Context. We present the results of a long M 87 monitoring campaign in very high energy γ-rays with the MAGIC-I Cherenkov telescope. Aims. We aim to model the persistent non-thermal jet emission by ...monitoring and characterizing the very high energy γ-ray emission of M 87 during a low state. Methods. A total of 150 h of data were taken between 2005 and 2007 with the single MAGIC-I telescope, out of which 128.6 h survived the data quality selection. We also collected data in the X-ray and Fermi-LAT bands from the literature (partially contemporaneous). Results. No flaring activity was found during the campaign. The source was found to be in a persistent low-emission state, which was at a confidence level of 7σ. We present the spectrum between 100 GeV and 2 TeV, which is consistent with a simple power law with a photon index Γ = 2.21 ± 0.21 and a flux normalization at 300 GeV of (7.7 ± 1.3) × 10-8 TeV-1 s-1 m-2. The extrapolation of the MAGIC spectrum into the GeV energy range matches the previously published Fermi-LAT spectrum well, covering a combined energy range of four orders of magnitude with the same spectral index. We model the broad band energy spectrum with a spine layer model, which can satisfactorily describe our data.
The blazar PG 1553+113 is a well known TeV γ-ray emitter. In this paper we determine its spectral energy distribution through simultaneous multi-frequency data to study its emission processes. An ...extensive campaign was carried out between March and April 2008, where optical, X-ray, high-energy (HE) γ-ray, and very-high-energy (VHE) γ-ray data were obtained with the KVA, Abastumani, REM, RossiXTE/ASM, AGILE and MAGIC telescopes, respectively. We combine the data to derive the source's spectral energy distribution and interpret its double-peaked shape within the framework of a synchrotron self-Compton model.
Radiation hard avalanche photodiodes for the CMS detector Antunovic, Z.; Britvitch, I.; Deiters, K. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
01/2005, Letnik:
537, Številka:
1-2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The avalanche photodiodes, developed by Hamamatsu Photonics in collaboration with CMS, which are to be used to read out the lead tungstate crystals in the barrel part of the CMS electromagnetic ...calorimeter, are described. The procedures taken to ensure their long-term reliability in the radiation environment expected in CMS are outlined, as well as the studies made to verify the very high reliability required.
AbstractThis work summarizes the studies for the Higgs boson searches in CMS at the LHC collider. The main discovery channels are presented and the potential is given for the discovery of the SM ...Higgs boson and the Higgs bosons of the MSSM. The phenomenology, detector, trigger and reconstruction issues are briefly discussed.
Context.
Extended and delayed emission around distant TeV sources induced by the effects of propagation of
γ
ray s through the intergalactic medium can be used for the measurement of the ...intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF).
Aims.
We search for delayed GeV emission from the hard-spectrum TeV
γ
-ray emitting blazar 1ES 0229+200, with the goal of detecting or constraining the IGMF-dependent secondary flux generated during the propagation of TeV
γ
rays through the intergalactic medium.
Methods.
We analysed the most recent MAGIC observations over a 5 year time span, and complemented them with historic data of the H.E.S.S. and VERITAS telescopes, along with a 12-year-long exposure of the
Fermi
/LAT telescope. We used them to trace source evolution in the GeV–TeV band over a decade and a half. We used Monte Carlo simulations to predict the delayed secondary
γ
-ray flux, modulated by the source variability, as revealed by TeV-band observations. We then compared these predictions for various assumed IGMF strengths to all available measurements of the
γ
-ray flux evolution.
Results.
We find that the source flux in the energy range above 200 GeV experiences variations around its average on the 14-year time span of observations. No evidence for the flux variability is found in the 1 − 100 GeV energy range accessible to
Fermi
/LAT. The non-detection of variability due to delayed emission from electromagnetic cascade developing in the intergalactic medium imposes a lower bound of
B
> 1.8 × 10
−17
G for the long-correlation-length IGMF and
B
> 10
−14
G for an IGMF of cosmological origin. Though weaker than the one previously derived from the analysis of
Fermi
/LAT data, this bound is more robust, being based on a conservative intrinsic source spectrum estimate and accounting for the details of source variability in the TeV energy band. We discuss implications of this bound for cosmological magnetic fields that might explain the baryon asymmetry of the Universe.
Abstract
Extreme high-frequency-peaked BL Lac objects (EHBLs) are blazars that exhibit extremely energetic synchrotron emission. They also feature nonthermal gamma-ray emission whose peak lies in the ...very high-energy (VHE,
E
> 100 GeV) range, and in some sources exceeds 1 TeV: this is the case for hard-TeV EHBLs such as 1ES 0229+200. With the aim of increasing the EHBL population, 10 targets were observed with the MAGIC telescopes from 2010 to 2017, for a total of 265 hr of good-quality data. The data were complemented by coordinated
Swift
observations. The X-ray data analysis confirms that all but two sources are EHBLs. The sources show only a modest variability and a harder-when-brighter behavior, typical for this class of objects. At VHE gamma-rays, three new sources were detected and a hint of a signal was found for another new source. In each case, the intrinsic spectrum is compatible with the hypothesis of a hard-TeV nature of these EHBLs. The broadband spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of all sources are built and modeled in the framework of a single-zone, purely leptonic model. The VHE gamma-ray-detected sources were also interpreted with a spine–layer model and a proton synchrotron model. The three models provide a good description of the SEDs. However, the resulting parameters differ substantially in the three scenarios, in particular the magnetization parameter. This work presents the first mini catalog of VHE gamma-ray and multiwavelength observations of EHBLs.
Context.
Markarian 501 (Mrk 501) is a very high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray blazar located at
z
= 0.034, which is regularly monitored by a wide range of multi-wavelength instruments, from radio to VHE ...gamma rays. During a period of almost two weeks in July 2014, the highest X-ray activity of Mrk 501 was observed in ∼14 years of operation of the
Neil Gehrels Swift
Gamma-ray Burst Observatory.
Aims.
We characterize the broadband variability of Mrk 501 from radio to VHE gamma rays during the most extreme X-ray activity measured in the last 14 years, and evaluate whether it can be interpreted within theoretical scenarios widely used to explain the broadband emission from blazars.
Methods.
The emission of Mrk 501 was measured at radio with Metsähovi, at optical–UV with KVA and
Swift
/UVOT, at X-ray with
Swift
/XRT and
Swift
/BAT, at gamma ray with
Fermi
-LAT, and at VHE gamma rays with the FACT and MAGIC telescopes. The multi-band variability and correlations were quantified, and the broadband spectral energy distributions (SEDs) were compared with predictions from theoretical models.
Results.
The VHE emission of Mrk 501 was found to be elevated during the X-ray outburst, with a gamma-ray flux above 0.15 TeV varying from ∼0.5 to ∼2 times the Crab nebula flux. The X-ray and VHE emission both varied on timescales of 1 day and were found to be correlated. We measured a general increase in the fractional variability with energy, with the VHE variability being twice as large as the X-ray variability. The temporal evolution of the most prominent and variable segments of the SED, characterized on a day-by-day basis from 2014 July 16 to 2014 July 31, is described with a one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model with variations in the break energy of the electron energy distribution (EED), and with some adjustments in the magnetic field strength and spectral shape of the EED. These results suggest that the main flux variations during this extreme X-ray outburst are produced by the acceleration and the cooling of the high-energy electrons. A narrow feature at ∼3 TeV was observed in the VHE spectrum measured on 2014 July 19 (MJD 56857.98), which is the day with the highest X-ray flux (>0.3 keV) measured during the entire
Swift
mission. This feature is inconsistent with the classical analytic functions to describe the measured VHE spectra (power law, log-parabola, and log-parabola with exponential cutoff) at more than 3
σ
. A fit with a log-parabola plus a narrow component is preferred over the fit with a single log-parabola at more than 4
σ
, and a dedicated Monte Carlo simulation estimated the significance of this extra component to be larger than 3
σ
. Under the assumption that this VHE spectral feature is real, we show that it can be reproduced with three distinct theoretical scenarios: (a) a pileup in the EED due to stochastic acceleration; (b) a structured jet with two-SSC emitting regions, with one region dominated by an extremely narrow EED; and (c) an emission from an IC pair cascade induced by electrons accelerated in a magnetospheric vacuum gap, in addition to the SSC emission from a more conventional region along the jet of Mrk 501.
Aims.
In the presence of a sufficient amount of target material,
γ
-rays can be used as a tracer in the search for sources of Galactic cosmic rays (CRs). Here we present deep observations of the ...Galactic center (GC) region with the MAGIC telescopes and use them to infer the underlying CR distribution and to study the alleged PeV proton accelerator at the center of our Galaxy.
Methods.
We used data from ≈100 h observations of the GC region conducted with the MAGIC telescopes over five years (from 2012 to 2017). Those were collected at high zenith angles (58−70 deg), leading to a larger energy threshold, but also an increased effective collection area compared to low zenith observations. Using recently developed software tools, we derived the instrument response and background models required for extracting the diffuse emission in the region. We used existing measurements of the gas distribution in the GC region to derive the underlying distribution of CRs. We present a discussion of the associated biases and limitations of such an approach.
Results.
We obtain a significant detection for all four model components used to fit our data (Sgr A*, “Arc”, G0.9+0.1, and an extended component for the Galactic Ridge). We observe no significant difference between the
γ
-ray spectra of the immediate GC surroundings, which we model as a point source (Sgr A*) and the Galactic Ridge. The latter can be described as a power-law with index 2 and an exponential cut-off at around 20 TeV with the significance of the cut-off being only 2
σ
. The derived cosmic-ray profile hints to a peak at the GC position and with a measured profile index of 1.2 ± 0.3 is consistent with the 1/
r
radial distance scaling law, which supports the hypothesis of a CR accelerator at the GC. We argue that the measurements of this profile are presently limited by our knowledge of the gas distribution in the GC vicinity.
We report the detection of pulsed gamma-ray emission from the Geminga pulsar (PSR J0633+1746) between 15 GeV and 75 GeV. This is the first time a middle-aged pulsar has been detected up to these ...energies. Observations were carried out with the MAGIC telescopes between 2017 and 2019 using the low-energy threshold Sum-Trigger-II system. After quality selection cuts, ∼80 h of observational data were used for this analysis. To compare with the emission at lower energies below the sensitivity range of MAGIC, 11 years of
Fermi
-LAT data above 100 MeV were also analysed. From the two pulses per rotation seen by
Fermi
-LAT, only the second one,
P
2, is detected in the MAGIC energy range, with a significance of 6.3
σ
. The spectrum measured by MAGIC is well-represented by a simple power law of spectral index Γ = 5.62 ± 0.54, which smoothly extends the
Fermi
-LAT spectrum. A joint fit to MAGIC and
Fermi
-LAT data rules out the existence of a sub-exponential cut-off in the combined energy range at the 3.6
σ
significance level. The power-law tail emission detected by MAGIC is interpreted as the transition from curvature radiation to Inverse Compton Scattering of particles accelerated in the northern outer gap.
Aims.
We measure the Crab Nebula
γ
-ray spectral energy distribution in the ~100 TeV energy domain and test the validity of existing leptonic emission models at these high energies.
Methods.
We used ...the novel very large zenith angle observations with the MAGIC telescope system to increase the collection area above 10 TeV. We also developed an auxiliary procedure of monitoring atmospheric transmission in order to assure proper calibration of the accumulated data. This employs recording optical images of the stellar field next to the source position, which provides a better than 10% accuracy for the transmission measurements.
Results.
We demonstrate that MAGIC very large zenith angle observations yield a collection area larger than a square kilometer. In only ~ 56 h of observations, we detect the
γ
-ray emission from the Crab Nebula up to 100 TeV, thus providing the highest energy measurement of this source to date with Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes. Comparing accumulated and archival MAGIC and
Fermi
/LAT data with some of the existing emission models, we find that none of them provides an accurate description of the 1 GeV to 100 TeV
γ
-ray signal.