Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

First results from HAWC, and its synergies with Fermi

Giacomo Vianello
P. Younk, R. Lauer, P. Harding, N. Omodei, the HAWC collaboration

Abstract:

The High Altitude Water Cerenkov observatory (HAWC) is an extensive air shower array of 300 water Cherenkov detectors, which are being deployed 4100 m above sea level near on the Sierra Negra Volcano in the state of Puebla, Mexico. Its large field of view of 2 sr and >90% duty cycle allow HAWC to monitor nearly 2/3 of the sky over a 24 hour period, making it well suited to observe high-energy sources such as PWN, SNRs, and AGNs as well as detecting transients like GRBs. HAWC started operating in August 2013 with 110 water Cherenkov detectors, and has been operating with an increasing number of tanks since then. The full detector will be complete by March 2015. The array will cover 22,000 m2 and will be 15 times more sensitive than its predecessor, Milagro. I will present the main features of HAWC and its most recent results. I will also briefly introduce its synergies with Fermi, and a new analysis framework we are developing to combine data from the two instruments.