arXiv subjects

T. Hassan

Publications and source records attributed to T. Hassan.

104 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

EBL Constraints Using a Sample of TeV Gamma-Ray Emitters Measured with the MAGIC Telescopes

MAGIC is a stereoscopic system of two Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes operating in the very high energy (VHE) range from about 50 GeV to over 50 TeV. The VHE gamma-ray spectra measured at Earth carry an imprint of the extragalactic background light (EBL) and can be used to study the EBL density and its evolution in time. In the last few years, precision measurements of several blazars in the redshift range from z=0.03 up to z=0.9 were performed with MAGIC obtaining strong limits on the EBL density from single sources. In this paper, we present the results from a combined likelihood analysis using this broad redshift range sample of blazars allowing us to probe the EBL at different wavelengths. The implications on the EBL models and perspectives for future observations with MAGIC are also discussed.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2016

GammaLib and ctools: A software framework for the analysis of astronomical gamma-ray data

The field of gamma-ray astronomy has seen important progress during the last decade, yet there exists so far no common software framework for the scientific analysis of gamma-ray telescope data. We propose to fill this gap by means of the GammaLib software, a generic library that we have developed to support the analysis of gamma-ray event data. GammaLib has been written in C++ and all functionality is available in Python through an extension module. On top of this framework we have developed the ctools software package, a suite of software tools that enables building of flexible workflows for the analysis of Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope event data. The ctools are inspired by science analysis software available for existing high-energy astronomy instruments, and they follow the modular ftools model developed by the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center. The ctools have been written in Python and C++, and can be either used from the command line, via shell scripts, or directly from Python. In this paper we present the GammaLib and ctools software versions 1.0 that have been released end of 2015. GammaLib and ctools are ready for the science analysis of Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope event data, and also support the analysis of Fermi-LAT data and the exploitation of the COMPTEL legacy data archive. We propose to use ctools as the Science Tools software for the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory.

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arXiv2015

Monte Carlo Performance Studies of Candidate Sites for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next-generation gamma-ray observatory with sensitivity in the energy range from 20 GeV to beyond 300 TeV. CTA is proposed to consist of two arrays of 40-100 imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, with one site located in each of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The evaluation process for the candidate sites for CTA is supported by detailed Monte Carlo simulations, which take different attributes like site altitude and geomagnetic field configuration into account. In this contribution we present the comparison of the sensitivity and performance of the different CTA site candidates for the measurement of very-high energy gamma rays.

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arXiv2015

Second large-scale Monte Carlo study for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) represents the next generation of ground based instruments for Very High Energy gamma-ray astronomy. It is expected to improve on the sensitivity of current instruments by an order of magnitude and provide energy coverage from 20 GeV to more than 200 TeV. In order to achieve these ambitious goals Monte Carlo (MC) simulations play a crucial role, guiding the design of CTA. Here, results of the second large-scale MC production are reported, providing a realistic estimation of feasible array candidates for both Northern and Sourthern Hemisphere sites performance, placing CTA capabilities into the context of the current generation of High Energy $γ$-ray detectors.

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arXiv2015

Layout design studies for medium-sized telescopes within the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is an international project for a next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory. CTA, conceived as an array of tens of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, comprising small, medium and large-size telescopes, is aiming to improve on the sensitivity of current-generation experiments by an order of magnitude and provide energy coverage from 20 GeV to more than 300 TeV. In this study we explore how the medium-sized telescopes layout design and composition impacts the overall CTA performance by analyzing Monte Carlo simulations including Davies-Cotton and Schwarzschild-Couder medium-sized telescopes.

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arXiv2013

The Cherenkov Telescope Array Large Size Telescope

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.

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arXiv2013

Active Galactic Nuclei under the scrutiny of CTA

Active Galactic Nuclei (hereafter AGN) produce powerful outflows which offer excellent conditions for efficient particle acceleration in internal and external shocks, turbulence, and magnetic reconnection events. The jets as well as particle accelerating regions close to the supermassive black holes (hereafter SMBH) at the intersection of plasma inflows and outflows, can produce readily detectable very high energy gamma-ray emission. As of now, more than 45 AGN including 41 blazars and 4 radiogalaxies have been detected by the present ground-based gamma-ray telescopes, which represents more than one third of the cosmic sources detected so far in the VHE gamma-ray regime. The future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) should boost the sample of AGN detected in the VHE range by about one order of magnitude, shedding new light on AGN population studies, and AGN classification and unification schemes. CTA will be a unique tool to scrutinize the extreme high-energy tail of accelerated particles in SMBH environments, to revisit the central engines and their associated relativistic jets, and to study the particle acceleration and emission mechanisms, particularly exploring the missing link between accretion physics, SMBH magnetospheres and jet formation. Monitoring of distant AGN will be an extremely rewarding observing program which will inform us about the inner workings and evolution of AGN. Furthermore these AGN are bright beacons of gamma-rays which will allow us to constrain the extragalactic infrared and optical backgrounds as well as the intergalactic magnetic field, and will enable tests of quantum gravity and other "exotic" phenomena.

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arXiv2012

Gamma-Ray Active Galactic Nucleus Type through Machine-Learning Algorithms

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is producing the most detailed inventory of the gamma-ray sky to date. Despite tremendous achievements approximately 25% of all Fermi extragalactic sources in the Second Fermi LAT Catalogue (2FGL) are listed as active galactic nuclei (AGN) of uncertain type. Typically, these are suspected blazar candidates without a conclusive optical spectrum or lacking spectroscopic observations. Here, we explore the use of machine-learning algorithms - Random Forests and Support Vector Machines - to predict specific AGN subclass based on observed gamma-ray spectral properties. After training and testing on identified/associated AGN from the 2FGL we find that 235 out of 269 AGN of uncertain type have properties compatible with gamma-ray BL Lacs and flat-spectrum radio quasars with accuracy rates of 85%. Additionally, direct comparison of our results with class predictions made after following the infrared colour-colour space of Massaro et al. (2012) show that the agreement rate is over four-fifths for 54 overlapping sources, providing independent cross validation. These results can help tailor follow-up spectroscopic programs and inform future pointed surveys with ground-based Cherenkov telescopes.

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arXiv2012

Pulsar Prospects for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

In the last few years, the Fermi-LAT telescope has discovered over a 100 pulsars at energies above 100 MeV, increasing the number of known gamma-ray pulsars by an order of magnitude. In parallel, imaging Cherenkov telescopes, such as MAGIC and VERITAS, have detected for the first time VHE pulsed gamma-rays from the Crab pulsar. Such detections have revealed that the Crab VHE spectrum follows a power-law up to at least 400 GeV, challenging most theoretical models, and opening wide possibilities of detecting more pulsars from the ground with the future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). In this contribution, we study the capabilities of CTA for detecting Fermi pulsars. For this, we extrapolate their spectra with "Crab-like" power-law tails in the VHE range, as suggested by the latest MAGIC and VERITAS results.

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arXiv2012

Prospects for Observations of Pulsars and Pulsar Wind Nebulae with CTA

The last few years have seen a revolution in very-high gamma-ray astronomy (VHE; E>100 GeV) driven largely by a new generation of Cherenkov telescopes (namely the H.E.S.S. telescope array, the MAGIC and MAGIC-II large telescopes and the VERITAS telescope array). The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project foresees a factor of 5 to 10 improvement in sensitivity above 0.1 TeV, extending the accessible energy range to higher energies up to 100 TeV, in the Galactic cut-off regime, and down to a few tens GeV, covering the VHE photon spectrum with good energy and angular resolution. As a result of the fast development of the VHE field, the number of pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe) detected has increased from one PWN in the early '90s to more than two dozen firm candidates today. Also, the low energy threshold achieved and good sensitivity at TeV energies has resulted in the detection of pulsed emission from the Crab Pulsar (or its close environment) opening new and exiting expectations about the pulsed spectra of the high energy pulsars powering PWNe. Here we discuss the physics goals we aim to achieve with CTA on pulsar and PWNe physics evaluating the response of the instrument for different configurations.

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arXiv2012

Surveys with the Cherenkov Telescope Array

Surveys open up unbiased discovery space and generate legacy datasets of long-lasting value. One of the goals of imaging arrays of Cherenkov telescopes like CTA is to survey areas of the sky for faint very high energy gamma-ray (VHE) sources, especially sources that would not have drawn attention were it not for their VHE emission (e.g. the Galactic "dark accelerators"). More than half the currently known VHE sources are to be found in the Galactic plane. Using standard techniques, CTA can carry out a survey of the region |l|<60 degrees, |b|<2 degrees in 250 hr (1/4th the available time per year at one location) down to a uniform sensitivity of 3 mCrab (a "Galactic Plane survey"). CTA could also survey 1/4th of the sky down to a sensitivity of 20 mCrab in 370 hr of observing time (an "all-sky survey"), which complements well the surveys by the Fermi/LAT at lower energies and extended air shower arrays at higher energies. Observations in (non-standard) divergent pointing mode may shorten the "all-sky survey" time to about 100 hr with no loss in survey sensitivity. We present the scientific rationale for these surveys, their place in the multi-wavelength context, their possible impact and their feasibility. We find that the Galactic Plane survey has the potential to detect hundreds of sources. Implementing such a survey should be a major goal of CTA. Additionally, about a dozen blazars, or counterparts to Fermi/LAT sources, are expected to be detected by the all-sky survey, whose prime motivation is the search for extragalactic "dark accelerators".

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arXiv2012

Dark Matter and Fundamental Physics with the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a project for a next-generation observatory for very high energy (GeV-TeV) ground-based gamma-ray astronomy, currently in its design phase, and foreseen to be operative a few years from now. Several tens of telescopes of 2-3 different sizes, distributed over a large area, will allow for a sensitivity about a factor 10 better than current instruments such as H.E.S.S, MAGIC and VERITAS, an energy coverage from a few tens of GeV to several tens of TeV, and a field of view of up to 10 deg. In the following study, we investigate the prospects for CTA to study several science questions that influence our current knowledge of fundamental physics. Based on conservative assumptions for the performance of the different CTA telescope configurations, we employ a Monte Carlo based approach to evaluate the prospects for detection. First, we discuss CTA prospects for cold dark matter searches, following different observational strategies: in dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, in the region close to the Galactic Centre, and in clusters of galaxies. The possible search for spatial signatures, facilitated by the larger field of view of CTA, is also discussed. Next we consider searches for axion-like particles which, besides being possible candidates for dark matter may also explain the unexpectedly low absorption by extragalactic background light of gamma rays from very distant blazars. Simulated light-curves of flaring sources are also used to determine the sensitivity to violations of Lorentz Invariance by detection of the possible delay between the arrival times of photons at different energies. Finally, we mention searches for other exotic physics with CTA.

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arXiv2012

Fermi's Sibyl: Mining the gamma-ray sky for dark matter subhaloes

Dark matter annihilation signals coming from Galactic subhaloes may account for a small fraction of unassociated point sources detected in the Second Fermi-LAT catalogue (2FGL). To investigate this possibility, we present Sibyl, a Random Forest classifier that offers predictions on class memberships for unassociated Fermi-LAT sources at high Galactic latitudes using gamma-ray features extracted from the 2FGL. Sibyl generates a large ensemble of classification trees that are trained to vote on whether a particular object is an active galactic nucleus (AGN) or a pulsar. After training on a list of 908 identified/associated 2FGL sources, Sibyl reaches individual accuracy rates of up to 97.7% for AGNs and 96.5% for pulsars. Predictions for the 269 unassociated 2FGL sources at |b| > 10 degrees suggest that 216 are potential AGNs and 16 are potential pulsars (with majority votes greater than 70%). The remaining 37 objects are inconclusive, but none is an extreme outlier. These results could guide future quests for dark matter Galactic subhaloes.

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arXiv2012

AGN Forecasts for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The First Fermi-LAT catalog (1FGL) represents the most complete list of sources in the GeV sky to date. We use the reported 1FGL spectral parameters to extrapolate Fermi AGN spectra to the very-high energy (VHE) range (15 GeV - 300 TeV). The extrapolated VHE spectra are then attenuated using current estimations of the extragalactic background light (EBL) absorption as a function of redshift. Using the expected effective areas and background rates of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) from Monte Carlo simulations, we make a first order prediction of the AGN population accessible to CTA in the VHE sky. We find that CTA should easily triple the AGN detection rate of current ground-based Cherenkov telescopes. In addition, CTA will allow unprecedented access to high-redshift blazars out to z ~ 2, and hence will start to reveal the EBL shape with gamma-ray observations.

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