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arXiv · 1110.4747

Highlights of the MAGIC Telescopes

Juan Cortina
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Abstract

The MAGIC two 17 meter diameter Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray telescopes have now operated for two years in stereoscopic mode. The performance of the instrument has been evaluated: the integral sensitivity for an energy above 300 GeV is 0.76% crab units (10% Crab units differential sensitivity below 100 GeV) and the analysis threshold energy is 50 GeV. Highlights of the last two years of observations are the measurement of the Crab Nebula spectrum from ~50 GeV to ~50 TeV; the detection of the Crab pulsar up to an energy of 400 GeV, with energy spectra measured for both P1 and P2; the discovery of two new radiogalaxies at VHE (NGC 1275 and IC-310); the absence of an energy cutoff and the discovery of fast variability in the quasars 3C 279 and PKS 1222+21; the discovery at VHE and the characterization of numerous blazars; upper limits to the VHE emission of the Perseus cluster of galaxies and to Dark Matter annihilation in dwarf Spheroidals and the measurement of the electron+positron spectrum between 100 GeV and 3 TeV. MAGIC is currently undergoing a major upgrade of the readout and trigger electronics, and of the camera of the first telescope.

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Juan Cortina. 2011-10-21. Highlights of the MAGIC Telescopes. https://doi.org/10.7529/icrc2011%2Fv12%2Fh12

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