Discovery of very high energy gamma-rays from Markarian 180 triggered by an optical outburst

The high-frequency-peaked BL Lacertae object Markarian 180 (Mrk 180) was observed to have an optical outburst in 2006 March, triggering a Target of Opportunity observation with the MAGIC telescope. The source was observed for 12.4 hr, and very high energy γ-ray emission was detected with a significa...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: MAGIC Collaboration, Paredes i Poy, Josep Maria, Ribó Gomis, Marc, Bosch i Ramon, Valentí
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2006
Country:España
Institution:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repository:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/150592
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/150592
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Raigs gamma
Observacions astronòmiques
Gamma rays
Astronomical observations
Description
Summary:The high-frequency-peaked BL Lacertae object Markarian 180 (Mrk 180) was observed to have an optical outburst in 2006 March, triggering a Target of Opportunity observation with the MAGIC telescope. The source was observed for 12.4 hr, and very high energy γ-ray emission was detected with a significance of 5.5 σ. An integral flux above 200 GeV of (2.3 ± 0.7) × 10-11 cm-2 s-1 was measured, corresponding to 11% of the Crab Nebula flux. A rather soft spectrum with a photon index of -3.3 ± 0.7 has been determined. No significant flux variation was found.