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# X- and 𝛾-ray Studies of Cas A: Exposing Core Collapse to the Core

## 1 Introduction

Cas A is the youngest known, and one of the brightest supernova remnants (SNRs). It is therefore, arguably, the best galactic SNR to study the fresh products of explosive nucleosynthesis.

The aim of this review is to discuss the observed properties in order to put the detection of 44Ti emission from Cas A into the more general context of observed nucleosynthesis products, inferred explosion energy and progenitor type. This means I will neglect the equally fascinating topic of cosmic ray acceleration by Cas A’s blastwave (e.g. Vink, 2003).

Cas A, being the brightest radio source in the sky, was first discovered in the radio (Ryle & Smith, 1948). Its distance, based on combining Doppler shifts and proper motions, is $`3.4_{0.1}^{+0.3}`$ kpc (Reed et al., 1995), at which distance the outer radius of 2.55 corresponds to 2.55 pc.

The proper motion of optical knots indicate an explosion date around AD 1671 (Thorstensen et al., 2001). This is very close to a putative observation of the supernova by Flamsteed (Ashworth, 1980). However, Stephenson & Green (2002) argue that the spurious star in Flamsteed’s catalog, which he observed in AD 1680 and is about 10 away from the position of Cas A, is not the supernova, but is best explained by assuming that he mixed up the relative positions of two different stars.

The optical emission consists of fast moving knots, characterized by velocities ranging from $`4000`$ km s-1 up to $`15000`$ km s-1 and nitrogen-rich, slow moving knots with typical velocities of $`150`$ km s-1(Kamper & van den Bergh, 1976). The fast moving knots are hydrogen deficient, and dominated by forbidden O and S emission (e.g. Fesen et al., 2001). The lack of hydrogen-rich ejecta111There are some exceptions, consisting of knots with traces of hydrogen and nitrogen, see Fesen & Becker (1991). suggests that Cas A was a Type Ib SN; the result of the core-collapse of a Wolf-Rayet (WR) star (see e.g. Woosley et al., 1993).

## 2 Spatial abundance variations

X-ray studies of SNRs have the advantage that most of the shocked ejecta emit X-rays, whereas the optical emitting knots constitute only a small fraction of the ejecta. Moreover, the 0.5-7 keV band covers line emission from all alpha elements between O and Fe, mostly from H-like and He-like ions. This makes it relatively easy to compare the yields of the most abundant nucleosynthesis products. This is much harder to do in the optical, where the line emission is very different from one element to another, and where some elements (e.g. an abundant element like Si) are not observable at all. Due to the large absorption toward Cas A ($`10^{22}`$ cm-2), C and N emission cannot be observed.

The SNR mass can be estimated from modeling the X-ray spectrum with a non-equilibrium ionization model. For Cas A good results are obtained with a two component model, for which the cooler plasma component is thought to arise from the shocked ejecta. The emission measure, together with the assumed or measured abundances, and an estimate for the volume, can be directly related to the mass of the plasma components (Vink et al., 1996). The lack of hydrogen in the fast moving optical knots suggests that the X-ray emitting ejecta are hydrogen deficient as well. This has an important implication for the ejecta mass, as ionized O, the most abundant element, is an efficient bremsstrahlung emitter, resulting in a relatively low ejecta mass estimate, despite the X-ray luminosity of $`2\times 10^{36}`$ erg/s (Vink et al., 1996). Taking this into account, current ejecta mass estimates range from 2-4$`M_{}`$ and an O mass of 1–3 $`M_{}`$ (Vink et al., 1996; Willingale et al., 2002), with some uncertainty due to the uncertain volume filling fraction and temperature structure of the ejecta.

The recent advances in X-ray imaging spectroscopy have enabled a detailed study of spatial abundance variations (Fig. 1). Chandra and XMM-Newton show that the bright X-ray shell is very rich in oxygen burning products (Si, S, Ar, and Ca), with a tight correlation between the abundances of those elements (Willingale et al., 2002).

Remarkably, although Cas A is an oxygen-rich remnant, there is a lack of the carbon-burning products Ne and Mg (Table 1). The Ne/O and Mg/O ratio are almost an order of magnitude lower than the models of Woosley & Weaver (1995) (WW95), although a few regions show enhanced Ne and Mg emission (Fig. 1). This is in contrast to other O-rich SNRs like 1E0102.2-72192 and G292-1.8 (e.g. Rasmussen et al., 2001; Park et al., 2002) that show prominent Ne and Mg line emission. The lack of Ne is also apparent from optical observations (Fesen, 1990). The reason for this deficiency is not clear; it seems unlikely that most Ne and Mg is still unshocked, as the ubiquitous Si is formed closer to the core of the SN, but, as indicated below, the radial ejecta structure may be more complicated than usually assumed.

Even more remarkable is the fact that in the southeast Fe-rich material exists outside the Si-rich shell. The high Fe abundance clearly indicates that the knots are ejecta (Fig. 1 Hughes et al., 2000; Hwang & Laming, 2003), consisting of material from the explosive Si-burning shell, where it was synthesized as radio-active 56Ni close to the collapsing SN core. The Fe knots must have penetrated the outer SN layers. In fact, most Fe-K emission is located outside a radius of 1.45, ranging almost out to the blast wave at 2.55, corresponding to average velocities of 4500 - 7800 km s-1. Interestingly the Fe rich knots have an ionization parameter higher than the Si-rich ejecta ($`n_\mathrm{e}t`$$`5\times 10^{11}`$ cm-3s, Willingale et al., 2003; Hwang & Laming, 2003) indicating that the Fe knots were among the first to be shocked.222A plasma is in collisional ionization equilibrium when $`n_\mathrm{e}t`$$`>10^{12}`$ cm-3s. For most of the plasma in Cas A $`n_\mathrm{e}t`$$`1\times 10^{11}`$ cm-3 (Willingale et al., 2002). Recently Hwang & Laming (2003) reported the discovery of a Fe-rich knot that seems almost devoid of Si. This suggests that at least this knot is a product of $`\alpha `$-rich freeze out, which results in a lower Si to Fe ratio than explosive Si-burning (Arnett, 1996). This process is also the main source of radio-active 44Ti. Interestingly, recent 2D simulations of core-collapse supernovae show that high velocity 56Ni-rich clumps are formed, which are not slowed down in Type Ib explosions (Kifonidis et al., 2003).

## 3 The detection of 44Ti

Alpha-rich freeze out occurs when, in the expanding Si-burning plasma, the density drops below the threshold for the triple-$`\alpha `$ reaction, and an excess of $`\alpha `$-particles results in a relatively large build up of 44Ti. Although, its yield is low compared to the 56Ni, 44Ti is an excellent explosion diagnostic, as it depends sensitively on the explosion energy and asymmetry, and the mass cut (Diehl & Timmes, 1998).

44Ti decays into 44Sc by electron capture with a decay time of 86 yr, which decays in 5.7 hr by beta decay into 44Ca (Hashimoto et al., 2001, for the latest measurements). The decay is therefore long enough to hope to detect the associated $`\gamma `$-ray line emission from young SNRs at 68 keV and 78 keV (from excited 44Sc) and 1157 keV (44Ca). The detection of 1157 keV from Cas A (Iyudin et al., 1994) came nevertheless as a surprise, as the flux observed by CGRO-COMPTEL, $`(7\pm 1.7)\times 10^5`$ ph cm-2s-1, implied a much higher yield than predicted (WW95). However, additional observations, and finally a detection of the 44Sc lines by BeppoSAX, indicate a lower flux of $`(3\pm 0.6)\times 10^5`$ ph cm-2s-1, implying a yield of $`1.8\times 10^4`$ $`M_{}`$ (Vink et al., 2001; Vink & Laming, 2003). This is still on the high side of the predicted yields, and is more consistent with models for supernovae with high explosion energies or asymmetries (Nagataki et al., 1998, WW95,). The 44Ti yield for Cas A may also have been lower, if, in the course of its lifetime, a substantial fraction of 44Ti was ionized beyond the Li-like state (Mochizuki et al., 1999). However, this effect depends sensitively on the ionization history and, even if substantial, is still more in agreement with a higher than expected yield (Mochizuki, 2001; Laming, 2001).

## 4 Cas A’s dynamics

Asymmetric SN Type Ibc explosions have recently received a lot of attention, as they may be related to the highly collimated explosions of gamma-ray bursts. Cas A’s high 44Ti yield may be the result of either an asymmetric or a more energetic explosion. Observations support both possibilities. The optical morphology and Doppler shifts clearly show an asymmetric expansion (Reed et al., 1995; Lawrence et al., 1995), but the optically knots are dynamically not very significant, as they comprise only a small fraction of the total mass ($`<0.1`$ $`M_{}`$ Willingale et al., 2003). Most of the shocked plasma is hot enough to be visible in X-rays. The X-ray emitting material is, therefore, from a dynamical point of view more important.

The first hints for an asymmetrical expansion of the hot plasma came from Einstein FPCS observations of Si and S lines (Markert et al., 1983), showing that the southeast has an overall redshift, whereas the northern part is blueshifted. The most comprehensive X-ray Doppler study is based on XMM-Newton data, showing that the north/southeast asymmetry is even more apparent for Fe-K emission, with Doppler velocities up to 2500 km s-1 in the North (Willingale et al., 2002). So, interestingly, Fe rich material is ahead of the Si rich material in “Doppler space” in the North, whereas in projection Fe is ahead of Si-rich material in the Southeast. This also indicates that there is no obvious symmetry to the Fe kinematics; there is no evidence for a Fe-rich jet, nor a well defined Fe-rich equatorial structure. The jet-like structure in the East is Si-rich (Fig. 1). There is no clear evidence for a counter jet, but mapping the ratio of Si-K and Mg-K emission does reveal a structure that hints at the presence of counter jet (Fig. 2). In fact the Chandra images show Si-rich knots outside the main shell that seem to have pierced through the denser material in the West.

The rim of continuum emission surrounding Cas A is likely due to synchrotron emission associated with the blastwave (Gotthelf et al., 2001; Vink & Laming, 2003). Apart from near the jet region and the West, this rim is remarkably circular, much more so than the Si-emitting material. This is a clear hint that the observed asymmetries are predominantly due to an asymmetric explosion, as opposed to pre-existing structures in the circumstellar medium (CSM).

Note that the Doppler shifts are based on centroid fitting and are possibly affected by line of sight effects, so that actual velocities may be higher. Based on X-ray proper motions using Einstein and ROSAT Vink et al. (1998) inferred a blastwave velocity for Cas A of 5200 km s-1, a value that has recently been confirmed with Chandra (Delaney & Rudnick, 2003). Based on the Doppler velocities Willingale et al. (2003) estimated the explosion energy of Cas A to be $`10^{51}`$ erg. However, they ignored the high blastwave velocity. If that is taken into account, an explosion energy of $`2\times 10^{51}`$ erg can be inferred. Hydrodynamic modeling of the blast wave velocity and the blastwave and reverse shock radii also suggests $`2\times 10^{51}`$ erg (Laming & Hwang, 2003).

## 5 The progenitor’s stellar wind

The presence of N-rich ejecta suggests that Cas A is sweeping up CSM from the wind of its progenitor. The swept-up mass is estimated to be 8 $`M_{}`$ (Vink et al., 1996; Willingale et al., 2003). Such a high mass is supported by hydrodynamical calculations (Laming & Hwang, 2003; Chevalier & Oishi, 2003), and by the high ionization parameter ($`n_\mathrm{e}t`$) close to the shock front (Vink & Laming, 2003), which suggests an electron density of 30 cm-3, which translate into a pre-shock H density of 7.5 cm-3 or, if the medium is dominated by He, a He density of 3 cm-3. For a uniform wind profile, the density, $`\rho `$, relates to the mass loss rate, $`\dot{M}`$, radius, $`r`$, and wind velocity, $`v_w`$, as $`\rho =\dot{M}/4\pi r^2v_w`$. Integration to $`r=2.55`$ pc gives a swept up mass of $`M=2.5(\dot{M}/10^3M_{}yr^1)(v_w/1000\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1)^1`$$`M_{}`$. This means that for a WR wind of typically 2000 km s-1, a mass loss rate of $`6.4\times 10^3`$ $`M_{}`$/yr is required, which is in conflict with the observed WR mass loss rates. It is, however, more consistent with the slower ($`10300`$ km s-1) wind of a red super giant (RSG) or LBV star. This indicates that not too long for the explosion (at maximum $`10^4`$ yr, the expansion time scale of the optical knots) the progenitor was still in an RSG/LBV phase, placing strong constraints on the main sequence mass of Cas A’s progenitor (Garcia-Segura et al., 1996).

## 6 Possibility of enhanced positron escape

One of the important goals of the INTEGRAL mission is the galactic e+e- annihilation radiation (see Jean et al., 2003, for some first results). A dominant source for this emission is probably positrons that have escaped supernovae (e.g. Milne et al., 2001), where they are produced by the beta decay of 44Sc and 56Co. The escape fraction is of importance for the bolometric light curve of supernovae (Ruiz-Lapuente & Spruit, 1998).

Cas A will be observed by INTEGRAL, and apart from 44Ti, it is interesting to look for e+e- annihilation radiation. The typical annihilation time scale is $`10^5`$ yr. The estimated escape fraction for positrons produced by 56Co decay is $``$1% (Chan & Lingenfelter, 1993). Given the 44Ti yield, this would mean a current annihilation line flux of $`10^6`$ ph cm-2s-1, below the INTEGRAL sensitivity limits.

However, the conditions that have led to a high 44Ti yield may also have favored a high positron escape fraction. Annihilation during the explosion involves the slowing down of the positrons, mainly through ionization losses (Chan & Lingenfelter, 1993). Alpha-rich freeze occurs if the plasma is expanding rapidly, but the rapid drop in density also decreases the positron loss and annihilation rate. Moreover, the ionization losses in the presence of He-rich plasma are decreased, due to the small He ionization cross-sections. Preliminary calculations show that these effects may increase the escape fraction to 10%, if most of the $`0.07`$ $`M_{}`$ of 56Ni had initial velocities in excess of 5000 km s-1. This would increase the expected line flux to $`10^5`$ ph cm-2s-1. Unfortunately, the circumstances that lead to a large escape fraction, will result in a population of energetic positrons. The annihilation line may therefore be too much affected by line broadening to detect with INTEGRAL. Nevertheless, this mechanism may be important, as it potentially contributes to the galactic positron production (Milne et al., 2002).

## 7 Conclusion

Observational evidence suggests that Cas A was a Type Ib SN. The estimated O mass of 1-3 $`M_{}`$ corresponds to a main sequence mass of 18-25$`M_{}`$ (WW95). An additional mass constraint is that the progenitor was probably a WR star, which puts a lower limit on the main sequence mass of 22$`M_{}`$ (Massey et al., 2000). One should be careful with using the O mass, as WW95 also predict a higher than observed Ne and Mg yield. However, a relatively low mass WR star is supported by a large amount of swept up mass and the high density behind the blastwave, which suggests that the progenitor was only briefly in the WR phase.

The mass of the progenitor at the time of explosion is difficult to reconcile with current knowledge of WR stars. X-ray studies suggest an ejecta mass of less than 4$`M_{}`$, adding to that the mass of the compact object, for which the Chandra point source is an excellent candidate (Tananbaum, 1999), suggests a progenitor mass of $``$6$`M_{}`$. The fact that we see nucleosynthesis products from near the core, indicates that most of the ejecta mass must have been shocked. This is at odds with current evolutionary models for massive stars with rotation, which suggest that WR star end their lives with about 12$`M_{}`$ left (Meynet & Maeder, 2003). Note that Type Ib SN ejecta estimates seem to agree with that of Cas A: 2–4.4$`M_{}`$ (Hamuy, 2003).

An alternative scenario, which could explain the low ejecta mass, is binary mass transfer, but there is no evidence yet (e.g. in the form of a runaway star) that the progenitor was part of a binary system. However, the modeling of supernova explosions is an active field of research, which received a boost from the new found connection between Type Ibc supernovae and gamma-ray bursts. For some recent developments and discussions see for example Heger et al. (2003) and Kifonidis et al. (2003).

Cas A’s high 44Ti yield suggests a relatively explosive or an asymmetric SN event. The X-ray emission supports both possibilities, with an estimated explosion energy of $`2\times 10^{51}`$ erg and evidence for a Si-rich jets and fast moving “plumes” of Fe-rich plasma. A more compact progenitor can also cause a higher 44Ti yield, as a lower ejecta mass results in less fall back on the stellar remnant.

This work is supported by NASA’s Chandra Postdoctoral Fellowship Award Nr. PF0-10011 issued by the Chandra X-ray Observatory Center, which is operated by the SAO under NASA contract NAS8-39073.


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# A new template background estimate for source searching in TeV 𝛾-ray astronomy

## 1 Motivation & Introduction

The search for new astrophysical sources of TeV $`\gamma `$-ray emission today is well motivated by the multi-wavelength picture of candidate sources, and also by the high performance offered by present and future instruments. Many of the $`>`$150 unidentified EGRET sources (MeV - GeV energies) have positional uncertainties approaching several degrees (Hartman et al. Hartman:1 (1999)), presenting exciting opportunities for TeV instruments to identify possible counterparts over the coming years. The ground-based imaging atmospheric Čerenkov technique presently offers on-axis flux sensitivities better than (for energies $`>1`$ TeV) $`10^{12}`$ erg cm-2 s-1 for 50 hrs exposure, and can achieve arc-minute scale angular resolution over fields of view approaching 5 diameter (see e.g. Konopelko et al. Konopelko:2 (2002)). Rather wide surveys for new TeV sources are therefore possible even from singly pointed observations. Techniques to generate 2D skymaps of event excess significance for such surveys have therefore become more important in recent years. Critically important, for such skymap generation is an estimate of the cosmic ray background over the field of view (FoV). Many expected, and known sites of TeV $`\gamma `$-ray production, such as supernova remnants, pulsars/plerions, microquasars, and nearby extragalactic sources will likely present complicated morphology for future instruments as sensitivities improve. Particularly in cases where combinations of such sources might be expected in the FoV, it is vital that the background estimate is not contaminated by other TeV sources and various systematic biases are well understood.

Described here is the template background model (an earlier version is described in Rowell Rowell:1 (2000)), designed to provide a background estimate for sources of interest at all positions in the FoV. The model is demonstrated on archival data from the HEGRA System of Čerenkov telescopes (HEGRA CT-System). For detailed descriptions of this instrument and its performance see Daum et al. Daum:1 (1997) and Pühlhofer et al. Puehl:1 (2003). Comparisons are made between results of the template model and those taken from a conventional background model presently in use in HEGRA CT-System data analysis. Some features and limitations of the template model are described.

## 2 Conventional Background Estimates and 2D Skymap Generation

Present ground-based instruments utilising the imaging atmospheric Čerenkov technique (100 GeV to $``$30 TeV), must detect $`\gamma `$-ray initiated events against a background of vastly outnumbering isotropic cosmic-ray (CR) initiated events. First, a set of so-called $`\gamma `$-ray cuts are employed to preferentially select events conforming to a $`\gamma `$-ray hypothesis. These are a-priori chosen, and based primarily on Čerenkov image shape parameters, for example width, length (Hillas Hillas:1 (1985)), and mean-scaled-width ($`\overline{w}`$ ) (Konopelko Konopelko:1 (1995), Daum et al. Daum:1 (1997)). Second, event arrival directions are also reconstructed based on the orientation of recorded Čerenkov images (see eg. Buckley et al. Buckley:1 (1998), Hofmann et al. Hofmann:1 (1999)) and a so-called directional cut made on the distance $`\theta `$ (or analogous parameters) between the reconstructed and assumed arrival directions. To assess the statistical significance of any region in the FoV, an estimate of the CR background surviving both $`\gamma `$-ray and directional cuts must be made. This background estimate can be derived from separate observations of different OFF tracking positions (ON/OFF tracking), or control regions displaced within the same FoV containing the source region. The latter types of background models are termed here displacement backgrounds, and a number of different displacement background geometries are available. Background regions are chosen so that their CR response matches as closely as possible, that of the source region (see Fig. 1).

In ON/OFF tracking this is achieved by choosing background regions with the same relative displacement from respective tracking positions as that for the source. For displacement backgrounds, such regions are mirrored through the tracking position (methods 2 & 3), except for sources very close to the tracking position in which a region surrounding completely the source can be implemented (method 4). In this latter case an extra correction is applied to account for differences in CR response. Provided the FoV is large compared to the angular resolution and source size, and global systematic changes in CR response are minimal or can be alleviated, displacement backgrounds may be implemented. Displacement backgrounds are favoured over the ON/OFF method since they do not require extra time taking dedicated OFF source observations. A recent modification of the ON/OFF method, however, is proposed by Petry Petry:1 (2003). The large cameras ($``$4.3 diameter) and stereoscopic trigger employed by the HEGRA CT-System achieves a quite flat FoV (FWHM $`3^{}`$) that is amenable to displacement background models over the entire FoV. In this paper, using example data from the HEGRA CT-System, results from a combination of displacement methods 3 and 4 (termed here the displacement background model) are used to compare with the template model. For source to tracking distances larger than $`0.4^{}`$, a ring segment or arc (method 3 ) adjacent to the source region (within position angles 135 to 165) is used, otherwise, method 4 is chosen. Ring background regions rather adjacent to the source are often preferred to avoid global systematic changes (of $``$few percent) in CR response across the FoV.

For a given region in the FoV, the source events $`s`$ are derived from within a nominal source region according to some directional cut $`\theta <\theta _{\mathrm{cut}}`$ and $`\gamma `$-ray cuts on image shape parameters. The number of background events $`b`$ are derived according to the above-described displacement background methods, after also applying the same $`\gamma `$-ray cuts. The statistical significance $`S`$ of excess counts $`s\alpha b`$ is then estimated from Eq. (17) of Li & Ma (Li:1 (1983)):

$$S=\sqrt{2}\left(s\mathrm{ln}\left[\frac{s(1+\alpha )}{\alpha (s+b)}\right]+b\mathrm{ln}\left[\frac{b(1+\alpha )}{s+b}\right]\right)^{\frac{1}{2}}$$
(1)
where a normalisation $`\alpha `$ accounts for the solid angle ratio between the source and background regions when displaced backgrounds are used, or different observation times if ON/OFF tracking is used. Under the displaced background models applied to HEGRA CT-System data, typical normalisation values of 0.05 to 0.3 are achieved, thereby considerably improving the background estimate compared to an $`\alpha =1.0`$ situation usually achieved in ON/OFF tracking.

In 2D skymap generation, the above procedure is repeated over the FoV at a series of grid positions. Directional parameters such as $`\theta `$ and those necessary to form the background estimate are then re-calculated with respect to each grid position, and excesses and significances are calculated accordingly.

## 3 The Template Background Model

The template background model invokes a different philosophy to that of displacement background models. Instead of selecting spatially different regions in the FoV for background estimates, template model background events are comprised of those with their arrival directions reconstructed in the same region as that for the source, yet separated in image shape parameter space. Such events can form a suitable template of response for $`\gamma `$-ray-like CR events over the FoV.

As applied to data of the HEGRA CT-System, the shape parameter mean-scaled-width ($`\overline{w}`$ ) is used to construct the template background estimate. $`\overline{w}`$ is the image scaled-width, averaged over all images accepted for analysis. The scaled-width is the image width scaled according to a $`\gamma `$-ray hypothesis. This scaling is dependent upon the total photoelectron yield of the image, the zenith angle of observations, and the impact parameter or distance to the air-shower core. By design (see Fig. 2), true $`\gamma `$-ray events have $`\overline{w}`$ values centred at unity, leaving the generally broader CR events to fill higher values.

In the search for weak, background-dominated sources in CT-System data, the cut $`\overline{w}`$ $`<`$1.1 has been found optimal. Template background events should be derived from a $`\overline{w}`$ regime containing little or no true $`\gamma `$-rays, i.e. $`\overline{w}`$ $`>`$1.1. Experience has found that events within the regime $`1.3<`$$`\overline{w}`$ $`<1.5`$ work well, although regimes containing higher $`\overline{w}`$ values have proved adequate. To apply the template model practically however, two dominant systematic effects must be corrected:

* Radial Correction: Differences in the radial CR acceptance between the two $`\overline{w}`$ regimes.
* Zenith-Correlated Correction: Differences in CR acceptance between the two $`\overline{w}`$ regimes which correlate with the zenith angle of reconstructed event directions.

For a nominal region in the FoV defined by a cut $`\theta <\theta _{\mathrm{cut}}`$, $`\gamma `$-ray-like events $`s`$ are selected according to $`\overline{w}`$ $`<`$1.1. Similarly after applying the same cut on $`\theta `$, template background events $`b`$ are defined as those satisfying the condition $`1.3<`$$`\overline{w}`$ $`<1.5`$. In summary template background events are assigned a weight $`\omega _i`$:

$`s={\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}\omega _i`$ $`\omega _i=1.0`$ $`(\overline{w}<1.1)`$ (2)
$`b={\displaystyle \underset{i}{}}\omega _i`$ $`\omega _i={\displaystyle \frac{p_s(\theta _{\mathrm{track},\mathrm{i}}^2)}{p_b(\theta _{\mathrm{track},\mathrm{i}}^2)}}f(\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{z}_\mathrm{i})`$ $`(1.3<\overline{w}<1.5)`$ (3)
for events $`i`$ in the source region. The correction terms applied to $`b`$ can be described with suitable parametrisations as follows. The radial acceptance of the $`\gamma `$-ray-like ($`\overline{w}`$ $`<`$1.1) and template ($`1.3<`$$`\overline{w}`$ $`<1.5`$) regimes over the entire FoV are sufficiently fitted out to radius $`R`$, with 8th-order polynomials, $`p_s`$ and $`p_b`$ respectively and normalised. Both polynomials are functions of the event distance to tracking position $`\theta _{\mathrm{track}}`$. A strong increase or pile-up of reconstructed event directions due to camera edge effects is normally seen at the FoV edge. Ignoring Čerenkov images whose centroid distance from the camera centre dis exceeds 1.7 effectively suppresses this pile-up, and allows fitting of the FoV response to the physical camera limits. The choice of $`R`$ is limited by event statistics, and practically, can reach values up to $`3^{}`$. Fitting such polynomials assumes that the radial response is azimuthally symmetric. However, a second systematic effect, a gradient $`f(\mathrm{\Delta }z)`$ correlating with the difference in zenith angle $`\mathrm{\Delta }z`$ between the event and tracking position, is also generally present. This can be described by a linear function vs. $`\mathrm{\Delta }z`$, of the ratio of FoV responses between the $`\gamma `$-ray-like and template $`\overline{w}`$ regimes. This linear fit is made after first correcting for the radial profiles. Thus the template correction functions are generated in a two-step process (Appendix A summarises these corrections for a particular example discussed shortly). The radius $`R`$ also defines the FoV used in determining the overall normalisation ratio $`\alpha `$ when estimating event excess and significance (e.g. according to Eq. (1)). If the total number of events in each $`\overline{w}`$ regime out to a radius $`R`$ is given by $`P_s`$ and $`P_b`$ respectively, the template normalisation $`\alpha `$ is given by:

$$\alpha =P_s/P_b$$
(4)
Alternatively, one may also integrate out to $`R`$, the polynomial functions (un-normalised) $`p_s`$ and $`p_b`$, to obtain a similar result. Typical $`\alpha `$ values achieved are quite similar to that of the displacement background model. The template model philosophy is illustrated in Fig. 3. A caveat is that the normalisation region must encompass all source regions. This will set a natural limit on the size of any source region, although systematic effects (section 5) usually dominate for large source sizes. Note that the template model correction terms generated from a given dataset should strictly be applied only to these same data.

## 4 Template Model Performance on Real Data

2D skymaps of excess significance are shown in Fig. 4, illustrating the template model performance at various stages of correction. About 50 hours of CT-System exposure on Tycho’s SNR out to a radius $`R=2.24^{}`$ ($`\sqrt{5.0}^{}`$) were used in generating these skymaps. Previous analysis of these data are described in Aharonian et.al 2001b .

At each grid point in $`0.05^{}`$ steps, a $`\theta <0.12^{}`$ cut defines both the source (which is applicable for point-like sources) and template background regions. The significance $`S`$ is estimated using Eq. ( 1). It is apparent the Tycho skymap statistics approach that of a Gaussian distribution only after correcting for both the radial and zenith-correlated systematics. A quite strong zenith-correlated gradient of 9% per degree is present, which if not corrected, leads to biases in the excess significance peaking at the declination edges of the FoV (Appendix A summarises these template correction terms in more detail.). The bin statistics in these skymaps are somewhat correlated, and lead to a slight overestimate in the width $`\sigma `$ of the 1D distribution of significances. The level of this overestimate is taken from a 2D skymap of significances from bins that have no overlap with neighbouring bins. The 1D distributions of significances for this skymap is $`\sigma =0.93\pm 0.03`$, implying that the template background is slightly over-corrected, effectively underestimating slightly the significance in the FoV. Overall one may conclude however that the template model is quite suitable for point source searches over the FoV in these data. In this example, the minimum number of telescopes required for stereoscopic direction reconstruction and $`\overline{w}`$ calculation has been chosen at $`n_{\mathrm{tel}}2`$, and the stereo reconstruction algorithm #1 of Hofmann et al. (Hofmann:1 (1999)) was used. The template model performs equally well however under higher choices of $`n_{\mathrm{tel}}`$ (up to 5), varying choices of FoV/normalisation radius $`R`$, and various reconstruction algorithms.

The template model was also tested with a number of a priori chosen positions in the FoV corresponding to established $`\gamma `$-ray sources. Presented in Table 1 are the excess significances for a representative sample of TeV $`\gamma `$-ray sources with a variety of signal to CR background ratios. Results using background estimates from both the template and displacement background models are given for comparison. In all cases a normalisation radius for the template background model of $`R=2.24^{}`$ and minimum number of images $`n_{\mathrm{tel}}2`$ have been used.

The template model provides derived excesses $`s\alpha b`$ quite consistent with those obtained from the displacement model. Since the example sources of Table 1 lie quite close to their respective tracking positions, the zenith-correlated correction term of the template background has little effect, and hence results only for the fully corrected template background are shown. For the Crab, a slight modification regarding the template correction is made to the fit limits of the polynomials $`p_s`$ and $`p_b`$, to exclude regions containing this strong source. The polynomial fits are affected by strong sources near ($`<0.5^{}`$) the tracking position and these should be avoided. It should be stressed that the derived excesses and significances for the Cas A and H1426+428 and 1ES1959+650 here are generally lower then those of presently published analyses (Aharonian et al. 2001a ; Aharonian:3 (2002), Horns et al. Horns:2 (2002)), which employed the more sensitive reconstruction algorithms #2 and #3 (Hofmann et al. Hofmann:1 (1999)), and in some cases a higher minimum $`n_{\mathrm{tel}}`$. The template model does reproduce published results when employing the corresponding analyses.

Finally, a particularly useful feature of the template model is demonstrated against a problematic systematic effect arising when camera pixels view bright stars in the FoV. Increased noise fluctuations (and corresponding anode currents) in camera pixels viewing bright stars can distort derived image parameters. Affected pixels, usually the same for all five cameras, are therefore removed from a camera trigger dynamically during data taking and also from image analysis at a software level. Any pixel with anode current $`3\mu `$A is not considered in estimation of image parameters and consequent event direction reconstruction (Bulian et al. Bulian:1 (1998), Daum et al. Daum:1 (1997)). A residual effect of this latter step is to leave a systematic deficit of reconstructed event directions in a region broadly centred on the offending star. This effect was verified by artificially removing certain pixels before image parametrisation. In practise, up to two to three pixels may be removed during data taking at any given time depending on the star brightness. The Crab field, with $`\zeta `$-Taurii ($`m_\mathrm{B}`$=2.9) and the Cas-A field with AR-Cas ($`m_\mathrm{B}`$=4.8), are ideal examples to illustrate such star deficits. Quantitatively, star deficits amount to a reduction in CR events up to $``$20% over a diameter $`0.2^{}`$. Table 2 summarises the template (after full correction only) and displacement background model performance at the $`\zeta `$-Taurii and AR-Cas positions. Since the template background closely follows the CR background response of gamma-ray-like events, star deficits are considerably reduced when using the template model. The displacement background however, which does not include the star region, produces a strong negative bias. Conversely, if displacement background regions (applied to another source region) were to overlap star deficit(s), some positive biases could be introduced. A large number of bright stars in the FoV would in general render application of displacement background models problematic.

Overall the template model appears able to match localised systematic changes in response of $`\gamma `$-ray-like CR events in the FoV.

## 5 Limitations

The template model as designed here employs corrections only for large-scale systematic changes in CR response, correlating radially from the tracking position and with event zenith angle. Higher-order systematics (correlating with alternate system parameters) arising from, say, differences in telescope camera response can also reasonably be expected, despite long-term efforts to maintain a homogeneous response in the HEGRA CT-System (see Pühlhofer et al. Puehl:1 (2003)). Since systematic effects will grow in proportion to the size of the source region and also exposure, these are better-revealed in deep exposure datasets. For the Tycho’s SNR dataset however, significance skymaps generated with larger source sizes in mind (e.g. $`\theta _{\mathrm{cut}}`$ up to 0.6) do not show behaviour significantly differing from a Gaussian distribution. An upper limit to the systematic error in the derived excess $`s\alpha b`$ across the Tycho FoV can be estimated by using subjectively-chosen ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ regions (of size $`1.0^{}`$) of the fully corrected skymap. In this way a systematic error of $`\pm 4`$% in units of the normalised background $`\alpha b`$ is calculated.

The Tycho’s SNR dataset is representative of many in the CT-System archive of order 50 hrs exposure, with $``$4 telescopes of the CT-System in operation. Such an exposure is generally found not sufficient to reveal higher-order systematic effects. The Cas A dataset comprises a deeper exposure ($`>200`$ hrs). The fully corrected template model skymap of these data (Fig 5) shows a strong deviation from Gaussian behaviour (1D $`\sigma =1.126\pm 0.008`$) already when searching for point sources ($`\theta _{\mathrm{cut}}<0.12^{}`$). A ‘hotter’ group of bins is seen at RA$`>23.5`$ h, Dec 58 to $`59^{}`$, representing an additional systematic excess of order few percent in units of normalised background. The source of this systematic is as yet not fully understood. It may be linked to a ‘missing’ telescope (CT2 is not present in large fraction of these data) which is uncovering inhomogeneities in trigger response correlating with certain telescopes, although this gradient does not align with the CT-System geometry. It is seen in these data that artificial removal of other telescopes for example, can also introduce further similar-scale effects which may or may not be related. Changes in average skynoise across the FoV may also contribute. Care should therefore be taken when searching for sources in affected regions, employing alternative background estimates such as displacement backgrounds as a check. All background methods will of course also be affected by large-scale systematics of various types and so the above-mentioned problem is not particular to the template model.

Extra correction terms could be added to the template model to accommodate such higher order effects but this has not yet been explored in detail. Experience has shown that for large exposures, higher order systematic effects can be averaged out or considerably reduced by employing a variety of tracking positions, for example in a mosaic fashion. All of the example datasets presented here employed the so-called wobble mode in which only two tracking positions were alternated $`\pm 0.5^{}`$ in declination with respect to the primary source of interest. Investigation of higher order effects and their origin is presently continuing, in the context of a search for TeV sources from the entire CT-System archive (Pühlhofer et al. Puehl:2 (2002), Aharonian et al. Aharonian:4 (2003)).

The estimation of energy spectra from source excesses requires that the background estimate be comprised of events with a similar distribution of estimated energies to that of events from the source region. The template background estimate however does not meet this criterion since the $`\overline{w}`$ values comprising the background estimate will differ in estimated energy from those in the $`\gamma `$-ray-like $`\overline{w}`$ regime. Thus alternative background models should be used for spectral analysis.

## 6 Conclusions

Described in this paper is a new method to estimate the CR background in 2D searches for sources of TeV $`\gamma `$-ray emission with ground-based detectors. This so-called template background estimate, demonstrated here with HEGRA CT-System data, employs a subset of CR events normally rejected according to the Čerenkov image shape parameter mean-scaled-width $`\overline{w}`$ . These template events spatially and temporally overlap with CR events considered ‘gamma-ray-like’, and thus no dedicated OFF source observations are required. Applying the template model successfully to HEGRA CT-System data involves correction over of the field of view for: (1) differences in radial response and (2) differences in a zenith-correlated gradient, both between the CR events of the two $`\overline{w}`$ regimes. A particularly useful feature of the template model is its ability to compensate well for localised systematic changes in CR event density due to the presence of stars in the field of view. It is well suited to cases where many stars and TeV sources are present. The template model applicability is limited by the presence of systematic gradients in CR event density which are presently not corrected. All background models will however suffer to various extent from weak, large scale systematics. Further investigation of these aspects is ongoing. Systematic uncertainties in the derived event excess of less than 4% of the normalised background are achieved when searching for sources of size less than $`0.6^{}`$ radius in many datasets.

It should be possible to extend the template model philosophy to analyses which use other means to reject CR background, for example maximum likelihood methods, multi-dimensional cluster analyses, applied to either single or multi-telescope systems. Issues relating to systematic gradients over the FoV and star deficits will be important for the next generation IACTs such as H.E.S.S., VERITAS, CANGAROO III and MAGIC. In these new systems, CR event rates of order 500 Hz are expected, likely revealing higher-order systematic gradients in response after observation times significantly shorter than that required in HEGRA CT-System data. Furthermore, the larger mirror areas of these future experiments will also increase considerably the number of stars that could cause detrimental systematics in the FoV response. The template background model could therefore be quite useful in 2D skymap construction, in future searches for TeV $`\gamma `$-ray sources.

###### Acknowledgements.

HEGRA colleagues are thanked for advice with CT-System data analysis and valuable discussions on this topic (in particular Niels Götting, Dieter Horns and Gerd Pühlhofer). GPR acknowledges receipt of a von Humboldt Fellowship.

## Appendix A Template Background Corrections

Summarised here are the two template background correction terms calculated specifically for the HEGRA CT-System Tycho’s SNR dataset (Fig. 4).

1. Radial Correction: The radial event density for the entire dataset, centred on the various tracking positions may be fitted with 8th-order polynomials out to a radius $`R=2.24^{}`$: (1) $`p_s`$ for the ‘gamma-ray-like’ ($`\overline{w}`$ $`<`$1.1), and (2) $`p_b`$ for the template regime (1.3$`<`$$`\overline{w}`$ $`<`$1.5):

$$p_{s,b}=\underset{i=0}{\overset{8}{}}\mathrm{}_i(\theta _{\mathrm{track}}^2)^i$$

where for Tycho’s SNR data one fits:

|  | $`p_s`$ | $`p_b`$ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| $`\mathrm{}_0`$ | $`215.3\pm 0.7`$ | $`815.3\pm 0.9`$ |
| $`\mathrm{}_1`$ | $`17.0\pm 0.8`$ | $`160.8\pm 1.9`$ |
| $`\mathrm{}_2`$ | $`148.7\pm 0.1`$ | $`606.2\pm 0.8`$ |
| $`\mathrm{}_3`$ | $`148.00\pm 0.02`$ | $`576.80\pm 0.19`$ |
| $`\mathrm{}_4`$ | $`62.340\pm `$O($`10^3`$) | $`243.60\pm 0.04`$ |
| $`\mathrm{}_5`$ | $`7.987\pm `$O($`10^3`$) | $`31.95\pm 0.01`$ |
| $`\mathrm{}_6`$ | $`1.661\pm `$O($`10^4`$) | $`6.117\pm `$O($`10^3`$) |
| $`\mathrm{}_7`$ | $`0.5548\pm `$O($`10^5`$) | $`2.103\pm `$O($`10^4`$) |
| $`\mathrm{}_8`$ | $`0.0418\pm `$O($`10^4`$) | $`0.158\pm `$O($`10^3`$) |
2. Zenith-Correlated Correction: A linear function is used to describe the ratio of event densities, as a function of the zenith angle difference $`(\mathrm{\Delta }z)`$ between the event and tracking positions, of the gamma-ray-like and template $`\overline{w}`$ regimes,:

$$f(\mathrm{\Delta }z)=(0.998\pm 0.006)+(0.898\pm 0.006)\mathrm{\Delta }z$$

A linear gradient of order 9% per degree along the zenith axis is therefore present in the Tycho’s SNR data. Separately, one can also fit functions to each $`\overline{w}`$ regime; $`f(\mathrm{\Delta }z)_s`$ and $`f(\mathrm{\Delta }z)_b`$, and note that the function $`f(\mathrm{\Delta }z)=f(\mathrm{\Delta }z)_s/f(\mathrm{\Delta }z)_b`$:

$`f(\mathrm{\Delta }z)_s=(0.999\pm 0.006)+(0.107\pm 0.006)\mathrm{\Delta }z`$
$`f(\mathrm{\Delta }z)_b=(1.000\pm 0.006)+(0.015\pm 0.006)\mathrm{\Delta }z`$
The zenith-correlated gradient therefore arises predominantly from CR events in the gamma-ray-like $`\overline{w}`$ regime.

This gradient actually comprises two components: (1) the naturally expected event rate dependence upon zenith angle for a Čerenkov detection instrument, and (2) using in the construction of the $`\overline{w}`$ parameter which employs a zenith-dependent scaling, the tracking zenith angle instead of that for each individual event. Here, the template model is demonstrated for a type of worst-case-scenario, without removing component (2). Component (1) is usually of order few percent per degree for data taken at zenith angles such in the Tycho’s SNR dataset.

It should also be noted that Eq. ( 1) takes no account of statistical errors in the normalisation $`\alpha `$, and the template correction terms. These errors are however generally less than one percent (for obs. time $`>10`$ h) and can be neglected given the high significance levels to which these parameters are estimated.