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Register a new userStudy of Mrk 501 above 60 GeV with CELESTE
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Authors
E. Brion
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The CELESTE atmospheric Cherenkov detector, running until June 2004 at the Themis solar facility, has taken data on compact sources such as pulsars and blazars. We will take stock of the experiment, in particular regarding the latest improvements of the detector simulation and data analysis. These changes provide us with a new analysis of old data with smaller uncertainties. We present here the evidence for a weak signal from Mrk 501 in 2000-2001.
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The new analysis variable xi, shown to be powerful on the data taken with the final configuration of CELESTE, has been applied to data taken with previous detector configurations. First, the analysis is validated on Crab observations, and then the cuts for the blazar Mrk 501 are optimized using Mrk 421 data since the sources have similar declinations. Data from Mrk 501 was recorded in 2000 and 2001. The old analysis gave a 2.5 sigma excess. We obtain an excess of 2.9 sigma during this time and of 4.9 sigma during May and June 2000 that we interpret as a gamma-ray signal from Mrk 501, for which we calculate a flux of (6.9 +/- 2.2) * 10^{-7} photons m^{-2} s^{-1}. An upper limit from the other data with no signal is determined.
We have converted the former solar electrical plant THEMIS (French Pyrenees) into an atmospheric Cherenkov detector called CELESTE, which records gamma rays above 30 GeV (7E24 Hz). Here we present the first sub-100 GeV detection by a ground based telescope of a gamma ray source, the Crab nebula, in the energy region between satellite measurements and imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes. At our analysis threshold energy of 60 +/- 20 GeV we measure a gamma ray rate of 6.1 +/- 0.8 per minute. Allowing for 30% systematic uncertainties and a 30% error on the energy scale yields an integral gamma ray flux of I(E>60 GeV) = 6.2^{+5.3}_{-2.3} E-6 photons m^-2 s^-1. The analysis methods used to obtain the gamma ray signal from the raw data are detailed. In addition, we determine the upper limit for pulsed emission to be <12% of the Crab flux at the 99% confidence level, in the same energy range. Our result indicates that if the power law observed by EGRET is attenuated by a cutoff of form e^{-E/E_0} then E_0 < 26 GeV. This is the lowest energy probed by a Cherenkov detector and leaves only a narrow range unexplored beyond the energy range studied by EGRET.
The CELESTE atmospheric Cherenkov detector ran until June 2004. It has detected several gamma-ray flares of Mrk 421 since 1999. The new data analysis provides better background rejection. We compare our light curves with X-ray data. We significantly improved our understanding of the atmosphere, and of the optical throughput of the detector. This will allow a spectral measurement for Mrk 421 with smaller uncertainties and a more sensitive search for a signal from Mrk 501.
Mrk 421 and Mrk 501 are two close, bright and well-studied high-synchrotron-peaked blazars, which feature bright and persistent GeV and TeV emission. We use the longest and densest dataset of unbiased observations of these two sources, obtained at TeV and GeV energies during five years with FACT and Fermi-LAT. To characterize the variability and derive constraints on the emission mechanism, we augment the dataset with contemporaneous multi-wavelength observations from radio to X-rays. We correlate the light curves, identify individual flares in TeV energies and X-rays, and look for inter-band connections, which are expected from the shock propagations within the jet. For Mrk 421, we find that the X-rays and TeV energies are well correlated with close to zero lag, supporting the SSC emission scenario. The timing between the TeV, X-ray flares in Mrk 421 is consistent with periods expected in the case of Lense-Thirring precession of the accretion disc. The variability of Mrk 501 on long-term periods is also consistent with SSC, with a sub-day lag between X-rays and TeV energies. Fractional variability for both blazars shows a two bump structure with the highest variability in the X-ray and TeV bands.
The CELESTE atmospheric Cherenkov detector ran until June 2004. It has observed the blazars Mrk 421, 1ES 1426+428 and Mrk 501. We significantly improved our understanding of the atmosphere using a LIDAR, and of the optical throughput of the detector using stellar photometry. The new data analysis provides better background rejection. We present our light curve for Mrk 421 for the 2002-2004 season and a comparison with X-ray data and the 2004 observation of 1ES 1426+428. The new analysis will allow a more sensitive search for a signal from Mrk 501.
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