arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to K. Nishijima.
We have searched for proton decay via $p \rightarrow νK^{+}$ using Super-Kamiokande data from April 1996 to February 2013, 260 kiloton$\cdot$year exposure in total. No evidence for this proton decay mode is found. A lower limit of the proton lifetime is set to $5.9 \times 10^{33}$ years at 90% confidence level.
It has been claimed that the nova-like cataclysmic variable (CV) AE Aquarii (AE Aqr) is a very-high-energy (VHE, $E>$100 GeV) source both on observational and theoretical grounds. We aim to search for VHE gamma-ray emission from AE Aqr during different states of the source at several wavelengths to confirm or rule out previous claims of detection of gamma-ray emission from this object. We report on observations of AE Aqr performed by MAGIC. The source was observed during 12 hours as part of a multiwavelength campaign carried out between May and June 2012 covering the optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray ranges. Besides MAGIC, the other facilities involved were the KVA, Skinakas, and Vidojevica telescopes in the optical and Swift in X-rays. We calculated integral upper limits coincident with different states of the source in the optical. We computed upper limits to the pulsed emission limiting the signal region to 30% of the phaseogram and we also searched for pulsed emission at different frequencies applying the Rayleigh test. AE Aqr was not detected at VHE energies during the multiwavelength campaign. We establish integral upper limits at the 95\% confidence level for the steady emission assuming the differential flux proportional to a power-law function dϕ/dE \propto E^{-Gamma}, with a Crab-like photon spectral index of Gamma=2.6. The upper limit above 200 GeV is 6.4\times10^{-12} cm^{-2}s^{-1} and above 1 TeV is 7.4\times10^{-13} cm^{-2}s^{-1}. We obtained an upper limit for the pulsed emission of 2.6\times10^{-12} cm^{-2}s^{-1} for energies above 200 GeV. Applying the Rayleigh test for pulsed emission at different frequencies we did not find any significant signal. Our results indicate that AE Aqr is not a VHE gamma-ray emitter at the level of emission previously claimed. We have established the most constraining upper limits for the VHE gamma-ray emission of AE Aqr.
The pulsar wind nebula (PWN) 3C 58 is one of the historical very-high-energy (VHE; E>100 GeV) gamma-ray source candidates. It is energized by one of the highest spin-down power pulsars known (5% of Crab pulsar) and it has been compared to the Crab Nebula due to their morphological similarities. This object was previously observed by imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (Whipple, VERITAS and MAGIC), although not detected, with an upper limit of 2.4% Crab Unit (C.U.) at VHE. It was detected by Fermi-LAT with a spectrum extending beyond 100 GeV. We analyzed 81 hours of 3C 58 data taken with the MAGIC telescopes and we detected VHE gamma-ray emission with a significance of 5.7 sigma and an integral flux of 0.65% C.U. above 1 TeV. The differential energy spectrum between 400 GeV and 10 TeV is well described by a power-law function dϕ/dE=f_0(E/1TeV)^{-Gamma} with f_0=(2.0\pm0.4_{stat}\pm0.6_{sys})\times10^{-13}cm^{-2}s^{-1}TeV^{-1} and Gamma=2.4\pm0.2_{stat}\pm0.2_{sys}. The skymap is compatible with an unresolved source. We report the first significant detection of PWN 3C 58 at TeV energies. According to our results 3C 58 is the least luminous VHE gamma-ray PWN ever detected at VHE and the one with the lowest flux at VHE to date. We compare our results with the expectations of time-dependent models in which electrons up-scatter photon fields. The best representation favors a distance to the PWN of 2 kpc and Far Infrared (FIR) comparable to CMB photon fields. If we consider an unexpectedly high FIR density, the data can also be reproduced by models assuming a 3.2 kpc distance. A low magnetic field, far from equipartition, is required to explain the VHE data. Hadronic contribution from the hosting supernova remnant (SNR) requires unrealistic energy budget given the density of the medium, disfavoring cosmic ray acceleration in the SNR as origin of the VHE gamma-ray emission.
We study the multifrequency emission and spectral properties of the quasar 3C 279. We observed 3C 279 in very high energy (VHE, E>100GeV) gamma rays, with the MAGIC telescopes during 2011, for the first time in stereoscopic mode. We combine these measurements with observations at other energy bands: in high energy (HE, E>100MeV) gamma rays from Fermi-LAT, in X-rays from RXTE, in the optical from the KVA telescope and in the radio at 43GHz, 37GHz and 15GHz from the VLBA, Metsähovi and OVRO radio telescopes and optical polarisation measurements from the KVA and Liverpool telescopes. During the MAGIC observations (February to April 2011) 3C 279 was in a low state in optical, X-ray and gamma rays. The MAGIC observations did not yield a significant detection. These upper limits are in agreement with the extrapolation of the HE gamma-ray spectrum, corrected for extragalactic background light absorption, from Fermi-LAT. The second part of the MAGIC observations in 2011 was triggered by a high activity state in the optical and gamma-ray bands. During the optical outburst the optical electric vector position angle rotatated of about 180 degrees. There was no simultaneous rotation of the 43GHz radio polarisation angle. No VHE gamma rays were detected by MAGIC, and the derived upper limits suggest the presence of a spectral break or curvature between the Fermi-LAT and MAGIC bands. The combined upper limits are the strongest derived to date for the source at VHE and below the level of the previously detected flux by a factor 2. Radiation models that include synchrotron and inverse Compton emissions match the optical to gamma-ray data, assuming an emission component inside the broad line region (BLR) responsible for the high-energy emission and one outside the BLR and the infrared torus causing optical and low-energy emission. We interpreted the optical polarisation with a bent trajectory model.
Among more than fifty blazars detected in very high energy (VHE, E>100GeV) gamma-rays, only three belong to the subclass of Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs). MAGIC observed FSRQ PKS 1510-089 in February-April 2012 during a high activity state in the high energy (HE, E>100 MeV) gamma-ray band observed by AGILE and Fermi. MAGIC observations result in the detection of a source with significance of 6.0 sigma. In agreement with the previous VHE observations of the source, we find no statistically significant variability during the MAGIC observations in daily, weekly or monthly time scales. The other two known VHE FSRQs have shown daily scale to sub-hour variability. We study the multifrequency behaviour of the source at the epoch of MAGIC observation, collecting quasi-simultaneous data at radio and optical (GASP-WEBT and F-Gamma collaborations, REM, Steward, Perkins, Liverpool, OVRO and VLBA telescopes), X-ray (Swift satellite) and HE gamma-ray frequencies. The gamma-ray SED combining AGILE, Fermi and MAGIC data joins smoothly and shows no hint of a break. The multifrequency light curves suggest a common origin for the millimeter radio and HE gamma-ray emission and the HE gamma-ray flaring starts when the new component is ejected from the 43GHz VLBA core. The quasi-simultaneous multifrequency SED is modelled with a one-zone inverse Compton model. We study two different origins of the seed photons for the inverse Compton scattering, namely the infra-red torus and a slow sheath surrounding the jet around the VLBA core. Both models fit the data well. However, the fast HE gamma-ray variability requires that within the modelled large emitting region, there must exist more compact regions. We suggest that these observed signatures would be most naturally explained by a turbulent plasma flowing at a relativistic speed down the jet and crossing a standing conical shock.
We present a study of the very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission of the blazar PKS 1424+240 observed with the MAGIC telescopes. The primary aim of this paper is the multiwavelength spectral characterization and modeling of this blazar, which is made particularly interesting by the recent discovery of a lower limit of its redshift of z > 0.6 and makes it a promising candidate to be the most distant VHE source. The source has been observed with the MAGIC telescopes in VHE gamma rays for a total observation time of ~33.6 h from 2009 to 2011. The source was marginally detected in VHE gamma rays during 2009 and 2010, and later, the detection was confirmed during an optical outburst in 2011. The combined significance of the stacked sample is ~7.2 sigma. The differential spectra measured during the different campaigns can be described by steep power laws with the indices ranging from 3.5 +/- 1.2 to 5.0 +/- 1.7. The MAGIC spectra corrected for the absorption due to the extragalactic background light connect smoothly, within systematic errors, with the mean spectrum in 2009-2011 observed at lower energies by the Fermi-LAT. The absorption-corrected MAGIC spectrum is flat with no apparent turn down up to 400 GeV. The multiwavelength light curve shows increasing flux in radio and optical bands that could point to a common origin from the same region of the jet. The large separation between the two peaks of the constructed non-simultaneous spectral energy distribution also requires an extremely high Doppler factor if an one zone synchrotron self-Compton model is applied. We find that a two-component synchrotron self-Compton model describes the spectral energy distribution of the source well, if the source is located at z~0.6.
The Crab pulsar is the only astronomical pulsed source detected at very high energy (VHE, E>100GeV) gamma-rays. The emission mechanism of VHE pulsation is not yet fully understood, although several theoretical models have been proposed. In order to test the new models, we measured the light curve and the spectra of the Crab pulsar with high precision by means of deep observations. We analyzed 135 hours of selected MAGIC data taken between 2009 and 2013 in stereoscopic mode. In order to discuss the spectral shape in connection with lower energies, 4.6 years of {\it Fermi}-LAT data were also analyzed. The known two pulses per period were detected with a significance of $8.0 σ$ and $12.6 σ$. In addition, significant emission was found between the two pulses with $6.2 σ$. We discovered the bridge emission above 50 GeV between the two main pulses. This emission can not be explained with the existing theories. These data can be used for testing new theoretical models.
A search for inelastic scattering of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) on the isotope $^{129}$Xe was done in data taken with the single phase liquid xenon detector XMASS at the Kamioka Observatory. Using a restricted volume containing 41 kg of LXe at the very center of our detector we observed no significant excess of events in 165.9 days of data. Our background reduction allowed us to derive our limits without explicitly subtracting the remaining events which are compatible with background expectations and derive for e.g. a 50 GeV WIMP an upper limit for its inelastic cross section on $^{129}$Xe nuclei of 3.2 pb at the 90% confidence level.
We present the results of stereoscopic observations of the satellite galaxy Segue 1 with the MAGIC Telescopes, carried out between 2011 and 2013. With almost 160 hours of good-quality data, this is the deepest observational campaign on any dwarf galaxy performed so far in the very high energy range of the electromagnetic spectrum. We search this large data sample for signals of dark matter particles in the mass range between 100 GeV and 20 TeV. For this we use the full likelihood analysis method, which provides optimal sensitivity to characteristic gamma-ray spectral features, like those expected from dark matter annihilation or decay. In particular, we focus our search on gamma-rays produced from different final state Standard Model particles, annihilation with internal bremsstrahlung, monochromatic lines and box-shaped signals. Our results represent the most stringent constraints to the annihilation cross-section or decay lifetime obtained from observations of satellite galaxies, for masses above few hundred GeV. In particular, our strongest limit (95% confidence level) corresponds to a ~500 GeV dark matter particle annihilating into tau+tau-, and is of order ~ 1.2x10^{-24} cm^3 s^{-1} - a factor ~40 above the thermal value.
The two arrays of the Very High Energy gamma-ray observatory Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will include four Large Size Telescopes (LSTs) each with a 23 m diameter dish and 28 m focal distance. These telescopes will enable CTA to achieve a low-energy threshold of 20 GeV, which is critical for important studies in astrophysics, astroparticle physics and cosmology. This work presents the key specifications and performance of the current LST design in the light of the CTA scientific objectives.
XMASS, a low-background, large liquid-xenon detector, was used to search for solar axions that would be produced by bremsstrahlung and Compton effects in the Sun. With an exposure of 5.6ton days of liquid xenon, the model-independent limit on the coupling for mass $\ll$ 1keV is $|g_{aee}|< 5.4\times 10^{-11}$ (90% C.L.), which is a factor of two stronger than the existing experimental limit. The bounds on the axion masses for the DFSZ and KSVZ axion models are 1.9 and 250eV, respectively. In the mass range of 10-40keV, this study produced the most stringent limit, which is better than that previously derived from astrophysical arguments regarding the Sun to date.
We present the results of searches for nucleon decay via bound neutron to antineutrino plus pizero and proton to antineutrino plus piplus using data from a combined 172.8 kiloton-years exposure of Super-Kamiokande-I, -II, and -III. We set lower limits on the partial lifetime for each of these modes. For antineutrino pizero, the partial lifetime is >1.1x10^{33} years; for antineutrino piplus, the partial lifetime is >3.9x10^{32} years at 90% confidence level.
A search for light dark matter using low-threshold data from the single phase liquid xenon scintillation detector XMASS, has been conducted. Using the entire 835 kg inner volume as target, the analysis threshold can be lowered to 0.3 keVee (electron-equivalent) to search for light dark matter. With low-threshold data corresponding to a 5591.4 kg$\cdot$day exposure of the detector and without discriminating between nuclear-recoil and electronic events, XMASS excludes part of the parameter space favored by other experiments.
The XMASS project aims to detect dark matter, pp and $^{7}$Be solar neutrinos, and neutrinoless double beta decay using ultra pure liquid xenon. The first phase of the XMASS experiment searches for dark matter. In this paper, we describe the XMASS detector in detail, including its configuration, data acquisition equipment and calibration system.
We present the result of an indirect search for high energy neutrinos from WIMP annihilation in the Sun using upward-going muon (upmu) events at Super-Kamiokande. Datasets from SKI-SKIII (3109.6 days) were used for the analysis. We looked for an excess of neutrino signal from the Sun as compared with the expected atmospheric neutrino background in three upmu categories: stopping, non-showering, and showering. No significant excess was observed. The 90% C.L. upper limits of upward-going muon flux induced by WIMPs of 100 GeV/c$^2$ were 6.4$\times10^{-15}$ cm$^{-2}$ sec$^{-1}$ and 4.0$\times10^{-15}$ cm$^{-2}$ sec$^{-1}$ for the soft and hard annihilation channels, respectively. These limits correspond to upper limits of 4.5$\times10^{-39}$ cm$^{-2}$ and 2.7$\times10^{-40}$ cm$^{-2}$ for spin-dependent WIMP-nucleon scattering cross sections in the soft and hard annihilation channels, respectively.
Searches for a nucleon decay into a charged anti-lepton (e^+ or μ^+) plus a light meson (π^0, π^-, η, ρ^0, ρ^-, ω) were performed using the Super-Kamiokande I and II data. Twelve nucleon decay modes were searched for. The total exposure is 140.9 kiloton \cdot years, which includes a 91.7 kiloton \cdot year exposure (1489.2 live days) of Super-Kamiokande-I and a 49.2 kiloton \cdot year exposure (798.6 live days) of Super-Kamiokande-II. The number of candidate events in the data was consistent with the atmospheric neutrino background expectation. No significant evidence for a nucleon decay was observed in the data. Thus, lower limits on the nucleon partial lifetime at 90% confidence level were obtained. The limits range from 3.6 \times 10^31 to 8.2 \times 10^33 years, depending on the decay modes.
We have searched for proton into muon plus neutral kaon using data from a 91.7 kiloton-year exposure of Super-Kamiokande-I, a 49.2 kiloton-year exposure of Super-Kamiokande-II, and a 31.9 kiloton-year exposure of Super-Kamiokande-III. The number of candidate events in the data was consistent with the atmospheric neutrino background expectation and no evidence for proton decay in this mode was found. We set a partial lifetime lower limit of 1.6x10^33 years at the 90% confidence level.
GUT monopoles captured by the Sun's gravitation are expected to catalyze proton decays via the Callan-Rubakov process. In this scenario, protons, which initially decay into pions, will ultimately produce ν_{e}, ν_μ and \barν_μ. After undergoing neutrino oscillation, all neutrino species appear when they arrive at the Earth, and can be detected by a 50,000 metric ton water Cherenkov detector, Super-Kamiokande (SK). A search for low energy neutrinos in the electron total energy range from 19 to 55 MeV was carried out with SK and gives a monopole flux limit of F_M(σ_0/1 mb) < 6.3 \times 10^{-24} (β_M/10^{-3})^2 cm^{-2} s^{-1} sr^{-1} at 90% C.L., where β_M is the monopole velocity in units of the speed of light and σ_0 is the catalysis cross section at β_M=1. The obtained limit is more than eight orders of magnitude more stringent than the current best cosmic-ray supermassive monopole flux limit, F_M < 1 \times 10^{-15} cm^{-2} s^{-1} sr^{-1} for β_M < 10^{-3} and also two orders of magnitude lower than the result of the Kamiokande experiment, which used a similar detection method.