Aims. We searched for very high energy (VHE) \gamma-ray emission from the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A Methods. The shell-type supernova remnant Cassiopeia A was observed with the 17 m MAGIC ...telescope between July 2006 and January 2007 for a total time of 47 h. Results. The source was detected above an energy of 250 GeV with a significance of 5.2\sigma and a photon flux above 1 TeV of (7.3 \pm 0.7_{\rm stat} \pm 2.2_{\rm sys}) \times 10 super(-13) cm super(-2) s super(-1). The photon spectrum is compatible with a power law d N /d E \propto E-\Gamma} with a photon index \Gamma = 2.3 \pm 0.2_{\rm stat} \pm 0.2_{\rm sys}. The source is point-like within the angular resolution of the telescope.
We come out in this paper with an astroclimatological study of meteorological data on relative humidity, dew point temperature, air temperature, wind speed, barometric air pressure, and sky ...cloudiness recorded at four Romanian locations (Baisoara, Rosia Montana, Semenic, Ceahlau) and Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) located at Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos, in the Canary Islands. Long term trends of microclimates have been compared in order to identify the site-to-site variations. We have performed this analysis as part of a site testing campaign aimed at finding the best location for the establishment of a small Cherenkov telescope in Romania. The conditions at the Romanian sites have been compared to those of the Canary Islands considered as a reference. A statistical approach has been used for data analysis. Monthly and annual samples have been extracted from series of raw data for nighttime, daytime and entire day intervals. Percentage distributions of meteorological parameters, whose values exceed certain limits, have been derived. Significant differences have been found between the Romanian sites and the NOT site. The comparison of the Romanian locations indicates Baisoara to be the best site for the establishment of the telescope, closely followed by Rosia Montana. As these two sites are both located in the Apuseni Mountains, we consider this area as the optimal place for performing astronomical observations in Romania.
Around the world, several scientific projects share the interest of a global network of small Cherenkov telescopes for monitoring observations of the brightest blazars - the DWARF network. A small, ...ground based, imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope of last generation is intended to be installed and operated in Romania as a component of the DWARF network. To prepare the construction of the observatory, two support projects have been initiated. Within the framework of these projects, we have assessed a number of possible sites where to settle the observatory. In this paper we submit a brief report on the general characteristics of the best four sites selected after the local infrastructure, the nearby facilities and the social impact criteria have been applied.
The MAGIC Project: Contributions to ICRC 2007, Merida, Mexico. Contents pages for the Contribution on behalf of the MAGIC Collaboration to the 30th ICRC that took place in July 2007 in Merida, ...Mexico. The contents are in html form with clickable links to the papers that exist on the Astrophysics archive. We hope that this will make it easier to access the output of the conference in a systematic way. Comments on how useful this is/ how it could be improved should be sent to michela.demaria@iuav.it.
Astrophys.J.667:358-366,2007 The fast repositioning system of the MAGIC Telescope has allowed during its
first data cycle, between 2005 and the beginning of year 2006, observing nine
different GRBs ...as possible sources of very high energy gammas. These
observations were triggered by alerts from Swift, HETE-II, and Integral; they
started as fast as possible after the alerts and lasted for several minutes,
with an energy threshold varying between 80 and 200 GeV, depending upon the
zenith angle of the burst. No evidence for gamma signals was found, and upper
limits for the flux were derived for all events, using the standard analysis
chain of MAGIC. For the bursts with measured redshift, the upper limits are
compatible with a power law extrapolation, when the intrinsic fluxes are
evaluated taking into account the attenuation due to the scattering in the
Metagalactic Radiation Field (MRF).
Astrophys.J.642:L119-L122,2006 The MAGIC collaboration has studied the high peaked BL-Lac object
1ES1218+30.4 at a redshift z = 0.182, using the MAGIC imaging air Cherenkov
telescope located on the ...Canary island of La Palma. A gamma-ray signal was
observed with 6.4sigma significance. The differential energy spectrum for an
energy threshold of 120GeV can be fitted by a simple power law yielding F_E(E)
= (8.1+-2.1)*10^-7 (E/250GeV)^(-3.0+-0.4) TeV^-1 m^-2 s^-1. During the six days
of observation in January 2005 no time variability on time scales of days was
found within the statistical errors. The observed integral flux above 350GeV is
nearly a factor two below the the upper limit reported by the Whipple
Collaboration in 2003.
Astrophys.J.641:L9-L12,2006 The long-duration GRB050713a was observed by the MAGIC Telescope, 40 seconds
after the burst onset, and followed up for 37 minutes, until twilight. The
observation, ...triggered by a SWIFT alert, covered energies above ~175 GeV. Using
standard MAGIC analysis, no evidence for a gamma signal was found. As the
redshift of the GRB was not measured directly, the flux upper limit, estimated
by MAGIC, is still compatible with the assumption of an unbroken power-law
spectrum extending from a few hundred keV to our energy range.
The MAGIC collaboration has studied the high peaked BL-Lac object 1ES1218+30.4 at a redshift z = 0.182, using the MAGIC imaging air Cherenkov telescope located on the Canary island of La Palma. A ...gamma-ray signal was observed with 6.4sigma significance. The differential energy spectrum for an energy threshold of 120GeV can be fitted by a simple power law yielding F_E(E) = (8.1+-2.1)*10^-7 (E/250GeV)^(-3.0+-0.4) TeV^-1 m^-2 s^-1. During the six days of observation in January 2005 no time variability on time scales of days was found within the statistical errors. The observed integral flux above 350GeV is nearly a factor two below the the upper limit reported by the Whipple Collaboration in 2003.
The long-duration GRB050713a was observed by the MAGIC Telescope, 40 seconds after the burst onset, and followed up for 37 minutes, until twilight. The observation, triggered by a SWIFT alert, ...covered energies above ~175 GeV. Using standard MAGIC analysis, no evidence for a gamma signal was found. As the redshift of the GRB was not measured directly, the flux upper limit, estimated by MAGIC, is still compatible with the assumption of an unbroken power-law spectrum extending from a few hundred keV to our energy range.