Observing the sky at extremely high energies with the Cherenkov Telescope Array: Status of the GCT project

The Cherenkov Telescope Array is the main global project of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy for the coming decades. Performance will be significantly improved relative to present instruments, allowing a new insight into the high-energy Universe [1]. The nominal CTA southern array will include a sub-array of seventy 4 m telescopes spread over a few square kilometers to study the sky at extremely high energies, with the opening of a new window in the multi-TeV energy range. The Gamma-ray Cherenkov Telescope (GCT) is one of the proposed telescope designs for that sub-array. The GCT prototype recorded its first Cherenkov light on sky in 2015. After an assessment phase in 2016, new observations have been performed successfully in 2017. The GCT collaboration plans to install its first telescopes and cameras on the CTA site in Chile in 2018-2019 and to contribute a number of telescopes to the subsequent CTA production phase.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, ICRC201

Extended two-level quantum dissipative system from bosonization of the elliptic spin-1/2 Kondo model

We study the elliptic spin-1/2 Kondo model (spin-1/2 fermions in one dimension with fully anisotropic contact interactions with a magnetic impurity) in the light of mappings to bosonic systems using the fermion-boson correspondence and associated unitary transformations. We show that for fixed fermion number, the bosonic system describes a two-level quantum dissipative system with two noninteracting copies of infinitely-degenerate upper and lower levels. In addition to the standard tunnelling transitions, and the transitions driven by the dissipative coupling, there are also bath-mediated transitions between the upper and lower states which simultaneously effect shifts in the horizontal degeneracy label. We speculate that these systems could provide new examples of continuous time quantum random walks, which are exactly solvable.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur

Measurement Method for Evaluating the Probability Distribution of the Quality Factor of Mode-Stirred Reverberation Chambers

An original experimental method for determining the empirical probability distribution function (PDF) of the quality factor (Q) of a mode-stirred reverberation chamber is presented. Spectral averaging of S-parameters across a relatively narrow frequency interval at a single pair of locations for the transmitting and receiving antennas is applied to estimate the stored and dissipated energy in the cavity, avoiding the need for spatial scanning to obtain spatial volume or surface averages. The effective number of simultaneously excited cavity modes per stir state, M, can be estimated by fitting the empirical distribution to the parametrized theoretical distribution. The measured results support a previously developed theoretical model for the PDF of Q and show that spectral averaging over a bandwidth as small as a few hundred kHz is sufficient to obtain accurate results.Comment: submitted for publicatio

Connection between type B (or C) and F factorizations and construction of algebras

In a recent paper (Del Sol Mesa A and Quesne C 2000 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 33 4059), we started a systematic study of the connections among different factorization types, suggested by Infeld and Hull, and of their consequences for the construction of algebras. We devised a general procedure for constructing satellite algebras for all the Hamiltonians admitting a type E factorization by using the relationship between type A and E factorizations. Here we complete our analysis by showing that for Hamiltonians admitting a type F factorization, a similar method, starting from either type B or type C ones, leads to other types of algebras. We therefore conclude that the existence of satellite algebras is a characteristic property of type E factorizable Hamiltonians. Our results are illustrated with the detailed discussion of the Coulomb problem.Comment: minor changes, 1 additional reference, final form to be published in JP

Particle Acceleration and Radiation associated with Magnetic Field Generation from Relativistic Collisionless Shocks

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating through an ambient plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find only small differences in the results between no ambient and weak ambient magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. The simulation results show that this instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet head. The ``jitter'' radiation from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Proceedings of 2003 Gamma Ray Burst Conferenc

Particle Acceleration in Relativistic Jets due to Weibel Instability

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating through an ambient plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find only small differences in the results between no ambient and weak ambient magnetic fields. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates particles perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. While some Fermi acceleration may occur at the jet front, the majority of electron acceleration takes place behind the jet front and cannot be characterized as Fermi acceleration. The simulation results show that this instability is responsible for generating and amplifying highly nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields, which contribute to the electron's transverse deflection behind the jet head. The ``jitter'' radiation (Medvedev 2000) from deflected electrons has different properties than synchrotron radiation which is calculated in a uniform magnetic field. This jitter radiation may be important to understanding the complex time evolution and/or spectral structure in gamma-ray bursts, relativistic jets, and supernova remnants.Comment: ApJ, in press, Sept. 20, 2003 (figures with better resolution: http://gammaray.nsstc.nasa.gov/~nishikawa/apjweib.pdf

Particle Acceleration and Magnetic Field Generation in Electron-Positron Relativistic Shocks

Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic electron-positron jet front propagating into an ambient electron-positron plasma with and without initial magnetic fields. We find small differences in the results for no ambient and modest ambient magnetic fields. New simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates jet and ambient particles both perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction. Furthermore, the non-linear fluctuation amplitudes of densities, currents, electric, and magnetic fields in the electron-positron shock are larger than those found in the electron-ion shock studied in a previous paper at the comparable simulation time. This comes from the fact that both electrons and positrons contribute to generation of the Weibel instability. Additionally, we have performed simulations with different electron skin depths. We find that growth times scale inversely with the plasma frequency, and the sizes of structures created by the Weibel instability scale proportional to the electron skin depth. This is the expected result and indicates that the simulations have sufficient grid resolution. The simulation results show that the Weibel instability is responsible for generating and amplifying nonuniform, small-scale magnetic fields which contribute to the electron's (positron's) transverse deflection behind the jet head.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, revised and accepted for ApJ, A full resolution of the paper can be found at http://gammaray.nsstc.nasa.gov/~nishikawa/apjep1.pd

Particle acceleration, magnetic field generation, and emission in relativistic pair jets

Shock acceleration is a ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., Buneman, Weibel and other two-stream instabilities) created in collisionless shocks are responsible for particle (electron, positron, and ion) acceleration. Using a 3-D relativistic electromagnetic particle (REMP) code, we have investigated particle acceleration associated with a relativistic jet front propagating into an ambient plasma. We find that the growth times of Weibel instability are proportional to the Lorentz factors of jets. Simulations show that the Weibel instability created in the collisionless shock front accelerates jet and ambient particles both perpendicular and parallel to the jet propagation direction.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Il nuovo cimento (4th Workshop Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Afterglow Era, Rome, 18-22 October 2004

Stability Properties of Strongly Magnetized Spine Sheath Relativistic Jets

The linearized relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) equations describing a uniform axially magnetized cylindrical relativistic jet spine embedded in a uniform axially magnetized relativistically moving sheath are derived. The displacement current is retained in the equations so that effects associated with Alfven wave propagation near light speed can be studied. A dispersion relation for the normal modes is obtained. Analytical solutions for the normal modes in the low and high frequency limits are found and a general stability condition is determined. A trans-Alfvenic and even a super-Alfvenic relativistic jet spine can be stable to velocity shear driven Kelvin-Helmholtz modes. The resonance condition for maximum growth of the normal modes is obtained in the kinetically and magnetically dominated regimes. Numerical solution of the dispersion relation verifies the analytical solutions and is used to study the regime of high sound and Alfven speeds.Comment: 42 pages includes 7 figures, to appear in Ap