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We present very-high-energy gamma-ray observations of the BL Lac object 1ES 2344+514 taken by the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System between 2007 and 2015. 1ES 2344+514 is detected with a statistical significance above the background of 20.8 sigma in 47.2 h (livetime) of observations, making this the most comprehensive very-high-energy study of 1ES 2344+514 to date. Using these observations, the temporal properties of 1ES 2344+514 are studied on short and long times-scales. We fit a constant-flux model to nightly and seasonally binned light curves and apply a fractional variability test to determine the stability of the source on different time-scales. We reject the constant-flux model for the 2007-2008 and 2014-2015 nightly binned light curves and for the long-term seasonally binned light curve at the > 3 sigma level. The spectra of the time-averaged emission before and after correction for attenuation by the extragalactic background light are obtained. The observed time-averaged spectrum above 200 GeV is satisfactorily fitted (x(2)/NDF = 7.89/6) by a power-law function with an index Gamma = 2.46 +/- 0.06(stat) +/- 0.20(sys) and extends to at least 8 TeV. The extragalactic-backgroundlight-deabsorbed spectrum is adequately fit (x(2)/NDF = 6.73/6) by a power-law function with an index Gamma = 2.15 +/- 0.06(stat) +/- 0.20(sys) while an F-test indicates that the power law with an exponential cut-off function provides a marginally better fit (x(2)/NDF = 2.56/5) at the 2.1 sigma level. The source location is found to be consistent with the published radio location and its spatial extent is consistent with a point source.
We present results from VERITAS observations of the BL Lac object PG 1553+113 spanning the years 2010, 2011, and 2012. The time-averaged spectrum, measured between 160 and 560 GeV, is well described by a power law with a spectral index of 4.33 +/- 0.09. The time-averaged integral flux above 200 GeV measured for this period was (1.69 +/- 0.06) x 10(-11) photons cm(-2) s(-1), corresponding to 6.9% of the Crab Nebula flux. We also present the combined gamma-ray spectrum from the Fermi Large Area Telescope and VERITAS covering an energy range from 100 MeV to 560 GeV. The data are well fit by a power law with an exponential cutoff at 101.9 +/- 3.2 GeV. The origin of the cutoff could be intrinsic to PG 1553+113 or be due to the gamma-ray opacity of our universe through pair production off the extragalactic background light (EBL). Given lower limits to the redshift of z > 0.395 based on optical/UV observations of PG 1553+113, the cutoff would be dominated by EBL absorption. Conversely, the small statistical uncertainties of the VERITAS energy spectrum have allowed us to provide a robust upper limit on the redshift of PG 1553+113 of z <= 0.62. A strongly elevated mean flux of (2.50 +/- 0.14) x10(-11) photons cm(-2) s(-1) (10.3% of the Crab Nebula flux) was observed during 2012, with the daily flux reaching as high as (4.44 +/- 0.71) x10(-11) photons cm(-2) s(-1) (18.3% of the Crab Nebula flux) on MJD 56048. The light curve measured during the 2012 observing season is marginally inconsistent with a steady flux, giving a chi(2) probability for a steady flux of 0.03%.
The 2010 very high energy gamma-ray flare and 10 years ofmulti-wavelength oservations of M 87
(2012)
The giant radio galaxy M 87 with its proximity (16 Mpc), famous jet, and very massive black hole ((3-6) x 10(9) M-circle dot) provides a unique opportunity to investigate the origin of very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission generated in relativistic outflows and the surroundings of supermassive black holes. M 87 has been established as a VHE gamma-ray emitter since 2006. The VHE gamma-ray emission displays strong variability on timescales as short as a day. In this paper, results from a joint VHE monitoring campaign on M 87 by the MAGIC and VERITAS instruments in 2010 are reported. During the campaign, a flare at VHE was detected triggering further observations at VHE (H.E.S.S.), X-rays (Chandra), and radio (43 GHz Very Long Baseline Array, VLBA). The excellent sampling of the VHE gamma-ray light curve enables one to derive a precise temporal characterization of the flare: the single, isolated flare is well described by a two-sided exponential function with significantly different flux rise and decay times of tau(rise)(d) = (1.69 +/- 0.30) days and tau(decay)(d) = (0.611 +/- 0.080) days, respectively. While the overall variability pattern of the 2010 flare appears somewhat different from that of previous VHE flares in 2005 and 2008, they share very similar timescales (similar to day), peak fluxes (Phi(>0.35 TeV) similar or equal to (1-3) x 10(-11) photons cm(-2) s(-1)), and VHE spectra. VLBA radio observations of 43 GHz of the inner jet regions indicate no enhanced flux in 2010 in contrast to observations in 2008, where an increase of the radio flux of the innermost core regions coincided with a VHE flare. On the other hand, Chandra X-ray observations taken similar to 3 days after the peak of the VHE gamma-ray emission reveal an enhanced flux from the core (flux increased by factor similar to 2; variability timescale <2 days). The long-term (2001-2010) multi-wavelength (MWL) light curve of M 87, spanning from radio to VHE and including data from Hubble Space Telescope, Liverpool Telescope, Very Large Array, and European VLBI Network, is used to further investigate the origin of the VHE gamma-ray emission. No unique, common MWL signature of the three VHE flares has been identified. In the outer kiloparsec jet region, in particular in HST-1, no enhanced MWL activity was detected in 2008 and 2010, disfavoring it as the origin of the VHE flares during these years. Shortly after two of the three flares (2008 and 2010), the X-ray core was observed to be at a higher flux level than its characteristic range (determined from more than 60 monitoring observations: 2002-2009). In 2005, the strong flux dominance of HST-1 could have suppressed the detection of such a feature. Published models for VHE gamma-ray emission from M 87 are reviewed in the light of the new data.
TeV gamma-ray observations of the young synchrotron-dominated SNRs G1.9+0.3 and G330.2+1.0 with HESS
(2014)
The non-thermal nature of the X-ray emission from the shell-type supernova remnants (SNRs) G1.9+0.3 and G330.2+1.0 is an indication of intense particle acceleration in the shock fronts of both objects. This suggests that the SNRs are prime candidates for very-high-energy (VHE; E > 0.1 TeV) gamma-ray observations. G1.9+0.3, recently established as the youngest known SNR in the Galaxy, also offers a unique opportunity to study the earliest stages of SNR evolution in the VHE domain. The purpose of this work is to probe the level of VHE gamma-ray emission from both SNRs and use this to constrain their physical properties. Observations were conducted with the H. E. S. S. (High Energy Stereoscopic System) Cherenkov Telescope Array over a more than six-year period spanning 2004-2010. The obtained data have effective livetimes of 67 h for G1.9+0.3 and 16 h for G330.2+1.0. The data are analysed in the context of the multiwavelength observations currently available and in the framework of both leptonic and hadronic particle acceleration scenarios. No significant gamma-ray signal from G1.9+0.3 or G330.2+1.0 was detected. Upper limits (99 per cent confidence level) to the TeV flux from G1.9+0.3 and G330.2+1.0 for the assumed spectral index Gamma = 2.5 were set at 5.6 x 10(-1)3 cm(-2) s(-1) above 0.26 TeV and 3.2 x 10(-12) cm(-2) s(-1) above 0.38 TeV, respectively. In a one-zone leptonic scenario, these upper limits imply lower limits on the interior magnetic field to B-G1.9 greater than or similar to 12 mu G for G1.9+0.3 and to B-G330 greater than or similar to 8 mu G for G330.2+1.0. In a hadronic scenario, the low ambient densities and the large distances to the SNRs result in very low predicted fluxes, for which the H.E.S.S. upper limits are not constraining.
Context. Globular clusters (GCs) are established emitters of high-energy (HE, 100 MeV < E < 100 GeV) gamma-ray radiation which could originate from the cumulative emission of the numerous millisecond pulsars (msPSRs) in the clusters’ cores or from inverse Compton (IC) scattering of relativistic leptons accelerated in the GC environment. These stellar clusters could also constitute a new class of sources in the very-high-energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray regime, judging from the recent detection of a signal from the direction of Terzan 5 with the H.E.S.S. telescope array. Aims. To search for VHE gamma-ray sources associated with other GCs, and to put constraints on leptonic emission models, we systematically analyzed the observations towards 15 GCs taken with the H. E. S. S. array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Methods. We searched for point-like and extended VHE gamma-ray emission from each GC in our sample and also performed a stacking analysis combining the data from all GCs to investigate the hypothesis of a population of faint emitters. Assuming IC emission as the origin of the VHE gamma-ray signal from the direction of Terzan 5, we calculated the expected gamma-ray flux from each of the 15 GCs, based on their number of millisecond pulsars, their optical brightness and the energy density of background photon fields. Results. We did not detect significant VHE gamma-ray emission from any of the 15 GCs in either of the two analyses. Given the uncertainties related to the parameter determinations, the obtained flux upper limits allow to rule out the simple IC/msPSR scaling model for NGC6388 and NGC7078. The upper limits derived from the stacking analyses are factors between 2 and 50 below the flux predicted by the simple leptonic scaling model, depending on the assumed source extent and the dominant target photon fields. Therefore, Terzan 5 still remains exceptional among all GCs, as the VHE gamma-ray emission either arises from extra-ordinarily efficient leptonic processes, or from a recent catastrophic event, or is even unrelated to the GC itself.
Search for TeV Gamma-ray emission from GRB 100621A, an extremely bright GRB in X-rays, with HESS
(2014)
The long gamma-ray burst (GRB) 100621A, at the time the brightest X-ray transient ever detected by Swift-XRT in the 0.3-10 keV range, has been observed with the H.E.S.S. imaging air Cherenkov telescope array, sensitive to gamma radiation in the very-high-energy (VHE, >100 GeV) regime. Due to its relatively small redshift of z similar to 0.5, the favourable position in the southern sky and the relatively short follow-up time (<700 s after the satellite trigger) of the H.E.S.S. observations, this GRB could be within the sensitivity reach of the HESS. instrument. The analysis of the HESS. data shows no indication of emission and yields an integral flux upper limit above similar to 380 GeV of 4.2 x 10(-12) cm(-2) s(-1) s (95% confidence level), assuming a simple Band function extension model. A comparison to a spectral-temporal model, normalised to the prompt flux at sub-MeV energies, constraints the existence of a temporally extended and strong additional hard power law, as has been observed in the other bright X-ray GRB 130427A. A comparison between the HESS. upper limit and the contemporaneous energy output in X-rays constrains the ratio between the X-ray and VHE gamma-ray fluxes to be greater than 0.4. This value is an important quantity for modelling the afterglow and can constrain leptonic emission scenarios, where leptons are responsible for the X-ray emission and might produce VHE gamma rays.
Gamma-ray line signatures can be expected in the very-high-energy (E-gamma > 100 GeV) domain due to self-annihilation or decay of dark matter (DM) particles in space. Such a signal would be readily distinguishable from astrophysical gamma-ray sources that in most cases produce continuous spectra that span over several orders of magnitude in energy. Using data collected with the H. E. S. S. gamma-ray instrument, upper limits on linelike emission are obtained in the energy range between similar to 500 GeV and similar to 25 TeV for the central part of the Milky Way halo and for extragalactic observations, complementing recent limits obtained with the Fermi-LAT instrument at lower energies. No statistically significant signal could be found. For monochromatic gamma-ray line emission, flux limits of (2 x 10(-7)-2 x 10(-5)) m(-2)s(-1)sr(-1) and (1 x 10(-8)- 2 x 10(-6)) m(-2)s(-1)sr(-1) are obtained for the central part of the Milky Way halo and extragalactic observations, respectively. For a DM particle mass of 1 TeV, limits on the velocity- averaged DM annihilation cross section <sigma upsilon >(chi chi ->gamma gamma) reach similar to 10(-27)cm(3)s(-1), based on the Einasto parametrization of the Galactic DM halo density profile. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.041301
Prospects for Cherenkov Telescope Array Observations of the Young Supernova Remnant RX J1713.7-3946
(2017)
We perform simulations for future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observations of RX J1713.7-3946, a young supernova remnant (SNR) and one of the brightest sources ever discovered in very high energy (VHE) gamma rays. Special attention is paid to exploring possible spatial (anti) correlations of gamma rays with emission at other wavelengths, in particular X-rays and CO/H I emission. We present a series of simulated images of RX J1713.7-3946 for CTA based on a set of observationally motivated models for the gamma-ray emission. In these models, VHE gamma rays produced by high-energy electrons are assumed to trace the nonthermal X-ray emission observed by XMM-Newton, whereas those originating from relativistic protons delineate the local gas distributions. The local atomic and molecular gas distributions are deduced by the NANTEN team from CO and H I observations. Our primary goal is to show how one can distinguish the emission mechanism(s) of the gamma rays (i.e., hadronic versus leptonic, or a mixture of the two) through information provided by their spatial distribution, spectra, and time variation. This work is the first attempt to quantitatively evaluate the capabilities of CTA to achieve various proposed scientific goals by observing this important cosmic particle accelerator.
Context. On March 4, 2013 the Fermi-EAT and AGILE reported a flare from the direction of the Crab nebula in which the high-energy (HE; E > 100 MeV) flux was six times above its quiescent level. Simultaneous observations in other energy bands give us hints about the emission processes during the flare episode and the physics of pulsar wind nebulae in general.
Aims. We search for variability in the emission of the Crab nebula at very-high energies (VHF,; E > 100 GeV), using contemporaneous data taken with the H.E.S.S. array of Cherenkov telescopes.
Methods. Observational data taken with the H.E.S.S. instrument on five consecutive days during the flare were analysed for the flux and spectral shape of the emission from the Crab nebula. Night-wise light curves are presented with energy thresholds of 1 TeV and 5 TeV.
Results. The observations conducted with H.E.S.S. on March 6 to March 10, 2013 show no significant changes in the flux. They limit the variation in the integral flux above 1 TeV to less than 63% and the integral flux above 5 TeV to less than 78% at a 95% confidence level.