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  • Very High Energy Gamma-Ray ...
    Aliu, E; Anderhub, H; Antoranz, P; Armada, A; Barrio, J. A; Bartko, H; Bednarek, W; Berger, K; Bigongiari, C; Biland, A; Bock, R. K; Bordas, P; Bosch-Ramon, V; Bretz, T; Camara, M; Carmona, E; Chilingarian, A; Commichau, S; Cortina, J; Curtef, V; Danielyan, V; Dazzi, F; De Angelis, A; Domingo-Santamaría, E; Doro, M; Errando, M; Ferenc, D; Fernández, E; Firpo, R; Flix, J; Fonseca, M. V; Font, L; Fuchs, M; Galante, N; García-López, R. J; Garczarczyk, M; Goebel, F; Hayashida, M; Höhne, D; Hose, J; Hsu, C. C; Jacon, P; Jogler, T; Kosyra, R; Kranich, D; Kritzer, R; Laille, A; Lindfors, E; Lombardi, S; López, J; López, M; Maneva, G; Mannheim, K; Mariotti, M; Martínez, M; Mazin, D; Meucci, M; Meyer, M; Miranda, J. M; Mirzoyan, R; Mizobuchi, S; Moralejo, A; Nieto, D; Oña-Wilhelmi, E; Oya, I; Panniello, M; Paoletti, R; Paredes, J. M; Pasanen, M; Pascoli, D; Pegna, R; Persic, M; Piccioli, A; Prandini, E; Raymers, A; Rhode, W; Ribó, M; Rico, J; Rissi, M; Robert, A; Rügamer, S; Saggion, A; Saito, T; Sánchez, A; Sartori, P; Scapin, V; Schweizer, T; Shayduk, M; Shinozaki, K; Sidro, N; Stamerra, A; Stark, L. S; Takalo, L; Temnikov, P; Tescaro, D; Teshima, M; Vitale, V; Wagner, R. M; Wittek, W; Zapatero, J

    Astrophysical journal/˜The œAstrophysical journal, 08/2007, Volume: 665, Issue: 1
    Journal Article

    We report on the results from the observations in the very high energy band (VHE; unk greater than or equal to 100 GeV) of the black hole X-ray binary (BHXB) Cygnus X-1. The observations were performed with the MAGIC telescope, for a total of 40 hr during 26 nights, spanning the period between 2006 June and November. Searches for steady Y-ray signals yielded no positive result, and upper limits to the integral flux ranging between 1% and 2% of the Crab Nebula flux, depending on the energy, have been established. We also analyzed each observation night independently, obtaining evidence of Y-ray signals at the 4.0 sigma significance level (3.2 sigma after trial correction) for 154 minutes of effective on-time (EOT) on September 24 between 20:58 and 23:41 UTC, coinciding with an X-ray flare seen by RXTE, Swift, and INTEGRAL. A search for faster-varying signals within a night resulted in an excess with a significance of 4.9 sigma (4.1 sigma after trial correction) for 79 minutes EOT between 22:17 and 23:41 UTC. The measured excess is compatible with a pointlike source at the position of Cygnus X-1 and excludes the nearby radio nebula powered by its relativistic jet. The differential energy spectrum is well fitted by an unbroken power law described as dN/(dA dt dE) = (2.3 plus or minus 0.6) x 10- super(12)(E/1TeV) super(-3.2 plus or minus 0.6). This is the first experimental evidence of VHE emission from a stellar mass black hole and therefore from a confirmed accreting X-ray binary.