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Space Science Center

2001

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Comptel Observations Of The Blazars 3c 454.3 And Cta 102, S Zhang, W Collmar, V Schonfelder, H Bloemen, W Hermsen, Mark L. Mcconnell, K Bennett, O R. Williams Jan 2001

Comptel Observations Of The Blazars 3c 454.3 And Cta 102, S Zhang, W Collmar, V Schonfelder, H Bloemen, W Hermsen, Mark L. Mcconnell, K Bennett, O R. Williams

Space Science Center

We have analyzed the two blazars of 3C 454.3 and CTA 102 using all available COMPTEL data from 1991 to 1999. In the 10–30 MeV band, emission from the general direction of the sources is found at the 4σ-level, being consistent with contributions from both sources. Below 10 MeV only 3C 454.3 is significantly detected, with the strongest evidence (5.6 σ) in the 3–10 MeV band. Significant flux variability is not observed for both sources, while a low emission is seen most of the years in the 3–10 MeV light curve for 3C 454.3. Its time-averaged MeV spectrum suggests a …


Comptel Gamma-Ray Observations Of The C4 Solar Flare On 20 January 2000, C A. Young, M B. Arndt, K Bennett, A Connors, H Debrunner, R Diehl, Mark L. Mcconnell, R S. Miller, G Rank, James M. Ryan, V Schonfelder, C Winkler Jan 2001

Comptel Gamma-Ray Observations Of The C4 Solar Flare On 20 January 2000, C A. Young, M B. Arndt, K Bennett, A Connors, H Debrunner, R Diehl, Mark L. Mcconnell, R S. Miller, G Rank, James M. Ryan, V Schonfelder, C Winkler

Space Science Center

The “Pre-SMM” (Vestrand and Miller 1998) picture of gamma-ray line (GRL) flares was that they are relatively rare events. This picture was quickly put in question with the launch of the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM). Over 100 GRL flares were seen with sizes ranging from very large GOES class events (X12) down to moderately small events (M2). It was argued by some (Bai 1986) that this was still consistent with the idea that GRL events are rare. Others, however, argued the opposite (Vestrand 1988; Cliver, Crosby and Dennis 1994), stating that the lower end of this distribution was just a …


The Milagro Gamma-Ray Observatory, J E. Mcenery, R Atkins, W Benbow, D Berley, M L. Chen, D G. Coyne, B L. Dingus, D E. Dorfan, R W. Ellsworth, D Evans, A Falcone, L Fleysher, R Fleysher, G Gisler, J A. Goodman, T J. Haines, C M. Hoffman, S Hugenberger, L A. Kelley, I Leonor, Mark L. Mcconnell, J F. Mccullough, R S. Miller, A I. Mincer, M F. Morales, P Nemethy, James M. Ryan, B Shen, A Shoup, C Sinnis, A J. Smith, G W. Sullivan, O T. Tumer, K Wang, M O. Wascko, S Westerhoff, D A. Williams, G B. Yodh Jan 2001

The Milagro Gamma-Ray Observatory, J E. Mcenery, R Atkins, W Benbow, D Berley, M L. Chen, D G. Coyne, B L. Dingus, D E. Dorfan, R W. Ellsworth, D Evans, A Falcone, L Fleysher, R Fleysher, G Gisler, J A. Goodman, T J. Haines, C M. Hoffman, S Hugenberger, L A. Kelley, I Leonor, Mark L. Mcconnell, J F. Mccullough, R S. Miller, A I. Mincer, M F. Morales, P Nemethy, James M. Ryan, B Shen, A Shoup, C Sinnis, A J. Smith, G W. Sullivan, O T. Tumer, K Wang, M O. Wascko, S Westerhoff, D A. Williams, G B. Yodh

Space Science Center

The Milagro water Cherenkov detector began full operation in January 2000. This detector is capable of monitoring the Northern sky at energies above 500 GeV for sources of equivalent strength to the Crab Nebula over one year of integration. We report on the current performance and sensitivity of Milagro.


Bayesian Multiscale Deconvolution Applied To Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy, C A. Young, A Connors, E Kolaczyk, Mark L. Mcconnell, G Rank, James M. Ryan, V Schonfelder Jan 2001

Bayesian Multiscale Deconvolution Applied To Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy, C A. Young, A Connors, E Kolaczyk, Mark L. Mcconnell, G Rank, James M. Ryan, V Schonfelder

Space Science Center

A common task in gamma-ray astronomy is to extract spectral information, such as model constraints and incident photon spectrum estimates, given the measured energy deposited in a detector and the detector response. This is the classic problem of spectral “deconvolution” or spectral inversion. The methods of forward folding (i.e., parameter fitting) and maximum entropy “deconvolution” (i.e., estimating independent input photon rates for each individual energy bin) have been used successfully for gamma-ray solar flares (e.g., Rank, 1997; Share and Murphy, 1995). These methods have worked well under certain conditions but there are situations were they don’t apply. These are: 1) …


Comptel Observations Of The Virgo Blazars 3c 273 And 3c 279, W Collmar, V Schonfelder, S Zhang, H Bloemen, W Hermsen, Mark L. Mcconnell, K Bennett, O R. Williams Jan 2001

Comptel Observations Of The Virgo Blazars 3c 273 And 3c 279, W Collmar, V Schonfelder, S Zhang, H Bloemen, W Hermsen, Mark L. Mcconnell, K Bennett, O R. Williams

Space Science Center

We report the main MeV properties (detections, light curves, spectra) of the Virgo blazars 3C 273 and 3C 279 which were derived from a consistent analysis of all COMPTEL Virgo observations between 1991 and 1997.


Gamma-Ray Spectral Variability Of Cygnus X-1, Mark L. Mcconnell, K Bennett, H Bloemen, W Collmar, W Hermsen, L Kuiper, W Paciesas, B F. Phlips, J Poutanen, James M. Ryan, V Schonfelder, H Steinle, A W. Strong, A A. Zdziarski Jan 2001

Gamma-Ray Spectral Variability Of Cygnus X-1, Mark L. Mcconnell, K Bennett, H Bloemen, W Collmar, W Hermsen, L Kuiper, W Paciesas, B F. Phlips, J Poutanen, James M. Ryan, V Schonfelder, H Steinle, A W. Strong, A A. Zdziarski

Space Science Center

We have used observations from CGRO to study the variation in the MeV emission of Cygnus X-1 between its low and high X-ray states. These data provide a measurement of the spectral variability above 1 MeV. The high state MeV spectrum is found to be much harder than that of the low state MeV spectrum. In particular, the power-law emission seen at hard X-ray energies in the high state spectrum (with a photon spectral index of 2.6) is found to extend out to at least 5 MeV, with no evidence for any cutoff. Here we present the data and describe …


Energetic Proton Spectra In The 11 June 1991 Solar Flare, C A. Young, K Bennett, A Connors, R Diehl, Mark L. Mcconnell, G Rank, James M. Ryan, R Suleiman, V Schonfelder, C Winkler Jan 2001

Energetic Proton Spectra In The 11 June 1991 Solar Flare, C A. Young, K Bennett, A Connors, R Diehl, Mark L. Mcconnell, G Rank, James M. Ryan, R Suleiman, V Schonfelder, C Winkler

Space Science Center

The June 11, 1991 gamma-ray flare seen by the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory (CGRO) displays several features that make it a dynamic and rich event. It is a member of a class of long duration gamma-ray events with both 2.223 MeV and greater than 8 MeV emission for hours after the impulsive phase. It also contains an inter-phase between the impulsive and extended phases that presents a challenge to the standard gamma-ray line (GRL) flare picture. This phase has strong 2.223 MeV emission and relatively weak 4.44 MeV emission indicative of a very hard parent proton spectrum. However, this would indicate …


Sontrac—A Scintillating Plastic Fiber Tracking Detector For Neutron And Proton Imaging Spectroscopy, James M. Ryan, John R. Macri, Mark L. Mcconnell, R S. Miller Jan 2001

Sontrac—A Scintillating Plastic Fiber Tracking Detector For Neutron And Proton Imaging Spectroscopy, James M. Ryan, John R. Macri, Mark L. Mcconnell, R S. Miller

Space Science Center

SONTRAC (SOlar Neutron TRACking imager and spectrometer) is a conceptual instrument intended to measure the energy and incident direction of 20–150 MeV neutrons produced in solar flares. The intense neutron background in a low-Earth orbit requires that imaging techniques be employed to maximize an instrument’s signal-to-noise ratio. The instrument is comprised of mutually perpendicular, alternating layers of parallel, scintillating, plastic fibers that are viewed by optoelectronic devices. Two stereoscopic views of recoil proton tracks are necessary to determine the incident neutron’s direction and energy. The instrument can also be used as a powerful energetic proton imager. Data from a fully …


X- And Gamma-Ray Observations Of The 15 November 1991 Solar Flare, M B. Arndt, A Connors, J Lockwood, Mark L. Mcconnell, R Suleiman, James M. Ryan, C A. Young, G Rank, V Schonfelder, H Debrunner, K Bennett, O R. Williams, C Winkler Jan 2001

X- And Gamma-Ray Observations Of The 15 November 1991 Solar Flare, M B. Arndt, A Connors, J Lockwood, Mark L. Mcconnell, R Suleiman, James M. Ryan, C A. Young, G Rank, V Schonfelder, H Debrunner, K Bennett, O R. Williams, C Winkler

Space Science Center

This work expands the current understanding of the 15 November 1991 Solar Flare. The flare was a well observed event in radio to gamma-rays and is the first flare to be extensively studied with the benefit of detailed soft and hard X-ray images. In this work, we add data from all four instruments on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Using these data we determined that the accelerated electron spectrum above 170 keV is best fit with a power law with a spectral index of −4.6, while the accelerated proton spectrum above 0.6 MeV is fit with a power law of …


Study Of 5 And 10 Mm Thick Czt Strip Detectors, John R. Macri, Pierre C. Dufour, L A. Hamel, M Julien, Mark L. Mcconnell, M Mcclish, James M. Ryan, Mark Widholm Jan 2001

Study Of 5 And 10 Mm Thick Czt Strip Detectors, John R. Macri, Pierre C. Dufour, L A. Hamel, M Julien, Mark L. Mcconnell, M Mcclish, James M. Ryan, Mark Widholm

Space Science Center

We report progress in the study of 5 and 10 mm thick CZT strip detectors featuring orthogonal coplanar anode contacts. This novel anode geometry combines the advantages of pixel detectors with those of double-sided strip detectors. Like pixel detectors, these are electron-only devices that perform well as hard x-ray and y-ray spectrometers and imagers even in the thicker configurations required for reasonable detection efficiency at 1 MeV. Like double-sided strip detectors in an N x N configuration, these detectors require only 2N readout channels to form N2 “pixels”. Unlike doublesided strip detectors, all signal contacts for spectroscopy and 3- d …