The Cherenkov light flashes produced by extensive air showers are very short in time. A high bandwidth and fast digitizing readout, therefore, can minimize the influence of the background from the ...light of the night sky, and improve the performance in Cherenkov telescopes. The time structure of the Cherenkov image can further be used in single-dish Cherenkov telescopes as an additional parameter to reduce the background from unwanted hadronic showers. A description of an analysis method which makes use of the time information and the subsequent improvement on the performance of the MAGIC telescope (especially after the upgrade with an ultra fast 2 GSamples/s digitization system in February 2007) will be presented. The use of timing information in the analysis of the new MAGIC data reduces the background by a factor two, which in turn results in an enhancement of about a factor 1.4 of the flux sensitivity to point-like sources, as tested on observations of the Crab Nebula.
The MAGIC telescope took data of very high energy gamma -ray emission from the blazar Markarian 421 (Mrk 421) between 2004 November and 2005 April. We present a combined analysis of data samples ...recorded under different observational conditions, dowr to gamma -ray energies of 100 GeV. The flux was found to vary between 0.5 and 2 crab (integrated above 200 GeV), considered a low state when compared to known data. Although the flux varied day by day, no short-term variability was observed, although there is some indication that not all nights show an equally quiescent state. The results at higher energies were found to be consistent with previous observations. A clear correlation is observed between gamma -ray and X-ray fluxes, whereas no significant correlation between gamma -ray and optical data is seen. The spectral energy distribution between 100 GeV and 3 TeV shows a clear deviation from a power law, more clearly and at lower flux than previous observations at higher energies. The deviation persists after correcting for the effect of attenuation by the extragalactic background light, and most likely is source-inherent. There is a rather clear indication of an inverse Compton peak around 100 GeV. The spectral energy distribution of Mrk 421 can be fitted by a one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model, suggesting once again a leptonic origin of the very high energy gamma -ray emission from this blazar.
We report on the results of two coordinated multiwavelength campaigns that focused on the blazar Markarian 421 during its 2006 and 2008 outbursts. These campaigns obtained UV and X-ray data using the ...XMM-Newton satellite, while the gamma-ray data were obtained utilizing three imaging atmospheric Cerenkov telescopes, the Whipple 10 m telescope and VERITAS, both based in Arizona, as well as the MAGIC telescope, based on La Palma in the Canary Islands. The coordinated effort between the gamma-ray groups allowed for truly simultaneous data in UV/X-ray/gamma-ray wavelengths during a significant portion of the XMM-Newton observations. This simultaneous coverage allowed for a reliable search for correlations between UV, X-ray, and gamma-ray variability over the course of the observations. Investigations of spectral hysteresis and modeling of the spectral energy distributions are also presented.
The MAGIC collaboration has studied the high-frequency-peaked BL Lac object 1ES 1218+30.4, at a redshift z = 0.182, using the MAGIC imaging air Cerenkov telescope located on the Canary Island of La ...Palma. A gamma-ray signal was observed with 6.4 s significance. The differential energy spectrum for an energy threshold of 120 GeV can be fitted by a simple power law, yielding F sub(E)(E) = (8.1 c 2.1) x 10 super(-7) E/(250 GeV) super(-3.0c0.4) TeV super(-1) m super(-2) s super(-1). During the 6 days of observation in 2005 January, no time variability on timescales of days was found within the statistical errors. The observed integral flux above 350 GeV is nearly a factor of 2 below the upper limit reported by the Whipple collaboration in 2003.
During its first data cycle, between 2005 and the beginning of 2006, the fast repositioning system of the MAGIC telescope allowed the observation of nine different gamma-ray bursts as possible ...sources of very high energy gamma -rays. These observations were triggered by alerts from Swift, HETE-2, and INTEGRAL; they started as quickly as possible after the alerts and lasted for several minutes, with an energy threshold varying between 80 and 200 GeV, depending on 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 redshifts, 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.
We present the results from a multiwavelength campaign on the TeV blazar 1ES 1959+650, performed in 2006 May. Data from the optical, UV, soft- and hard-X-ray, and very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray ...(image GeV) bands were obtained with the Suzaku and Swift satellites, the MAGIC telescope, and other ground-based facilities. The source spectral energy distribution (SED), derived from Suzaku and MAGIC observations at the end of 2006 May, shows the usual double hump shape, with the synchrotron peak at a higher flux level than the Compton peak. With respect to historical values, during our campaign the source exhibited a relatively high state in X-rays and optical, while in the VHE band it was at one of the lowest level so far recorded. We also monitored the source for flux spectral variability on a time window of 10 days in the optical-UV and X-ray bands and 7 days in the VHE band. The source varies more in the X-ray than in the optical band, with the 2-10 keV X-ray flux varying by a factor of image2. The synchrotron peak is located in the X-ray band and moves to higher energies as the source gets brighter, with the X-ray fluxes above it varying more rapidly than the X-ray fluxes at lower energies. The variability behavior observed in the X-ray band cannot be produced by emitting regions varying independently and suggests instead some sort of 'standing shock' scenario. The overall SED is well represented by a homogeneous one-zone synchrotron inverse Compton emission model, from which we derive physical parameters that are typical of high-energy peaked blazars.
In 2005 and 2006, the MAGIC telescope observed very high energy gamma-ray emission from the distant BL Lac object PG 1553+113. The overall significance of the signal was 8.8 s for 18.8 hr of ...observation time. The light curve shows no significant flux variations on a daily timescale; the flux level during 2005 was, however, significantly higher compared to 2006. The differential energy spectrum between 690 and 500 GeV is well described by a power law with photon index = 4.2 c 0.3. The combined 2005 and 2006 energy spectrum provides an upper limit of z = 0.74 on the redshift of the object.
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