Search for astrophysical PeV gamma rays from point sources with Carpet-2

Early results of the search for Eγ > 1 PeV cosmic photons from point sources with the data of Carpet–2, an air-shower array equipped with a 175 m2 muon detector, are presented. They include 95% CL upper limits on PeV photon fluxes from stacked directions of high-energy IceCube neutrino events and from four predefined sources, Crab, Cyg X-3, Mrk 421 and Mrk 501. An insignificant excess of events from Mrk 421 will be further monitored. Prospects of the use of the upgraded installation, Carpet–3 (410 m2 muon detector), scheduled to start data taking in 2019, for searches of Eγ > 100 TeV photons, are briefly discussed.