UPPER LIMITS from FIVE YEARS of BLAZAR OBSERVATIONS with the VERITAS CHERENKOV TELESCOPES

S. Archambault; A. Archer; W. Benbow; R. Bird; J. Biteau; M. Buchovecky; J. H. Buckley; V. Bugaev; K. Byrum; M. Cerruti; X. Chen; L. Ciupik; M. P. Connolly; W. Cui; J. D. Eisch; M. Errando; A. Falcone; Q. Feng; J. P. Finley; H. Fleischhack; P. Fortin; L. Fortson; A. Furniss; G. H. Gillanders; S. Griffin; J. Grube; G. Gyuk; M. Hütten; N. Håkansson; D. Hanna; J. Holder; T. B. Humensky; C. A. Johnson; P. Kaaret; P. Kar; N. Kelley-Hoskins; M. Kertzman; D. Kieda; M. Krause; F. Krennrich; S. Kumar; M. J. Lang; G. Maier; S. McArthur; A. McCann; K. Meagher; P. Moriarty; R. Mukherjee; T. Nguyen; D. Nieto; A. O'Faoláin De Bhróithe; R. A. Ong; A. N. Otte; N. Park; J. S. Perkins; A. Pichel; M. Pohl; A. Popkow; E. Pueschel; J. Quinn; K. Ragan; P. T. Reynolds; G. T. Richards; E. Roache; A. C. Rovero; M. Santander; G. H. Sembroski; K. Shahinyan; A. W. Smith; D. Staszak; I. Telezhinsky; J. V. Tucci; J. Tyler; S. Vincent; S. P. Wakely; O. M. Weiner; A. Weinstein; D. A. Williams; B. Zitzer; M. Fumagalli; J. X. Prochaska

doi:10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/142

UPPER LIMITS from FIVE YEARS of BLAZAR OBSERVATIONS with the VERITAS CHERENKOV TELESCOPES

S. Archambault, A. Archer, W. Benbow, R. Bird, J. Biteau, M. Buchovecky, J. H. Buckley, V. Bugaev, K. Byrum, M. Cerruti, X. Chen, L. Ciupik, M. P. Connolly, W. Cui, J. D. Eisch, M. Errando, A. Falcone, Q. Feng, J. P. Finley, H. FleischhackP. Fortin, L. Fortson, A. Furniss, G. H. Gillanders, S. Griffin, J. Grube, G. Gyuk, M. Hütten, N. Håkansson, D. Hanna, J. Holder, T. B. Humensky, C. A. Johnson, P. Kaaret, P. Kar, N. Kelley-Hoskins, M. Kertzman, D. Kieda, M. Krause, F. Krennrich, S. Kumar, M. J. Lang, G. Maier, S. McArthur, A. McCann, K. Meagher, P. Moriarty, R. Mukherjee, T. Nguyen, D. Nieto, A. O'Faoláin De Bhróithe, R. A. Ong, A. N. Otte, N. Park, J. S. Perkins, A. Pichel, M. Pohl, A. Popkow, E. Pueschel, J. Quinn, K. Ragan, P. T. Reynolds, G. T. Richards, E. Roache, A. C. Rovero, M. Santander, G. H. Sembroski, K. Shahinyan, A. W. Smith, D. Staszak, I. Telezhinsky, J. V. Tucci, J. Tyler, S. Vincent, S. P. Wakely, O. M. Weiner, A. Weinstein, D. A. Williams, B. Zitzer, M. Fumagalli, J. X. Prochaska

Physics and Astronomy (Twin Cities)

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29 Scopus citations

Abstract

Between the beginning of its full-scale scientific operations in 2007 and 2012, the VERITAS Cherenkov telescope array observed more than 130 blazars; of these, 26 were detected as very-high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) γ-ray sources. In this work, we present the analysis results of a sample of 114 undetected objects. The observations constitute a total live-time of ∼570 hr. The sample includes several unidentified Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) sources (located at high Galactic latitude) as well as all the sources from the second Fermi-LAT catalog that are contained within the field of view of the VERITAS observations. We have also performed optical spectroscopy measurements in order to estimate the redshift of some of these blazars that do not have spectroscopic distance estimates. We present new optical spectra from the Kast instrument on the Shane telescope at the Lick observatory for 18 blazars included in this work, which allowed for the successful measurement or constraint on the redshift of four of them. For each of the blazars included in our sample, we provide the flux upper limit in the VERITAS energy band. We also study the properties of the significance distributions and we present the result of a stacked analysis of the data set, which shows a 4σ excess.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	142
Journal	Astronomical Journal
Volume	151
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/142
State	Published - Jun 2016

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..

Keywords

BL Lacertae objects: general
galaxies: active
gamma rays: galaxies
radiation mechanisms: non-thermal

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Archambault, S., Archer, A., Benbow, W., Bird, R., Biteau, J., Buchovecky, M., Buckley, J. H., Bugaev, V., Byrum, K., Cerruti, M., Chen, X., Ciupik, L., Connolly, M. P., Cui, W., Eisch, J. D., Errando, M., Falcone, A., Feng, Q., Finley, J. P., ... Prochaska, J. X. (2016). UPPER LIMITS from FIVE YEARS of BLAZAR OBSERVATIONS with the VERITAS CHERENKOV TELESCOPES. Astronomical Journal, 151(6), Article 142. https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/142

Archambault, S, Archer, A, Benbow, W, Bird, R, Biteau, J, Buchovecky, M, Buckley, JH, Bugaev, V, Byrum, K, Cerruti, M, Chen, X, Ciupik, L, Connolly, MP, Cui, W, Eisch, JD, Errando, M, Falcone, A, Feng, Q, Finley, JP, Fleischhack, H, Fortin, P, Fortson, L, Furniss, A, Gillanders, GH, Griffin, S, Grube, J, Gyuk, G, Hütten, M, Håkansson, N, Hanna, D, Holder, J, Humensky, TB, Johnson, CA, Kaaret, P, Kar, P, Kelley-Hoskins, N, Kertzman, M, Kieda, D, Krause, M, Krennrich, F, Kumar, S, Lang, MJ, Maier, G, McArthur, S, McCann, A, Meagher, K, Moriarty, P, Mukherjee, R, Nguyen, T, Nieto, D, O'Faoláin De Bhróithe, A, Ong, RA, Otte, AN, Park, N, Perkins, JS, Pichel, A, Pohl, M, Popkow, A, Pueschel, E, Quinn, J, Ragan, K, Reynolds, PT, Richards, GT, Roache, E, Rovero, AC, Santander, M, Sembroski, GH, Shahinyan, K, Smith, AW, Staszak, D, Telezhinsky, I, Tucci, JV, Tyler, J, Vincent, S, Wakely, SP, Weiner, OM, Weinstein, A, Williams, DA, Zitzer, B, Fumagalli, M & Prochaska, JX 2016, 'UPPER LIMITS from FIVE YEARS of BLAZAR OBSERVATIONS with the VERITAS CHERENKOV TELESCOPES', Astronomical Journal, vol. 151, no. 6, 142. https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/142

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abstract = "Between the beginning of its full-scale scientific operations in 2007 and 2012, the VERITAS Cherenkov telescope array observed more than 130 blazars; of these, 26 were detected as very-high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) γ-ray sources. In this work, we present the analysis results of a sample of 114 undetected objects. The observations constitute a total live-time of ∼570 hr. The sample includes several unidentified Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) sources (located at high Galactic latitude) as well as all the sources from the second Fermi-LAT catalog that are contained within the field of view of the VERITAS observations. We have also performed optical spectroscopy measurements in order to estimate the redshift of some of these blazars that do not have spectroscopic distance estimates. We present new optical spectra from the Kast instrument on the Shane telescope at the Lick observatory for 18 blazars included in this work, which allowed for the successful measurement or constraint on the redshift of four of them. For each of the blazars included in our sample, we provide the flux upper limit in the VERITAS energy band. We also study the properties of the significance distributions and we present the result of a stacked analysis of the data set, which shows a 4σ excess.",

keywords = "BL Lacertae objects: general, galaxies: active, gamma rays: galaxies, radiation mechanisms: non-thermal",

author = "S. Archambault and A. Archer and W. Benbow and R. Bird and J. Biteau and M. Buchovecky and Buckley, {J. H.} and V. Bugaev and K. Byrum and M. Cerruti and X. Chen and L. Ciupik and Connolly, {M. P.} and W. Cui and Eisch, {J. D.} and M. Errando and A. Falcone and Q. Feng and Finley, {J. P.} and H. Fleischhack and P. Fortin and L. Fortson and A. Furniss and Gillanders, {G. H.} and S. Griffin and J. Grube and G. Gyuk and M. H{\"u}tten and N. H{\aa}kansson and D. Hanna and J. Holder and Humensky, {T. B.} and Johnson, {C. A.} and P. Kaaret and P. Kar and N. Kelley-Hoskins and M. Kertzman and D. Kieda and M. Krause and F. Krennrich and S. Kumar and Lang, {M. J.} and G. Maier and S. McArthur and A. McCann and K. Meagher and P. Moriarty and R. Mukherjee and T. Nguyen and D. Nieto and {O'Faol{\'a}in De Bhr{\'o}ithe}, A. and Ong, {R. A.} and Otte, {A. N.} and N. Park and Perkins, {J. S.} and A. Pichel and M. Pohl and A. Popkow and E. Pueschel and J. Quinn and K. Ragan and Reynolds, {P. T.} and Richards, {G. T.} and E. Roache and Rovero, {A. C.} and M. Santander and Sembroski, {G. H.} and K. Shahinyan and Smith, {A. W.} and D. Staszak and I. Telezhinsky and Tucci, {J. V.} and J. Tyler and S. Vincent and Wakely, {S. P.} and Weiner, {O. M.} and A. Weinstein and Williams, {D. A.} and B. Zitzer and M. Fumagalli and Prochaska, {J. X.}",

year = "2016",

month = jun,

doi = "10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/142",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "151",

journal = "Astronomical Journal",

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T1 - UPPER LIMITS from FIVE YEARS of BLAZAR OBSERVATIONS with the VERITAS CHERENKOV TELESCOPES

AU - Archambault, S.

AU - Archer, A.

AU - Benbow, W.

AU - Bird, R.

AU - Biteau, J.

AU - Buchovecky, M.

AU - Buckley, J. H.

AU - Bugaev, V.

AU - Byrum, K.

AU - Cerruti, M.

AU - Chen, X.

AU - Ciupik, L.

AU - Connolly, M. P.

AU - Cui, W.

AU - Eisch, J. D.

AU - Errando, M.

AU - Falcone, A.

AU - Feng, Q.

AU - Finley, J. P.

AU - Fleischhack, H.

AU - Fortin, P.

AU - Fortson, L.

AU - Furniss, A.

AU - Gillanders, G. H.

AU - Griffin, S.

AU - Grube, J.

AU - Gyuk, G.

AU - Hütten, M.

AU - Håkansson, N.

AU - Hanna, D.

AU - Holder, J.

AU - Humensky, T. B.

AU - Johnson, C. A.

AU - Kaaret, P.

AU - Kar, P.

AU - Kelley-Hoskins, N.

AU - Kertzman, M.

AU - Kieda, D.

AU - Krause, M.

AU - Krennrich, F.

AU - Kumar, S.

AU - Lang, M. J.

AU - Maier, G.

AU - McArthur, S.

AU - McCann, A.

AU - Meagher, K.

AU - Moriarty, P.

AU - Mukherjee, R.

AU - Nguyen, T.

AU - Nieto, D.

AU - O'Faoláin De Bhróithe, A.

AU - Ong, R. A.

AU - Otte, A. N.

AU - Park, N.

AU - Perkins, J. S.

AU - Pichel, A.

AU - Pohl, M.

AU - Popkow, A.

AU - Pueschel, E.

AU - Quinn, J.

AU - Ragan, K.

AU - Reynolds, P. T.

AU - Richards, G. T.

AU - Roache, E.

AU - Rovero, A. C.

AU - Santander, M.

AU - Sembroski, G. H.

AU - Shahinyan, K.

AU - Smith, A. W.

AU - Staszak, D.

AU - Telezhinsky, I.

AU - Tucci, J. V.

AU - Tyler, J.

AU - Vincent, S.

AU - Wakely, S. P.

AU - Weiner, O. M.

AU - Weinstein, A.

AU - Williams, D. A.

AU - Zitzer, B.

AU - Fumagalli, M.

AU - Prochaska, J. X.

PY - 2016/6

Y1 - 2016/6

N2 - Between the beginning of its full-scale scientific operations in 2007 and 2012, the VERITAS Cherenkov telescope array observed more than 130 blazars; of these, 26 were detected as very-high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) γ-ray sources. In this work, we present the analysis results of a sample of 114 undetected objects. The observations constitute a total live-time of ∼570 hr. The sample includes several unidentified Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) sources (located at high Galactic latitude) as well as all the sources from the second Fermi-LAT catalog that are contained within the field of view of the VERITAS observations. We have also performed optical spectroscopy measurements in order to estimate the redshift of some of these blazars that do not have spectroscopic distance estimates. We present new optical spectra from the Kast instrument on the Shane telescope at the Lick observatory for 18 blazars included in this work, which allowed for the successful measurement or constraint on the redshift of four of them. For each of the blazars included in our sample, we provide the flux upper limit in the VERITAS energy band. We also study the properties of the significance distributions and we present the result of a stacked analysis of the data set, which shows a 4σ excess.

AB - Between the beginning of its full-scale scientific operations in 2007 and 2012, the VERITAS Cherenkov telescope array observed more than 130 blazars; of these, 26 were detected as very-high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) γ-ray sources. In this work, we present the analysis results of a sample of 114 undetected objects. The observations constitute a total live-time of ∼570 hr. The sample includes several unidentified Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) sources (located at high Galactic latitude) as well as all the sources from the second Fermi-LAT catalog that are contained within the field of view of the VERITAS observations. We have also performed optical spectroscopy measurements in order to estimate the redshift of some of these blazars that do not have spectroscopic distance estimates. We present new optical spectra from the Kast instrument on the Shane telescope at the Lick observatory for 18 blazars included in this work, which allowed for the successful measurement or constraint on the redshift of four of them. For each of the blazars included in our sample, we provide the flux upper limit in the VERITAS energy band. We also study the properties of the significance distributions and we present the result of a stacked analysis of the data set, which shows a 4σ excess.

KW - BL Lacertae objects: general

KW - galaxies: active

KW - gamma rays: galaxies

KW - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal

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DO - 10.3847/0004-6256/151/6/142

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84975518357

SN - 0004-6256

VL - 151

JO - Astronomical Journal

JF - Astronomical Journal

IS - 6

M1 - 142

ER -

UPPER LIMITS from FIVE YEARS of BLAZAR OBSERVATIONS with the VERITAS CHERENKOV TELESCOPES

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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