TY - THES A1 - Bretz, Thomas T1 - Observations of the Active Galactic Nucleus 1ES1218+304 with the MAGIC-telescope T1 - Beobachtung des aktiven Galaxienkerns 1ES1218+304 mit dem MAGIC-Teleskop N2 - The astronomical exploration at energies between 30\,GeV and $\lesssim$\,350\,GeV was the main motivation for building the \MAGIC-telescope. With its 17\,m \diameter\ mirror it is the worldwide largest imaging air-Cherenkov telescope. It is located at the Roque de los Muchachos at the Canary island of San Miguel de La Palma at 28.8$^\circ$\,N, 17.8$^\circ$\,W, 2200\,m a.s.l. The telescope detects Cherenkov light produced by relativistic electrons and positrons in air showers initiated by cosmic gamma-rays. The imaging technique is used to powerfully reject the background due to hadronically induced air showers from cosmic rays. Their inverse power-law energy-distribution leads to an increase of the event rate with decreasing energy threshold. For \MAGIC this implies a trigger rate in the order of 250\,Hz, and a correspondingly large data stream to be recorded and analyzed. A robust analysis software package, including the general framework \MARS, was developed and commissioned to allow automation, necessary for data taken under variable observing conditions. Since many of the astronomical sources of high-energy radiation, in particular the enigmatic gamma-ray bursts, are of a transient nature, the telescope was designed to allow repositioning in several tens of seconds, keeping a tracking accuracy of $\lesssim\,$0.01$^\circ$. Employing a starguider, a tracking accuracy of $\lesssim\,$1.3\,minutes of arc was obtained. The main class of sources at very high gamma-ray energies, known from previous imaging air-Cherenkov telescopes, are Active Galactic Nuclei with relativistic jets, the so-called high-peaked Blazars. Their spectrum is entirely dominated by non-thermal emission, spanning more than 15 orders of magnitude in energy, from radio to gamma-ray energies. Predictions based on radiation models invoking a synchrotron self-Compton or hadronic origin of the gamma-rays suggest, that a fairly large number of them should be detectable by \MAGIC. Promising candidates have been chosen from existing compilations, requiring high (synchrotron) X-ray flux, assumed to be related to a high (possibly inverse-Compton) flux at GeV energies, and a low distance, in oder to avoid strong attenuation due to pair-production in interactions with low-energy photons from the extragalactic background radiation along the line of sight. Based on this selection the first \AGN, emitting gamma-rays at 100\,GeV, 1ES\,1218+304 at a redshift of $z=0.182$, was discovered, one of the two farthest known \AGN emitting in the TeV energy region. In this context, the automated analysis chain was successfully demonstrated. The source was observed in January 2005 during six moonless nights for 8.2\,h. At the same time the collaborating \KVA-telescope, located near the \MAGIC site, observed in the optical band. The lightcurve calculated showed no day-to-day variability and is compatible with a constant flux of $F($\,$>$\,$100\,\mbox{GeV})=(8.7\pm1.4) \cdot 10^{-7}\,\mbox{m}^{-2}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}$ within the statistical errors. A differential spectrum between 87\,GeV and 630\,GeV was calculated and is compatible with a power law of $F_E(E) = (8.1\pm 2.1) \cdot 10^{-7}(E/\mbox{250\,GeV})^{-3.0\pm0.4}\,\mbox{TeV}^{-1}\,\mbox{m}^{-2}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}$ within the statistical errors. The spectrum emitted by the source was obtained by taking into account the attenuation due to pair-production with photons of the extragalactic background at low photon energies. A homogeneous, one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model has been fitted to the collected multi-wavelength data. Using the simultaneous optical data, a best fit model could be obtained from which some physical properties of the emitting plasma could be inferred. The result was compared with the so-called {\em Blazar sequence}. N2 - Die wesentliche Motivation zum Bau des \MAGIC-Teleskops war die Untersuchung astronomischer Objekte zwischen 30\,GeV und $\lesssim$\,350\,GeV. Mit einem 17\,m \diameter\ Spiegel ist es das weltweit gr"o"ste abbildende Luft-Cherenkov Teleskop. Es steht auf der Kanarischen Insel San Miguel de La Palma auf dem Roque de los Muchachos. Das Teleskop detektiert Cherenkov Licht von Elektronen und Positron aus Luftschauern, erzeugt von kosmischer Gammastrahlung. Die abbildende Technik ist das Hauptmerkmal einer guten Unterdr"uckung des Untergrundes, der haupts"achlich aus Luftschauern der kosmischen Strahlung besteht. Ihre Energieverteilung, beschrieben durch ein steil abfallendes Potenzgesetz, f"uhrt zu einem starken Anstieg der Ereignisrate bei sinkender Energieschwelle. F"ur \MAGIC bedeutet das Raten von etwa 250\,Hz, was zu einem gro"sen Datenstrom f"uhrt, der verarbeitet werden muss. Dazu wurde eine robuste Analyse Software, einschlie"slich des Grundger"ustes \MARS, entwickelt und ihre Anwendung automatisiert. Dies ist n"otig um wechselnde Beobachtungsbedingungen ber"ucksichtigen zu k"onnen. Da viele Quellen von Hochenergie Gammastrahlen, insbesondere die r"atselhaften {\em Gamma-Ray Bursts}, stark ver"anderliche Ph"anomene sind, wurde das Teleskop so ausgelegt, dass es Neuausrichtungen innerhalb weniger Sekunden erm"oglicht, und trotzdem eine Nachf"uhrgenauigkeit von $\lesssim\,$0.01$^\circ$ erreicht, die mit einem {\em Starguider} auf $\lesssim\,$1.3$'$ verbessert wird. %Dies wird erreicht durch den Vergleich %eines von einer \CCD-Kamera aufgenommenen Sternenfeldes mit dem %aus Sternenkatalogen berechneten. Die wichtigsten Quellen sehr hochenergetischer Gammastrahlung sind Aktive Galaktische Kerne mit relativistischen Jets, die sog.\ {\em high-peaked Blazars}. Ihr Spektrum erstreckt sich "uber mehr als 15 Gr"o"senordnungen, vom Radio- bis zum Gammabereich, und ist vollst"andig durch nicht-thermische Strahlung dominiert. Modelle, die {\em synchrotron selbst-Compton} Strahlung oder Strahlung aus hadroninduzierten Kaskaden zu Grunde legen, sagen voraus, dass eine gro"se Anzahl dieser Quellen von \MAGIC zu detektieren sein m"ussten. Vielversprechende Kandidaten wurden aus existierenden Katalogen ausgesucht mit der Anforderung eines gro"sen R"ontgenflusses (Synchrotronstrahlung), von dem erwartet wird, dass er einen gro"sen Fluss bei GeV-Energien zur Folge hat. Au"serdem wurden nur nahe Quellen ausgew"ahlt um nicht von der Abschw"achung des Flusses durch Paarbildung an der extragalaktischen Hintergrundstrahlung entlang der Sichtlinie betroffen zu sein. Basierend auf dieser Auswahl wurde zum ersten Mal Gammastrahlung von 100\,GeV bei einem \AGN (1ES\,1218+304,$z=0.182$) nachgewiesen. Hierbei wurde die automatische Analysekette erfolgreich demonstriert. Die Quelle wurde im Januar 2005 w"ahrend sechs mondloser N"achte 8.2 Stunden lang beobachtet. Zeitgleich wurden Daten im optischen Bereich vom mitarbeitenden \KVA-Teleskop aufgenommen. Die berechnete Lichtkurve ist innerhalb der statistischen Fehler mit einem konstanten Fluss von $F($\,$>$\,$100\,\mbox{GeV})=(8.7\pm1.4)\cdot 10^{-7}\,\mbox{m}^{-2}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}$ vertr"aglich. Das differentielle Spektrum wurde zwischen 87\,GeV und 630\,GeV bestimmt und ist innerhalb der statistischen Fehler mit einem Potenzgesetz $F_E(E)=(8.1\pm 2.1)\cdot10^{-7}\,(E/\mbox{250\,GeV})^{-3.0\pm0.4}\,\mbox{TeV}^{-1}\,\mbox{m}^{-2}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}$ vereinbar. Daraus wurde das von der Quelle emittierte Spektrum errechnet, indem die Paarbildung am extragalaktischen Hintergrund entlang der Sichtlinie ber"ucksichtigt wurde. An das resultierende Spektrum und weitere gesammelte Multiwellenl"angendaten wurde ein homogenes einzonen {\em synchrotron selbst-Compton} Modell angepasst. Unter Ber"ucksichtigung der zeitgleichen optischen Daten konnten physikalische Gr"o"sen des emittierenden Plasma bestimmt werden. Das Resultat wurde mit der sog.\ {\em Blazar-Sequenz} verglichen. KW - Aktiver galaktischer Kern KW - Čerenkov-Zähler KW - Gammaastronomie KW - Gigaelektronenvoltbereich KW - AGN KW - 1ES1218+304 KW - MAGIC KW - IACT KW - SED KW - AGN KW - 1ES1218+304 KW - MAGIC KW - IACT KW - SED Y1 - 2006 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-19240 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Temme, Fabian A1 - Adam, Jan A1 - Ahnen, Max L. A1 - Baack, Dominik A1 - Balbo, Matteo A1 - Bergmann, Matthias A1 - Biland, Adrian A1 - Blank, Michael A1 - Bretz, Thomas A1 - Brügge, Kai A. A1 - Buss, Jens A1 - Dmytriiev, Anton A1 - Dorner, Daniela A1 - Einecke, Sabrina A1 - Hempfling, Christina A1 - Hildebrand, Dorothee A1 - Hughes, Gareth A1 - Linhoff, Lena A1 - Mannheim, Karl A1 - Müller, Sebastian A1 - Neise, Dominik A1 - Neronov, Andrii A1 - Nöthe, Max A1 - Paravac, Aleksander A1 - Pauss, Felicitas A1 - Rhode, Wolfgang A1 - Shukla, Amit A1 - Thaele, Julia A1 - Walter, Roland T1 - Long-Term monitoring of bright blazars in the multi-GeV to TeV range with FACT JF - Galaxies N2 - Blazars like Markarian 421 or Markarian 501 are active galactic nuclei (AGN), with their jets orientated towards the observer. They are among the brightest objects in the very high energy (VHE) gamma ray regime (>100 GeV). Their emitted gamma-ray fluxes are extremely variable, with changing activity levels on timescales between minutes, months, and even years. Several questions are part of the current research, such as the question of the emission regions or the engine of the AGN and the particle acceleration. A dedicated longterm monitoring program is necessary to investigate the properties of blazars in detail. A densely sampled and unbiased light curve allows for observation of both high and low states of the sources, and the combination with multi-wavelength observation could contribute to the answer of several questions mentioned above. FACT (First G-APD Cherenkov Telescope) is the first operational telescope using silicon photomultiplier (SiPM, also known as Geigermode—Avalanche Photo Diode, G-APD) as photon detectors. SiPM have a very homogenous and stable longterm performance, and allow operation even during full moon without any filter, leading to a maximal duty cycle for an Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope (IACT). Hence, FACT is an ideal device for such a longterm monitoring of bright blazars. A small set of sources (e.g., Markarian 421, Markarian 501, 1ES 1959+650, and 1ES 2344+51.4) is currently being monitored. In this contribution, the FACT telescope and the concept of longterm monitoring of bright blazars will be introduced. The results of the monitoring program will be shown, and the advantages of densely sampled and unbiased light curves will be discussed. KW - Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope KW - First G-APD Cherenkov Telescope KW - very high energy gamma rays KW - long-term monitoring KW - silicon photo multiplier Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-198088 SN - 2075-4434 VL - 5 IS - 1 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schleicher, Bernd A1 - Arbet-Engels, Axel A1 - Baack, Dominik A1 - Balbo, Matteo A1 - Biland, Adrian A1 - Blank, Michael A1 - Bretz, Thomas A1 - Bruegge, Kai A1 - Bulinski, Michael A1 - Buss, Jens A1 - Doerr, Manuel A1 - Dorner, Daniela A1 - Elsaesser, Dominik A1 - Grischagin, Sergej A1 - Hildebrand, Dorothee A1 - Linhoff, Lena A1 - Mannheim, Karl A1 - Mueller, Sebastian Achim A1 - Neise, Dominik A1 - Neronov, Andrii A1 - Noethe, Maximilian A1 - Paravac, Aleksander A1 - Rhode, Wolfgang A1 - Schulz, Florian A1 - Sedlaczek, Kevin A1 - Shukla, Amit A1 - Sliusar, Vitalii A1 - Willert, Elan A1 - Walter, Roland T1 - Fractional Variability—A Tool to Study Blazar Variability JF - Galaxies N2 - Active Galactic Nuclei emit radiation over the whole electromagnetic spectrum up to TeV energies. Blazars are one subtype with their jets pointing towards the observer. One of their typical features is extreme variability on timescales, from minutes to years. The fractional variability is an often used parameter for investigating the degree of variability of a light curve. Different detection methods and sensitivities of the instruments result in differently binned data and light curves with gaps. As they can influence the physics interpretation of the broadband variability, the effects of these differences on the fractional variability need to be studied. In this paper, we study the systematic effects of completeness in time coverage and the sampling rate. Using public data from instruments monitoring blazars in various energy ranges, we study the variability of the bright TeV blazars Mrk 421 and Mrk 501 over the electromagnetic spectrum, taking into account the systematic effects, and compare our findings with previous results. Especially in the TeV range, the fractional variability is higher than in previous studies, which can be explained by the much longer (seven years compared to few weeks) and more complete data sample. KW - blazars KW - variability KW - fractional variability KW - active galactic nuclei Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-197348 SN - 2075-4434 VL - 7 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - González, María Magdalena A1 - Dorner, Daniela A1 - Bretz, Thomas A1 - García-González, José Andrés T1 - Unbiased long-term monitoring at TeV energies JF - Galaxies N2 - For the understanding of the variable, transient and non-thermal universe, unbiased long-term monitoring is crucial. To constrain the emission mechanisms at the highest energies, it is important to characterize the very high energy emission and its correlation with observations at other wavelengths. At very high energies, only a limited number of instruments is available. This article reviews the current status of monitoring of the extra-galactic sky at TeV energies. KW - monitoring KW - very high energies (VHE) KW - TeV energies Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-197389 SN - 2075-4434 VL - 7 IS - 2 ER -