273 research outputs found
Gamma-ray Observations Under Bright Moonlight with VERITAS
Imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) are equipped with sensitive
photomultiplier tube (PMT) cameras. Exposure to high levels of background
illumination degrades the efficiency of and potentially destroys these
photo-detectors over time, so IACTs cannot be operated in the same
configuration in the presence of bright moonlight as under dark skies. Since
September 2012, observations have been carried out with the VERITAS IACTs under
bright moonlight (defined as about three times the night-sky-background (NSB)
of a dark extragalactic field, typically occurring when Moon illumination >
35%) in two observing modes, firstly by reducing the voltage applied to the
PMTs and, secondly, with the addition of ultra-violet (UV) bandpass filters to
the cameras. This has allowed observations at up to about 30 times previous NSB
levels (around 80% Moon illumination), resulting in 30% more observing time
between the two modes over the course of a year. These additional observations
have already allowed for the detection of a flare from the 1ES 1727+502 and for
an observing program targeting a measurement of the cosmic-ray positron
fraction. We provide details of these new observing modes and their performance
relative to the standard VERITAS observations
VERITAS Observations of the BL Lac Object 1ES 1218+304
The VERITAS collaboration reports the detection of very-high-energy (VHE)
gamma-ray emission from the high-frequency-peaked BL Lac object 1ES 1218+304
located at a redshift of z=0.182. A gamma-ray signal was detected with high
statistical significance for the observations taken during several months in
the 2006-2007 observing season. The photon spectrum between ~160 GeV and ~1.8
TeV is well described by a power law with an index of Gamma = 3.08 +/-
0.34(stat) +/- 0.2(sys). The integral flux above 200 GeV corresponds to ~6% of
that of the Crab Nebula. The light curve does not show any evidence for VHE
flux variability. Using lower limits on the density of the extragalactic
background light (EBL) in the near-IR to mid-IR we are able to limit the range
of intrinsic energy spectra for 1ES 1218+304. We show that the intrinsic photon
spectrum is harder than a power law with an index of Gamma = 2.32 +/- 0.37.
When including constraints from the spectra of 1ES 1101-232 and 1ES 0229+200,
the spectrum of 1ES 1218+304 is likely to be harder than Gamma = 1.86 +/- 0.37.Comment: Submitted to Proceedings of "4th Heidelberg International Symposium
on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy 2008
Status of the VERITAS Observatory
VERITAS, an Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope (IACT) system for
gammma-ray astronomy in the GeV-TeV range, has recently completed its first
season of observations with a full array of four telescopes. A number of
astrophysical gamma-ray sources have been detected, both galactic and
extragalactic, including sources previously unknown at TeV energies. We
describe the status of the array and some highlight results, and assess the
technical performance, sensitivity and shower reconstruction capabilities.Comment: Submitted to Proceedings of "4th Heidelberg International Symposium
on High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy 2008
VERITAS Observations of the gamma-Ray Binary LS I +61 303
LS I +61 303 is one of only a few high-mass X-ray binaries currently detected
at high significance in very high energy gamma-rays. The system was observed
over several orbital cycles (between September 2006 and February 2007) with the
VERITAS array of imaging air-Cherenkov telescopes. A signal of gamma-rays with
energies above 300 GeV is found with a statistical significance of 8.4 standard
deviations. The detected flux is measured to be strongly variable; the maximum
flux is found during most orbital cycles at apastron. The energy spectrum for
the period of maximum emission can be characterized by a power law with a
photon index of Gamma=2.40+-0.16_stat+-0.2_sys and a flux above 300 GeV
corresponding to 15-20% of the flux from the Crab Nebula.Comment: accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
Discovery of Very High Energy Gamma Rays from 1ES 1440+122
The BL Lacertae object 1ES 1440+122 was observed in the energy range from 85
GeV to 30 TeV by the VERITAS array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes.
The observations, taken between 2008 May and 2010 June and totalling 53 hours,
resulted in the discovery of -ray emission from the blazar, which has a
redshift =0.163. 1ES 1440+122 is detected at a statistical significance of
5.5 standard deviations above the background with an integral flux of
(2.8) 10
cm s (1.2\% of the Crab Nebula's flux) above 200 GeV. The
measured spectrum is described well by a power law from 0.2 TeV to 1.3 TeV with
a photon index of 3.1 0.4 0.2.
Quasi-simultaneous multi-wavelength data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope
(0.3--300 GeV) and the Swift X-ray Telescope (0.2--10 keV) are additionally
used to model the properties of the emission region. A synchrotron self-Compton
model produces a good representation of the multi-wavelength data. Adding an
external-Compton or a hadronic component also adequately describes the data.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
VERITAS and Multiwavelength Observations of the BL Lacertae Object 1ES 1741+196
We present results from multiwavelength observations of the BL Lacertae
object 1ES 1741+196, including results in the very-high-energy -ray
regime using the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System
(VERITAS). The VERITAS time-averaged spectrum, measured above 180 GeV, is
well-modelled by a power law with a spectral index of
. The integral flux above 180
GeV is
m s, corresponding to 1.6% of the Crab Nebula flux on average.
The multiwavelength spectral energy distribution of the source suggests that
1ES 1741+196 is an extreme-high-frequency-peaked BL Lacertae object. The
observations analysed in this paper extend over a period of six years, during
which time no strong flares were observed in any band. This analysis is
therefore one of the few characterizations of a blazar in a non-flaring state.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Observations of the unidentified gamma-ray source TeV J2032+4130 by VERITAS
TeV J2032+4130 was the first unidentified source discovered at very high
energies (VHE; E 100 GeV), with no obvious counterpart in any other
wavelength. It is also the first extended source to be observed in VHE gamma
rays. Following its discovery, intensive observational campaigns have been
carried out in all wavelengths in order to understand the nature of the object,
which have met with limited success. We report here on a deep observation of
TeV J2032+4130, based on 48.2 hours of data taken from 2009 to 2012 by the
VERITAS (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) experiment.
The source is detected at 8.7 standard deviations () and is found to be
extended and asymmetric with a width of 9.51.2 along
the major axis and 4.00.5 along the minor axis. The
spectrum is well described by a differential power law with an index of 2.10
0.14 0.21 and a normalization of (9.5
1.6 2.2) 10TeV cm
s at 1 TeV. We interpret these results in the context of multiwavelength
scenarios which particularly favor the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) interpretation
Evidence for long-term Gamma-ray and X-ray variability from the unidentified TeV source HESS J0632+057
HESS J0632+057 is one of only two unidentified very-high-energy gamma-ray
sources which appear to be point-like within experimental resolution. It is
possibly associated with the massive Be star MWC 148 and has been suggested to
resemble known TeV binary systems like LS I +61 303 or LS 5039. HESS J0632+057
was observed by VERITAS for 31 hours in 2006, 2008 and 2009. During these
observations, no significant signal in gamma rays with energies above 1 TeV was
detected from the direction of HESS J0632+057. A flux upper limit corresponding
to 1.1% of the flux of the Crab Nebula has been derived from the VERITAS data.
The non-detection by VERITAS excludes with a probability of 99.993% that HESS
J0632+057 is a steady gamma-ray emitter. Contemporaneous X-ray observations
with Swift XRT reveal a factor of 1.8+-0.4 higher flux in the 1-10 keV range
than earlier X-ray observations of HESS J0632+057. The variability in the
gamma-ray and X-ray fluxes supports interpretation of the ob ject as a
gamma-ray emitting binary.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Discovery of Very High-Energy Gamma-Ray Radiation from the BL Lac 1ES 0806+524
The high-frequency-peaked BL-Lacertae object \objectname{1ES 0806+524}, at
redshift z=0.138, was observed in the very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray regime
by VERITAS between November 2006 and April 2008. These data encompass the two-,
and three-telescope commissioning phases, as well as observations with the full
four-telescope array. \objectname{1ES 0806+524} is detected with a statistical
significance of 6.3 standard deviations from 245 excess events. Little or no
measurable variability on monthly time scales is found. The photon spectrum for
the period November 2007 to April 2008 can be characterized by a power law with
photon index between
300 GeV and 700 GeV. The integral flux above 300 GeV is
which corresponds to 1.8% of the Crab Nebula flux. Non contemporaneous
multiwavelength observations are combined with the VHE data to produce a
broadband spectral energy distribution that can be reasonably described using a
synchrotron-self Compton model.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, accepted to APJ
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