Engineering topics

Hanlon, L.

Publications and source records attributed to Hanlon, L..

4 records

NASA NTRS2016

The e-astrogam Gamma-Ray Space Mission

e-ASTROGAM is a gamma-ray space mission to be proposed as the M5 Medium-size mission of the European Space Agency. It is dedicated to the observation of the Universe with unprecedented sensitivity in the energy range 0.2-100 MeV, extending up to GeV energies, together with a groundbreaking polarization capability. It is designed to substantially improve the COMPTEL and Fermi sensitivities in the MeV-GeV energy range and to open new windows of opportunity for astrophysical and fundamental physics space research. e-ASTROGAM will operate as an open astronomical observatory, with a core science focused on (1) the activity from extreme particle accelerators, including gamma-ray bursts and active galactic nuclei and the link of jet astrophysics to the new astronomy of gravitational waves, neutrinos, ultra-high energy cosmic rays, (2) the high-energy mysteries of the Galactic center and inner Galaxy, including the activity of the supermassive black hole, the Fermi Bubbles, the origin of the Galactic positrons, and the search for dark matter signatures in a new energy window; (3) nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution, including the life cycle of elements produced by supernovae in the Milky Way and the Local Group of galaxies. e-ASTROGAM will be ideal for the study of high-energy sources in general, including pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae, accreting neutron stars and black holes, novae, supernova remnants, and magnetars. And it will also provide important contributions to solar and terrestrial physics. The e-ASTROGAM telescope is optimized for the simultaneous detection of Compton and pair-producing gamma-ray events over a large spectral band. It is based on a very high technology readiness level for all subsystems and includes many innovative features for the detectors and associated electronics.

Compton and pair creation telescope↗

NASA NTRS1997

Gamma-ray observations of BL Lac objects

The results from observations of a sample of BL Lac objects by the Compton telescope (COMPTEL) and energetic gamma ray experiment telescope (EGRET) onboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) are presented. The main targets in the sample were selected on the basis of their X-ray brightness and apparent spectral hardening at hard X-ray energies. One of the targets, PKS 0521-365 was detected by EGRET, and these data are presented together with contemporaneous ground-based radio data. Subsequent X-ray observations of this source with the Advanced Satellite for Cosomology and Astrophysics (ASCA) demonstrated that, although originally classified as a BL Lac object, it is better described as a flat spectrum radio quasar. Upper limits on the gamma ray flux from all the non-detected BL lacs are presented.

Hanlon, L.↗

NASA NTRS1997

GRB 970228

We made radio observations (5 GHz, 3".8 x 17" beamwidth) with the Westerbork array of the SAX/WFC error box of GRB 970228 (IAUC 6572) on Feb. 28 (19.9 hr after the onset of GRB 970228) for 1.2 hr, and on Mar. 1 and 2 for 12 hr each. The error box contains no radio sources above 0.7 mJy (4 sigma).

Galama, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1997

Two Variable Radio Sources Near the Position of GRB 940301

We report on the results of a search for a radio counterpart to the strong gamma-ray burst GRB 940301. Observations with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope of the Compton Telescope error box region of GRB 940301 began on March 4, 1994, at 21 cm and April 2, 1994, at 92 cm. No flux density variations were detected at 92 cm above S= 10 mJy (5 (sigma)) within a period of 1 to 4 months after the burst. However, when we compared the field with Westerbork Northern Sky Survey data, taken two years prior to GRB 940301, we found two radio sources with significantly increased flux densities. These sources, only 17 min. apart, are located at the 2.3 and 2.6(sigma) Compton Telescope confidence contours. Their separation from the Inter Planetary Network annulus virtually excludes association with GRB 940301. Further observations in January 1996 reveal that the sources continued to change in flux density. The relatively large flux density variations at 92 cm, compared to those at higher frequencies, and the inverted spectra in the frequency range from 325-38O MHz make the sources somewhat unusual. Because the sources were already detected at 5 GHz in 1986 most, if not all, of the radio emission is probably associated with activity in Active Galactic Nuclei in distant galaxies.

Galama, T. J.↗