Detection of TeV Gamma-Rays from extended sources with Milagro

Abstract

The Milagro gamma-ray observatory employs a water Cherenkov detector to observe extensive air showers produced by high-energy particles impacting in the Earth's atmosphere. A 4800 m${}^2$ pond instrumented with 723 8" PMTs detects Cherenkov light produced by secondary air-shower particles. An array of 175 4000 liter water tanks surrounding the central pond detector was recently added, extending the physical area of the Milagro observatory to 40,000 m${}^2$ and substantially increasing the sensitivity of the detector. Because of its wide field of view and high duty cycle, Milagro is ideal for monitoring the northern sky almost continuously ($>$90% duty cycle) in the 100 GeV to 100 TeV energy range. Here we discuss the first detection of TeV gamma-rays from the inner Galactic plane region. We also report the detection of an extended TeV source coincident with the EGRET source 3EG J0520+2556, as well as the observation of extended TeV emission from the Cygnus region of the Galactic plane.

Poster at "The XXII Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics", Stanford, USA, December 2004, (TSRA04)

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