AGN Detection Ranges of MACE and TACTIC Imaging Gamma-Ray Telescopes

Two high-sensitivity imaging gamma-ray telescopes, MACE and TACTIC, are being set up at Mt. Abu, India, for making detailed spectral and temporal investigations of galactic and extragalactic gamma-ray sources in the photon energy bands. E 20–200 GeV and 0.5–5TeV respectively. Here, we estimate the effective red-shift ranges of these telescopes for detecting gamma-ray signals from the EGRET-detected AGN's and identify the most likely candidate-sources for detection by the MACE and the TACTIC, under the assumption that the EGRET-inferred power-law spectra for these AGN's extend into the GeV-TeV range without any change in shape. Extremum bounds of the relevant intergalactic background radiation fields, suggested by various observational and theoretical considerations, have been used to estimate the attenuation of VHE gamma-ray fluxes due to photon-photon pair-production process, leading to the desired z-ranges for these instruments.     

Detectivity of Unidentified Egret Sources as Gamma-Ray Pulsars with the Magic Telescope

Most of the unidentified gamma ray sources detected near the Galactic plane by EGRET aboard CGRO are expected to be gamma ray pulsars. We present a study about the detectability and identification of some unidentified EGRET sources with the MAGIC telescope. We list some unidentified gamma ray sources from the third EGRET catalogue to be detected with MAGIC taking into account some important conditions such as the variability parameter of the source, spectral index, inclusion in the GeV catalogue (ApJ 488, 1997, p. 872) and possible associations with known X-ray/radio sources located within the error box of the unidentified gamma ray source. We show the required observation time of these gamma ray pulsar candidates to be detected by MAGIC telescope considering reasonable values of cut-off energy. To be more realistic, we have chosen the zenith angle corresponding to the source culmination in the simulation of the effective area A since the observation time is function of the effective area. In addition to this study, it is very important to consider the extrapolated EGRET flux at MAGIC energies above 30 GeV of the gamma ray pulsar candidates taking the MAGIC sensitivity.     

An Overview of the Veritas Prototype Telescope and Camera

The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) is the next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory that is being built in southern Arizona by a collaboration of 10 institutions in Canada, Ireland, the UK and the USA. VERITAS is designed to operate in the range from 50 GeV to 50 TeV with optimal sensitivity near 200 GeV; it will effectively overlap with the next generation of space-based gamma-ray telescopes. The first phase of VERITAS, consisting of four telescopes of 12 m aperture, will be operational by the time of the GLAST launch in 2007. Eventually, the array will be expanded to include the full array of seven telescopes on a filled hexagonal grid of side 80 m. A prototype VERITAS telescope with a reduced number of mirrors and signal channels has been built. Its design and performance is described here. The prototype is scheduled to be upgraded to a full 499 pixel camera with 350 mirrors during the autumn of 2004. The VERITAS collaboration consists of universities and institutions from Ireland, UK, USA and Canada. See for a full listing.     

The Master Mobile Astronomical System. Optical Observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts

The operating principles of the telescope-robot system MASTER (Mobile Astronomical System of Telescopes-Robots, http://observ.pereplet.ru), designed to search for fast transient phenomena in the optical range, are described. The robot-telescope includes the following: a Richter-Slefogt telescope with D=355 mm, F/D=2.4, a Richter-Slefogt telescope with D=200 mm, F/D=2.4, a Flugge telescope with D=280 mm, F/D=2.5, a TV camera with a field of 20x40 degrees, and three CCD cameras. A German mount with a slew rate of 8 deg/s is used. MASTER obtains images down to 19^m in a field of 6 square degrees in a 1.5 minute exposure. We present some observations of the optical afterglow of cosmic gamma-ray bursts. MASTER was the first system in Europe to record optical emission from GRB030329.__________Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 463–475 (August 2005).     

Search for short cosmic gamma-ray bursts using data from the APEX and LILAS experiments onboard the Phobos-2 interplanetary spacecraft

A statistical analysis of the spectral and temporal parameters for 546 triggering events on the APEX gamma-ray detector onboard the Phobos-2 spacecraft has revealed a group of 28 events that are probably short cosmic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The distribution of the full group of 74 events of the APEX experiment in duration parameter is bimodal in shape, which is in good agreement with the bimodal shape of the BATSE GRB distribution. A search for the detected group of short events using data from the LILAS X-ray and soft gamma-ray detector onboard the same spacecraft has yielded no positive result. A comparison of the APEX and LILAS data has led us to conclude that the short GRBs have a significantly reduced soft gamma-ray flux at energies <100 keV relative to the power law dN/dE=CE^?α with the average index α=2.62.     

Future goals for γ-ray spectroscopy

Gamma-ray lines are the fingerprints of nuclear transitions, carrying the memory of high energy processes in the universe. Setting out from what is presently known about line emission in gamma-ray astronomy, requirements for future telescopes are outlined. The inventory of observed line features shows that sources with a wide range of angular and spectral extent have to be handled: the scientific objectives for gamma-ray spectroscopy are spanning from compact objects as broad class annihilators, over longlived galactic radioisotopes with hotspots in the degree-range to the extremely extended galactic disk and bulge emission of the narrow e^– e⁺ line.The instrumental categories which can be identified in the energy range of nuclear astrophysics have their origins in the different concepts of light itself: geometrical optics is the base of modulating aperture systems-these methods will continue to yield adequate performances in the near future. Beyond this, focusing telescopes and Compton telescopes, based on wave- and quantum- optics respectively, may be capable to further push the limits of resolution and sensitivity.     

Ultrahigh-energy gamma-ray emission from the Geminga pulsar

In 1996–1997, the Geminga pulsar was observed at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory with a ground-based gamma-ray telescope. An analysis of the observational data suggests that this object is a source of ultrahigh-energy gamma rays. An analysis of the temporal distribution of gamma-ray photons by an epoch-folding technique reveals a periodicity in the gamma-ray emission with a period of 0.237 s.     

A 59-second period in the very high energy gamma-ray emission from the Geminga pulsar

An analysis of our observations of the Geminga object with the GT-48 ground-based gamma-ray telescope has shown that its very-high-energy gamma-ray flux is modulated with a 59-s period. The 59-s period and its time derivative previously inferred from satellite data have been confirmed. According to our data, the period was 61.94 s in 1997 at MSD=50573. The statistical significance of this result is (1?4.5)×10^?4.     

An “ESA-Affordable” Laue-lens

With ESA’s INTEGRAL mission gamma-ray astronomy has advanced to the point where major scientific advances must be expected from detailed studies of the many new point sources. The interest in developing focusing telescopes operating in the soft gamma-ray regime up to 1 MeV is therefore mounting rapidly. Telescopes based on Laue diffraction of gamma-rays from crystals appear as one promising route, although the practical difficulties of realizing a large scale Laue lens are certainly not small. In this paper I have attempted to develop an optimized lens design considering the size and mass constraints of a specific medium size launch vehicle. The introduction of the lens mass as a primary design driver has some surprising effects for the choice of material for the crystals and new tradeoff considerations are introduced.     

伽马射线暴的光度-光变复杂度关系

伽马射线暴的光变复杂度是描述其光变曲线复杂程度的物理量.由已知红移的伽马射线暴,Reichart等人发现其光变复杂度与各向同性光度之间有正相关性(LαVα,α在1.77～3.5之间),即光变越复杂,光度越高.此相关性类似于造父变星的周光关系,可用来估计伽马暴的距离和红移.调研、分析了各种光变复杂度的定义、算法和光变复杂度-各向同性光度关系的拟合结果,最后对光变复杂度和光度之间的关系做了总结和展望.     

Development of Control Softwares for the SRAO 6-Meter Telescope Based on PCs Running Linux

We have developed a control system for the Seoul Radio Astronomy Observatory (SRAO) 6-meter telescope operating in the 85–115 Ghz frequency range. Four PCs running the Linux operating system control source tracking, take data, execute observations and handle user interface. The control system utilizes a modular and multiprocessing structure to facilitate easy upgrading and troubleshooting. Communication between the processes relies on the interprocess communication (IPC) resources on Linux such as shared memory, message queues, and TCP/IP sockets. Communication between PCs is made via an Ethernet link. We also use digital I/O lines for some status signals which require a short delay. The control system supports scheduling observations, updates observation logs automatically and also supports graphical user interfaces. These all makes the operation easy. By using a commercially available motion control card with an embedded microcomputer for antenna control, we achieved a tracking accuracy to better than 1 arcsec. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

New Scintillators for Focal Plane Detectors in Gamma-Ray Missions

Recent developments of cerium-doped lanthanum-halide scintillators like LaBr₃:Ce show a remarkable performance in gamma-ray spectroscopy. When high energy resolution in combination with stopping power is required they provide excellent gamma-ray detector candidates for the use in space missions. Moreover, irradiation tests have shown that such detectors are radiation tolerant. In this paper we discuss a possible application of LaBr in nuclear astrophysics missions. We show results on recent proton irradiation tests at KVI in Groningen (NL) and discuss the damage and activation effects after irradiation. A possible implementation for a focal plane detector in a gamma-ray telescope and the expected performance is presented.     

Prospects in space-based gamma-ray astronomy

Observations of the gamma-ray sky reveal the most powerful sources and the most violent events in the Universe. While at lower wavebands the observed emission is generally dominated by thermal processes, the gamma-ray sky provides us with a view on the non-thermal Universe. Here particles are accelerated to extreme relativistic energies by mechanisms which are still poorly understood, and nuclear reactions are synthesizing the basic constituents of our world. Cosmic accelerators and cosmic explosions are the major science themes that are addressed in the gamma-ray regime.With the INTEGRAL observatory, ESA has provided a unique tool to the astronomical community revealing hundreds of sources, new classes of objects, extraordinary views of antimatter annihilation in our Galaxy, and fingerprints of recent nucleosynthesis processes. While INTEGRAL provides the global overview over the soft gamma-ray sky, there is a growing need to perform deeper, more focused investigations of gamma-ray sources. In soft X-rays a comparable step was taken going from the Einstein and the EXOSAT satellites to the Chandra and XMM/Newton observatories. Technological advances in the past years in the domain of gamma-ray focusing using Laue diffraction and multilayer-coated mirror techniques have paved the way towards a gamma-ray mission, providing major improvements compared to past missions regarding sensitivity and angular resolution. Such a future Gamma-Ray Imager will allow to study particle acceleration processes and explosion physics in unprecedented detail, providing essential clues on the innermost nature of the most violent and most energetic processes in the Universe.     

Status and First Results of the Magic Telescope

The 17 m Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescope for gamma-ray astronomy between 30 and 300 GeV started operations in its final configuration in October 2003 and is currently well into its calibration phase. Here I report on its present status and its first gamma-ray source detections.     

Search For Correlations Between Batse Gamma-Ray Bursts and Supernovae

We report on our statistical research of space–time correlated supernovae and CGRO-BATSE gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). There exists a significantly higher abundance of core-collapse supernovae among the correlated supernovae, but the subset of all correlated objects does not seem to be physically different from the whole set.     

TM65 m射电望远镜低频段系统噪声温度测试和分析

首先介绍了天马65 m射电望远镜(简称TM65 m)接收系统,包括L、S、C、X 4个频段各部分的噪声指标.然后对系统噪声温度的几种测试方法进行了讨论;对影响系统噪声温度测量的若干关键因素进行了分析,包括非线性误差、馈源网络插入损耗和失配误差等.采用Y因子法对试验室的噪声源定标值进行了校核,校核后偏差达到0.2 K左右.最后给出了TM65 m 4个低频段系统噪声温度的实测结果,并进行了分析.     

γ射线暴的时变分析

γ射线暴是天空中突然的硬X射线/γ射线爆发现象,有着非常复杂的光变曲线。由于光变现象和辐射过程直接相关,因此,研究γ射线暴的时变规律是非常重要的。对γ射线暴的一些时变现象以及通过时变研究得出的分类、脉冲形状、功率谱、时间演化、光度等性质进行了总结,并对一些结果进行了讨论。     

γ射线暴谱硬度比的时间演化特征

采用小波分析方法对康普顿γ射线天文台(CGRO)上的BATSE仪器观测到的γ暴光变曲线数据进行去噪处理,并提出时间分辨的谱硬度比定义,用包含有599个暴的样本研究谱硬度比随时间的演化规律,结果表明:(1)样本中77%暴的谱硬度比随时间按"硬到软"规律演化,而23%暴谱硬度比随时间按"软到硬"规律演化,尤其是3%暴在整个暴中呈现单调的"软到硬"趋势。(2)平均谱硬度比随时间单调地以"硬到软"规律演化。(3)持续时间不同的暴,其谱硬度比演化曲线有较大的差异,其中"硬到软"演化趋势最显著的是持续时间在23～35s之间的那些暴;持续时间在1～10s的暴的演化特征跟其它组差异最显著,呈现比较明显的"软到硬"演化规律;持续时间在35～53s之间的暴平均谱硬度比几乎没有随时间演化。(4)不同辐射强度的暴平均谱硬度比的演化特征不同,随着峰值流量的增大,谱硬度比演化由"硬-软-硬"逐渐转变为"软-硬-软":峰值流量越大,"软-硬-软"的趋势越显著,而峰值流量越小,其峰值流量"硬-软-硬"的趋势越显著。我们对这些结果进行了简单的讨论。     

Observations of radio emission from the cosmic gamma-ray burst GRB 030329

We present the radio observations of the afterglow from the intense cosmic gamma-ray burst GRB 030329 performed with the radio telescopes of the Institute of Applied Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, at the Svetloe (λ=3.5 cm) and Zelenchuk (λ=6 cm) Observatories. The difference between the fluxes measured in two different polarization modes suggests the existence of a circular polarization in the radio afterglow from GRB 030329. However, since the measurement errors of the fluxes with different circular polarizations are large, we cannot draw a firm conclusion about its detection; we can only set an upper limit on its value. An analysis of the possible generation mechanisms for the circular polarization of the relativistic jet suggests that there is a helical magnetic field in the jet. The existence of significant flux densities at various wavelengths during a long (≥10 days) period leads us to conclude that the hydrodynamic evolution of the relativistic bow shock takes place in the stellar wind, not in the interstellar medium. We have estimated the total GRB energy (E=10⁵¹ erg) (under the assumption of isotropic radiation) and the plasma density of the stellar wind from the presupernova (n=3 cm^?3). The magnetic-field strength in the relativistic jet can be estimated as B≈100 G.