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

    Properties of Cosmic Deuterons Measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2024PhRvL.13261001A
    Broadband multi-wavelength properties of M87 during the 2018 EHT campaign including a very high energy flaring episode 2024A&A...692A.140A
    A new method of reconstructing images of gamma-ray telescopes applied to the LST-1 of CTAO 2024A&A...691A.328A
    Distance estimation of gamma-ray-emitting BL Lac objects from imaging observations 2024A&A...691A.154N
    Constraints on VHE gamma-ray emission of flat spectrum radio quasars with the MAGIC telescopes 2024MNRAS.535.1484A
    Determination of the anisotropy of elementary particles with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the International Space Station 2024AdSpR..74.4346V
    The Cosmological Optical Convergence: Extragalactic Background Light from TeV Gamma Rays 2024ApJ...975L..18G
    Prospects for a survey of the galactic plane with the Cherenkov Telescope Array 2024JCAP...10..081A
    Standardised formats and open-source analysis tools for the MAGIC telescopes data 2024JHEAp..44..266A
    A detailed study of the very high-energy Crab pulsar emission with the LST-1 2024A&A...690A.167A
    Prospects for γ-ray observations of the Perseus galaxy cluster with the Cherenkov Telescope Array 2024JCAP...10..004A
    Dark matter line searches with the Cherenkov Telescope Array 2024JCAP...07..047A
    Constraints on Lorentz invariance violation from the extraordinary Mrk 421 flare of 2014 using a novel analysis method 2024JCAP...07..044A
    Insights into the broadband emission of the TeV blazar Mrk 501 during the first X-ray polarization measurements 2024A&A...685A.117M
    TeV pion bumps in the gamma-ray spectra of flaring blazars 2024A&A...685A.110P
    The variability patterns of the TeV blazar PG 1553 + 113 from a decade of MAGIC and multiband observations 2024MNRAS.529.3894M
    A Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray View of the Transient Sky 2024Univ...10..163C
    First characterization of the emission behavior of Mrk 421 from radio to very high-energy gamma rays with simultaneous X-ray polarization measurements 2024A&A...684A.127A
    Performance and first measurements of the MAGIC stellar intensity interferometer 2024MNRAS.529.4387A
    Optical spectroscopy of blazars for the Cherenkov Telescope Array - III 2024A&A...683A.222D
    Multiwavelength variability analysis of Fermi-LAT blazars 2024MNRAS.529.1365P
    Multi-year characterisation of the broad-band emission from the intermittent extreme BL Lac 1ES 2344+514 2024A&A...682A.114M
    Constraints on axion-like particles with the Perseus Galaxy Cluster with MAGIC 2024PDU....4401425A
    Constraints on redshifts of blazars from extragalactic background light attenuation using Fermi-LAT data 2024MNRAS.527.4763D
    MAGIC detection of GRB 201216C at z = 1.1 2024MNRAS.527.5856A
    Statistical redshift of the very-high-energy blazar S5 0716+714 2023A&A...680A..52P
    Performance of the joint LST-1 and MAGIC observations evaluated with Crab Nebula data 2023A&A...680A..66A
    Detection of a Peculiar Drift in the Nuclear Radio Jet of the TeV Blazar Markarian 501 2023Univ....9..115B
    The Third Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog of Gamma-Ray Pulsars 2023ApJ...958..191S
    Star tracking for pointing determination of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes. Application to the Large-Sized Telescope of the Cherenkov Telescope Array 2023A&A...679A..90A
    Temporal Structures in Positron Spectra and Charge-Sign Effects in Galactic Cosmic Rays 2023PhRvL.131o1002A
    Observations of the Crab Nebula and Pulsar with the Large-sized Telescope Prototype of the Cherenkov Telescope Array 2023ApJ...956...80A
    A Reemerging Bright Soft X-Ray State of the Changing-look Active Galactic Nucleus 1ES 1927+654: A Multiwavelength View 2023ApJ...955....3G
    Fermi-GBM Discovery of GRB 221009A: An Extraordinarily Bright GRB from Onset to Afterglow 2023ApJ...952L..42L
    Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array to TeV photon emission from the Large Magellanic Cloud 2023MNRAS.523.5353A
    Variability and evolution of the optical polarization of a sample of gamma-ray blazars 2023MNRAS.523.4504O
    Multimessenger Characterization of Markarian 501 during Historically Low X-Ray and γ-Ray Activity 2023ApJS..266...37A
    Properties of Cosmic-Ray Sulfur and Determination of the Composition of Primary Cosmic-Ray Carbon, Neon, Magnesium, and Sulfur: Ten-Year Results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 2023PhRvL.130u1002A
    Multiwavelength study of the galactic PeVatron candidate LHAASO J2108+5157 2023A&A...673A..75A
    Temporal Structures in Electron Spectra and Charge Sign Effects in Galactic Cosmic Rays 2023PhRvL.130p1001A

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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