Organized by: Prof. Lu Lu
Observation of the highest-energy gamma rays with the HAWC Observatory
Date: Thursday, April 26th
Time: 2:30 pm
Place: 5310 Chamberlin Hall
Speaker: Kelly Malone, Penn State
Abstract: Galactic sources that accelerate particles to PeV energies (“PeVatrons”) are expected to exist, but to date only the Galactic Center has been identified as such. One of the signatures of a PeVatron is a hard gamma-ray spectrum that extends without any apparent spectral cutoff to at least tens of TeV. High-energy (> 50 TeV) gamma-ray observations are therefore essential in identifying PeVatron candidates. The High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC) has sensitivity to gamma rays in this previously largely unexplored energy regime. HAWC is well suited to performing all-sky surveys due to its large instantaneous field of view (~2 sr) and high duty cycle (> 95%). I will discuss candidate sources seen above 50 TeV in the first 1000 days of HAWC data and discuss potential connections to the IceCube neutrinos. I will also briefly discuss the energy estimation method used by HAWC.
Host: Stefan Westerhoff
Add this event to your calendar