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Register a new userVERITAS Observations of the Galactic Center Ridge
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Andrew W. Smith
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Due to its extraordinarily high concentration of known relativistic particle accelerators such as pulsar wind nebula, supernova remnants, dense molecular cloud regions, and the supermassive black hole (Sgr A*); the center of the Milky Way galaxy has long been an ideal target for high energy (HE, 0.1-100 GeV) and very high energy ( VHE, 50 GeV-50 TeV) gamma-ray emission. Indeed, detections of Sgr A* and other nearby regions of gamma-ray emission have been reported by EGRET and Fermi-LAT in the HE band, as well as CANGAROO, Whipple, HESS, VERITAS, and MAGIC in the VHE band. Here we report on the results of extended observations of the region with VERITAS between 2010-2014. Due to the visibility of the source for VERITAS in the Northern Hemisphere, these observations provide the most sensitive probe of gamma-ray emission above 2 TeV in one of the most complicated and interesting regions of our home galaxy.
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The Galactic Center Ridge has been observed extensively in the past by both GeV and TeV instruments revealing a wealth of structure, including both a diffuse component, the point sources G0.9+0.1 (a composite supernova remnant) and SgrA* (believed to be associated with the super massive black hole located at the center of our galaxy). Previous observations (> 300 GeV) with the H.E.S.S. array have also detected an extended TeV component along the Galactic plane due to either diffuse emission or a host of unresolved point sources. Here we report on the VERITAS observations of the Galactic Center Ridge from 2010-2014 in the energy range above 2 TeV. From these observations we 1.) Provide improved measurements of the differential energy spectra for SgrA* in the multi-TeV regime, 2.) Provide a detection in the >2 TeV band of the composite SNR G0.9+0.1 and an improvement of its multi-TeV energy spectrum. 3.) Report on the detection of an extended component of emission along the Galactic plane by VERITAS. 4.) Report on the detection of VER J1746-289, a localized enhancement of TeV emission along the Galactic plane.
The Galactic Center Ridge has been observed extensively in the past by both GeV and TeV gamma-ray instruments revealing a wealth of structure, including a diffuse component as well as the point sources G0.9+0.1 (a composite supernova remnant) and Sgr A* (believed to be associated with the supermassive black hole located at the center of our Galaxy). Previous very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray observations with the H.E.S.S. experiment have also detected an extended TeV gamma-ray component along the Galactic plane in the >300 GeV gamma-ray regime. Here we report on observations of the Galactic Center Ridge from 2010-2014 by the VERITAS telescope array in the >2 TeV energy range. From these observations we 1.) provide improved measurements of the differential energy spectrum for Sgr A* in the >2 TeV gamma-ray regime, 2.) provide a detection in the >2 TeV gamma-ray emission from the composite SNR G0.9+0.1 and an improved determination of its multi-TeV gamma-ray energy spectrum, 3.) report on the detection of VER J1746-289, a localized enhancement of >2 TeV gamma-ray emission along the Galactic plane.
The Galactic Center has long been a region of interest for high-energy and very-high-energy observations. Many potential sources of GeV/TeV gamma-ray emission have been suggested, e.g., the accretion of matter onto the black hole, cosmic rays from a nearby supernova remnant, or the annihilation of dark matter particles. The Galactic Center has been detected at MeV/GeV energies by EGRET and recently by Fermi/LAT. At GeV/TeV energies, the Galactic Center was detected by different ground-based Cherenkov telescopes such as CANGAROO, Whipple 10m, H.E.S.S., and MAGIC. We present the results from 15 hrs of VERITAS observations conducted at large zenith angles, resulting in a >10 standard deviation detection and confirmation of the high-energy spectrum observed by H.E.S.S. The combined Fermi/VERITAS results are compared to astrophysical models.
The Galactic Center (GC) region hosts a variety of powerful astronomical sources and rare astrophysical processes that emit a large flux of non-thermal radiation. The inner 375 pc x 600 pc region, called the Central Molecular Zone, is home to the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*, massive cloud complexes, and particle accelerators such as supernova remnants. We present the results of our improved analysis of the very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission above 2 TeV from the GC using 125 hours of data taken with the VERITAS imaging-atmospheric Cherenkov telescope between 2010 and 2018. The central source VER J1745-290, consistent with the position of Sagittarius A*, is detected at a significance of 38 standard deviations above the background level $(38sigma)$, and we report its spectrum and light curve. Its differential spectrum is consistent with a power law with exponential cutoff, with a spectral index of $2.12^{+0.22}_{-0.17}$, a flux normalization at 5.3 TeV of $1.27^{+0.22}_{-0.23}times 10^{-13}$ TeV-1 cm-2 s-1, and cutoff energy of $10.0^{+4.0}_{-2.0}$ TeV. We also present results on the diffuse emission near the GC, obtained by combining data from multiple regions along the GC ridge which yield a cumulative significance of $9.5sigma$. The diffuse GC ridge spectrum is best fit by a power law with a hard index of 2.19 $pm$ 0.20, showing no evidence of a cutoff up to 40 TeV. This strengthens the evidence for a potential accelerator of PeV cosmic rays being present in the GC. We also provide spectra of the other sources in our field of view with significant detections, composite supernova remnant G0.9+0.1 and HESS J1746-285.
The Galactic center is an interesting region for high-energy (0.1-100 GeV) and very-high-energy (E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray observations. Potential sources of GeV/TeV gamma-ray emission have been suggested, e.g., the accretion of matter onto the supermassive black hole, cosmic rays from a nearby supernova remnant (e.g. SgrA East), particle acceleration in a plerion, or the annihilation of dark matter particles. The Galactic center has been detected by EGRET and by Fermi/LAT in the MeV/GeV energy band. At TeV energies, the Galactic center was detected with moderate significance by the CANGAROO and Whipple 10 m telescopes and with high significance by H.E.S.S., MAGIC, and VERITAS. We present the results from three years of VERITAS observations conducted at large zenith angles resulting in a detection of the Galactic center on the level of 18 standard deviations at energies above ~2.5TeV. The energy spectrum is derived and is found to be compatible with hadronic, leptonic and hybrid emission models discussed in the literature. Future, more detailed measurements of the high-energy cutoff and better constraints on the high-energy flux variability will help to refine and/or disentangle the individual models.
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