A SEARCH FOR PULSATIONS FROM GEMINGA ABOVE 100 GeV WITH VERITAS

/ Authors

E. Aliu, S. Archambault, A. Archer, T. Aune, A. Barnacka, M. Beilicke, W. Benbow, R. Bird, J. Buckley, V. Bugaev

and 183 more authors

K. Byrum, J. Cardenzana, M. Cerruti, X. Chen, L. Ciupik, M. Connolly, W. Cui, H. Dickinson, J. Dumm, J. Eisch, M. Errando, A. Falcone, Q. Feng, J. Finley, H. Fleischhack, P. Fortin, L. Fortson, A. Furniss, G. Gillanders, S. Griffin, S. Griffiths, J. Grube, G. Gyuk, N. Håkansson, D. Hanna, J. Holder, T. Humensky, C. Johnson, P. Kaaret, P. Kar, M. Kertzman, D. Kieda, F. Krennrich, S. Kumar, M. Lang, M. Lyutikov, A. Madhavan, G. Maier, S. McArthur, A. McCann, K. Meagher, J. Millis, P. Moriarty, R. Mukherjee, D. Nieto, A. O. D. Bhróithe, R. Ong, A. Otte, N. Park, M. Pohl, A. Popkow, H. Prokoph, E. Pueschel, J. Quinn, K. Ragan, L. Reyes, P. Reynolds, G. Richards, E. Roache, M. Santander, G. Sembroski, K. Shahinyan, A. Smith, D. Staszak, I. Telezhinsky, J. Tucci, J. Tyler, A. Varlotta, S. Vincent, S. Wakely, A. Weinstein, D. Williams, A. Zajczyk, B. D. O. Physics, Astronomy, Barnard College, Columbia University, NY 10027, Usa, P. Department, M. University, Montreal, QC H3A 2T8, Canada., D. Physics, W. University, S. Louis, MO 63130, U. California, L. Angeles, CA 90095, H. C. F. Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, Amado, AZ 85645, S. O. Physics, University College Dublin, Belfield, 4. Dublin, Ireland, A. N. Laboratory, 9. S. C. Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, I. S. University, Ames, IA 50011, I. O. Physics, U. Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, H Germany, Desy, 6. Platanenallee, 15738 Zeuthen, A. Department, Adler Planetarium, Astronomy Museum, Chicago., IL 60605, National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway., Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN 47907, U. Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, D. O. Astronomy, Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab, P. S. University, University Park, Pa 16802, Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, U. Iowa, Van Allen Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242, T. B. R. Institute, U. Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, New York., U. Utah, Salt lake City, UT 84112, D. University, Greencastle, IN 46135-0037, Enrico Fermi Institute, U. Chicago, IL 60637, K. I. F. T. Physics, Center for Computational Astrophysics, G. I. O. Technology, NW 837StateStreet, Atlanta, GA 30332-0430, A. University, 1100 East 5th Street, Anderson, IN 46012, California Polytechnic State University, S. Obispo, CA 94307, D. Physics, Instrumentation, Cork Institute of Technology, Bishopstown, Cork, Now at Departament d'Astronomia i Meteorologia, Institut de Ci'encies del Cosmos, U. Barcelona, IEEC-UB, 1. MartiiFranques, E. Barcelona, Spain.

/ Abstract

We present the results of 71.6 hr of observations of the Geminga pulsar (PSR J0633+1746) with the VERITAS very-high-energy gamma-ray telescope array. Data taken with VERITAS between 2007 November and 2013 February were phase-folded using a Geminga pulsar timing solution derived from data recorded by the XMM-Newton and Fermi-LAT space telescopes. No significant pulsed emission above 100 GeV is observed, and we report upper limits at the 95% confidence level on the integral flux above 135 GeV (spectral analysis threshold) of 4.0 × 10−13 s−1 cm−2 and 1.7 × 10−13 s−1 cm−2 for the two principal peaks in the emission profile. These upper limits, placed in context with phase-resolved spectral energy distributions determined from 5 yr of data from the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT), constrain possible hardening of the Geminga pulsar emission spectra above ∼50 GeV.

Journal: The Astrophysical Journal

DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/800/1/61