G. Gyuk

Detection of Pulsed Gamma Rays Above 100 GeV from the Crab Pulsar

This detection constrains the mechanism and emission region of gamma-ray radiation in the pulsar’s magnetosphere. We report the detection of pulsed gamma rays from the Crab pulsar at energies above 100 giga–electron volts (GeV) with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) array of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. The detection cannot be explained on the basis of current pulsar models. The photon spectrum of pulsed emission between 100 mega–electron volts and 400 GeV is described by a broken power law that is statistically preferred over a power law with an exponential cutoff. It is unlikely that the observation can be explained by invoking curvature radiation as the origin of the observed gamma rays above 100 GeV. Our findings require that these gamma rays be produced more than 10 stellar radii from the neutron star.

The first VERITAS telescope

Abstract The first atmospheric Cherenkov telescope of VERITAS (the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) has been in operation since February 2005. We present here a technical description of the instrument and a summary of its performance. The calibration methods are described, along with the results of Monte Carlo simulations of the telescope and comparisons between real and simulated data. The analysis of TeV γ-ray observations of the Crab Nebula, including the reconstructed energy spectrum, is shown to give results consistent with earlier measurements. The telescope is operating as expected and has met or exceeded all design specifications.

Observation of Extended Very High Energy Emission from the Supernova Remnant Ic 443 with Veritas

We present evidence that the very-high-energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission coincident with the supernova remnant IC 443 is extended. IC 443 contains one of the best-studied sites of supernova remnant/molecular cloud interaction and the pulsar wind nebula CXOU J061705.3+222127, both of which are important targets for VHE observations. VERITAS observed IC 443 for 37.9 hours during 2007 and detected emission above 300 GeV with an excess of 247 events, resulting in a significance of 8.3 standard deviations (sigma) before trials and 7.5 sigma after trials in a point-source search. The emission is centered at 06 16 51 +22 30 11 (J2000) +- 0.03_stat +- 0.08_sys degrees, with an intrinsic extension of 0.16 +- 0.03_stat +- 0.04_sys degrees. The VHE spectrum is well fit by a power law (dN/dE = N_0 * (E/TeV)^-Gamma) with a photon index of 2.99 +- 0.38_stat +- 0.3_sys and an integral flux above 300 GeV of (4.63 +- 0.90_stat +- 0.93_sys) * 10^-12 cm^-2 s^-1. These results are discussed in the context of existing models for gamma-ray production in IC 443.

CONSTRAINTS ON COSMIC RAYS, MAGNETIC FIELDS, AND DARK MATTER FROM GAMMA-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF THE COMA CLUSTER OF GALAXIES WITH VERITAS AND FERMI

Observations of radio halos and relics in galaxy clusters indicate efficient electron acceleration. Protons should likewise be accelerated and, on account of weak energy losses, can accumulate, suggesting that clusters may also be sources of very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emission. We report here on VHE gamma-ray observations of the Coma galaxy cluster with the VERITAS array of imaging Cerenkov telescopes, with complementing Fermi Large Area Telescope observations at GeV energies. No significant gamma-ray emission from the Coma Cluster was detected. Integral flux upper limits at the 99% confidence level were measured to be on the order of (2-5) × 10–8 photons m –2 s –1 (VERITAS, >220 GeV) and ~2 × 10–6 photons m –2 s –1 (Fermi, 1-3 GeV), respectively. We use the gamma-ray upper limits to constrain cosmic rays (CRs) and magnetic fields in Coma. Using an analytical approach, the CR-to-thermal pressure ratio is constrained to be <16% from VERITAS data and <1.7% from Fermi data (averaged within the virial radius). These upper limits are starting to constrain the CR physics in self-consistent cosmological cluster simulations and cap the maximum CR acceleration efficiency at structure formation shocks to be <50%. Alternatively, this may argue for non-negligible CR transport processes such as CR streaming and diffusion into the outer cluster regions. Assuming that the radio-emitting electrons of the Coma halo result from hadronic CR interactions, the observations imply a lower limit on the central magnetic field in Coma of ~(2-5.5) μG, depending on the radial magnetic field profile and on the gamma-ray spectral index. Since these values are below those inferred by Faraday rotation measurements in Coma (for most of the parameter space), this renders the hadronic model a very plausible explanation of the Coma radio halo. Finally, since galaxy clusters are dark matter (DM) dominated, the VERITAS upper limits have been used to place constraints on the thermally averaged product of the total self-annihilation cross section and the relative velocity of the DM particles, σv.

The Local Halo Density

For almost 20 years models of the Galaxy have included a dark halo responsible for supporting a substantial fraction of the local rotation velocity and a flat rotation curve at large distances. Estimates of the local halo density range from 2 × 10-25 g cm-3 to 10 × 10-25 g cm-3. By careful modeling of the Galaxy, taking account of the evidence that dark halos are flattened and recent microlensing data, we arrive at a more quantitative estimate, 9.2+ 3.8−3.1 × 10-25 g cm-3. Microlensing toward the LMC indicates that only a small fraction, less than ~30%, can be in the form of MACHOs, which is consistent with the idea that most of the halo consists of cold dark matter particles.

VERITAS deep observations of the dwarf spheroidal galaxy Segue 1

The VERITAS array of Cherenkov telescopes has carried out a deep observational program on the nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxy Segue 1. We report on the results of nearly 48 hours of good quality selected data, taken between January 2010 and May 2011. No significant γ-ray emission is detected at the nominal position of Segue 1, and upper limits on the integrated flux are derived. According to recent studies, Segue 1 is the most dark matter-dominated dwarf spheroidal galaxy currently known. We derive stringent bounds on various annihilating and decaying dark matter particle models. The upper limits on the velocity-weighted annihilation cross-section are ⟨σv⟩95% CL≲10−23 cm3 s−1, improving our limits from previous observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies by at least a factor of 2 for dark matter particle masses mχ≳300 GeV. The lower limits on the decay lifetime are at the level of τ95% CL≳1024 s. Finally, we address the interpretation of the cosmic ray lepton anomalies measured by ATIC and PAMELA in terms of dark matter annihilation, and show that the VERITAS observations of Segue 1 disfavor such a scenario.

Observation of Gamma-Ray Emission from the Galaxy M87 above 250 GeV with VERITAS

The multiwavelength observation of the nearby radio galaxy M87 provides a unique opportunity to study in detail processes occurring in Active Galactic Nuclei from radio waves to TeV -rays. Here we report the detection of -ray emission above 250GeV from M87 in spring 2007 with the VERITAS atmospheric Cherenkov telescope array and discuss its correlation with the X-ray emission. The -ray emission is measured to be point-like with an intrinsic source radius less than 4.5 arcmin. The differential energy spectrum is fitted well by a power-law function: d�/dE=(7.4±1.3stat±1.5sys)× (E/TeV) (−2.31±0.17 stat±0.2sys) 10 −9 m −2 s −1 TeV −1 . We show strong evidence for a year-scale correlation between the -ray flux reported by TeV experiments and the X-ray emission measured by the ASM/RXTE observatory, and discuss the possible short-time-scale variability. These results imply that the -ray emission from M87 is more likely associated with the core of the galaxy than with other bright X-ray features in the jet.

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.

Veritas search for VHE gamma-ray emission from dwarf spheroidal galaxies

Indirect dark matter searches with ground-based gamma-ray observatories provide an alternative for identifying the particle nature of dark matter that is complementary to that of direct search or accelerator production experiments. We present the results of observations of the dwarf spheroidal galaxies Draco, Ursa Minor, Bo¨ 1, and Willman 1 conducted by the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). These galaxies are nearby dark matter dominated objects located at a typical distance of several tens of kiloparsecs for which there are good measurements of the dark matter density profile from stellar velocity measurements. Since the conventional astrophysical background of very high energy gamma rays from these objects appears to be negligible, they are good targets to search for the secondary gamma-ray photons produced by interacting or decaying dark matter particles. No significant gamma-ray flux above 200 GeV was detected from these four dwarf galaxies for a typical exposure of ∼20 hr. The 95% confidence upper limits on the integral gamma-ray flux are in the range (0.4–2.2) × 10 −12 photons cm −2 s −1 . We interpret this limiting flux in the context of pair annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) and derive constraints on the thermally averaged product of the total self-annihilation cross section and the relative velocity of the WIMPs (� σv � 10 −23 cm 3 s −1 for mχ 300 GeVc −2 ). This limit is obtained under conservative assumptions regarding the dark matter distribution in dwarf galaxies and is approximately 3 orders of magnitude above the generic theoretical prediction for WIMPs in the minimal supersymmetric standard model framework. However, significant uncertainty exists in the dark matter distribution as well as the neutralino cross sections which under favorable assumptions could further lower this limit.

Observations of the shell-type supernova remnant cassiopeia a at TeV energies with veritas

We report on observations of very high energy γ rays from the shell-type supernova remnant (SNR) Cassiopeia A with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System stereoscopic array of four imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes in Arizona. The total exposure time for these observations is 22 hr, accumulated between September and November of 2007. The γ-ray source associated with the SNR Cassiopeia A was detected above 200 GeV with a statistical significance of 8.3σ. The estimated integral flux for this γ-ray source is about 3% of the Crab-Nebula flux. The photon spectrum is compatible with a power law dN/dE E –Γ with an index Γ = 2.61 ± 0.24stat ± 0.2sys. The data are consistent with a point-like source. We provide a detailed description of the analysis results and discuss physical mechanisms that may be responsible for the observed γ-ray emission.