STACEE Observations of Mrk 421 During the 2001 Flare
/ Authors
S. Collaboration, L. Boone, D. Bramel, E. Chae, C. Covault, P. Fortin, D. Gingrich, D. Hanna, J. Hinton, R. Mukherjee
and 7 more authors
C. Mueller, R. Ong, K. Ragan, R. Scalzo, D. Schuette, C. Théoret, D. Williams
/ Abstract
STACEE is a ground based gamma-ray observatory that uses a heliostat array, built for solar energy research, to detect atmospheric Cherenkov radiation from gamma-ray initiated extensive air showers. During the first half of 2001, a prototype detector, STACEE-48, was used to detect the blazar Markarian 421, which was in an extremely active state. Observations from March to May of 2001 yielded an integral flux of (8.0+/-0.7_{stat}+/-1.5_{sys})x 10^-10 1/cm^2/s at energies above 140+/-20 GeV, and provide some evidence of correlated trends on time scales of a week or more in the GeV and X-ray bands.
Journal: arXiv: Astrophysics