Very high energy outburst of Markarian 501 in May 2009

E. Aliu; S. Archambault; A. Archer; T. Arlen; T. Aune; A. Barnacka; B. Behera; M. Beilicke; W. Benbow; K. Berger; R. Bird; M. Böttcher; A. Bouvier; M. Buchovecky; J. H. Buckley; V. Bugaev; J. V. Cardenzana; M. Cerruti; A. Cesarini; X. Chen; L. Ciupik; E. Collins-Hughes; M. P. Connolly; W. Cui; J. Dumm; J. D. Eisch; A. Falcone; S. Federici; Q. Feng; J. P. Finley; H. Fleischhack; P. Fortin; L. Fortson; A. Furniss; N. Galante; D. Gall; G. H. Gillanders; S. Griffin; S. T. Griffiths; J. Grube; G. Gyuk; M. Hütten; N. Håkansson; J. Holder; G. Hughes; T. B. Humensky; C. A. Johnson; P. Kaaret; P. Kar; N. Kelley-Hoskins; The VERITAS Collaboration

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201628744

Very high energy outburst of Markarian 501 in May 2009

E. Aliu, S. Archambault, A. Archer, T. Arlen, T. Aune, A. Barnacka, B. Behera, M. Beilicke, W. Benbow, K. Berger, R. Bird, M. Böttcher, A. Bouvier, M. Buchovecky, J. H. Buckley, V. Bugaev, J. V. Cardenzana, M. Cerruti, A. Cesarini, X. ChenL. Ciupik, E. Collins-Hughes, M. P. Connolly, W. Cui, J. Dumm, J. D. Eisch, A. Falcone, S. Federici, Q. Feng, J. P. Finley, H. Fleischhack, P. Fortin, L. Fortson, A. Furniss, N. Galante, D. Gall, G. H. Gillanders, S. Griffin, S. T. Griffiths, J. Grube, G. Gyuk, M. Hütten, N. Håkansson, J. Holder, G. Hughes, T. B. Humensky, C. A. Johnson, P. Kaaret, P. Kar, N. Kelley-Hoskins, The VERITAS Collaboration

Physics and Astronomy (Twin Cities)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

The very high energy (VHE; E> 100 GeV) blazar Markarian 501 was observed between April 17 and May 5 (MJD 54 938-54 956), 2009, as part of an extensive multi-wavelength campaign from radio to VHE. Strong VHE γ-ray activity was detected on May 1st with Whipple and VERITAS, when the flux (E > 400 GeV) increased to 10 times the pre-flare baseline flux (3.9 × 10^-11 ph cm^-2 s^-1), reaching five times the flux of the Crab Nebula. This coincided with a decrease in the optical polarization and a rotation of the polarization angle by 15°. This VHE flare showed a fast flux variation with an increase of a factor ∼4 in 25 min, and a falling time of ∼50 min. We present the observations of the quiescent state previous to the flare and of the high state after the flare, focusing on the flux and spectral variability from Whipple, VERITAS, Fermi-LAT, RXTE, and Swift combined with optical and radio data.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	A76
Journal	Astronomy and Astrophysics
Volume	594
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201628744
State	Published - Oct 1 2016

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research is supported by grants from the US Department of Energy Office of Science, the US National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution, and by NSERC in Canada. We acknowledge the excellent work of the technical support staff at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and at the collaborating institutions in the construction and operation of the instrument. The VERITAS Collaboration is grateful to Trevor Weekes for his seminal contributions and leadership in the field of VHE gamma-ray astrophysics, which made this study possible. The Fermi LAT Collaboration acknowledges support from a number of agencies and institutes for both development and the operation of the LAT as well as scientific data analysis. These include NASA and DOE in the United States, CEA/Irfu and IN2P3/CNRS in France, ASI and INFN in Italy, MEXT, KEK, and JAXA in Japan, and the K. A.Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Research Council and the National Space Board in Sweden. Additional support from INAF in Italy and CNES in France for science analysis during the operations phase is also gratefully acknowledged. M.B. acknowledges support through the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) by the National Research Foundation and the Department of Science and Technology of South Africa.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 ESO.

Keywords

BL Lacertae objects: individual: Mrk 501
Gamma rays: galaxies

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10.1051/0004-6361/201628744

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Aliu, E., Archambault, S., Archer, A., Arlen, T., Aune, T., Barnacka, A., Behera, B., Beilicke, M., Benbow, W., Berger, K., Bird, R., Böttcher, M., Bouvier, A., Buchovecky, M., Buckley, J. H., Bugaev, V., Cardenzana, J. V., Cerruti, M., Cesarini, A., ... The VERITAS Collaboration (2016). Very high energy outburst of Markarian 501 in May 2009. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 594, [A76]. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201628744

Aliu, E, Archambault, S, Archer, A, Arlen, T, Aune, T, Barnacka, A, Behera, B, Beilicke, M, Benbow, W, Berger, K, Bird, R, Böttcher, M, Bouvier, A, Buchovecky, M, Buckley, JH, Bugaev, V, Cardenzana, JV, Cerruti, M, Cesarini, A, Chen, X, Ciupik, L, Collins-Hughes, E, Connolly, MP, Cui, W, Dumm, J, Eisch, JD, Falcone, A, Federici, S, Feng, Q, Finley, JP, Fleischhack, H, Fortin, P, Fortson, L, Furniss, A, Galante, N, Gall, D, Gillanders, GH, Griffin, S, Griffiths, ST, Grube, J, Gyuk, G, Hütten, M, Håkansson, N, Holder, J, Hughes, G, Humensky, TB, Johnson, CA, Kaaret, P, Kar, P, Kelley-Hoskins, N & The VERITAS Collaboration 2016, 'Very high energy outburst of Markarian 501 in May 2009', Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 594, A76. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201628744

@article{d80cf561ad5d43a4beeaa6e9b559bc1d,

title = "Very high energy outburst of Markarian 501 in May 2009",

abstract = "The very high energy (VHE; E> 100 GeV) blazar Markarian 501 was observed between April 17 and May 5 (MJD 54 938-54 956), 2009, as part of an extensive multi-wavelength campaign from radio to VHE. Strong VHE γ-ray activity was detected on May 1st with Whipple and VERITAS, when the flux (E > 400 GeV) increased to 10 times the pre-flare baseline flux (3.9 × 10-11 ph cm-2 s-1), reaching five times the flux of the Crab Nebula. This coincided with a decrease in the optical polarization and a rotation of the polarization angle by 15°. This VHE flare showed a fast flux variation with an increase of a factor ∼4 in 25 min, and a falling time of ∼50 min. We present the observations of the quiescent state previous to the flare and of the high state after the flare, focusing on the flux and spectral variability from Whipple, VERITAS, Fermi-LAT, RXTE, and Swift combined with optical and radio data.",

keywords = "BL Lacertae objects: individual: Mrk 501, Gamma rays: galaxies",

author = "E. Aliu and S. Archambault and A. Archer and T. Arlen and T. Aune and A. Barnacka and B. Behera and M. Beilicke and W. Benbow and K. Berger and R. Bird and M. B{\"o}ttcher and A. Bouvier and M. Buchovecky and Buckley, {J. H.} and V. Bugaev and Cardenzana, {J. V.} and M. Cerruti and A. Cesarini and X. Chen and L. Ciupik and E. Collins-Hughes and Connolly, {M. P.} and W. Cui and J. Dumm and Eisch, {J. D.} and A. Falcone and S. Federici and Q. Feng and Finley, {J. P.} and H. Fleischhack and P. Fortin and L. Fortson and A. Furniss and N. Galante and D. Gall and Gillanders, {G. H.} and S. Griffin and Griffiths, {S. T.} and J. Grube and G. Gyuk and M. H{\"u}tten and N. H{\aa}kansson and J. Holder and G. Hughes and Humensky, {T. B.} and Johnson, {C. A.} and P. Kaaret and P. Kar and N. Kelley-Hoskins and {The VERITAS Collaboration}",

note = "Funding Information: This research is supported by grants from the US Department of Energy Office of Science, the US National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution, and by NSERC in Canada. We acknowledge the excellent work of the technical support staff at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and at the collaborating institutions in the construction and operation of the instrument. The VERITAS Collaboration is grateful to Trevor Weekes for his seminal contributions and leadership in the field of VHE gamma-ray astrophysics, which made this study possible. The Fermi LAT Collaboration acknowledges support from a number of agencies and institutes for both development and the operation of the LAT as well as scientific data analysis. These include NASA and DOE in the United States, CEA/Irfu and IN2P3/CNRS in France, ASI and INFN in Italy, MEXT, KEK, and JAXA in Japan, and the K. A.Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Research Council and the National Space Board in Sweden. Additional support from INAF in Italy and CNES in France for science analysis during the operations phase is also gratefully acknowledged. M.B. acknowledges support through the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) by the National Research Foundation and the Department of Science and Technology of South Africa. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016 ESO.",

year = "2016",

month = oct,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1051/0004-6361/201628744",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "594",

journal = "Astronomy and Astrophysics",

issn = "0004-6361",

publisher = "EDP Sciences",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Very high energy outburst of Markarian 501 in May 2009

AU - Aliu, E.

AU - Archambault, S.

AU - Archer, A.

AU - Arlen, T.

AU - Aune, T.

AU - Barnacka, A.

AU - Behera, B.

AU - Beilicke, M.

AU - Benbow, W.

AU - Berger, K.

AU - Bird, R.

AU - Böttcher, M.

AU - Bouvier, A.

AU - Buchovecky, M.

AU - Buckley, J. H.

AU - Bugaev, V.

AU - Cardenzana, J. V.

AU - Cerruti, M.

AU - Cesarini, A.

AU - Chen, X.

AU - Ciupik, L.

AU - Collins-Hughes, E.

AU - Connolly, M. P.

AU - Cui, W.

AU - Dumm, J.

AU - Eisch, J. D.

AU - Falcone, A.

AU - Federici, S.

AU - Feng, Q.

AU - Finley, J. P.

AU - Fleischhack, H.

AU - Fortin, P.

AU - Fortson, L.

AU - Furniss, A.

AU - Galante, N.

AU - Gall, D.

AU - Gillanders, G. H.

AU - Griffin, S.

AU - Griffiths, S. T.

AU - Grube, J.

AU - Gyuk, G.

AU - Hütten, M.

AU - Håkansson, N.

AU - Holder, J.

AU - Hughes, G.

AU - Humensky, T. B.

AU - Johnson, C. A.

AU - Kaaret, P.

AU - Kar, P.

AU - Kelley-Hoskins, N.

AU - The VERITAS Collaboration

N1 - Funding Information: This research is supported by grants from the US Department of Energy Office of Science, the US National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution, and by NSERC in Canada. We acknowledge the excellent work of the technical support staff at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and at the collaborating institutions in the construction and operation of the instrument. The VERITAS Collaboration is grateful to Trevor Weekes for his seminal contributions and leadership in the field of VHE gamma-ray astrophysics, which made this study possible. The Fermi LAT Collaboration acknowledges support from a number of agencies and institutes for both development and the operation of the LAT as well as scientific data analysis. These include NASA and DOE in the United States, CEA/Irfu and IN2P3/CNRS in France, ASI and INFN in Italy, MEXT, KEK, and JAXA in Japan, and the K. A.Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Research Council and the National Space Board in Sweden. Additional support from INAF in Italy and CNES in France for science analysis during the operations phase is also gratefully acknowledged. M.B. acknowledges support through the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) by the National Research Foundation and the Department of Science and Technology of South Africa. Publisher Copyright: © 2016 ESO.

PY - 2016/10/1

Y1 - 2016/10/1

N2 - The very high energy (VHE; E> 100 GeV) blazar Markarian 501 was observed between April 17 and May 5 (MJD 54 938-54 956), 2009, as part of an extensive multi-wavelength campaign from radio to VHE. Strong VHE γ-ray activity was detected on May 1st with Whipple and VERITAS, when the flux (E > 400 GeV) increased to 10 times the pre-flare baseline flux (3.9 × 10-11 ph cm-2 s-1), reaching five times the flux of the Crab Nebula. This coincided with a decrease in the optical polarization and a rotation of the polarization angle by 15°. This VHE flare showed a fast flux variation with an increase of a factor ∼4 in 25 min, and a falling time of ∼50 min. We present the observations of the quiescent state previous to the flare and of the high state after the flare, focusing on the flux and spectral variability from Whipple, VERITAS, Fermi-LAT, RXTE, and Swift combined with optical and radio data.

AB - The very high energy (VHE; E> 100 GeV) blazar Markarian 501 was observed between April 17 and May 5 (MJD 54 938-54 956), 2009, as part of an extensive multi-wavelength campaign from radio to VHE. Strong VHE γ-ray activity was detected on May 1st with Whipple and VERITAS, when the flux (E > 400 GeV) increased to 10 times the pre-flare baseline flux (3.9 × 10-11 ph cm-2 s-1), reaching five times the flux of the Crab Nebula. This coincided with a decrease in the optical polarization and a rotation of the polarization angle by 15°. This VHE flare showed a fast flux variation with an increase of a factor ∼4 in 25 min, and a falling time of ∼50 min. We present the observations of the quiescent state previous to the flare and of the high state after the flare, focusing on the flux and spectral variability from Whipple, VERITAS, Fermi-LAT, RXTE, and Swift combined with optical and radio data.

KW - BL Lacertae objects: individual: Mrk 501

KW - Gamma rays: galaxies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84992065841&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84992065841&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1051/0004-6361/201628744

DO - 10.1051/0004-6361/201628744

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84992065841

SN - 0004-6361

VL - 594

JO - Astronomy and Astrophysics

JF - Astronomy and Astrophysics

M1 - A76

ER -

Very high energy outburst of Markarian 501 in May 2009

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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