Astrophysics
(Abridged) We describe here the most ambitious survey currently planned in the optical, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). A vast array of science will be enabled by a single wide-deep-fast sky survey, and LSST will have unique…
After a long R&D phase to validate its detector concept, the ANTARES (Astronomy with a Neutrino Telescope and Abyss environmental RESearch) collaboration is operating the largest neutrino telescope in the Northern hemisphere, which is close…
We present the mid-infrared colors of X-ray-detected AGN and explore mid-infrared selection criteria. Using a statistical matching technique, the likelihood ratio, over 900 IRAC counterparts were identified with a new MUSYC X-ray source…
We forecast the constraints on the values of sigma_8, Omega_m, and cluster scaling relation parameters which we expect to obtain from the XMM Cluster Survey (XCS). We assume a flat Lambda-CDM Universe and perform a Monte Carlo Markov Chain…
A major goal of upcoming experiments measuring the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) is to reveal the subtle signature of inflation in the polarization pattern which requires unprecedented sensitivity and control of systematics.…
We discuss results of the AMANDA neutrino telescope, in operation at the South Pole since 2000, and present the status and scientific potential of its km$^3$ extension, IceCube.
Simultaneous observations by the large number of gamma-ray burst detectors operating in the GLAST era will provide the spectra, lightcurves and locations necessary for studying burst physics and testing the putative relations between…
We observed the first known very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emitting unidentified source, TeV J2032+4130, for 94 hours with the MAGIC telescope. The source was detected with a significance of 5.6 sigma. The flux, position, and angular…
Context: L-type ultra-cool dwarfs and brown dwarfs have cloudy atmospheres that could host weather-like phenomena. The detection of photometric or spectral variability would provide insight into unresolved atmospheric heterogeneities, such…
IceCube is a cubic kilometer-scale neutrino telescope under construction at the South Pole since the austral summer 2004/2005. At the moment it is taking data with 22 deployed strings. The full detector is expected to be completed in 2011…
We present the status and the recent measurements from the Pierre Auger Observatory. The energy spectrum will be described and its steepening discussed. The mass composition is addressed with the measurements of the variation of the depth…
The Pierre Auger Observatory is designed to study cosmic rays with energies greater than 10^{19} eV. Two sites are envisaged for the observatory, one in each hemisphere, for complete sky coverage. The southern site of the Auger Observatory,…
We report about very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray observations of the Crab Nebula with the MAGIC telescope. The gamma-ray flux from the nebula was measured between 60 GeV and 9 TeV. The energy spectrum can be described with a curved power…
The fluorescence detection of ultra high energy cosmic rays requires a detailed knowledge of the fluorescence light emission from nitrogen molecules over a wide range of atmospheric parameters, corresponding to altitudes typical of the…
We present the first clustering results of X-ray selected AGN at z~3. Using Chandra X-ray imaging and UVR optical colors from MUSYC photometry in the ECDF-S field, we selected a sample of 58 z~3 AGN candidates. From the optical data we also…
The ANTARES neutrino telescope is presently being built in the Mediterranean Sea at a depth of 2500 m. The primary aim of the experiment is the detection of high energy cosmic muon neutrinos, which are identified by the muons that are…
The ANTARES neutrino telescope is currently being constructed in the Mediterranean Sea. The complete detector will consist of 12 strings, supplemented by an additional instrumentation line. Nine strings are at present deployed of which five…
In this paper, we illustrate the main features of the electronics and data acquisition systems of the ANTARES apparatus, a large volume, deep-sea neutrino telescope under construction in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Toulon,…
Relic neutralinos produced after the Big Bang are favoured candidates for Dark Matter. They can accumulate at the centre of massive celestial objects like our Sun. Their annihilation can result in a high-energy neutrino flux that could be…
The results from H.E.S.S. observations towards Westerlund 2 are presented. The detection of very-high-energy gamma-ray emission towards the young stellar cluster Westerlund 2 in the HII complex RCW49 by H.E.S.S. provides ample evidence that…