We searched for long-duration microlensing events originating from intermediate-mass black holes (BH) in the halo of the Milky Way, using archival data from the EROS-2 and MACHO photometric surveys ...towards the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We combined data from these two surveys to create a common database of light curves for 14.1 million objects in the LMC, covering a total duration of 10.6 years, with flux series measured in four wide passbands. We carried out a microlensing search on these light curves, complemented by the light curves of 22.7 million objects, observed only by EROS-2 or only by MACHO, over about 7 years, with flux series measured in only two passbands. A likelihood analysis, taking into account the LMC self-lensing and Milky Way disk contributions, allows us to conclude that compact objects with masses in the range 10 − 100
M
⊙
cannot make up more than ∼15% of a standard halo total mass (at a 95% confidence level). Our analysis sensitivity weakens for heavier objects, although we still rule out the possibility of ∼50% of the halo being made of ∼1000
M
⊙
BHs. Combined with previous EROS results, an upper limit of ∼15% of the total halo mass can be obtained for the contribution of compact halo objects in the mass range 10
−6
− 10
2
M
⊙
.
The gravitational deflection of massless and massive particles, both with and without spin, has been extensively studied. This paper discusses the lensing of a particle which oscillates between two ...interaction eigenstates. The deflection angle, lens equation and time delay between images are derived in a model of photon to hidden-photon oscillations. In the case of coherent oscillations, the coupled photon behaves as a massive particle with a mass equal to the product of the coupling constant and hidden-photon mass. The conditions for observing coherent photon-hidden photon lensing are discussed.
This paper investigates the use of gravitational time delays of macro-lenses to constrain a possible photon mass. The time delay between the two compact images of a source of massive photons is ...computed. Explicit expressions are given for Schwarzschild and singular isothermal lenses. In the latter case, the time delay is very insensitive to the photon mass. Modeling lens galaxies by a singular isothermal model and a central supermassive black hole, the photon mass-dependent part of the time delay between the compact images is shown to be proportional to the mass of the black hole. The sensitivity of time delays to the photon mass is illustrated by a bound obtained from three active galactic nuclei, which have measurements in several passbands. The bound obtained is comparable to the limit with the deflection of radio waves by the Sun.
The NectarCAM timing system Bradascio, F.; Rueda, H.; Barrio, J.A. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
09/2023, Letnik:
1054
Journal Article
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NectarCAM is a Cherenkov camera which is going to equip the Medium-Sized Telescopes (MST) of the northern site of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO). NectarCAM is equipped with 265 ...modules, each consisting of 7 photo-multiplier tubes (PMTs), a Front-End Board and a local camera trigger system used for data acquisition. This paper addresses the timing performance of NectarCAM which are crucial to reduce the noise in shower images and improve image cleaning as well as to discriminate between gamma-ray photons and cosmic-ray background and finally to allow coincidence identification with neighboring telescopes for stereoscopic operations. Verification tests of the system have been performed in a dark room using various light sources to illuminate the first NectarCAM unit. The resulting timing precision and accuracy of the trigger arrival relative to a laser source, of individual and multiple pixel signals have been studied and are shown to comply to CTAO requirements.
Aims. The EROS-2 project was designed to test the hypothesis that massive compact halo objects (the so-called "machos") could be a major component of the dark matter halo of the Milky Way galaxy. To ...this end, EROS- 2 monitored over 6.7 years 33\times10 similar to stars in the Magellanic clouds for microlensing events caused by such objects. Methods. In this work, we use only a subsample of 7\times10 similar to bright stars spread over 84\,\rm deg arrow up of the LMC and 9\,\rm deg arrow up of the SMC. The strategy of using only bright stars helps to discriminate against background events due to variable stars and allows a simple determination of the effects of source confusion (blending). The use of a large solid angle makes the survey relatively insensitive to effects that could make the optical depth strongly direction dependent. Results. Using this sample of bright stars, only one candidate event was found, whereas similar to 39 events would have been expected if the Halo were entirely populated by objects of mass M\sim0.4 similar to M_{\odot}. Combined with the results of EROS-1, this implies that the optical depth toward the Large Magellanic Cloud ( LMC) due to such lenses is \tau<0.36\times10 (95% CL), corresponding to a fraction of the halo mass of less than 8%. This optical depth is considerably less than that measured by the MACHO collaboration in the central region of the LMC. More generally, machos in the mass range 0.6\times10 contains as a subset _\odot<M<15 similar to M_{\odot} are ruled out as the primary occupants of the Milky Way Halo.
The exploration of the universe has recently entered a new era thanks to the multi-messenger paradigm, characterized by a continuous increase in the quantity and quality of experimental data that is ...obtained by the detection of the various cosmic messengers (photons, neutrinos, cosmic rays and gravitational waves) from numerous origins. They give us information about their sources in the universe and the properties of the intergalactic medium. Moreover, multi-messenger astronomy opens up the possibility to search for phenomenological signatures of quantum gravity. On the one hand, the most energetic events allow us to test our physical theories at energy regimes which are not directly accessible in accelerators; on the other hand, tiny effects in the propagation of very high energy particles could be amplified by cosmological distances. After decades of merely theoretical investigations, the possibility of obtaining phenomenological indications of Planck-scale effects is a revolutionary step in the quest for a quantum theory of gravity, but it requires cooperation between different communities of physicists (both theoretical and experimental). This review, prepared within the COST Action CA18108 “Quantum gravity phenomenology in the multi-messenger approach”, is aimed at promoting this cooperation by giving a state-of-the art account of the interdisciplinary expertise that is needed in the effective search of quantum gravity footprints in the production, propagation and detection of cosmic messengers.
Aims. This article shows the first evidence ever of gravitational lensing phenomena in high energy gamma-rays. This evidence comes from the observation of an echo in the light curve of the distant ...blazar PKS 1830-211 induced by a gravitational lens system. Methods. Traditional methods for estimating time delays in gravitational lensing systems rely on the cross-correlation of the light curves from individual images. We used the 300 MeV–30 GeV photons detected by the Fermi-LAT instrument. It cannot separate the images of known lenses, so the observed light curve is the superposition of individual image light curves. The Fermi-LAT instrument has the advantage of providing long, evenly spaced, time series with very low photon noise. This allows us to use Fourier transform methods directly. Results. A time delay between the two compact images of PKS 1830-211 has been searched for by both the autocorrelation method and the “double power spectrum” method. The double power spectrum shows a 4.2σ proof of a time delay of 27.1 ± 0.6 days, consistent with others’ results.
This paper presents an analysis of the updated version of the Front-End Board (FEB) for the NectarCAM camera, developed for the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO). The FEB is a critical ...component responsible for reading and converting signals from the camera’s photo-multiplier tubes into digital data and generating module-level trigger signals. This study provides an overview of the design and performance of the new FEB version, including the use of an improved NECTAr3 chip with advanced features. The NECTAr3 chip contains a switched capacitor array for sampling signals at 1 GHz and a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for digitization upon receiving a trigger signal. The integration of the new NECTAr3 chip results in a significant reduction of NectarCAM’s deadtime by an order of magnitude compared to the previous version. The paper also presents the results of laboratory testing, including measurements of timing performance, linearity, dynamic range, and deadtime, to characterize the new FEB’s performance.
Measurement of performance of the NectarCAM photodetectors Tsiahina, A.; Jean, P.; Olive, J.-F. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
08/2021, Letnik:
1007
Journal Article
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NectarCAM is a camera for the medium-sized telescopes of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), which covers the energy range of 100 GeV to 30 TeV. The camera is equipped with 265 focal plane modules ...(FPMs). Each FPM comprises 7 pixels, each consisting of a photo-multiplier tube, a preamplifier, an independently controlled power supply, and a common control system. We developed a dedicated test bench to validate and qualify the industrial FPM production and to measure the performance of each FPM in a dark room before its integration in the camera. We report the measured performance of 61 FPM prototypes obtained with our experimental setup. We demonstrate that the gains of the photo multiplier tubes are stable and that pulse widths, transit time spreads, afterpulse rates and charge resolutions are within the specifications for NectarCAM.
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