The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2024)
Performance of the HAWC Observatory and TeV Gamma-Ray Measurements of the Crab Nebula with Improved Extensive Air Shower Reconstruction Algorithms
- A. Albert,
- R. Alfaro,
- C. Alvarez,
- A. Andrés,
- J. C. Arteaga-Velázquez,
- D. Avila Rojas,
- H. A. Ayala Solares,
- R. Babu,
- E. Belmont-Moreno,
- A. Bernal,
- K. S. Caballero-Mora,
- T. Capistrán,
- A. Carramiñana,
- F. Carreón,
- S. Casanova,
- U. Cotti,
- J. Cotzomi,
- S. Coutiño de León,
- E. De la Fuente,
- C. de León,
- D. Depaoli,
- N. Di Lalla,
- R. Díaz Hernández,
- B. L. Dingus,
- M. A. DuVernois,
- K. Engel,
- T. Ergin,
- C. Espinoza,
- K. L. Fan,
- K. Fang,
- N. Fraija,
- S. Fraija,
- J. A. García-González,
- F. Garfias,
- H. Goksu,
- M. M. González,
- J. A. Goodman,
- S. Groetsch,
- J. P. Harding,
- S. Hernández-Cadena,
- I. Herzog,
- J. Hinton,
- D. Huang,
- F. Hueyotl-Zahuantitla,
- P. Hüntemeyer,
- A. Iriarte,
- S. Kaufmann,
- A. Lara,
- J. Lee,
- H. León Vargas,
- J. T. Linnemann,
- A. L. Longinotti,
- G. Luis-Raya,
- K. Malone,
- J. Martínez-Castro,
- J. A. Matthews,
- P. Miranda-Romagnoli,
- J. A. Montes,
- E. Moreno,
- M. Mostafá,
- L. Nellen,
- M. U. Nisa,
- R. Noriega-Papaqui,
- L. Olivera-Nieto,
- N. Omodei,
- M. Osorio-Archila,
- Y. Pérez Araujo,
- E. G. Pérez-Pérez,
- C. D. Rho,
- D. Rosa-González,
- E. Ruiz-Velasco,
- H. Salazar,
- D. Salazar-Gallegos,
- A. Sandoval,
- M. Schneider,
- G. Schwefer,
- J. Serna-Franco,
- A. J. Smith,
- Y. Son,
- R. W. Springer,
- O. Tibolla,
- K. Tollefson,
- I. Torres,
- R. Torres-Escobedo,
- R. Turner,
- F. Ureña-Mena,
- E. Varela,
- X. Wang,
- I. J. Watson,
- K. Whitaker,
- E. Willox,
- H. Wu,
- S. Yu,
- S. Yun-Cárcamo,
- H. Zhou,
- HAWC Collaboration
Affiliations
- A. Albert
- Los Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, NM, USA
- R. Alfaro
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- C. Alvarez
- Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas , Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico
- A. Andrés
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- J. C. Arteaga-Velázquez
- Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo , Morelia, Mexico
- D. Avila Rojas
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- H. A. Ayala Solares
- Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA, USA
- R. Babu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI, USA
- E. Belmont-Moreno
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- A. Bernal
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- K. S. Caballero-Mora
- Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas , Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico
- T. Capistrán
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- A. Carramiñana
- Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica , Óptica y Electrónica, Puebla, Mexico
- F. Carreón
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- S. Casanova
- Instytut Fizyki Jadrowej im Henryka Niewodniczanskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk , IFJ-PAN, Krakow, Poland
- U. Cotti
- Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo , Morelia, Mexico
- J. Cotzomi
- Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla , Puebla, Mexico
- S. Coutiño de León
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison , Madison, WI, USA
- E. De la Fuente
- Departamento de Física, Centro Universitario de Ciencias Exactas e Ingenierías , Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
- C. de León
- Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo , Morelia, Mexico
- D. Depaoli
- Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics , 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
- N. Di Lalla
- Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford , CA 94305-4060, USA
- R. Díaz Hernández
- Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica , Óptica y Electrónica, Puebla, Mexico
- B. L. Dingus
- Los Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, NM, USA
- M. A. DuVernois
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison , Madison, WI, USA
- K. Engel
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland , College Park, MD, USA ; [email protected]
- T. Ergin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI, USA
- C. Espinoza
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- K. L. Fan
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland , College Park, MD, USA ; [email protected]
- K. Fang
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison , Madison, WI, USA
- N. Fraija
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- S. Fraija
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- J. A. García-González
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingenieria y Ciencias, Monterrey , N. L., 64849, Mexico
- F. Garfias
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- H. Goksu
- Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics , 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
- M. M. González
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- J. A. Goodman
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland , College Park, MD, USA ; [email protected]
- S. Groetsch
- Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University , Houghton, MI, USA
- J. P. Harding
- Los Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, NM, USA
- S. Hernández-Cadena
- Tsung-Dao Lee Institute & School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , People's Republic of China
- I. Herzog
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI, USA
- J. Hinton
- Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics , 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
- D. Huang
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland , College Park, MD, USA ; [email protected]
- F. Hueyotl-Zahuantitla
- Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas , Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico
- P. Hüntemeyer
- Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University , Houghton, MI, USA
- A. Iriarte
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- S. Kaufmann
- Universidad Politécnica de Pachuca , Pachuca, Hgo, Mexico
- A. Lara
- Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- J. Lee
- University of Seoul , Seoul, Republic of Korea
- H. León Vargas
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- J. T. Linnemann
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI, USA
- A. L. Longinotti
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- G. Luis-Raya
- Universidad Politécnica de Pachuca , Pachuca, Hgo, Mexico
- K. Malone
- Los Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, NM, USA
- J. Martínez-Castro
- Centro de Investigación en Computación, Instituto Politécnico Nacional , México City, Mexico
- J. A. Matthews
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Mexico , Albuquerque, NM, USA
- P. Miranda-Romagnoli
- Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo , Pachuca, Mexico
- J. A. Montes
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- E. Moreno
- Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla , Puebla, Mexico
- M. Mostafá
- Department of Physics, Temple University , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- L. Nellen
- Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- M. U. Nisa
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI, USA
- R. Noriega-Papaqui
- Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo , Pachuca, Mexico
- L. Olivera-Nieto
- Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics , 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
- N. Omodei
- Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford , CA 94305-4060, USA
- M. Osorio-Archila
- Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- Y. Pérez Araujo
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- E. G. Pérez-Pérez
- Universidad Politécnica de Pachuca , Pachuca, Hgo, Mexico
- C. D. Rho
- Department of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University , Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
- D. Rosa-González
- Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica , Óptica y Electrónica, Puebla, Mexico
- E. Ruiz-Velasco
- Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics , 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
- H. Salazar
- Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla , Puebla, Mexico
- D. Salazar-Gallegos
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI, USA
- A. Sandoval
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- M. Schneider
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland , College Park, MD, USA ; [email protected]
- G. Schwefer
- Max-Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics , 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
- J. Serna-Franco
- Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, Mexico
- A. J. Smith
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland , College Park, MD, USA ; [email protected]
- Y. Son
- University of Seoul , Seoul, Republic of Korea
- R. W. Springer
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah , Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- O. Tibolla
- Universidad Politécnica de Pachuca , Pachuca, Hgo, Mexico
- K. Tollefson
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University , East Lansing, MI, USA
- I. Torres
- Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica , Óptica y Electrónica, Puebla, Mexico
- R. Torres-Escobedo
- Tsung-Dao Lee Institute & School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , People's Republic of China
- R. Turner
- Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University , Houghton, MI, USA
- F. Ureña-Mena
- Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica , Óptica y Electrónica, Puebla, Mexico
- E. Varela
- Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla , Puebla, Mexico
- X. Wang
- Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University , Houghton, MI, USA
- I. J. Watson
- University of Seoul , Seoul, Republic of Korea
- K. Whitaker
- Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA, USA
- E. Willox
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland , College Park, MD, USA ; [email protected]
- H. Wu
- Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin–Madison , Madison, WI, USA
- S. Yu
- Department of Physics, Pennsylvania State University , University Park, PA, USA
- S. Yun-Cárcamo
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland , College Park, MD, USA ; [email protected]
- H. Zhou
- Tsung-Dao Lee Institute & School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , People's Republic of China
- HAWC Collaboration
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad5f2d
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 972,
no. 2
p. 144
Abstract
The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma-Ray Observatory, located on the side of the Sierra Negra volcano in Mexico, has been fully operational since 2015. The HAWC collaboration has recently significantly improved their extensive air shower reconstruction algorithms, which has notably advanced the observatory performance. The energy resolution for primary gamma rays with energies below 1 TeV was improved by including a noise-suppression algorithm. Corrections have also been made to systematic errors in direction fitting related to the detector and shower plane inclinations, ${ \mathcal O }(0\buildrel{\circ}\over{.} 1)$ biases in highly inclined showers, and enhancements to the core reconstruction. The angular resolution for gamma rays approaching the HAWC array from large zenith angles (>37°) has improved by a factor of 4 at the highest energies (>70 TeV) as compared to previous reconstructions. The inclusion of a lateral distribution function fit to the extensive air shower footprint on the array to separate gamma-ray primaries from cosmic-ray ones based on the resulting χ ^2 values improved the background rejection performance at all inclinations. At large zenith angles, the improvement in significance is a factor of 4 compared to previous HAWC publications. These enhancements have been verified by observing the Crab Nebula, which is an overhead source for the HAWC Observatory. We show that the sensitivity to Crab-like point sources ( E ^−2.63 ) with locations overhead to 30° zenith is comparable to or less than 10% of the Crab Nebula’s flux between 2 and 50 TeV. Thanks to these improvements, HAWC can now detect more sources, including the Galactic center.
Keywords
