SearcharxivSearch

arXiv · 1101.2764

PG 1553+113: five years of observations with MAGIC

Abstract

We present the results of five years (2005-2009) of MAGIC observations of the BL Lac object PG 1553+113 at very high energies (VHEs, E > 100 GeV). Power law fits of the individual years are compatible with a steady mean photon index \Gamma = 4.27 $\pm$ 0.14. In the last three years of data, the flux level above 150 GeV shows a clear variability (probability of constant flux < 0.001%). The flux variations are modest, lying in the range from 4% to 11% of the Crab Nebula flux. Simultaneous optical data also show only modest variability that seems to be correlated with VHE gamma ray variability. We also performed a temporal analysis of (all available) simultaneous Fermi/LAT data of PG 1553+113 above 1 GeV, which reveals hints of variability in the 2008-2009 sample. Finally, we present a combination of the mean spectrum measured at very high energies with archival data available for other wavelengths. The mean spectral energy distribution can be modeled with a one-zone Synchrotron Self Compton (SSC) model, which gives the main physical parameters governing the VHE emission in the blazar jet.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

MAGIC Collaboration, J. Aleksić, E. A. Alvarez, L. A. Antonelli, P. Antoranz, M. Asensio, M. Backes, J. A. Barrio, D. Bastieri, J. Becerra González, W. Bednarek, A. Berdyugin, K. Berger, E. Bernardini, A. Biland, O. Blanch, R. K. Bock, A. Boller, G. Bonnoli, D. Borla Tridon, I. Braun, T. Bretz, A. Cañellas, E. Carmona, A. Carosi, P. Colin, E. Colombo, J. L. Contreras, J. Cortina, L. Cossio, S. Covino, F. Dazzi, A. De Angelis, G. De Caneva, E. De Cea del Pozo, B. De Lotto, C. Delgado Mendez, A. Diago Ortega, M. Doert, A. Domínguez, D. Dominis Prester, D. Dorner, M. Doro, D. Elsaesser, D. Ferenc, M. V. Fonseca, L. Font, C. Fruck, R. J. García López, M. Garczarczyk, D. Garrido, G. Giavitto, N. Godinović, D. Hadasch, D. Häfner, A. Herrero, D. Hildebrand, D. Höhne-Mönch, J. Hose, D. Hrupec, B. Huber, T. Jogler, H. Kellermann, S. Klepser, T. Krähenbühl, J. Krause, A. La Barbera, D. Lelas, E. Leonardo, E. Lindfors, S. Lombardi, M. López, A. López-Oramas, E. Lorenz, M. Makariev, G. Maneva, N. Mankuzhiyil, K. Mannheim, L. Maraschi, M. Mariotti, M. Martínez, D. Mazin, M. Meucci, J. M. Miranda, R. Mirzoyan, H. Miyamoto, J. Moldón, A. Moralejo, P. Munar-Adrover, D. Nieto, K. Nilsson, R. Orito, I. Oya, D. Paneque, R. Paoletti, S. Pardo, J. M. Paredes, S. Partini, M. Pasanen, F. Pauss. 2011-01-14. PG 1553+113: five years of observations with MAGIC. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x/748/1/46

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Constraining spinning primordial black holes with interstellar dust heating

Primordial black holes (PBHs) are a well-motivated dark matter candidate, and their cosmic abundance is constrained by a variety of observational probes. PBHs in the mass range $10^{15}\,\text{g}\,{-}\,10^{17}\,\text{g}$ are evaporating today via Hawking radiation, a process that can heat interstellar dust and modify its thermal emission. Recent studies have used this effect to place constraints on the abundance of non-spinning PBHs. We extend this approach by investigating the influence of PBH spin on dust-heating constraints. Furthermore, we account for secondary photons that originate not only from the decay of gauge bosons but also from the decay of hadrons produced via the fragmentation of primary quarks and gluons emitted through Hawking radiation. By comparing the dust heating rate induced by spinning PBHs with the maximum cooling rate of dust, considering both silicate and graphite grains, we derive new upper limits on the fraction of dark matter in the form of PBHs, $f_{\rm PBH}$. Our results show that the constraints depend on both PBH mass and spin. Smaller PBHs with higher spin yield stronger limits. For example, in the cases we investigated, the strongest constraint is $f_{\rm PBH} \sim 1.5 \times 10^{-4}$ for $M_{\rm PBH} = 10^{15}{\rm g}$ and spin parameter $a_{*} = 0.9999$. Although these limits are less stringent than existing constraints in the same mass range, they provide a distinct and complementary approach to constraining the abundance of PBHs.

astro-ph.CO

Two-parameter continuous deformation of Starobinsky inflation as a bridge between Planck and ACT DESI data with $N_\star\in(50,60)$

We present a family of plateau-type inflationary potentials, eq.~\eqref{Vgeneral}, and analyze a two-parameter $\alpha\beta$-Starobinsky specialization that interpolates continuously between a \emph{maximal} plateau ($V\!\to\!V_0$) and a \emph{submaximal} plateau ($V\!\to\!V_\infty 0$ with $x_\star\gg 1/\beta$ the slow-roll scaling laws change to $n_s\simeq 1-\frac{4}{3N_\star},\, r\simeq\mathcal{C}(\alpha,\beta)\,N_\star^{-4/3},$ with an explicit coefficient $\mathcal{C}(\alpha,\beta)$ set by the plateau truncation. This deformation lifts $n_s$ at fixed $N_\star$ while further suppressing $r$, reconciling the Planck~2018 constraint $n_s=0.9649\pm0.0042$ (68\% CL) and BICEP/Keck18 data $r_{0.05}<0.036$ (95\% CL), with the higher central values $n_s\sim0.97$--$0.98$ preferred by ACT+DESI~DR2 (BAO), within the theoretically motivated interval $N_\star\in(50,60)$ and without exotic reheating. We provide an exact identity for $V/V'$ enabling analytic control of $N_\star$, a practical crossover criterion $\beta\,x_\star\ll1$ vs.\ $\gg1$, and a transparent mapping between $(\alpha,\beta)$ and the observables $(n_s,r,N_\star)$. These yield sharp, testable signatures, particularly the softened $N_\star$-scaling of $r$, that distinguish a maximal from a submaximal plateau with upcoming CMB and LSS data.

astro-ph.CO

A Tale of Two Gauges: Effective Field Theory for Relativistic Behavior of Cosmological Axions

In this work, we present a formalism to model the relativistic behavior of axions. The relativistic behavior of axions is surprisingly difficult to model precisely, as it involves oscillations on timescales much shorter than the Hubble timescale. To overcome this challenge, one typically resorts to some form of effective treatment, focusing only on the time-averaged description of the exact oscillations. Salehian, Namjoo & Kaiser provide a systematic framework for such treatment, based on the effective field theory formalism. While the aforementioned study was formulated for axion perturbations in the Newtonian gauge with no anisotropic stress, we extend the formalism to the synchronous gauge that is more conventionally used for numerical implementation in a realistic cosmological setting. Unlike their work, however, we propose a fluid interpretation in which the axion field can be identified as a perfect fluid at all times, both in the exact and effective regimes. Moreover, we present the effective field theory for the Newtonian gauge with non-zero anisotropic stress, making the original formulation more general and useful for scenarios where the matter content of the universe is multi-component. These results lay the theoretical foundation for a companion paper where we discuss how the axion field should be incorporated alongside other species in common cosmological Boltzmann solvers.

astro-ph.CO