A TeV source in the 3C 66A/B region

TL;DR

The MAGIC telescope discovered a new TeV gamma-ray source in the 3C 66A/B region, likely associated with the radio galaxy 3C 66B, revealing high-energy emission from this area.

Contribution

This study reports the first detection of a TeV gamma-ray source in the 3C 66A/B region, providing new insights into high-energy processes near these active galaxies.

Findings

Detected gamma-ray source MAGIC J0223+430 coinciding with 3C 66B

Measured a power-law energy spectrum with photon index 3.10

Estimated flux normalization at 300 GeV as (1.7±0.3_stat±0.6_syst) x 10^-11 TeV^-1 cm^-2 s^-1

Abstract

The MAGIC telescope observed the region around the distant blazar 3C 66A for 54.2 hr in 2007 August-December. The observations resulted in the discovery of a gamma-ray source centered at celestial coordinates R.A. = 2h23m12s and decl.= 43deg 0.7arcmin (MAGIC J0223+430), coinciding with the nearby radio galaxy 3C 66B. A possible association of the excess with the blazar 3C 66A is discussed. The energy spectrum of MAGIC J0223+430 follows a power law with a normalization of (1.7+-0.3_stat+-0.6_syst) x 10^-11 TeV^-1 cm-2 s-1 at 300 GeV and a photon index of 3.10+-0.31_stat+-0:2syst.