arXiv subjects

M. Hauser

Publications and source records attributed to M. Hauser.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

Detection of very-high-energy gamma-ray emission from the vicinity of PSR B1706-44 and G343.1-2.3 with H.E.S.S

The gamma-ray pulsar PSR B1706-44 and the adjacent supernova remnant (SNR) candidate G343.1-2.3 were observed by H.E.S.S. during a dedicated observation campaign in 2007. As a result of this observation campaign, a new source of very-high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission, HESS J1708-443, was detected with a statistical significance of 7 sigma, although no significant point-like emission was detected at the position of the energetic pulsar itself. In this paper, the morphological and spectral analyses of the newly-discovered TeV source are presented. The centroid of HESS J1708-443 is considerably offset from the pulsar and located near the apparent center of the SNR, at RA(J2000) = 17h08m11s +/- 17s and Dec(J2000) = -44d20' +/- 4'. The source is found to be significantly more extended than the H.E.S.S. point spread function (~0.1 deg), with an intrinsic Gaussian width of 0.29 deg +/- 0.04 deg. Its integral flux between 1 and 10 TeV is ~ 3.8 x 10^-12 ph cm^-2 s^-1, equivalent to 17% of the Crab Nebula flux in the same energy range. The measured energy spectrum is well-fit by a power law with a relatively hard photon index Gamma = 2.0 +/- 0.1 (stat) +/- 0.2 (sys). Additional multi-wavelength data, including 330 MHz VLA observations, were used to investigate the VHE gamma-ray source's possible associations with the pulsar wind nebula of PSR B1706-44 and/or with the complex radio structure of the partial shell-type SNR G343.1-2.3.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

Search for Lorentz Invariance breaking with a likelihood fit of the PKS 2155-304 flare data taken on MJD 53944

Several models of Quantum Gravity predict Lorentz Symmetry breaking at energy scales approaching the Planck scale (10^{19} GeV). With present photon data from the observations of distant astrophysical sources, it is possible to constrain the Lorentz Symmetry breaking linear term in the standard photon dispersion relations. Gamma-ray Bursts (GRB) and flaring Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are complementary to each other for this purpose, since they are observed at different distances in different energy ranges and with different levels of variability. Following a previous publication of the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) collaboration, a more sensitive event-by-event method consisting of a likelihood fit is applied to PKS 2155-304 flare data of MJD 53944 (July 28, 2006) as used in the previous publication. The previous limit on the linear term is improved by a factor of ~3 up to M^{l}_{QG} > 2.1x10^{18} GeV and is currently the best result obtained with blazars. The sensitivity to the quadratic term is lower and provides a limit of M^{q}_{QG} > 6.4x10^10 GeV, which is the best value obtained so far with an AGN and similar to the best limits obtained with GRB.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

The first gamma-ray outburst of a Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy: the case of PMN J0948+0022 in July 2010

We report on a multiwavelength campaign on the radio-loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) Galaxy PMN J0948+0022 (z=0.5846) performed in 2010 July-September and triggered by a high-energy gamma-ray outburst observed by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The peak flux in the 0.1-100 GeV energy band exceeded, for the first time in this type of source, the value of 10^-6 ph cm^-2 s^-1, corresponding to an observed luminosity of 10^48 erg s^-1. Although the source was too close to the Sun position to organize a densely sampled follow-up, it was possible to gather some multiwavelength data that confirmed the state of high activity across the sampled electromagnetic spectrum. The comparison of the spectral energy distribution of the NLS1 PMN J0948+0022 with that of a typical blazar - like 3C 273 - shows that the power emitted at gamma rays is extreme.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

H.E.S.S. constraints on Dark Matter annihilations towards the Sculptor and Carina Dwarf Galaxies

The Sculptor and Carina Dwarf spheroidal galaxies were observed with the H.E.S.S. Cherenkov telescope array between January 2008 and December 2009. The data sets consist of a total of 11.8 and 14.8 hours of high quality data, respectively. No gamma-ray signal was detected at the nominal positions of these galaxies above 220 GeV and 320 GeV, respectively. Upper limits on the gamma-ray fluxes at 95% C.L. assuming two forms for the spectral energy distribution (a power law shape and one derived from dark matter annihilation) are obtained at the level of 10^-13 to 10^-12 cm^-2s^-1 in the TeV range. Constraints on the velocity weighted dark matter particle annihilation cross section for both Sculptor and Carina dwarf galaxies range from <σv> ~ 10^-21 cm^3s^-1 down to <σv> ~ 10^-22 cm^3s^-1 depending on the dark matter halo model used. Possible enhancements of the gamma-ray flux are studied: the Sommerfeld effect, which is found to exclude some dark matter particle masses, the internal Bremsstrahlung and clumps in the dark-matter halo distributions.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Discovery and follow-up studies of the extended, off-plane, VHE gamma-ray source HESS J1507-622

Context: The detection of gamma-rays in the very-high-energy (VHE) range (100 GeV-100 TeV) offers the possibility of studying the parent population of ultrarelativistic particles found in astrophysical sources, so it is useful for understanding the underlying astrophysical processes in nonthermal sources. Aim: The discovery of the VHE gamma-ray source HESS J1507-622 is reported and possibilities regarding its nature are investigated. Methods: The H.E.S.S. array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) has a high sensitivity compared with previous instruments (~1% of the Crab flux in 25 hours observation time for a 5 sigma point-source detection) and has a large field of view (~5 deg in diameter). HESS J1507-622 was discovered within the ongoing H.E.S.S. survey of the inner Galaxy, and the source was also studied by means of dedicated multiwavelength observations. Results: A Galactic gamma-ray source, HESS J1507-622, located ~3.5 deg from the Galactic plane was detected with a statistical significance > 9 sigma. Its energy spectrum is well fitted by a power law with spectral index Γ= 2.24 +/- 0.16_{stat} +/- 0.20_{sys} and a flux above 1 TeV of (1.5 +/- 0.4_{stat} +/- 0.3_{sys}) X 10^{-12} cm^{-2} s^{-1}. Possible interpretations (considering both hadronic and leptonic models) of the VHE gamma-ray emission are discussed in the absence of an obvious counterpart.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Revisiting the Westerlund 2 Field with the H.E.S.S. Telescope Array

Aims. Previous observations with the H.E.S.S. telescope array revealed the existence of extended very-high-energy (VHE; E>100 GeV) γ-ray emission, HESS J1023-575, coincident with the young stellar cluster Westerlund 2. At the time of discovery, the origin of the observed emission was not unambiguously identified, and follow-up observations have been performed to further investigate the nature of this γ-ray source. Methods. The Carina region towards the open cluster Westerlund 2 has been re-observed, increasing the total exposure to 45.9 h. The combined dataset includes 33 h of new data and now permits a search for energy-dependent morphology and detailed spectroscopy. Results. A new, hard spectrum VHE γ-ray source, HESSJ1026-582, was discovered with a statistical significance of 7σ. It is positionally coincident with the Fermi LAT pulsar PSR J1028-5819. The positional coincidence and radio/γ-ray characteristics of the LAT pulsar favors a scenario where the TeV emission originates from a pulsar wind nebula. The nature of HESS J1023-575 is discussed in light of the deep H.E.S.S. observations and recent multi-wavelength discoveries, including the Fermi LAT pulsar PSRJ1022-5746 and giant molecular clouds in the region. Despite the improved VHE dataset, a clear identification of the object responsible for the VHE emission from HESS J1023-575 is not yet possible, and contribution from the nearby high-energy pulsar and/or the open cluster remains a possibility.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Relativistic jets in Narrow-Line Seyfert 1

Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) class of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is generally radio-quiet, but a small percent of them are radio-loud. The recent discovery by Fermi/LAT of high-energy gamma-ray emission from 4 NLS1s proved the existence of relativistic jets in these systems. It is therefore important to study this new class of gamma-ray emitting AGNs. Here we report preliminary results about the observations of the July 2010 gamma-ray outburst of PMN J0948+0022, when the source flux exceeded for the first time 10^-6 ph cm^-2 s^-1 (E > 100 MeV).

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Discovery of VHE gamma-rays from the BL Lac object PKS 0548-322

PKS 0548-322 (z=0.069) is a ``high-frequency-peaked'' BL Lac object and a candidate very high energy (VHE, E>100 GeV) gamma-ray emitter, due to its high X-ray and radio flux. Observations at the VHE band provide insights into the origin of very energetic particles present in this source and the radiation processes at work. We report observations made between October 2004 and January 2008 with the H.E.S.S. array, a four imaging atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes. Contemporaneous UV and X-ray observations with the Swift satellite in November 2006 are also reported. PKS 0548-322 is detected for the first time in the VHE band with H.E.S.S. We measure an excess of 216 gamma-rays corresponding to a significance of 5.6 standard deviations. The photon spectrum of the source is described by a power-law, with a photon index of Gamma=2.86 +/- 0.34 (stat) +/- 0.10 (sys). The integral flux above 200 GeV is 1.3 % of the flux of the Crab Nebula, and is consistent with being constant in time. Contemporaneous Swift/XRT observations reveal an X-ray flux between 2 and 10 keV of F_{2-10 keV}=2.3 +/- 0.2 x 10^{-11} erg.cm^{-2}. s^{-1}, an intermediate intensity state with respect to previous observations. The spectral energy distribution can be reproduced using a simple one-zone synchrotron self Compton model, with parameters similar those observed for other sources of this type.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

VHE gamma-ray emission of PKS 2155-304: spectral and temporal variability

Observations of very high energy gamma-rays from blazars provide information about acceleration mechanisms occurring in their innermost regions. Studies of variability in these objects allow a better understanding of the mechanisms at play. To investigate the spectral and temporal variability of VHE (>100 GeV) gamma-rays of the well-known high-frequency-peaked BL Lac object PKS 2155-304 with the H.E.S.S. imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes over a wide range of flux states. Data collected from 2005 to 2007 are analyzed. Spectra are derived on time scales ranging from 3 years to 4 minutes. Light curve variability is studied through doubling timescales and structure functions, and is compared with red noise process simulations. The source is found to be in a low state from 2005 to 2007, except for a set of exceptional flares which occurred in July 2006. The quiescent state of the source is characterized by an associated mean flux level of 4.32 +/-0.09 x 10^-11 cm^-2 s^-1 above 200 GeV, or approximately 15% of the Crab Nebula, and a power law photon index of 3.53 +/-0.06. During the flares of July 2006, doubling timescales of ~2 min are found. The spectral index variation is examined over two orders of magnitude in flux, yielding different behaviour at low and high fluxes,which is a new phenomenon in VHE gamma-ray emitting blazars. The variability amplitude characterized by the fractional r.m.s. is strongly energy-dependent and is proportional to E^(0.19 +/- 0.01). The light curve r.m.s. correlates with the flux. This is the signature of a multiplicative process which can be accounted for as a red noise with a Fourier index of ~2. This unique data set shows evidence for a low level gamma-ray emission state from PKS 2155-304, which possibly has a different origin than the outbursts. The discovery of the light curve lognormal behaviour might be an indicator ..

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Multi-wavelength Observations of H 2356-309

AIMS: The properties of the broad-band emission from the high-frequency peaked BL Lac H 2356-309 (z=0.165) are investigated. METHODS: Very High Energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) observations of H 2356-309 were performed with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) from 2004 through 2007. Simultaneous optical/UV and X-ray observations were made with the XMM-Newton satellite on June 12/13 and June 14/15, 2005. NRT radio observations were also contemporaneously performed in 2005. ATOM optical monitoring observations were also made in 2007. RESULTS: A strong VHE signal, ~13 sigma total, was detected by HESS after the four years HESS observations (116.8 hrs live time). The integral flux above 240 GeV is I(>240 GeV) = (3.06 +- 0.26 {stat} +- 0.61 {syst}) x 10^{-12} cm^{-2} s^{-1}, corresponding to ~1.6% of the flux observed from the Crab Nebula. A time-averaged energy spectrum is measured from 200 GeV to 2 TeV and is characterized by a power law (photon index of Gamma = 3.06 +- 0.15 {stat} +- 0.10 {syst}). Significant small-amplitude variations in the VHE flux from H 2356-309 are seen on time scales of months and years, but not on shorter time scales. No evidence for any variations in the VHE spectral slope are found within these data. The XMM-Newton X-ray measurements show a historically low X-ray state, characterized by a hard, broken-power-law spectrum on both nights. CONCLUSIONS: The broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED) of the blazar can be adequately fit using a simple one-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model. In the SSC scenario, higher VHE fluxes could be expected in the future since the observed X-ray flux is at a historically low level.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

First detection of VHE gamma-rays from SN 1006 by H.E.S.S

Recent theoretical predictions of the lowest very high energy (VHE) luminosity of SN 1006 are only a factor 5 below the previously published H.E.S.S. upper limit, thus motivating further in-depth observations of this source. Deep observations at VHE energies (above 100 GeV) were carried out with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) of Cherenkov Telescopes from 2003 to 2008. More than 100 hours of data have been collected and subjected to an improved analysis procedure. Observations resulted in the detection of VHE gamma-rays from SN 1006. The measured gamma-ray spectrum is compatible with a power-law, the flux is of the order of 1% of that detected from the Crab Nebula, and is thus consistent with the previously established H.E.S.S. upper limit. The source exhibits a bipolar morphology, which is strongly correlated with non-thermal X-rays. Because the thickness of the VHE-shell is compatible with emission from a thin rim, particle acceleration in shock waves is likely to be the origin of the gamma-ray signal. The measured flux level can be accounted for by inverse Compton emission, but a mixed scenario that includes leptonic and hadronic components and takes into account the ambient matter density inferred from observations also leads to a satisfactory description of the multi-wavelength spectrum.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Broadband multi-wavelength campaign on PKS 2005-489

The spectral energy distribution (SED) of high-frequency peaked BL Lac objects (HBL) is characterized by two peaks: one in the UV-X-ray and one in the GeV-TeV regime. An interesting object for analyzing these broadband characteristics is PKS 2005-489, which in 2004 showed the softest TeV spectrum ever measured. In 2009, a multi-wavelength campaign has been conducted with, for the first time, simultaneous observations by H.E.S.S. (TeV), Fermi/LAT (GeV), RXTE (keV), Swift (keV, UV, optical) and ATOM (optical) to cover the two peaks of the SED. During this campaign PKS 2005-489 underwent a high state in all wavebands which gives the opportunity to study in detail the emission processes of a high state of this interesting HBL.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Multiwavelength monitoring of the enigmatic Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 PMN J0948+0022 in March-July 2009

Following the recent discovery of gamma rays from the radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy PMN J0948+0022 (z=0.5846), we started a multiwavelength campaign from radio to gamma rays, which was carried out between the end of March and the beginning of July 2009. The source displayed activity at all the observed wavelengths: a general decreasing trend from optical to gamma-ray frequencies was followed by an increase of radio emission after less than two months from the peak of the gamma-ray emission. The largest flux change, about a factor of about 4, occurred in the X-ray band. The smallest was at ultraviolet and near-infrared frequencies, where the rate of the detected photons dropped by a factor 1.6-1.9. At optical wavelengths, where the sampling rate was the highest, it was possible to observe day-scale variability, with flux variations up to a factor of about 3. The behavior of PMN J0948+0022 observed in this campaign and the calculated power carried out by its jet in the form of protons, electrons, radiation and magnetic field are quite similar to that of blazars, specifically of flat-spectrum radio quasars. These results confirm the idea that radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies host relativistic jets with power similar to that of average blazars.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Fermi/LAT discovery of gamma-ray emission from the flat-spectrum radio quasar PKS 1454-354

We report the discovery by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope of high-energy gamma-ray (GeV) emission from the flat-spectrum radio quasar PKS 1454-354 (z=1.424). On 4 September 2008 the source rose to a peak flux of (3.5 +/- 0.7)x 10^-6 ph cm^-2 s^-1 (E > 100 MeV) on a time scale of hours and then slowly dropped over the following two days. No significant spectral changes occurred during the flare. Fermi/LAT observations also showed that PKS 1454-354 is the most probable counterpart of the unidentified EGRET source 3EG J1500-3509. Multiwavelength measurements performed during the following days (7 September with Swift; 6-7 September with the ground-based optical telescope ATOM; 13 September with the Australia Telescope Compact Array) resulted in radio, optical, UV and X-ray fluxes greater than archival data, confirming the activity of PKS 1454-354.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2008

Unexpected finite-bias visibility dependence in an electronic Mach Zehnder interferometer

We use an electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometer to explore the non-equilibrium coherence of the electron waves within the edge-states that form in the integral quantum Hall effect. The visibility of the interference as a function of bias-voltage and transmission probabilities of the mirrors, which are realized by quantum point-contacts, reveal an unexpected asymmetry at finite bias when the transmission probability $T$ of the mirror at the input of the interferometer is varied between 0 and 100%, while the transmission probability of the other mirror at the output is kept fixed. This can lead to the surprising result of an increasing magnitude of interference with increasing bias-voltage for certain values of $T$. A detailed analysis for various transmission probabilities and different directions of the magnetic field demonstrates that this effect is not related to the transmission characteristics of a single quantum point contact, but is an inherent property of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer with edge-states.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Discovery of VHE gamma-rays from RGB J0152+017

The BL Lac object RGB J0152+017 (z = 0.080) was predicted to be a very high-energy (VHE; > 100 GeV) gamma-ray source, due to its high X-ray and radio fluxes. We report recent observations of this source made in late October and November 2007 with the H.E.S.S. array consisting of four imaging atmospheric Cerenkov telescopes. Contemporaneous observations were made in X-rays with the Swift and RXTE satellites, in the optical band with the ATOM telescope, and in the radio band with the Nancay Radio Telescope. As a result, RGB J0152+017 is discovered as a source of VHE gamma-rays by H.E.S.S. A signal of 173 gamma-ray photons corresponding to a statistical significance of 6.6 sigmas was found in the data. The energy spectrum of the source can be described by a powerlaw with a spectral index of = 2.95 +- 0.36stat +- 0.20syst. The integral flux above 300 GeV corresponds to ~2% of the flux of the Crab nebula. The source spectral energy distribution (SED) can be described using a two-component (extended jet and blob in jet) non-thermal synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) leptonic model, plus a thermal host galaxy component. The parameters that are found are very close to those found for TeV blazars in similar SSC studies. The location of its synchrotron peak, as derived from the SED in Swift data, allows clear classification as a high-frequency-peaked BL Lac (HBL).

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

Critical tunneling currents in the regime of bilayer excitons

We have investigated the tunneling properties of an electron double quantum well system where the lowest Landau level of each quantum well is half filled. This system is expected to be a Bose condensate of excitons. Our four-terminal dc measurements reveal a nearly vanishing interlayer voltage and the existence of critical tunneling currents which depend on the strength of the condensate state.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Evidence of breakdown of the spin symmetry in diluted 2D electron gases

Recent claims of an experimental demonstration of spontaneous spin polarisation in dilute electron gases \cite{young99} revived long standing theoretical discussions \cite{ceper99,bloch}. In two dimensions, the stabilisation of a ferromagnetic fluid might be hindered by the occurrence of the metal-insulator transition at low densities \cite{abra79}. To circumvent localisation in the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) we investigated the low populated second electron subband, where the disorder potential is mainly screened by the high density of the first subband. This letter reports on the breakdown of the spin symmetry in a 2DEG, revealed by the abrupt enhancement of the exchange and correlation terms of the Coulomb interaction, as determined from the energies of the collective charge and spin excitations. Inelastic light scattering experiments and calculations within the time-dependent local spin-density approximation give strong evidence for the existence of a ferromagnetic ground state in the diluted regime.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗