Search for gamma-ray emission above 50 TeV from Crab Nebula with the TAIGA detector

Abstract

The TAIGA (Tunka Advanced Instrument for cosmic rays and Gamma-Astronomy) observatory is designed to study the gamma ray sources and galactic cosmic rays. It is located in the Tunka Valley 50 km from the lake Baikal (Siberia). The first part of TAIGA called the EAS Cherenkov array TAIGA-HiSCORE currently consists of 28 wide-angle (0.6 sr) stations, distributed over an area of 0.25 km 2. The Crab observation exposure was about 115 hours during the winter seasons of 2016-2017. The expected gamma quanta excess depends on the array energy threshold and a model of the Crab energy spectrum extrapolation to the higher energies. We present preliminary results of experimental data and MC simulations comparison as well as energy threshold and angular resolutions. The experimental data is in a good agreement with the simulations. An excess of events (about 25 events in the region 30-63 TeV) observed from the Crab direction is compatible with the expected one.

Commissioning the joint operation of the wide angle timing HiSCORE Cherenkov array with the first IACT of the TAIGA experimen

“…For illustration we show two Monte Carlo predictions: 3-1000 TeV and 100-1000 TeV. From the energy measurements of TAIGA-HiSCORE we conclude [9] that the joint event threshold is ∼100 TeV; Figure 6 also demonstrates good agreement between the joint events and simulated ones with energies greater than 100 TeV (the corresponding threshold in photoelectrons ∼300-400 p.e). The region 120-300 p.e.…”

TAIGA - a hybrid detector complex for high energy gamma-ray astro-physics and cosmic ray physics in the Tunka valley

“…Main HiSCORE results are the energy spectrum of cosmic rays, a search for an event excess from the Crab Nebula and the first detection of the CATS-LIDAR onboard the ISS [14], used for precision pointing verification , see 3 . For details see [13], [15], [16].…”

TAIGA-HiSCORE detection of the CATS-Lidar on the ISS as fast moving point source

“…Precision pointing for shower reconstruction is a key to detect astrophysical gamma-ray sources in HiSCORE [7]. This paper describes a unique method to verify, in the absence of strong detected astrophysical sources, the absolute HiSCORE pointing using as artificial light source the 532nm laser of the CATS-LIDAR on the International Space Station (ISS), which was serendipitously detected in the 2015/16 HiSCORE data set [6].…”