. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nelson, T. ; Nieto, D. ; Ong, R. A. ; Otte, A. N. ; Park, N. ; Perkins, J. S. ; Pohl, M. ; Popkow, A. ; Prokoph, H. ; Quinn, J. ; Ragan, K. ; Rajotte, J. ; Reyes, L. C. ; Reynolds, P. T. ; Richards, G. T. ; Roache, E. ; Sadun, A. ; Santander, M. ; Sembroski, G. H. ; Shahinyan, K. ; Sheidaei, F. ; Smith, A. W. ; Staszak, D. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Theiling, M. ; Tyler, J. ; Varlotta, A. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Vincent, S. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weekes, T. C. ; Weinstein, A. ; Welsing, R. ; Wilhelm, Alina ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B. ; Boettcher, Markus ; Fumagalli, M.
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.
Aliu, E. ; Archambault, S. ; Arlen, T. ; Aune, T. ; Beilicke, M. ; Benbow, W. ; Bird, R. ; Bouvier, A. ; Buckley, J. H. ; Bugaev, V. ; Cesarini, A. ; Ciupik, L. ; Connolly, M. P. ; Cui, W. ; Dumm, J. ; Errando, M. ; Falcone, A. ; Federici, Simone ; Feng, Q. ; Finley, J. P. ; Fortin, P. ; Fortson, L. ; Furniss, A. ; Galante, N. ; Gerard, L. ; 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. ; Lang, M. J. ; Madhavan, A. S. ; Maier, G. ; Majumdar, P. ; McArthur, S. ; McCann, A. ; Moriarty, P. ; Mukherjee, R. ; Nieto, D. ; De Bhroithe, A. O'Faolain ; Ong, R. A. ; Orr, M. ; 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. ; Skole, C. ; Smith, A. W. ; Soares-Furtado, M. ; Staszak, D. ; Telezhinsky, Igor O. ; Tesic, G. ; Theiling, M. ; Varlotta, A. ; Vassiliev, V. V. ; Vincent, S. ; Wakely, S. P. ; Weekes, T. C. ; Weinstein, A. ; Welsing, R. ; Williams, D. A. ; Zitzer, B. ; Böttcher, Markus ; Fumagalli, M. ; Jadhav, J.
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.