APS Logo

Search for Extragalactic Tev-Emitting Sources

ORAL

Abstract

Although charged cosmic rays have been observed up to energiesexceeding 10 20 eV, their origin and acceleration mechanisms remainunknown. The study of gamma rays is an excellent opportunity tostudy cosmic rays because photons have no electric charge, andtherefore come straight to us from their original sources. Havingdetected galactic sources beyond 100 TeV, the High Altitude WaterCherenkov (HAWC) Observatory is currently the gamma-ray detectorwith the highest energy reach. Beyond our own galaxy, photons sufferattenuation in the extragalactic background light. Thus, by observingmulti-TeV emission from extragalactic sources we would be identifyingthe most powerful accelerators in the universe. We start our studyfrom a predefined list of relatively nearby extragalactic radio-emittingX-ray sources and search for very-high-energy emissions using datafrom the HAWC Observatory. If no significant excess is found, we usethe HAWC data to determine upper limits at TeV energies for eachextragalactic candidate allowing for constraints on the physicalparameters of the sources (e.g., energy cutoff, spectral index, etc.). Wealso identify possible interesting candidates for further studies.

–

Authors

  • Kara Whitaker

    San Diego State Univ

  • Abdul Qadeer Rehan

    University of Tennessee, University of York, Old Dominion University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Old Dominion University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, Institute of Physics - University of Sao Paulo, Naval Research Laboratory, St. Cloud State University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Space Sciences Laboratory, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California Berkeley, University of Maryland - Baltimore County, Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Federal University of Bahia; University of Brasília, Federal University of Bahia, Department of Applied Physics, Yale University & Department of Physics, Yale University, Theoretical Division and Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign & Current affiliation: Seagate Research Group, Seagate Technology, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University, Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Applied Physics, Yale University, Swarthmore College, Western Washington University, Departments of Chemistry and Physics and The Baruch 60 Center for Biochemical Solar Energy Research at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Florida, Wayne State University, Vanderbilt University, University of Maryland, College Park, NASA GSFC, CfA, California Institute of Technology, Skidmore College, Durham University, University of Alberta, University of Michigan, Curtin University, Michigan State University, University of Nevada, University of Chicago, Duke University, Cornell, Pennsylvania State University, New York University Abu Dhabi, NASA Ames Research Center, Kenyon Coll, Kenyon College, University of Texas at Austin, Flatiron Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Ohio State University, University of Pennsylvania, HERA, HERA, Rochester Institute of Technology, Howard Community College, Carleton College, California State University at Long Beach, Bishop Ireton High School, Fayetteville State University, Univ of Oklahoma, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Carnegie Observatories, San Diego State University, Associate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Institute of Standards and Technology, NTT Basic Research Laboratories and NTT Research Center for Theoretical Quantum Physics, JILA, University of Colorado, 440 UCB, Boulder, CO, Department of Physics, 390 UCB University of Colorado, University of Washington, James Franck Institute, Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago Department of Physics, Princeton University, Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Indiana Univ - Bloomington, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Harvard University, Nagoya University, Toyota Technological Institute, University of Tokyo, Zhejiang University, Clark University, Natl Univ of Singapore, University of Richmond