4,612 research outputs found
Probing the Extragalactic Mid-infrared Background with HAWC
The extragalactic background light (EBL) contains all the radiation emitted by nuclear and accretion processes in stars and compact objects since the epoch of recombination. Measuring the EBL density directly is challenging, especially in the near-to-far-infrared wave band, mainly due to the zodiacal light foreground. Instead, gamma-ray astronomy offers the possibility to indirectly set limits on the EBL by studying the effects of gamma-ray absorption in the very high energy (VHE: \u3e100 GeV) spectra of distant blazars. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov Gamma Ray Observatory (HAWC) is one of the few instruments sensitive to gamma rays with energies above 10 TeV. This offers the opportunity to probe the EBL in the near/mid-IR region: λ = 1-100 Όm. In this study, we fit physically motivated emission models to Fermi-LAT gigaelectronvolt data to extrapolate the intrinsic teraelectronvolt spectra of blazars. We then simulate a large number of absorbed spectra for different randomly generated EBL model shapes and calculate Bayesian credible bands in the EBL intensity space by comparing and testing the agreement between the absorbed spectra and HAWC extragalactic observations of two blazars. The resulting bands are in agreement with current EBL lower and upper limits, showing a downward trend toward higher wavelength values λ \u3e 10 Όm also observed in previous measurements
HAWC Study of the Very-high-energy Îł-Ray Spectrum of HAWC J1844â034
Recently, the region surrounding eHWC J1842â035 has been studied extensively by Îł-ray observatories due to its extended emission reaching up to a few hundred TeV and potential as a hadronic accelerator. In this work, we use 1910 days of cumulative data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory to carry out a dedicated systematic source search of the eHWC J1842â035 region. During the search, we found three sources in the region, namely, HAWC J1844â034, HAWC J1843â032, and HAWC J1846â025. We have identified HAWC J1844â034 as the extended source that emits photons with energies up to 175 TeV. We compute the spectrum for HAWC J1844â034, and by comparing with the observational results from other experiments, we have identified HESS J1843â033, LHAASO J1843â0338, and TASG J1844â038 as very-high-energy Îł-ray sources with a matching origin. Also, we present and use the multiwavelength data to fit the hadronic and leptonic particle spectra. We have identified four pulsar candidates in the nearby region in which PSR J1844â0346 is found to be the most likely candidate due to its proximity to HAWC J1844â034 and the computed energy budget. We have also found SNR G28.6â0.1 as a potential counterpart source of HAWC J1844â034 for which both leptonic and hadronic scenarios are feasible
Detailed Analysis of the TeV Îł-Ray Sources 3HWC J1928+178, 3HWC J1930+188, and the New Source HAWC J1932+192
The latest High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) point-like source catalog up to 56 TeV reported the detection of two sources in the region of the Galactic plane at galactic longitude 52° \u3c â \u3c 55°, 3HWC J1930+188 and 3HWC J1928+178. The first one is associated with a known TeV source, the supernova remnant SNR G054.1+00.3. It was discovered by one of the currently operating Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope (IACT), the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS), detected by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S), and identified as a composite SNR. However, the source 3HWC J1928+178, discovered by HAWC and coincident with the pulsar PSR J1928+1746, was not detected by any IACT despite their long exposure on the region, until a recent new analysis of H.E.S.S. data was able to confirm it. Moreover, no X-ray counterpart has been detected from this pulsar. We present a multicomponent fit of this region using the latest HAWC data. This reveals an additional new source, HAWC J1932+192, which is potentially associated with the pulsar PSR J1932+1916, whose Îł-ray emission could come from the acceleration of particles in its pulsar wind nebula. In the case of 3HWC J1928+178, several possible explanations are explored, in an attempt to unveil the origins of the very-high-energy Îł-ray emission
Constraining the Ratio in TeV Cosmic Rays with Observations of the Moon Shadow by HAWC
An indirect measurement of the antiproton flux in cosmic rays is possible as
the particles undergo deflection by the geomagnetic field. This effect can be
measured by studying the deficit in the flux, or shadow, created by the Moon as
it absorbs cosmic rays that are headed towards the Earth. The shadow is
displaced from the actual position of the Moon due to geomagnetic deflection,
which is a function of the energy and charge of the cosmic rays. The
displacement provides a natural tool for momentum/charge discrimination that
can be used to study the composition of cosmic rays. Using 33 months of data
comprising more than 80 billion cosmic rays measured by the High Altitude Water
Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory, we have analyzed the Moon shadow to search for
TeV antiprotons in cosmic rays. We present our first upper limits on the
fraction, which in the absence of any direct measurements, provide
the tightest available constraints of on the antiproton fraction for
energies between 1 and 10 TeV.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by Physical Review
Very high energy particle acceleration powered by the jets of the microquasar SS 433
SS 433 is a binary system containing a supergiant star that is overflowing
its Roche lobe with matter accreting onto a compact object (either a black hole
or neutron star). Two jets of ionized matter with a bulk velocity of
extend from the binary, perpendicular to the line of sight, and
terminate inside W50, a supernova remnant that is being distorted by the jets.
SS 433 differs from other microquasars in that the accretion is believed to be
super-Eddington, and the luminosity of the system is erg
s. The lobes of W50 in which the jets terminate, about 40 pc from the
central source, are expected to accelerate charged particles, and indeed radio
and X-ray emission consistent with electron synchrotron emission in a magnetic
field have been observed. At higher energies (>100 GeV), the particle fluxes of
rays from X-ray hotspots around SS 433 have been reported as flux
upper limits. In this energy regime, it has been unclear whether the emission
is dominated by electrons that are interacting with photons from the cosmic
microwave background through inverse-Compton scattering or by protons
interacting with the ambient gas. Here we report TeV -ray observations
of the SS 433/W50 system where the lobes are spatially resolved. The TeV
emission is localized to structures in the lobes, far from the center of the
system where the jets are formed. We have measured photon energies of at least
25 TeV, and these are certainly not Doppler boosted, because of the viewing
geometry. We conclude that the emission from radio to TeV energies is
consistent with a single population of electrons with energies extending to at
least hundreds of TeV in a magnetic field of ~micro-Gauss.Comment: Preprint version of Nature paper. Contacts: S. BenZvi, B. Dingus, K.
Fang, C.D. Rho , H. Zhang, H. Zho
Measurement of the Crab Nebula Spectrum Past 100 TeV with HAWC
We present TeV gamma-ray observations of the Crab Nebula, the standard
reference source in ground-based gamma-ray astronomy, using data from the High
Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma-Ray Observatory. In this analysis we use
two independent energy-estimation methods that utilize extensive air shower
variables such as the core position, shower angle, and shower lateral energy
distribution. In contrast, the previously published HAWC energy spectrum
roughly estimated the shower energy with only the number of photomultipliers
triggered. This new methodology yields a much improved energy resolution over
the previous analysis and extends HAWC's ability to accurately measure
gamma-ray energies well beyond 100 TeV. The energy spectrum of the Crab Nebula
is well fit to a log parabola shape with emission up to at least 100 TeV. For the first
estimator, a ground parameter that utilizes fits to the lateral distribution
function to measure the charge density 40 meters from the shower axis, the
best-fit values are
=(2.350.04)10 (TeV cm
s), =2.790.02, and
=0.100.01. For the second estimator, a neural
network which uses the charge distribution in annuli around the core and other
variables, these values are
=(2.310.02)10 (TeV cm
s), =2.730.02, and
=0.060.010.02. The first set of uncertainties are statistical;
the second set are systematic. Both methods yield compatible results. These
measurements are the highest-energy observation of a gamma-ray source to date.Comment: published in Ap
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