Observation of gamma-ray emission from the galaxy M87 above 250 GeV with VERITAS


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Acciari V. A., Beilicke M., Blaylock G., Bradbury S. M., Buckley J. H., Bugaev V., ...Daha Fazla

ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, cilt.679, sa.1, ss.397-403, 2008 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 679 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2008
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1086/587458
  • Dergi Adı: ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.397-403
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: galaxies : individual (M87, NGC 4486, Virgo A), gamma rays : observations, SUPERMASSIVE BLACK-HOLE, X-RAY, TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS, UNIFIED SCHEMES, TEV EMISSION, LAC OBJECTS, CRAB-NEBULA, JET, MARKARIAN-421, VARIABILITY
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The multiwavelength observation of the nearby radio galaxy M87 provides a unique opportunity to study in detail processes occurring in active galactic nuclei from radio waves to TeV gamma-rays. Here we report the detection of gamma-ray emission above 250 GeV from M87 in spring 2007 with the VERITAS atmospheric Cerenkov telescope array and discuss its correlation with the X-ray emission. The gamma-ray emission is measured to be pointlike with an intrinsic source radius less than 4.5'. The differential energy spectrum is fitted well by a power-law function: d Phi/dE = (7.4 +/- 1.3(stat) +/- 1.5(sys))(E/TeV)((-2.31 +/- 0.17stat +/- 0.2sys)) 10(-9) m(-2) s(-1) TeV(-1). We show strong evidence for a year-scale correlation between the gamma-ray flux reported by TeV experiments and the X-ray emission measured by the ASM RXTE observatory, and discuss the possible short-timescale variability. These results imply that the gamma-ray emission from M87 is more likely associated with the core of the galaxy than with other bright X-ray features in the jet.