arXiv subjects

G. Grolleron

Publications and source records attributed to G. Grolleron.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

CtaAgnVar : a Pipeline for Variability Studies with the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory

Blazars are active galactic nuclei whose relativistic jet points toward the observer, accelerating particles that radiate across the electromagnetic spectrum. Characterizing their flux and spectral variability constrains the physics of the central black hole and its jet, making blazars a key science case for the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO). The CTAO, with two sites and a sensitivity five to ten times better than current Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes, should reconstruct AGN variability at very high energies with unprecedented precision. To quantify these capabilities for blazars and transients, we developed CtaAgnVar, a pipeline based on Gammapy, the open-source Python package for gamma-ray analysis selected as core library of the CTAO Science Analysis Tools. It covers the full chain from a time-dependent spectral energy distribution to the simulation of a realistic observation sequence, accounting for source visibility, and to the reconstruction of spectra and light curves. It provides variability estimators, including a new statistical estimator quantifying the detection of hysteresis patterns in hardness-ratio diagrams. Released as open source, it lets the instrument enter only through the response functions and array location, so its use is not restricted to the CTAO. We simulated over 15 years of CTAO observations of PG 1553+113, whose high-energy emission shows a periodicity in Fermi-LAT data. Assuming the very-high-energy emission follows the high-energy one, the CTAO would recover this periodicity above 5 sigma with 15 years of 30 min observations on a weekly cadence, the period determination being then limited by the light-curve sampling rather than by photon statistics.

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arXiv2026

VHE gamma-ray intranight variability from BL Lacertae during the extreme flaring state of 2022

BL Lacertae (BL Lac), the archetypal blazar of its subclass and one of the most studied blazars in the last decades, has undergone a series of major multi-wavelength outbursts since 2020, resulting in its highest recorded $\gamma$-ray flare to date between September and November 2022 together with those from August 2021 and October 2024. We characterised the $\gamma$-ray and multi-wavelength emission and spectral energy distribution (SED) of BL Lac, as well as their evolution during the major and extended $\gamma$-ray and multi-wavelength flare that occurred between September and November 2022. We evaluated the variability of the flare, focusing on the nights of October 20 and November 13, when clear intranight very-high-energy (VHE, $E>100$ GeV) $\gamma$-ray variability was observed. We modelled the $\gamma$-ray and broadband SEDs during periods of stable emission identified with a Bayesian block analysis and interpreted the flare's evolution in terms of the variability in the relativistic particles and the jet's physical parameters. The VHE emission shows an average flux of 0.23 Crab Units (C.U.) above 200 GeV and a variability amplitude of more than a factor ten. We observe intranight flux-doubling variations as fast as $\sim$8 minutes during the nights of October 20 and November 13, 2022 with maximum fluxes of 4.4 C.U. above 100 GeV and 2.8 C.U. above 200 GeV. The spectral analysis reveals a transition of the X-ray emission from the high- to the low-energy SED peak and a shift of the $\gamma$-ray peak towards higher energies. We interpret the broadband emission within a leptonic two-zone model in which intranight variability is explained as magnetic reconnection in a compact region closely oriented with the line of sight while variations in the relativistic electron distributions and the injection of freshly accelerated particles explain the weekly scale variations.

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arXiv2026

Scrutinizing the 2020 multiwavelength outburst of PKS 0903-57 through observations with H.E.S.S

The blazar PKS 0903-57 has recently been classified as a flat spectrum radio quasar at a redshift of $z=0.2621$. In March and April 2020, Fermi-LAT and AGILE reported tremendous activity in high-energy $\gamma$ rays with the flux increasing by $\sim$2 orders of magnitude compared to quiescence. The flare was observed with H.E.S.S. in very-high-energy $\gamma$ rays for six nights with a total observation time of 13.1 h, resulting in the discovery of PKS 0903-57 in this energy band with an average flux of $1.5\times 10^{-10}$ ph cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ above an energy threshold of $\sim 180$ GeV corresponding to $60\%$ of the Crab Nebula flux above the same threshold. The very-high-energy $\gamma$-ray flux was strongly variable. X-ray and optical data were collected with Swift and ATOM, and also indicate significant variability. The observed multiwavelength flux and spectral variability during the H.E.S.S. observation window suggest variability time scales on the order of a few hours and reveal complex correlation patterns. The lack of absorption beyond that of the extragalactic background light in the $\gamma$-ray domain suggests that the emission region was located outside of the broad-line region. A leptonic one-zone modeling of the six H.E.S.S. observation nights using the dusty torus as seed photons for the inverse-Compton scattering, results in a low magnetization of the emission region. This implies that shock acceleration is likely the main driver during the event.

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arXiv2026

Investigating Active Galactic Nuclei variability with the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory

Blazars, a type of active galactic nuclei (AGN) with relativistic jets pointed at the observer, exhibit flux variability across the electromagnetic spectrum due to particle acceleration in their jets. Power spectral density (PSD) studies show breaks at specific frequencies, particularly in X-rays, linked to the accretion regime and black hole mass. However, very-high-energy gamma-ray PSD breaks remain unexplored due to current instrument limitations. The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO), with up to ten times greater sensitivity compared to current generation instruments, will allow precise PSD reconstruction and unprecedented study of blazar flares. These flares reveal key insights into particle acceleration, photon production, and jet properties. The AGN monitoring and flare programs in CTAO's Key Science Project aim to deepen our understanding of blazar emissions.

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arXiv2025

Prompt Searches for Very-High-Energy {\gamma}-Ray Counterparts to IceCube Astrophysical Neutrino Alerts

The search for sources of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos can be significantly advanced through a multi-messenger approach, which seeks to detect the gamma rays that accompany neutrinos as they are produced at their sources. Multi-messenger observations have so far provided the first evidence for a neutrino source, illustrated by the joint detection of the flaring blazar TXS 0506+056 in highenergy (HE, E > 1 GeV) and very-high-energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gamma rays in coincidence with the high-energy neutrino IceCube-170922A, identified by IceCube. Imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs), namely FACT, H.E.S.S., MAGIC, and VERITAS, continue to conduct extensive neutrino target-of-opportunity follow-up programs. These programs have two components: followup observations of single astrophysical neutrino candidate events (such as IceCube-170922A), and observation of known gamma-ray sources after the identification of a cluster of neutrino events by IceCube. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of follow-up observations of high-energy neutrino events observed by the four IACTs between September 2017 (after the IceCube-170922A event) and January 2021. Our study found no associations between gamma-ray sources and the observed neutrino events. We provide a detailed overview of each neutrino event and its potential counterparts. Furthermore, a joint analysis of all IACT data is included, yielding combined upper limits on the VHE gamma-ray flux.

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arXiv2025

H.E.S.S. programme searching for VHE gamma rays associated with FRBs

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are highly energetic, extremely short-lived bursts of radio flashes. Despite extensive research, the exact cause of these outbursts remains speculative. The high luminosity, short duration, and high dispersion measure of these events suggest they result from extreme, high-energy extragalactic sources, such as highly magnetized and rapidly spinning neutron stars known as magnetars. The number of detected FRBs, including repeating ones, has grown rapidly in recent years. Except for FRB 20200428D, and FRB-like radio burst that is associated to Galactic magnetar SGR 1935+2154, no multi-wavelength counterpart to any FRB has been detected yet. The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) telescope has developed a {program} to follow up FRBs searching for their gamma-ray counterparts, helping to uncover the nature of FRBs and FRB sources. This paper provides an overview of the searches for FRB sources conducted by H.E.S.S., including follow-up observations and simultaneous multi-wavelength campaigns with radio and X-ray observatories. Among the FRB sources observed by H.E.S.S., nine are localized with redshifts ranging between 0.11 and 0.492 from 2015 to 2022. No significant very high energy (VHE) emission was detected during these observations. We report constraints on the VHE luminosity ranging from $10^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$ and $10^{48}$ erg s$^{-1}$, placing limits on the FRB's region persistent VHE emission and potential FRB afterglow emission across timescales from hours to years.

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arXiv2025

The H.E.S.S. extragalactic sky survey with the first decade of observations

The results of the first extragalactic gamma-ray survey by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) are presented. The survey comprises 2720 hours of very high-energy gamma-ray observations of the extragalactic sky, recorded with H.E.S.S. from 2004 up to the end of 2012. These data have been re-analysed using a common consistent set of up-to-date data calibration and analysis tools. From this analysis, a list of 23 detected objects, predominantly blazars, was obtained. This catalogue was assessed in terms of the source class populations that it contains. The level of source parameter bias for the blazar sources, probed by this observational dataset, was evaluated using Monte-Carlo simulations. Spectral results obtained with the H.E.S.S. data were compared with the \textit{Fermi}-LAT catalogues to present the full gamma-ray picture of the detected objects. Lastly, this unique dataset was used to assess the contribution of BL Lacertae objects and flat-spectrum radio quasars to the extragalactic gamma-ray background light at several hundreds of giga-electronvolts. These results are accompanied by the release of the high-level data to the astrophysical community.

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arXiv2025

Detection of very-high-energy gamma-ray emission from Eta Carinae during its 2020 periastron passage

The colliding-wind binary system $\eta$ Carinae has been identified as a source of high-energy (HE, below $\sim$100\,GeV) and very-high-energy (VHE, above $\sim$100\,GeV) gamma rays in the last decade, making it unique among these systems. With its eccentric 5.5-year-long orbit, the periastron passage, during which the stars are separated by only $1-2$\,au, is an intriguing time interval to probe particle acceleration processes within the system. In this work, we report on an extensive VHE observation campaign that for the first time covers the full periastron passage carried out with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) in its 5-telescope configuration with upgraded cameras. VHE gamma-ray emission from $\eta$ Carinae was detected during the periastron passage with a steep spectrum with spectral index $\Gamma= 3.3 \pm 0.2_{\mathrm{stat}} \, \pm 0.1_{\mathrm{syst}}$. Together with previous and follow-up observations, we derive a long-term light curve sampling one full orbit, showing hints of an increase of the VHE flux towards periastron, but no hint of variability during the passage itself. An analysis of contemporaneous Fermi-LAT data shows that the VHE spectrum represents a smooth continuation of the HE spectrum. From modelling the combined spectrum we conclude that the gamma-ray emission region is located at distances of ${\sim}10 - 20$\,au from the centre of mass of the system and that protons are accelerated up to energies of at least several TeV inside the system in this phase.

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arXiv2024

High-Statistics Measurement of the Cosmic-Ray Electron Spectrum with H.E.S.S

Owing to their rapid cooling rate and hence loss-limited propagation distance, cosmic-ray electrons and positrons (CRe) at very high energies probe local cosmic-ray accelerators and provide constraints on exotic production mechanisms such as annihilation of dark matter particles. We present a high-statistics measurement of the spectrum of CRe candidate events from 0.3 to 40 TeV with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.), covering two orders of magnitude in energy and reaching a proton rejection power of better than $10^{4}$. The measured spectrum is well described by a broken power law, with a break around 1 TeV, where the spectral index increases from $\Gamma_1 = 3.25$ $\pm$ 0.02 (stat) $\pm$ 0.2 (sys) to $\Gamma_2 = 4.49$ $\pm$ 0.04 (stat) $\pm$ 0.2 (sys). Apart from the break, the spectrum is featureless. The absence of distinct signatures at multi-TeV energies imposes constraints on the presence of nearby CRe accelerators and the local CRe propagation mechanisms.

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arXiv2024

Very-high-energy $\gamma$-ray emission from young massive star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud is known for its high star formation activity. At its center lies the young massive star cluster R136, providing a significant amount of the energy that makes the nebula shine so brightly at many wavelengths. Recently, young massive star clusters have been suggested to also efficiently produce high-energy cosmic rays, potentially beyond PeV energies. Here, we report the detection of very-high-energy $\gamma$-ray emission from the direction of R136 with the High Energy Stereoscopic System, achieved through a multicomponent, likelihood-based modeling of the data. This supports the hypothesis that R136 is indeed a very powerful cosmic-ray accelerator. Moreover, from the same analysis, we provide an updated measurement of the $\gamma$-ray emission from 30 Dor C, the only superbubble detected at TeV energies presently. The $\gamma$-ray luminosity above $0.5\,\mathrm{TeV}$ of both sources is $(2-3)\times 10^{35}\,\mathrm{erg}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}$. This exceeds by more than a factor of 2 the luminosity of HESS J1646$-$458, which is associated with the most massive young star cluster in the Milky Way, Westerlund 1. Furthermore, the $\gamma$-ray emission from each source is extended with a significance of $>3\sigma$ and a Gaussian width of about $30\,\mathrm{pc}$. For 30 Dor C, a connection between the $\gamma$-ray emission and the nonthermal X-ray emission appears likely. Different interpretations of the $\gamma$-ray signal from R136 are discussed.

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arXiv2024

H.E.S.S. observations of the 2021 periastron passage of PSR B1259-63/LS 2883

PSR B1259-63 is a gamma-ray binary system that hosts a pulsar in an eccentric orbit, with a 3.4 year period, around an O9.5Ve star. At orbital phases close to periastron passages, the system radiates bright and variable non-thermal emission. We report on an extensive VHE observation campaign conducted with the High Energy Stereoscopic System, comprised of ~100 hours of data taken from $t_p-24$ days to $t_p+127$ days around the system's 2021 periastron passage. We also present the timing and spectral analyses of the source. The VHE light curve in 2021 is consistent with the stacked light curve of all previous observations. Within the light curve, we report a VHE maximum at times coincident with the third X-ray peak first detected in the 2021 X-ray light curve. In the light curve -- although sparsely sampled in this time period -- we see no VHE enhancement during the second disc crossing. In addition, we see no correspondence to the 2021 GeV flare in the VHE light curve. The VHE spectrum obtained from the analysis of the 2021 dataset is best described by a power law of spectral index $\Gamma = 2.65 \pm 0.04_{\text{stat}}$ $\pm 0.04_{\text{sys}}$, a value consistent with the previous H.E.S.S. observations of the source. We report spectral variability with a difference of $\Delta \Gamma = 0.56 ~\pm~ 0.18_{\text{stat}}$ $~\pm~0.10_{\text{sys}}$ at 95% c.l., between sub-periods of the 2021 dataset. We also find a linear correlation between contemporaneous flux values of X-ray and TeV datasets, detected mainly after $t_p+25$ days, suggesting a change in the available energy for non-thermal radiation processes. We detect no significant correlation between GeV and TeV flux points, within the uncertainties of the measurements, from $\sim t_p-23$ days to $\sim t_p+126$ days. This suggests that the GeV and TeV emission originate from different electron populations.

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arXiv2024

Unveiling extended gamma-ray emission around HESS J1813-178

HESS J1813$-$178 is a very-high-energy $\gamma$-ray source spatially coincident with the young and energetic pulsar PSR J1813$-$1749 and thought to be associated with its pulsar wind nebula (PWN). Recently, evidence for extended high-energy emission in the vicinity of the pulsar has been revealed in the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data. This motivates revisiting the HESS J1813$-$178 region, taking advantage of improved analysis methods and an extended data set. Using data taken by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) experiment and the Fermi-LAT, we aim to describe the $\gamma$-ray emission in the region with a consistent model, to provide insights into its origin. We performed a likelihood-based analysis on 32 hours of H.E.S.S. data and 12 years of Fermi-LAT data and fit a spectro-morphological model to the combined datasets. These results allowed us to develop a physical model for the origin of the observed $\gamma$-ray emission in the region. In addition to the compact very-high-energy $\gamma$-ray emission centered on the pulsar, we find a significant yet previously undetected component along the Galactic plane. With Fermi-LAT data, we confirm extended high-energy emission consistent with the position and elongation of the extended emission observed with H.E.S.S. These results establish a consistent description of the emission in the region from GeV energies to several tens of TeV. This study suggests that HESS J1813$-$178 is associated with a $\gamma$-ray PWN powered by PSR J1813$-$1749. A possible origin of the extended emission component is inverse Compton emission from electrons and positrons that have escaped the confines of the pulsar and form a halo around the PWN.

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arXiv2024

Spectrum and extension of the inverse-Compton emission of the Crab Nebula from a combined Fermi-LAT and H.E.S.S. analysis

The Crab Nebula is a unique laboratory for studying the acceleration of electrons and positrons through their non-thermal radiation. Observations of very-high-energy $\gamma$ rays from the Crab Nebula have provided important constraints for modelling its broadband emission. We present the first fully self-consistent analysis of the Crab Nebula's $\gamma$-ray emission between 1 GeV and $\sim$100 TeV, that is, over five orders of magnitude in energy. Using the open-source software package Gammapy, we combined 11.4 yr of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope and 80 h of High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) data at the event level and provide a measurement of the spatial extension of the nebula and its energy spectrum. We find evidence for a shrinking of the nebula with increasing $\gamma$-ray energy. Furthermore, we fitted several phenomenological models to the measured data, finding that none of them can fully describe the spatial extension and the spectral energy distribution at the same time. Especially the extension measured at TeV energies appears too large when compared to the X-ray emission. Our measurements probe the structure of the magnetic field between the pulsar wind termination shock and the dust torus, and we conclude that the magnetic field strength decreases with increasing distance from the pulsar. We complement our study with a careful assessment of systematic uncertainties.

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arXiv2024

Curvature in the very-high energy gamma-ray spectrum of M87

The radio galaxy M87 is a variable very-high energy (VHE) gamma-ray source, exhibiting three major flares reported in 2005, 2008, and 2010. Despite extensive studies, the origin of the VHE gamma-ray emission is yet to be understood. In this study, we investigate the VHE gamma-ray spectrum of M87 during states of high gamma-ray activity, utilizing 20.2$\,$ hours the H.E.S.S. observations. Our findings indicate a preference for a curved spectrum, characterized by a log-parabola model with extra-galactic background light (EBL) model above 0.3$\,$TeV at the 4$\sigma$ level, compared to a power-law spectrum with EBL. We investigate the degeneracy between the absorption feature and the EBL normalization and derive upper limits on EBL models mainly sensitive in the wavelength range 12.4$\,$$\mu$m - 40$\,$$\mu$m.

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arXiv2024

Acceleration and transport of relativistic electrons in the jets of the microquasar SS 433

SS 433 is a microquasar, a stellar binary system with collimated relativistic jets. We observed SS 433 in gamma rays using the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.), finding an energy-dependent shift in the apparent position of the gamma-ray emission of the parsec-scale jets. These observations trace the energetic electron population and indicate the gamma rays are produced by inverse-Compton scattering. Modelling of the energy-dependent gamma-ray morphology constrains the location of particle acceleration and requires an abrupt deceleration of the jet flow. We infer the presence of shocks on either side of the binary system at distances of 25 to 30 parsecs and conclude that self-collimation of the precessing jets forms the shocks, which then efficiently accelerate electrons.

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arXiv2024

TeV flaring activity of the AGN PKS 0625-354 in November 2018

Most $\gamma$-ray detected active galactic nuclei are blazars with one of their relativistic jets pointing towards the Earth. Only a few objects belong to the class of radio galaxies or misaligned blazars. Here, we investigate the nature of the object PKS 0625-354, its $\gamma$-ray flux and spectral variability and its broad-band spectral emission with observations from H.E.S.S., Fermi-LAT, Swift-XRT, and UVOT taken in November 2018. The H.E.S.S. light curve above 200 GeV shows an outburst in the first night of observations followed by a declining flux with a halving time scale of 5.9h. The $\gamma\gamma$-opacity constrains the upper limit of the angle between the jet and the line of sight to $\sim10^\circ$. The broad-band spectral energy distribution shows two humps and can be well fitted with a single-zone synchrotron self Compton emission model. We conclude that PKS 0625-354, as an object showing clear features of both blazars and radio galaxies, can be classified as an intermediate active galactic nuclei. Multi-wavelength studies of such intermediate objects exhibiting features of both blazars and radio galaxies are sparse but crucial for the understanding of the broad-band emission of $\gamma$-ray detected active galactic nuclei in general.

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arXiv2023

Discovery of a Radiation Component from the Vela Pulsar Reaching 20 Teraelectronvolts

Gamma-ray observations have established energetic isolated pulsars as outstanding particle accelerators and antimatter factories in the Galaxy. There is, however, no consensus regarding the acceleration mechanisms and the radiative processes at play, nor the locations where these take place. The spectra of all observed gamma-ray pulsars to date show strong cutoffs or a break above energies of a few gigaelectronvolt (GeV). Using the H.E.S.S. array of Cherenkov telescopes, we discovered a novel radiation component emerging beyond this generic GeV cutoff in the Vela pulsar's broadband spectrum. The extension of gamma-ray pulsation energies up to at least 20 teraelectronvolts (TeV) shows that Vela pulsar can accelerate particles to Lorentz factors higher than $4\times10^7$. This is an order of magnitude larger than in the case of the Crab pulsar, the only other pulsar detected in the TeV energy range. Our results challenge the state-of-the-art models for high-energy emission of pulsars while providing a new probe, i.e. the energetic multi-TeV component, for constraining the acceleration and emission processes in their extreme energy limit.

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arXiv2023

Bright blazar flares with CTA

The TeV extragalactic sky is dominated by blazars, radio-loud active galactic nuclei with a relativistic jet pointing towards the Earth. Blazars show variability that can be quite exceptional both in terms of flux (orders of magnitude of brightening) and time (down to the minute timescale). This bright flaring activity contains key information on the physics of particle acceleration and photon production in the emitting region, as well as the structure and physical properties of the jet itself. The TeV band is accessed from the ground by Cherenkov telescopes that image the pair cascade triggered by the interaction of the gamma ray with the Earth's atmosphere. The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) represents the upcoming generation of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, with a significantly higher sensitivity and larger energy coverage with respect to current instruments. It will thus provide us with unprecedented statistics on blazar light-curves and spectra. In this contribution we present the results from realistic simulations of CTA observations of bright blazar flares, taking as input state-of-the-art numerical simulations of blazar emission models and including all relevant observational constraints.

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