John A. J. Matthews | Searcharxiv

arXiv2017

Survey of nearby active galactic nuclei with the HAWC Observatory

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC) has a wide field-of-view (FOV, $\sim$2sr) and a high duty cycle ($\sim$95\%), which make it a powerful survey and monitoring experiment for sources of TeV gamma rays. We present a systematic survey of gamma-ray sources based on the Fermi 3FHL catalog. Sources are restricted to HAWC's FOV (Declination 19$^\circ$ $\pm$ 40$^\circ$) and to extragalactic sources with redshift: 0.001 $<$ z $<$ 0.3. Extragalactic gamma-ray sources are dominated by active galactic nuclei (AGN) and TeV gamma-ray sources are mostly BL Lac-type blazars. The study of AGNs through high energy gamma rays has opened a new window into the extreme processes of particle acceleration in the jets of these objects and provides a way to study the photon propagation and extra-galactic background light. We have improved the HAWC sensitivity at low energies (100 GeV to 1 TeV) based on the Crab pulsar, which is an excellent calibration source for TeV gamma rays. We will present the results of searching for and monitoring nearby AGNs with the improved analysis.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

HAWC Timing Calibration

The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Experiment is a second-generation highsensitivity gamma-ray and cosmic-ray detector that builds on the experience and technology of the Milagro observatory. Like Milagro, HAWC utilizes the water Cherenkov technique to measure extensive air showers. Instead of a pond filled with water (as in Milagro) an array of closely packed water tanks is used. The event direction will be reconstructed using the times when the PMTs in each tank are triggered. Therefore, the timing calibration will be crucial for reaching an angular resolution as low as 0.25 degrees.We propose to use a laser calibration system, patterned after the calibration system in Milagro. Like Milagro, the HAWC optical calibration system will use ~1 ns laser light pulses. Unlike Milagro, the PMTs are optically isolated and require their own optical fiber calibration. For HAWC the laser light pulses will be directed through a series of optical fan-outs and fibers to illuminate the PMTs in approximately one half of the tanks on any given pulse. Time slewing corrections will be made using neutraldensity filters to control the light intensity over 4 orders of magnitude. This system is envisioned to run continuously at a low rate and will be controlled remotely. In this paper, we present the design of the calibration system and first measurements of its performance.

astro-ph.IM↗