arXiv subjects

F. Aharonian

Publications and source records attributed to F. Aharonian.

339 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

arXiv2000

Reanalysis of the high energy cutoff of the 1997 Mkn 501 TeV energy spectrum

Data taken with the HEGRA system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes during the 1997 flares of Mkn 501 are reanalyzed using an algorithm providing improved energy resolution. A resolution of 10% to 12% is obtained by accounting for the variation of the Cherenkov light yield with the height of the shower maximum in the atmosphere. The improved energy resolution is particularly relevant for the study of the high-energy cutoff in the spectrum, which might be caused by interactions with the intergalactic infrared background radiation. The reanalysis presented here confirms the results obtained in the previous analysis, but hints a steeper slope of the spectrum in the region around 20 TeV.

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arXiv2000

Rejection of the hypothesis that Markarian 501 TeV photons are pure Bose-Einstein condensates

The energy spectrum of the Blazar type galaxy Markarian 501 (Mrk 501) as measured by the High-Energy-Gamma-Ray Astronomy (HEGRA) air Cerenkov telescopes extends beyond 16 TeV and constitutes the most energetic photons observed from an extragalactic object. A fraction of the emitted spectrum is possibly absorbed in interactions with low energy photons of the diffuse extragalactic infrared radiation, which in turn offers the unique possibility to measure the diffuse infrared radiation density by TeV spectroscopy. The upper limit on the density of the extragalactic infrared radiation derived from the TeV observations imposes constraints on models of galaxy formation and stellar evolution. One of the recently published ideas to overcome severe absorption of TeV photons is based upon the assumption that sources like Mrk 501 could produce Bose-Einstein condensates of coherent photons. The condensates would have a higher survival probability during the transport in the diffuse radiation field and could mimic TeV air shower events. The powerful stereoscopic technique of the HEGRA air Cerenkov telescopes allows to test this hypothesis by reconstructing the penetration depths of TeV air shower events: Air showers initiated by Bose-Einstein condensates are expected to reach the maximum of the shower development in the atmosphere earlier than single photon events. By comparing the energy-dependent penetration depths of TeV photons from Mrk 501 with those from the TeV standard-candle Crab Nebula and simulated air shower events, we can reject the hypothesis that TeV photons from Mrk 501 are pure Bose-Einstein condensates.

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arXiv2000

Complex Spectral Variability from Intensive Multi-wavelength Monitoring of Mrk421 in 1998

We conducted a multi-frequency campaign for the TeV blazar Mrk~421 in 1998 April. The campaign started from a pronounced high amplitude flare recorded by SAX and Whipple; ASCA observation started three days later. In the X-ray data, we detected multiple flares, occuring on time scales of about one day. ASCA data clearly reveal spectral variability. The comparison of the data from ASCA, EUVE and RXTE indicates that the variability amplitudes in the low energy synchrotron component are larger at higher photon energies. In TeV Gamma-rays, large intra-day variations -- which were correlated with the X-ray flux -- were observed when results from three Cherenkov telescopes are combined. The RMS variability of TeV Gamma--rays was similar to that observed in hard X-rays, above 10 keV. The X-ray light curve reveals flares which are almost symmetric for most of cases, implying the dominant time scale is the light crossing time through the emitting region. The structure function analysis based on the continuous X-ray light curve of seven days indicates that the characteristic time scale is ~0.5 day. The analysis of ASCA light curves in various energy bands appears to show both soft (positive) and hard (negative) lags. These may not be real, as systematic effects could also produce these lags, which are all much smaller than an orbit. If the lags of both signs are real, these imply that the particle acceleration and X-ray cooling time scales are similar.

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arXiv2000

The TeV Energy Spectrum of Mkn 501 Measured with the Stereoscopic Telescope System of HEGRA during 1998 and 1999

During 1997, the BL Lac object Mkn 501 went into an extraordinary state of high X-ray and TeV gamma-ray activity, lasting more than 6 months. In this paper we report on the TeV emission characteristics of the source in the subsequent years of 1998 and 1999 as measured with the Stereoscopic Cherenkov Telescope System of HEGRA (La Palma, Canary Islands). Our observations reveal a 1998-1999 mean emission level at 1 TeV of 1/3 of the flux of the Crab Nebula, a factor of 10 lower than during the year of 1997. A dataset of 122 observations hours with the HEGRA telescope system makes it possible to assess for the first time the Mkn 501 TeV energy spectrum for a mean flux level substantially below that of the Crab Nebula with reasonable statistical accuracy. Excluding the data of a strong flare, we find evidence that the 1998--1999 low-flux spectrum is substantially softer (by 0.44+-0.1(stat) in spectral index) than the 1997 time averaged spectrum. The 500 GeV to 10 TeV energy spectrum can well be described by a power law model with exponential cutoff: dN/dE ~ E^(-alpha) exp(-E/E0) with alpha=2.31+-0.22(stat), and E0=5.1 (-2.3+7.8)(stat) TeV. Within statistical accuracy, also a pure power law model gives an acceptable fit to the data: dN/dE ~ E^(-Gamma) with Gamma=2.76+-0.08(stat). After presenting the 1998-1999 TeV characteristics of the source we discuss the implications of the results.

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arXiv2000

Optimizing the angular resolution of the HEGRA telescope system to study the emission region of VHE gamma rays in the Crab Nebula

The HEGRA system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes provides for specially selected classes of events an angular resolution of better than 3'. By comparing the measured angular distribution of TeV gamma rays from the Crab Nebula with the distribution expected on the basis of Monte Carlo simulations, and with measurements of gamma rays from the point source Mrk 501, we conclude that the rms size of the VHE gamma-ray emission region in the Crab Nebula is less than 1.5'.

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arXiv2000

BeppoSAX Observations of Markarian 501 in June 1999

We present the preliminary results of a long BeppoSAX observation of the BL Lac object Mkn501 carried out in June 1999. The source was fainter than found during the BeppoSAX pointings of 1997 and 1998, but is still detected with a good signal-to-noise ratio up to ~40 keV. The X-ray spectrum in the energy range 0.1-40 keV, produced through synchrotron radiation, is steeper than in the previous years, it is clearly curved, and peaks (in nu*F_nu) at ~0.5 keV. This energy is much lower than those at which the synchrotron component was found to peak in 1997 and 1998. Some intraday variability suggests that activity of the source on small time scales accompanies the large long time scale changes of brightness and spectrum.

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arXiv2000

The Energy Spectrum of TeV Gamma-Rays from the Crab Nebula as measured by the HEGRA system of imaging air Cherenkov telescopes

The Crab Nebula has been observed by the HEGRA (High-Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy) stereoscopic system of imaging air Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) for a total of about 200 hrs during two observational campaigns: from September 1997 to March 1998 and from August 1998 to April 1999. The recent detailed studies of system performance give an energy threshold and an energy resolution for gamma-rays of 500 GeV and ~ 18%, respectively. The Crab energy spectrum was measured with the HEGRA IACT system in a very broad energy range up to 20 TeV, using observations at zenith angles up to 65 degrees. The Crab data can be fitted in the energy range from 1 to 20 TeV by a simple power-law, which yields dJg/dE = (2.79+/-0.02 +/- 0.5) 10^{-7} E^{-2.59 +/- 0.03 +/- 0.05}, ph m^{-2} s^{-1} TeV^{-1} The Crab Nebula energy spectrum, as measured with the HEGRA IACT system, agrees within 15% in the absolute scale and within 0.1 units in the power law index with the latest measurements by the Whipple, CANGAROO and CAT groups, consistent within the statistical and systematic errors quoted by the experiments. The pure power-law spectrum of TeV gamma-rays from the Crab Nebula constrains the physics parameters of the nebula environment as well as the models of photon emission.

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arXiv1999

HEGRA search for TeV emission from BL Lac objects

The HEGRA system of four Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) has been used to extensively observe extragalactic objects. In this paper we describe the search for TeV emission from nine very promising potential TeV sources, namely eight ``high frequency'' BL Lac objects (HBLs), and the object ``BL Lacertae'' itself. These objects were observed during 1997 and 1998 seasons, with total integration times ranging between one and fifteen hours. No evidence for emission was found from any of these objects and the upper limits on the integral energy flux above ~750 GeV are on the level of a few times 10^-12 erg cm^-2 s^-1. For the two objects BL Lacertae and 1ES 2344+51.4, we discuss the astrophysical implications of the TeV flux upper limit, using also information from the X-ray and gamma-ray bands as measured with the All Sky Monitor (ASM) of RXTE (1.3-12.0 keV) and with EGRET (30 MeV - 20 GeV).

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arXiv1999

The time averaged TeV energy spectrum of Mkn 501 of the extraordinary 1997 outburst as measured with the stereoscopic Cherenkov telescope system of HEGRA

During the several months of the outburst of Mkn 501 in 1997 the source has been monitored in TeV gamma-rays with the HEGRA stereoscopic system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. Quite remarkably it turned out that the shapes of the daily gamma-ray energy spectra remained essentially stable throughout the entire state of high activity despite dramatic flux variations during this period. The derivation of a long term time-averaged energy spectrum, based on more than 38,000 detected TeV photons, is therefore physically meaningful. The unprecedented gamma-ray statistics combined with the 20% energy resolution of the instrument resulted in the first detection of gamma-rays from an extragalactic source well beyond 10 TeV, and the first high accuracy measurement of an exponential cutoff in the energy region above 5 TeV deeply into the exponential regime. From 500 GeV to 24 TeV the differential photon spectrum is well approximated by a power-law with an exponential cutoff: dN/dE = N0 (E/1 TeV)^{-alpha} exp(-E/E0), with N0=(10.8 +-0.2(stat) +-2.1(sys)) 1E-11/cm^2 s TeV, alpha=1.92 +-0.03(stat) +-0.20(sys), and E0=(6.2 +-0.4(stat) (-1.5 +2.9)(sys) TeV. We summarize the methods for the evaluation of the energy spectrum in a broad dynamical range which covers almost two energy decades, and study in detail the principal sources of systematic errors. We also discuss several important astrophysical implications of the observed result concerning the production and absorption mechanisms of gamma-rays in the emitting jet and the modifications of the initial spectrum of TeV radiation due to its interaction with the diffuse extragalactic background radiation.

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arXiv1999

Effectiveness of TeV Gamma-Ray Observations at Large Zenith Angles with a Stereoscopic System of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes

The sensitivity of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) in TeV gamma-ray observations reachs its maximum at small zenith angles (< 30 degree) which provide the minimum attainable energy threshold of an instrument. However, for a specific telescope site a number of gamma-ray sources, or source candidates, can only be observed at much larger zenith angles (< 60 degree). Moreover the observations at large zenith angles allow to extend the observation time window for any object seen at small zenith angles, as well as to enlarge the dynamic energy range of an instrument towards the highest observable energies of gamma-rays. Based on Monte Carlo simulations we present here the results on the sensitivity of a stereoscopic system of 5 IACTs in observations at large zenith angles. We point out some important parameters of the telescope design which could substantially improve the efficiency of such observations with forthcoming IACT arrays like CANGAROO III, HESS and VERITAS.

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arXiv1999

The temporal characteristics of the TeV Gamma emission from Mkn 501 in 1997 - Part II: Results from HEGRA CT1 and CT2

We present the results on the TeV gamma emission from Mkn 501 in 1997 obtained with the standalone Cherenkov telescopes CT1 and CT2 (threshold > 1.2 and > 1.0 resp.) of the HEGRA collaboration. The CT1 lightcurve has the most complete coverage of all TeV observations of Mkn 501 in 1997 due to the additional observations made under the presence of moonlight. CT2 - at the time of these observations a second generation Cherenkov telescope with relatively low imaging resolution - is a well tested instrument and its 85 hours of observational data on Mkn 501 in 1997 are useful for consistency checks and provide some additional daily data points. The Mkn 501 lightcurve data show significant correlation with RXTE ASM X-ray data consistent with no time-lag. The spectral analysis shows a steepening spectrum extending beyond 10 TeV. No change of the spectral slope with the variation of the intensity was found. The results presented here are consistent with the results from the HEGRA Cherenkov telescope system presented in part I of this paper.

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arXiv1999

Performance of the Stereoscopic System of the HEGRA Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes: Monte Carlo Simulations & Observations

Based on the Monte Carlo simulations we have studied the performance of the HEGRA system of imaging air Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) in its present configuration of 4 IACTs as well as in its future final configuration of 5 IACTs. Here we present the results on the basic characteristics of the IACT system which are used in the standard data analysis procedure, i.e., the collection areas, the detection rates, the angular resolution, the energy resolution, and the gamma/hadron-separation efficiency. By comparing several key Monte Carlo predictions with experimental results it is possible to check the accuracy of the simulations. The Monte Carlo results concerning hadron-nuclear showers are tested with the recorded cosmic ray events and the results concerning photon-induced showers are tested with a large data sample of gamma-rays observed from BL Lac object Mkn 501 during its high flaring activity in 1997. Summarizing the simulations and current observations we give the basic recommendations of using the instrument and the major values of its sensitivity.

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arXiv1999

The Cosmic Ray Proton Spectrum determined with the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov-Technique

The HEGRA system of 4 Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) has been used to determine the flux and the spectrum of cosmic ray protons over a limited energy range around 1.5 TeV. Although the IACT system is designed for the detection of gamma-rays with energies above 500 GeV, it has also a large detection area of $ \simeq 10^6 m^2 \cdot 3 msr$ for primary protons of energies above 1 TeV and the capability to reconstruct the primary proton energy with a reasonable accuracy $Δ$E/E of 50% near this threshold. Furthermore, the principle of stereoscopic detection of air showers permits the effective suppression of air showers induced by heavier primaries already on the trigger level, and in addition on the software level by analysis of the stereoscopic images. The combination of both capabilities permits a determination of the proton spectrum almost independently of the cosmic ray chemical composition. The accuracy of our estimate of the spectral index at 1.5 TeV is limited by systematic uncertainties and is comparable to the accuracy achieved with recent balloon and space borne experiments. In this paper we describe in detail the analysis tools, namely the detailed Monte Carlo simulation, the analysis procedure and the results. We determine the local (i.e. in the range of 1.5 to 3 TeV) differential spectral index to be $γ_p = 2.72\pm 0.02_{stat.}{\pm 0.15}_{syst.}$ and obtain an integral flux above 1.5 TeV of $F(> 1.5 TeV) =3.1\pm 0.6_{stat.}\pm 1.2_{syst.} 10^{-2}/s sr m^2$.

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arXiv1998

The Temporal Characteristics of the TeV Gamma-Radiation from Mkn 501 in 1997, I: Data from the Stereoscopic Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope System of HEGRA

During 1997, the BL Lac Object Mkn 501 was the brightest known object in the TeV gamma-ray sky. The emission was characterized by dramatic variations in intensity with a mean flux exceeding by a factor of three the steady gamma-ray flux of the Crab Nebula. The stereoscopic HEGRA system of 4 Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes, with an energy threshold of about 500 GeV, an angular resolution of 0.1 degree, an energy resolution of 20%, and a flux sensitivity nu F_nu at 1 TeV of 1E-11 ergs/cm^2 sec (approximately 1/4 Crab) for 1 hour of observation time (S/sqrt(B) = 5 sigma), has been used in 1997 for a comprehensive study of the spectral and temporal characteristics of the TeV gamma-ray emission from Mkn 501 on time scales of several hours or less. In this paper (Part I) the gamma-ray fluxes and spectra on a diurnal basis during the period March to October 1997 are presented. Furthermore, the correlation of the TeV emission with the flux measured by the RXTE All Sky Monitor in the energy range from 2 to 12 keV are studied. Finally the implications of these results on the physics of relativistic jets in BL Lac objects are briefly discussed. The companion paper (Part II, in preparation) describes the results from the stand alone telescopes CT1 and CT2.

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arXiv1998

Search for gamma-ray bursts above 20 TeV with the HEGRA AIROBICC Cherenkov array

A search for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) above 20 TeV within the field of view (1 sr) of the HEGRA AIROBICC Cherenkov array (29N, 18W, 2200 m a.s.l.) has been performed using data taken between March 1992 and March 1993. The search is based on an all-sky survey using four time scales, 10 seconds, 1 minute, 4 minutes and 1 hour. No evidence for TeV-emission has been found for the data sample. Flux upper limits are given. A special analysis has been performed for GRBs detected by BATSE and WATCH. Two partially and two fully contained GRBs in our field of view (FOV) were studied. For GRB 920925c which was fully contained in our FOV, the most significant excess has a probability of 7.7 10**-8 (corresponding to 5.4 sigmas) of being caused by a background fluctuation. Correcting this probability with the appropriate trial factor, yields a 99.7% confidence level for this excess to be related to the GRB (corresponding to 2.7 sigmas). This result is discussed within the framework of the WATCH detection.

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