Richard Allen Scalzo

High-Energy Gamma-Ray Observations of the Crab Nebula and Pulsar with the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cerenkov Effect Experiment

The Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE) is a new ground-based atmospheric Cherenkov telescope for gamma-ray astronomy. STACEE uses the large mirror area of a solar heliostat facility to achieve a low energy threshold. A prototype experiment which uses 32 heliostat mirrors with a total mirror area of ~ 1200unit{m^2} has been constructed. This prototype, called STACEE-32, was used to search for high energy gamma-ray emission from the Crab Nebula and Pulsar. Observations taken between November 1998 and February 1999 yield a strong statistical excess of gamma-like events from the Crab, with a significance of

The STACEE-32 ground based gamma-ray detector

+6.75sigma

STACEE Observations of Markarian 421 during an Extended Gamma-Ray Outburst

in 43 hours of on-source observing time. No evidence for pulsed emission from the Crab Pulsar was found, and the upper limit on the pulsed fraction of the observed excess was E_{th}) = (2.2 pm 0.6 pm 0.2) times 10^{-10}unit{photons cm^{-2} s^{-1}}. The observed flux is in agreement with a continuation to lower energies of the power law spectrum seen at TeV energies.

HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF W COMAE WITH THE SOLAR TOWER ATMOSPHERIC CERENKOV EFFECT EXPERIMENT (STACEE)

We describe the design and performance of the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment detector in its initial configuration (STACEE-32). STACEE is a new ground-based gamma-ray detector using the atmospheric Cherenkov technique. In STACEE, the heliostats of a solar energy research array are used to collect and focus the Cherenkov photons produced in gamma-ray induced air showers. The large Cherenkov photon collection area of STACEE results in a gamma-ray energy threshold below that of previous detectors.

The STACEE ground-based gamma-ray detector

The active galaxy Markarian 421 underwent a substantial outburst in early 2001. Between January and May of that year, the STACEE detector was used to observe the source in γ-rays between the energies of 50 and 500 GeV. These observations represent the lowest energy γ-ray detection of this outburst by a ground-based experiment. Here we present results from these observations, which indicate an average integral γ-ray flux of (8.0 ± 0.7 ± 1.5) × 10-10 cm-2 s-1 above 140 GeV. We also present a light curve for Markarian 421 as observed by STACEE from March to May and compare our temporal, as well as spectral, measurements with those of other experiments.

The Energy Spectrum of the Blazar Markarian 421 above 130 GeV

We report on observations of the blazar W Com (ON+231) with the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cerenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE), a wave front-sampling atmospheric Cerenkov telescope, in the spring of 2003. In a data set comprising 10.5 hr of on-source observing time, we detect no significant emission from W Com. We discuss the implications of our results in the context of the composition of the relativistic jet in W Com, examining both leptonic and hadronic models for the jet. We derive 95% confidence level upper limits on the flux at the level of (1.5-3.5) × 10-10 cm-2 s-1 above 100 GeV for the leptonic models, or (0.5-1.1) × 10-10 cm-2 s-1 above 150 GeV for the hadronic models.We report on observations of the blazar W Comae (ON+231) with the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE), a wavefront-sampling atmospheric Cherenkov telescope, in the spring of 2003. In a data set comprising 10.5 hours of ON-source observing time, we detect no significant emission from W Comae. We discuss the implications of our results in the context of the composition of the relativistic jet in W Comae, examining both leptonic and hadronic models for the jet. We derive 95% confidence level upper limits on the flux at the level of 1.5--3.5 x 10^{-10} cm^{-2} s^{-1} above 100 GeV for the leptonic models, or 0.5--1.1 x 10^{-10} cm^{-2} s^{-1} above 150 GeV for the hadronic models.

Very high energy observations of the BL Lac objects 3C 66A and OJ 287

We describe the design and performance of the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE) in its complete configuration. STACEE uses the heliostats of a solar energy research facility to collect and focus the Cherenkov photons produced in gamma-ray induced air showers. The light is concentrated onto an array of photomultiplier tubes located near the top of a tower. The large Cherenkov photon collection area of STACEE results in a gamma-ray energy threshold below that of previous ground-based detectors. STACEE is being used to observe pulsars, supernova remnants, active galactic nuclei, and gamma-ray bursts

Performance of the STACEE Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope

According to leptonic models for the high-energy emission from blazars, relativistic electrons in the inner jets inverse-Compton scatter photons from a variety of sources. Seed photons are certainly introduced via the synchrotron process from the electrons themselves, but external sources of seed photons may also be present. In this paper, we present detailed derivations of the equations describing external inverse-Compton scattering from two sources of seed photons: direct emission from the accretion disk, and accretion disk photons that have scattered off the broad line region. For each source, we derive the seed photon spectrum incident on the jet, the single electron energy loss rate, and the emitted photon spectrum.Markarian 421 (Mrk 421) was the first blazar detected at gamma-ray energies above 300 GeV, and it remains one of only twelve TeV blazars detected to date. TeV gamma-ray measurements of its flaring activity and spectral variability have placed constraints on models of the high-energy emission from blazars. However, observations between 50 and 300 GeV are rare, and the high-energy peak of the spectral energy distribution (SED), predicted to be in this range, has never been directly detected. We present a detection of Mrk 421 above 100 GeV as made by the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE) during a multiwavelength campaign in early 2004. STACEE is a ground-based atmospheric Cherenkov telescope using the wave-front sampling technique to detect gamma rays at lower energies than achieved by most imaging Cherenkov telescopes. We also outline a method for reconstructing gamma-ray energies using a solar heliostat telescope. This technique was applied to the 2004 data, and we present the differential energy spectrum of Mrk 421 above 130 GeV. Assuming a differential photon flux dN/dE ∝ E-α, we measure a spectral index α = 2.1 ± 0.2stat . Finally, we discuss the STACEE spectrum in the context of the multiwavelength results from the same epoch.

GeV γ-ray astronomy with STACEE-64

Abstract Using the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE), we have observed the BL Lac objects 3C 66A and OJ 287. These are members of the class of low-frequency-peaked BL Lac objects (LBLs) and are two of the three LBLs predicted by Costamante and Ghisellini [L. Costamante, G. Ghisellini, Astron. Astrophys. 384 (2002) 56] to be potential sources of very high energy (>100xa0GeV) gamma-ray emission. The third candidate, BL Lacertae, has recently been detected by the MAGIC collaboration [J. Albert et al., arXiv:astro-ph/0703084v1 (2007)]. Our observations have not produced detections; we calculate a 99% CL upper limit of flux from 3C 66A of 0.15 Crab flux units and from OJ 287 our limit is 0.52 Crab. These limits assume a Crab-like energy spectrum with an effective energy threshold of 185xa0GeV.

The current status and future plans of the STACEE observatory

The Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE) is located at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility of Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. The field of solar tracking mirrors (heliostats) around a central receiver tower is used to direct Cherenkov light from atmospheric showers onto secondary mirrors on the tower, which in turn image the light onto cameras of photomultiplier tubes. The STACEE Collaboration has previously reported a detection of the Crab Nebula with approximately 7 standard deviation significance, using 32 heliostats (STACEE-32). This result demonstrates both the viability of the technique and the suitability of the site. We are in the process of completing an upgrade to 48 heliostats (STACEE-48) en route to an eventual configuration using 64 heliostats (STACEE-64) in early 2001. In this paper, we summarize the results obtained on the sensitivity of STACEE-32 and our expectations for STACEE-48 and STACEE-64.