HAWC and LHAASO-WCDA: A Comparision of Gamma-Ray Detections and Sensitivites

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory and the Water Cherenkov Detector Array (WCDA) component of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) are ground-based TeV (TeraelectronVolt) gamma-ray detectors that are optimized to survey the galactic sky over extensive periods of time. Because of their difference in physical latitude and time of operation, their respective views of the sky also differ. LHAASO sees sources at a higher declination and more overhead compared to HAWC. In this analysis, we compare the sensitivity of both detectors using LHASSO's first published catalog of gamma-ray sources. The generation of hundreds of galactic sky maps are created to accurately contrast the statistical likelihood of these TeV observations. We perform this analysis with respect to the two instruments' reported significance of various galactic gamma-ray sources as a function of their 2D Gaussian extension, energy spectrum, and declination, comparing the sources at the same cosmic locations and spectral indices. This results in an interesting relationship between the sensitivity of these detectors and the declination of each gamma-ray source. Outliers of this relation set points for compelling future investigations, most specifically the unidentified source 1LHAASO J1219+2915 thought to be a new class of variable extragalactic origin or other phenomenon.