arXiv subjects

G. Gallagher

Publications and source records attributed to G. Gallagher.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

A multi-wavelength study to decipher the 2017 flare of the blazar OJ 287

In February 2017, the blazar OJ~287 underwent a period of intense multiwavelength activity. It reached a new historic peak in the soft X-ray (0.3-10 keV) band, as measured by Swift-XRT. This event coincides with a very-high-energy (VHE) $\gamma$-ray outburst that led VERITAS to detect emission above 100 GeV, with a detection significance of $10\sigma$ (from 2016 December 9 to 2017 March 31). The time-averaged VHE $\gamma$-ray spectrum was consistent with a soft power law ($\Gamma = -3.81 \pm 0.26$) and an integral flux corresponding to $\sim2.4\%$ that of the Crab Nebula above the same energy. Contemporaneous data from multiple instruments across the electromagnetic spectrum reveal complex flaring behavior, primarily in the soft X-ray and VHE bands. To investigate the possible origin of such an event, our study focuses on three distinct activity states: before, during, and after the February 2017 peak. The spectral energy distributions during these periods suggest the presence of at least two non-thermal emission zones, with the more compact one responsible for the observed flare. Broadband modeling results and observations of a new radio knot in the jet of OJ~287 in 2017 are consistent with a flare originating from a strong recollimation shock outside the radio core.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

A multi-wavelength investigation of PSR J2229+6114 and its pulsar wind nebula in the radio, X-ray, and gamma-ray bands

G106.3$+$2.7, commonly considered a composite supernova remnant (SNR), is characterized by a boomerang-shaped pulsar wind nebula (PWN) and two distinct ("head" & "tail") regions in the radio band. A discovery of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission ($E_\gamma > 100$ GeV) followed by the recent detection of ultra-high-energy (UHE) gamma-ray emission ($E_\gamma > 100$ TeV) from the tail region suggests that G106.3$+$2.7 is a PeVatron candidate. We present a comprehensive multi-wavelength study of the Boomerang PWN (100" around PSR J2229+6114) using archival radio and Chandra data obtained from two decades ago, a new NuSTAR X-ray observation from 2020, and upper limits on gamma-ray fluxes obtained by Fermi and VERITAS observatories. The NuSTAR observation allowed us to detect a 51.67 ms spin period from the pulsar PSR J2229+6114 and the PWN emission characterized by a power-law model with $\Gamma = 1.52\pm0.06$ up to 20 keV. Contrary to the previous radio study by Kothes et al. 2006, we prefer a much lower PWN B-field ($B\sim3$ $\mu$G) and larger distance ($d \sim 8$ kpc) based on (1) the non-varying X-ray flux over the last two decades, (2) the energy-dependent X-ray PWN size resulting from synchrotron burn-off and (3) the multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution (SED) data. Our SED model suggests that the PWN is currently re-expanding after being compressed by the SNR reverse shock $\sim 1000$ years ago. In this case, the head region should be formed by GeV--TeV electrons injected earlier by the pulsar propagating into the low density environment.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Multiwavelength Observations of the Blazar PKS 0735+178 in Spatial and Temporal Coincidence with an Astrophysical Neutrino Candidate IceCube-211208A

We report on multiwavelength target-of-opportunity observations of the blazar PKS 0735+178, located 2.2$^\circ$ away from the best-fit position of the IceCube neutrino event IceCube-211208A detected on December 8, 2021. The source was in a high-flux state in the optical, ultraviolet, X-ray, and GeV gamma-ray bands around the time of the neutrino event, exhibiting daily variability in the soft X-ray flux. The X-ray data from Swift-XRT and NuSTAR characterize the transition between the low-energy and high-energy components of the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED), and the gamma-ray data from Fermi -LAT, VERITAS, and H.E.S.S. require a spectral cut-off near 100 GeV. Both X-ray and gamma-ray measurements provide strong constraints on the leptonic and hadronic models. We analytically explore a synchrotron self-Compton model, an external Compton model, and a lepto-hadronic model. Models that are entirely based on internal photon fields face serious difficulties in matching the observed SED. The existence of an external photon field in the source would instead explain the observed gamma-ray spectral cut-off in both leptonic and lepto-hadronic models and allow a proton jet power that marginally agrees with the Eddington limit in the lepto-hadronic model. We show a numerical lepto-hadronic model with external target photons that reproduces the observed SED and is reasonably consistent with the neutrino event despite requiring a high jet power.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Search for Ultraheavy Dark Matter from Observations of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies with VERITAS

Dark matter is a key piece of the current cosmological scenario, with weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) a leading dark matter candidate. WIMPs have not been detected in their conventional parameter space (100 GeV $\lesssim M_{\chi} \lesssim$ 100 TeV), a mass range accessible with current Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes. As ultraheavy dark matter (UHDM; $M_{\chi} \gtrsim$ 100 TeV) has been suggested as an under-explored alternative to the WIMP paradigm, we search for an indirect dark matter annihilation signal in a higher mass range (up to 30 PeV) with the VERITAS gamma-ray observatory. With 216 hours of observations of four dwarf spheroidal galaxies, we perform an unbinned likelihood analysis. We find no evidence of a $\gamma$-ray signal from UHDM annihilation above the background fluctuation for any individual dwarf galaxy nor for a joint-fit analysis, and consequently constrain the velocity-weighted annihilation cross section of UHDM for dark matter particle masses between 1 TeV and 30 PeV. We additionally set constraints on the allowed radius of a composite UHDM particle.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

VERITAS and Fermi-LAT constraints on the Gamma-ray Emission from Superluminous Supernovae SN2015bn and SN2017egm

Superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) are a rare class of stellar explosions with luminosities ~10-100 times greater than ordinary core-collapse supernovae. One popular model to explain the enhanced optical output of hydrogen-poor (Type I) SLSNe invokes energy injection from a rapidly spinning magnetar. A prediction in this case is that high-energy gamma rays, generated in the wind nebula of the magnetar, could escape through the expanding supernova ejecta at late times (months or more after optical peak). This paper presents a search for gamma-ray emission in the broad energy band from 100 MeV to 30 TeV from two Type I SLSNe, SN2015bn, and SN2017egm, using observations from Fermi-LAT and VERITAS. Although no gamma-ray emission was detected from either source, the derived upper limits approach the putative magnetar's spin-down luminosity. Prospects are explored for detecting very-high-energy (VHE; 100 GeV - 100 TeV) emission from SLSNe-I with existing and planned facilities such as VERITAS and CTA.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

VTSCat: The VERITAS Catalog of Gamma-Ray Observations

The ground-based gamma-ray observatory VERITAS (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) is sensitive to photons of astrophysical origin with energies in the range between $\approx 85$ GeV to $\approx 30$ TeV. The instrument consists of four 12-m diameter imaging Cherenkov telescopes operating at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory (FLWO) in southern Arizona. VERITAS started four-telescope operations in 2007 and collects about 1100 hours of good-weather data per year. The VERITAS collaboration has published over 100 journal articles since 2008 reporting on gamma-ray observations of a large variety of objects: Galactic sources like supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae, and binary systems; extragalactic sources like star forming galaxies, dwarf-spheroidal galaxies, and highly-variable active galactic nuclei. This note presents VTSCat: the catalog of high-level data products from all VERITAS publications.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

How they (should have) built the pyramids

A novel method is proposed for moving large, pyramid construction size, stone blocks. The method is inspired by a well known introductory physics homework problem, and is implemented by tying 12 identical rods of appropriately chosen radius to the faces of the block. The rods form the corners and new faces that transform the square prism into a dodecagon which can then be moved more easily by rolling than by dragging. Experimental results are presented and compared to independent work by another group which utilized wooden attachments providing a cylindrical shape. It is found that a small scale stone block converted to dodecagons can be moved across level open ground with a dynamic coefficient of friction of the order 0.2. For full scale pyramid blocks, the wooden rods would need to be posts of order 30 cm in diameter, similar in size to those used as masts on ships in the Nile.

physics.pop-ph↗