21. Fermi-GBM discovery of GRB 221009A : an extraordinarily bright GRB from onset to afterglowS. Lesage, P. Veres, M. S. Briggs, A. Goldstein, D. Kocevski, E. Burns, C. A. Wilson-Hodge, P. N. Bhat, D. Huppenkothen, Gabrijela Zaharijas, 2023, original scientific article Keywords: gamma-ray bursts, GRB 221009A, cosmic ray astronomy Published in RUNG: 15.01.2024; Views: 1267; Downloads: 5 Full text (3,55 MB) This document has many files! More... |
22. Mind the gap : the discrepancy between simulation and reality drives interpretations of the Galactic Center ExcessSascha Caron, Christopher Eckner, Luc Hendriks, Gudlaugur Johannesson, Roberto Ruiz de Austri, Gabrijela Zaharijas, 2023, original scientific article Keywords: gamma-ray astrophysics, dark matter, galactic center Published in RUNG: 15.01.2024; Views: 1559; Downloads: 7 Full text (7,22 MB) This document has many files! More... |
23. The fourth catalog of active galactic nuclei detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope : data release 3M. Ajello, L. Baldini, J. Ballet, D. Bastieri, J. Becerra Gonzalez, R. Bellazzini, A. Berretta, E. Bissaldi, R. Bonino, Gabrijela Zaharijas, 2022, original scientific article Keywords: gamma ray astrophysics, active galactic nucleai Published in RUNG: 15.01.2024; Views: 1358; Downloads: 6 Full text (1,00 MB) This document has many files! More... |
24. The Cherenkov Telescope ArrayDaniel Mazin, Christopher Eckner, Gašper Kukec Mezek, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Lili Yang, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2019, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next generation ground-based observatory
for gamma-ray astronomy at very-high energies. It will be capable of detecting gamma rays in the energy range from 20 GeV to more than 300 TeV with unprecedented precision in energy and directional reconstruction. With more than 100 telescopes of three different types it will be located in the northern hemisphere at La Palma, Spain, and in the southern
at Paranal, Chile. CTA will be one of the largest astronomical infrastructures in the world with open data access and it will address questions in astronomy, astrophysics and fundamental physics in the next decades. In this presentation we will focus on the status
of the CTA construction, the status of the telescope prototypes and highlight some of the physics perspectives. Keywords: very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy, Cherenkov Telescope Array, CTA sensitivity, gamma-ray bursts, POpulation Synthesis Theory Integrated project for very high-energy emission Published in RUNG: 04.12.2023; Views: 1808; Downloads: 6 Full text (27,92 MB) This document has many files! More... |
25. POSyTIVE : a GRB population study for the Cherenkov Telescope ArrayMaria Grazia Bernardini, Christopher Eckner, Gašper Kukec Mezek, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Lili Yang, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2019, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: One of the central scientific goals of the next-generation Cherenkov Telescope Array
(CTA) is the detection and characterization of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). CTA will be sensitive to gamma rays with energies from about 20 GeV, up to a few hundred TeV.
The energy range below 1 TeV is particularly important for GRBs. CTA will allow exploration of this regime with a ground-based gamma-ray facility with unprecedented sensitivity.
As such, it will be able to probe radiation and particle acceleration mechanisms at work in GRBs. In this contribution, we describe POSyTIVE, the POpulation Synthesis Theory Integrated project for very high-energy emission. The purpose of the project is to make realistic predictions for the detection rates of GRBs with CTA, to enable studies
of individual simulated GRBs, and to perform preparatory studies for time-resolved
spectral analyses. The mock GRB population used by POSyTIVE is calibrated using the entire 40-year dataset of multi-wavelength GRB observations. As part of this project we explore theoretical models for prompt and afterglow emission of long and short GRBs,
and predict the expected radiative output. Subsequent analyses are performed
in order to simulate the observations with CTA, using the publicly available ctools and Gammapy frameworks. We present preliminary results of the design and implementation
of this project. Keywords: very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy, Cherenkov Telescope Array, CTA sensitivity, gamma-ray bursts, population Synthesis Theory, very high-energy emission Published in RUNG: 04.12.2023; Views: 2575; Downloads: 3 Full text (1,50 MB) This document has many files! More... |
26. Cherenkov Telescope Array Science : a multi-wavelength and multi-messenger perspectiveUlisses Barres de Almeida, Christopher Eckner, Gašper Kukec Mezek, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Lili Yang, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2019, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the major global observatory for
VHE gamma-ray astronomy over the next decade and beyond. It will be an explorer
of the extreme universe, with a broad scientific potential: from understanding the role of relativistic cosmic particles, to the search for dark matter. Covering photon energies from 20 GeV to 300 TeV, and with an angular resolution unique in the field, of about 1 arc min, CTA will improve on all aspects of the performance with respect to current instruments, surveying the high energy sky hundreds of times faster than previous TeV telescopes,
and with a much deeper view. The very large collection area of CTA makes it an important probe of transient phenomena. The first CTA telescope has just been inaugurated in the Canary Islands, Spain, and as more telescopes are added in the coming years, scientific operation will start. It is evident that CTA will have important synergies with many of the
new generation astronomical and astroparticle observatories. In this talk we will review
the CTA science case from the point of view of its synergies with other instruments and
facilities, highlighting the CTA needs in terms of external data, as well as the opportunities and strategies for cooperation to achieve the basic CTA science goals. Keywords: very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy, Cherenkov Telescope Array, CTA performances, transient VHE sources, CTA science Published in RUNG: 04.12.2023; Views: 2686; Downloads: 6 Full text (1,16 MB) This document has many files! More... |
27. The Cherenkov Telescope Array. Science Goals and Current StatusRene A. Ong, Christopher Eckner, Gašper Kukec Mezek, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Lili Yang, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2019, published scientific conference contribution (invited lecture) Abstract: The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the major ground-based gamma-ray observatory planned for the next decade and beyond. Consisting of two large atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays (one in the southern hemisphere and one in the northern
hemisphere), CTA will have superior angular resolution, a much wider energy range, and
approximately an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity, as compared to existing instruments. The CTA science programme will be rich and diverse, covering cosmic particle acceleration, the astrophysics of extreme environments, and physics frontiers beyond the Standard Model. This paper outlines the science goals for CTA and covers the current status of the project. Keywords: very-high-energy gamma-ray astronomy, Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), cosmic particle acceleration, astrophysics of extreme environments, physics beyond the Standard Model Published in RUNG: 11.10.2023; Views: 1561; Downloads: 10 Full text (3,28 MB) This document has many files! More... |
28. Insight Into Lightning Initiation via Downward Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flash Observations at Telescope ArrayJ. Remington, Jon Paul Lundquist, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: Due to the difficulty of direct measurement of the thunderstorm environment, in particular the electric field strengths, the initial stages of lightning breakdown remain mysterious. The 1994 discovery of Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) and their implications for megaVolt potentials within thunderclouds has proved to be a valuable source of information about the breakdown process.
The Telescope Array Surface Detector (TASD) --- a 700 km^2 scintillator array in Western Utah, U.S.A --- coupled with a lightning mapping array, fast sferic (field change) sensor and broadband interferometer, has provided unique insight into the properties of this energetic radiation and of lightning initiation in general. In particular, microsecond-scale timing comparisons have clearly established that downward TGFs occur during strong initial breakdown pulses (IBPs) of downward negative cloud-to-ground and intracloud flashes. In turn, the IBPs are produced by streamer-based fast negative breakdown.
Investigations into downward TGFs with the TASD have significantly evolved with recent upgrades to lightning instrumentation. A second state-of-the-art broadband interferometer allows high-resolution stereo observation of lightning development. A high-speed optical video camera, set to be deployed in Spring 2021, will allow simultaneous observation of the visual component of lightning responsible for TGF production. Finally, a suite of ground based static electric field mills will provide new information on the large-scale properties of the thunderstorms in which downward TGFs arise.
In this talk, we present the most recent TGF observations from the Telescope Array. Keywords: Telescope Array, ground array, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, photons, terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, gamma-rays, lightning Published in RUNG: 02.10.2023; Views: 1543; Downloads: 7 Full text (2,76 MB) This document has many files! More... |
29. Downward Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes at the Pierre Auger Observatory?R. Colalillo, Andrej Filipčič, Jon Paul Lundquist, Samo Stanič, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Lukas Zehrer, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: At the Pierre Auger Observatory, designed primarily to study ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, phenomena related to atmospheric electricity are also observed. Particularly, events have been detected with the surface detector, characterized by long-lasting signals (tens of microseconds) and event footprints much larger (up to 200 km2) than those produced by the highest energy cosmic rays. Moreover, some of them appear to be accompanied by smaller events occurring in the same area within about 1 ms and probably produced by the same phenomenon. A previously reported correlation with the World Wide Lightning Location Network, as well as the observation of very low-altitude clouds, confirm that such events are related to thunderstorms. An ad-hoc reconstruction points to high-energy particles being produced very close to the ground, suggesting that they originate from electrons accelerated to relativistic energies in strong electric fields inside low clouds, as is the case for terrestrial gamma-ray flashes above thunderstorms.
A clear explanation of the observed phenomenon is hindered by two facts. One is that the rate of such events, detected serendipitously, is very small (less than 2 events/year) and decreases further after optimization of the surface detector trigger for low-energy shower-events. The second is that most events show a puzzling lack of signals in the central part of the footprint. We have studied in detail both effects and will present such studies here. We developed a strategy for a dedicated trigger to enhance the detection efficiency for these events associated with atmospheric-electricity events. Keywords: Pierre Auger Observatory, surface detection, ultra-high energy, cosmic rays, photons, electrons, gamma-ray flashes, lightning Published in RUNG: 29.09.2023; Views: 1505; Downloads: 7 Full text (2,42 MB) This document has many files! More... |
30. Sensitivity to keV-MeV dark matter from cosmic-ray scattering with current and the upcoming ground-based arrays CTA and SWGOIgor Reis, Saptashwa Bhattacharyya, Judit Pérez Romero, Samo Stanič, Veronika Vodeb, Serguei Vorobiov, Danilo Zavrtanik, Marko Zavrtanik, Miha Živec, 2023, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: A wealth of astrophysical and cosmological observational evidence shows that the matter content of the universe is made of about 85% of non-baryonic dark matter. Huge experimental efforts have been deployed to look for the direct detection of dark matter via their scattering on target nucleons, their production in colliders, and their indirect detection via their annihilation products. Inelastic scattering of high-energy cosmic rays off dark matter particles populating the Milky Way halo would produce secondary gamma rays in the final state from the decay of the neutral pions produced in such interactions, providing a new avenue to probe dark matter properties. We compute here the sensitivity for H.E.S.S.-like observatory, a current-generation ground-based Cherenkov telescopes, to the expected gamma-ray flux from collisions of Galactic cosmic rays and dark matter in the center of the Milky Way. We also derive sensitivity prospects for the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) and Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO). The expected sensitivity allows us to probe a poorly-constrained range of dark matter masses so far, ranging from keV to sub-GeV, and provide complementary constraints on the dark matter-proton scattering cross section traditionally probed by deep underground direct dark matter experiments. Keywords: Cherenkov Telescope Array, CTA, very-high-energy gamma-ray astroparticle physics, instrument response functions, machine learning Published in RUNG: 26.09.2023; Views: 1762; Downloads: 11 Full text (713,85 KB) This document has many files! More... |