Particle Astrophysics

    General
    Description

    The members of the Particle Astrophysics Group of the IAC participate actively in three large international collaborations of high-energy astrophysics: AMS-02 (Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer), the Cherenkov radiation telescopes MAGIC I and II and the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO). We also participate in the ASTRI mini-array, the gamma-ray experiment Fermi-LAT and the gravitational wave follow-up optical telescopes GOTO.

    AMS-02 is a particle detector designed to operate in space, onboard the International Space Station. It was successfully installed on the station on May 2011, and will operate during its lifetime till at least 2030. It is aimed at carrying out a high precision and high statistics study of the spectrum and composition of primary cosmic rays within a wide range of energies, as well as to look for primordial antimatter and dark matter in an indirect way.

    The MAGIC Collaboration is integrated by 20 research institutes and university departments from Armenia, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and USA. The collaboration comprises two 17m diameter telescopes, located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM), designed to measure the Cherenkov radiation associated with atmospheric showers from very high-energy gamma rays.

    In the context of gamma ray observations at very high energies, the IAC also participates in the international consortium of the array of Cherenkov telescopes CTAO, with the objective to build two large observatories in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma was selected to host the CTA North observatory. The first telescope of 23 metres in diameter of the type "Large Size Telescope" of CTAO, know as LST1, was inaugurated in October 2018. This telescope was constructed by the "LST Collaboration" of CTAO, which consists of 300 scientists from 12 countries, where the IAC has a very relevant role. Currently the commissioning of the LST1 telescope is coming to and end and the scientific exploitation of the data is already given rise to new discoveries. The IAC is currently in the phase of constructing 3 more LST telescopes (LST2-LST4) in the ORM.

    The ASTRI project is being currently built at the Teide Observatory. Its final design consist of 9 small size Cherenkov telescopes. The first telescope, ASTRI-1, is nowadays in commissioning phase.

    Principal investigator
    Collaborators

    Related publications

    Detection of bridge emission above 50 GeV from the Crab pulsar with the MAGIC telescopes 2014A&A...565L..12A
    Multifrequency Studies of the Peculiar Quasar 4C +21.35 during the 2010 Flaring Activity 2014ApJ...786..157A
    Search for very high energy gamma-rays from the z = 0.896 quasar 4C +55.17 with the MAGIC telescopes 2014MNRAS.440..530A
    Contemporaneous observations of the radio galaxy NGC 1275 from radio to very high energy γ-rays 2014A&A...564A...5A
    Discovery of very high energy gamma-ray emission from the blazar 1ES 1727+502 with the MAGIC Telescopes 2014A&A...563A..90A
    Rapid and multiband variability of the TeV bright active nucleus of the galaxy IC 310 2014A&A...563A..91A
    Optimized dark matter searches in deep observations of Segue 1 with MAGIC 2014JCAP...02..008A
    MAGIC upper limits on the GRB 090102 afterglow 2014MNRAS.437.3103A
    First Result from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station: Precision Measurement of the Positron Fraction in Primary Cosmic Rays of 0.5–350 GeV 2013PhRvL.110n1102A
    Introducing the CTA concept 2013APh....43....3A
    Dark matter and fundamental physics with the Cherenkov Telescope Array 2013APh....43..189D
    Gamma-ray burst science in the era of the Cherenkov Telescope Array 2013APh....43..252I
    Observations of the magnetars 4U 0142+61 and 1E 2259+586 with the MAGIC telescopes 2013A&A...549A..23A
    Search for Very High Energy Gamma-ray Emission from Pulsar-Pulsar Wind Nebula Systems with the MAGIC Telescope 2010ApJ...710..828A
    VHE γ-Ray Observation of the Crab Nebula and its Pulsar with the MAGIC Telescope 2008ApJ...674.1037A
    Very-High-Energy gamma rays from a Distant Quasar: How Transparent Is the Universe? 2008Sci...320.1752M
    Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Observations of Strong Flaring Activity in M87 in 2008 February 2008ApJ...685L..23A
    Upper Limit for γ-Ray Emission above 140 GeV from the Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy Draco 2008ApJ...679..428A
    The June 2008 Flare of Markarian 421 from Optical to TeV Energies 2009ApJ...691L..13D
    Systematic Search for VHE Gamma-Ray Emission from X-Ray-bright High-Frequency BL Lac Objects 2008ApJ...681..944A
    Simultaneous Multiwavelength Observations of the Blazar 1ES 1959+650 at a Low TeV Flux 2008ApJ...679.1029T
    Probing quantum gravity using photons from a flare of the active galactic nucleus Markarian 501 observed by the MAGIC telescope 2008PhLB..668..253M
    Multiwavelength (Radio, X-Ray, and γ-Ray) Observations of the γ-Ray Binary LS I +61 303 2008ApJ...684.1351A
    MAGIC Observations of the Unidentified γ-Ray Source TeV J2032+4130 2008ApJ...675L..25A
    MAGIC observations of PG 1553+113 during a multiwavelength campaign in July 2006 2009A&A...493..467A
    Improving the performance of the single-dish Cherenkov telescope MAGIC through the use of signal timing 2009APh....30..293A
    Implementation of the Random Forest method for the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope MAGIC 2008NIMPA.588..424A
    First Bounds on the High-Energy Emission from Isolated Wolf-Rayet Binary Systems 2008ApJ...685L..71A
    FADC signal reconstruction for the MAGIC telescope 2008NIMPA.594..407A
    Upper Limits on the VHE Gamma-Ray Emission from the Willman 1 Satellite Galaxy with the Magic Telescope 2009ApJ...697.1299A
    Suzaku and Multi-Wavelength Observations of OJ 287 during the Periodic Optical Outburst in 2007 2009PASJ...61.1011S
    Simultaneous Multiwavelength Observations of Markarian 421 During Outburst 2009ApJ...703..169A
    Simultaneous Multiwavelength Observation of Mkn 501 in a Low State in 2006 2009ApJ...705.1624A
    Simultaneous multi-frequency observation of the unknown redshift blazar PG 1553+113 in March-April 2008 2010A&A...515A..76A
    Search for VHE γ-ray Emission from the Globular Cluster M13 with the Magic Telescope 2009ApJ...702..266A
    Search for an extended VHE γ-ray emission from Mrk 421 and Mrk 501 with the MAGIC Telescope 2010A&A...524A..77A
    Radio Imaging of the Very-High-Energy γ-Ray Emission Region in the Central Engine of a Radio Galaxy 2009Sci...325..444A
    Periodic Very High Energy γ-Ray Emission from LS I +61°303 Observed with the MAGIC Telescope 2009ApJ...693..303A
    MAGIC upper limits to the VHE gamma-ray flux of 3C 454.3 in high emission state 2009A&A...498...83A
    MAGIC Upper Limits for Two Milagro-detected Bright Fermi Sources in the Region of SNR G65.1+0.6 2010ApJ...725.1629A

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    Related projects
    CTAO 3D simulation. Credit: Gabriel Pérez Díaz (IAC)
    IACTEC Large Telescopes: Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory - CTAO
    The CTAO is an initiative which is planning the construction of a new generation of Cherenkov Telescopes to study the universe in very high energy gamma-rays. Gamma-rays carry information about the most violent and extreme events in the universe.
    Ramón
    García López