Particle Astrophysics

Start year
2003
Organizational Unit

Grants related:

    General
    Description

    The MAGIC Collaboration is integrated by 20 research institutes and university departments from Armenia, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and USA. The collaboration comprises two 17m diameter telescopes, located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, designed to measure the Cherenkov radiation associated with atmospheric showers from very high-energy gamma rays.

    CTA is a major international collaboration for building two large Cherenkov observatories at North and South Hemispheres. Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma has been selected to host the Northern observatory. The first large size telescope was inaugurated in October 2018, and we are presently building the other three.

    Principal investigator
    Project staff
    Collaborators
    Marie Karjalianen
    1. Inauguration of the first large-size telescope of CTA (LST-1) at the Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos
    2. Detection of a neutrino generated in a blazar with MAGIC, IcCube and Fermi-LAT
    3. Discovery of the binary systemPSR J2032+4127/MT91 213 emitting in VHE gamma rays.

    Related publications

    • Constraining Lorentz Invariance Violation Using the Crab Pulsar Emission Observed up to TeV Energies by MAGIC

      Spontaneous breaking of Lorentz symmetry at energies on the order of the Planck energy or lower is predicted by many quantum gravity theories, implying non-trivial dispersion relations for the photon in vacuum. Consequently, gamma-rays of different energies, emitted simultaneously from astrophysical sources, could accumulate measurable differences

      MAGIC Collaboration et al.

      Advertised on:

      9
      2017
      Citations
      35
    • Observation of the black widow B1957+20 millisecond pulsar binary system with the MAGIC telescopes

      B1957+20 is a millisecond pulsar located in a black-widow-type compact binary system with a low-mass stellar companion. The interaction of the pulsar wind with the companion star wind and/or the interstellar plasma is expected to create plausible conditions for acceleration of electrons to TeV energies and subsequent production of very high-energy

      Ahnen, M. L. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2017
      Citations
      4
    • MAGIC observations of the microquasar V404 Cygni during the 2015 outburst

      The microquasar V404 Cygni underwent a series of outbursts in 2015, June 15-31, during which its flux in hard X-rays (20-40 keV) reached about 40 times the Crab nebula flux. Because of the exceptional interest of the flaring activity from this source, observations at several wavelengths were conducted. The MAGIC telescopes, triggered by the

      Ahnen, M. L. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2017
      Citations
      5
    • A Search for Spectral Hysteresis and Energy-dependent Time Lags from X-Ray and TeV Gamma-Ray Observations of Mrk 421

      Blazars are variable emitters across all wavelengths over a wide range of timescales, from months down to minutes. It is therefore essential to observe blazars simultaneously at different wavelengths, especially in the X-ray and gamma-ray bands, where the broadband spectral energy distributions usually peak. In this work, we report on three “target

      Ahnen, M. L. et al.

      Advertised on:

      1
      2017
      Citations
      32
    • Very-high-energy gamma-ray observations of the Type Ia Supernova SN 2014J with the MAGIC telescopes

      Context. In this work we present data from observations with the MAGIC telescopes of SN 2014J detected on January 21 2014, the closest Type Ia supernova since Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes started to operate. Aims: We aim to probe the possibility of very-high-energy (VHE; E ≥ 100 GeV) gamma rays produced in the early stages of Type Ia supernova

      Zanin, R. et al.

      Advertised on:

      6
      2017
      Citations
      2
    • Observations of Sagittarius A* during the pericenter passage of the G2 object with MAGIC

      Context. We present the results of a multi-year monitoring campaign of the Galactic center (GC) with the MAGIC telescopes. These observations were primarily motivated by reports that a putative gas cloud (G2) would be passing in close proximity to the super-massive black hole (SMBH), associated with Sagittarius A*, located at the center of our

      Zanin, R. et al.

      Advertised on:

      5
      2017
      Citations
      23
    • Prospects for Cherenkov Telescope Array Observations of the Young Supernova Remnant RX J1713.7‑3946

      We perform simulations for future Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observations of RX J1713.7‑3946, a young supernova remnant (SNR) and one of the brightest sources ever discovered in very high energy (VHE) gamma rays. Special attention is paid to exploring possible spatial (anti)correlations of gamma rays with emission at other wavelengths, in

      Acero, F. et al.

      Advertised on:

      5
      2017
      Citations
      20
    • MAGIC detection of very high energy γ-ray emission from the low-luminosity blazar 1ES 1741+196

      We present the first detection of the nearby (z = 0.084) low-luminosity BL Lac object 1ES 1741+196 in the very high energy (E > 100 GeV) band. This object lies in a triplet of interacting galaxies. Early predictions had suggested 1ES 1741+196 to be, along with several other high-frequency BL Lac sources, within the reach of MAGIC detectability. Its

      Ahnen, M. L. et al.

      Advertised on:

      6
      2017
      Citations
      15
    • Very High Energy γ-Rays from the Universe's Middle Age: Detection of the z = 0.940 Blazar PKS 1441+25 with MAGIC

      The flat-spectrum radio quasar PKS 1441+25 at a redshift of z = 0.940 is detected between 40 and 250 GeV with a significance of 25.5σ using the MAGIC telescopes. Together with the gravitationally lensed blazar QSO B0218+357 (z = 0.944), PKS 1441+25 is the most distant very high energy (VHE) blazar detected to date. The observations were triggered

      Ahnen, M. L. et al.

      Advertised on:

      12
      2015
      Citations
      85
    • Precision Measurement of the Helium Flux in Primary Cosmic Rays of Rigidities 1.9 GV to 3 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

      Knowledge of the precise rigidity dependence of the helium flux is important in understanding the origin, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays. A precise measurement of the helium flux in primary cosmic rays with rigidity (momentum/charge) from 1.9 GV to 3 TV based on 50 million events is presented and compared to the proton flux. The

      Aguilar, M. et al.

      Advertised on:

      11
      2015
      Citations
      378
    • Very high-energy γ-ray observations of novae and dwarf novae with the MAGIC telescopes

      Context. In the last five years the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) instrument detected GeV γ-ray emission from five novae. The GeV emission can be interpreted in terms of an inverse Compton process of electrons accelerated in a shock. In this case it is expected that protons in the same conditions can be accelerated to much higher energies

      Ahnen, M. L. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2015
      Citations
      21
    • First NuSTAR Observations of Mrk 501 within a Radio to TeV Multi-Instrument Campaign

      We report on simultaneous broadband observations of the TeV-emitting blazar Markarian 501 between 2013 April 1 and August 10, including the first detailed characterization of the synchrotron peak with Swift and NuSTAR. During the campaign, the nearby BL Lac object was observed in both a quiescent and an elevated state. The broadband campaign

      Furniss, A. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2015
      Citations
      57
    • Measurement of the Crab Nebula spectrum over three decades in energy with the MAGIC telescopes

      The MAGIC stereoscopic system collected 69 hours of Crab Nebula data between October 2009 and April 2011. Analysis of this data sample using the latest improvements in the MAGIC stereoscopic software provided an unprecedented precision of spectral and night-by-night light curve determination at gamma rays. We derived a differential spectrum with a

      Aleksić, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      3
      2015
      Citations
      86
    • MAGIC detection of short-term variability of the high-peaked BL Lac object 1ES 0806+524

      The high-frequency-peaked BL Lac (HBL) 1ES 0806+524 (z = 0.138) was discovered in very high energy (VHE) γ-rays in 2008. Until now, the broad-band spectrum of 1ES 0806+524 has been only poorly characterized, in particular at high energies. We analysed multiwavelength observations from γ-rays to radio performed from 2011 January to March, which were

      Aleksić, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2015
      Citations
      27
    • Probing the very high energy γ-ray spectral curvature in the blazar PG 1553+113 with the MAGIC telescopes

      PG 1553+113 is a very high energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) γ-ray emitter classified as a BL Lac object. Its redshift is constrained by intergalactic absorption lines in the range 0.4 < z < 0.58. The MAGIC telescopes have monitored the source's activity since 2005. In early 2012, PG 1553+113 was found in a high state, and later, in April of the same year

      Aleksić, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2015
      Citations
      25
    • Unprecedented study of the broadband emission of Mrk 421 during flaring activity in March 2010

      Context. Because of its proximity, Mrk 421 is one of the best sources on which to study the nature of BL Lac objects. Its proximity allows us to characterize its broadband spectral energy distribution (SED). Aims: The goal is to better understand the mechanisms responsible for the broadband emission and the temporal evolution of Mrk 421. These

      Aleksić, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      6
      2015
      Citations
      106
    • Precision Measurement of the Proton Flux in Primary Cosmic Rays from Rigidity 1 GV to 1.8 TV with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station

      A precise measurement of the proton flux in primary cosmic rays with rigidity (momentum/charge) from 1 GV to 1.8 TV is presented based on 300 million events. Knowledge of the rigidity dependence of the proton flux is important in understanding the origin, acceleration, and propagation of cosmic rays. We present the detailed variation with rigidity

      Aguilar, M. et al.

      Advertised on:

      5
      2015
      Citations
      673
    • Application of climatological monitoring for the candidate CTA site at Izaña (Tenerife)

      The location of Izaña (Tenerife, Canary Islands) has been proposed for hosting the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). To support the site-testing campaign, we obtained climate normals from the 10 year long series recorded at Izana by the atmospheric Observatory (CIAI), we have also compared the wind regime with a simultaneous 10 year database at the

      Castro-Almazán, J. A. et al.

      Advertised on:

      4
      2015
      Citations
      2
    • The 2009 multiwavelength campaign on Mrk 421: Variability and correlation studies

      Aims: We perform an extensive characterization of the broadband emission of Mrk 421, as well as its temporal evolution, during the non-flaring (low) state. The high brightness and nearby location (z = 0.031) of Mrk 421 make it an excellent laboratory to study blazar emission. The goal is to learn about the physical processes responsible for the

      Aleksić, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      4
      2015
      Citations
      96
    • MAGIC observations of MWC 656, the only known Be/BH system

      Context. MWC 656 has recently been established as the first observationally detected high-mass X-ray binary system containing a Be star and a black hole (BH). The system has been associated with a gamma-ray flaring event detected by the AGILE satellite in July 2010. Aims: Our aim is to evaluate whether the MWC 656 gamma-ray emission extends to very

      Aleksić, J. et al.

      Advertised on:

      4
      2015
      Citations
      12

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