The energy spectrum of cosmic Hydrogen and Helium nuclei has been measured below the so-called "knee" by using a hybrid experiment with a wide field-of-view Cherenkov telescope and the Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) array of the ARGO-YBJ experiment at 4300 m above sea level. The Hydrogen and Helium nuclei have been well separated from other cosmic ray components by using a multi-parameter technique. A highly uniform energy resolution of about 25% is achieved throughout the whole energy range (100-700 TeV). The observed energy spectrum is compatible with a single power law with index γ=-2.63±0.06.
Historical optical data are combined on the BL Lac object OQ 530. Verifying the existence of correlations among the flux variations in different bands serves as an important tool to investigate emission processes. To examine the possible existence of a lag between variations in different optical bands from this source, a statistical analysis is performed through the discrete correlation function (DCF) method and the z-transformed discrete correlation function (ZDCF) method. Monte Carlo simulations called "flux redistribution/random subset selection" (FR/RSS) are performed to obtain statistically meaningful values for the cross-correlation time lags and their related uncertainties. The analysis confirms that the variations in different optical light curves are strongly correlated, with zero-lag within the errors. Long term variability of color indexes is also analyzed. The result suggests a strong correlation between color index and brightness. A clear bluer-when-brighter chromatism is found, in the sense that the spectrum steepens as the brightness decreases.
BL Lac object S5 0716+714 is a well-studied object.In this paper,the available optical(BVRI) data of this source are compiled,and the B-,V-,R-and I-band light curves are constructed.Each of them is analyzed by means of the discrete correlation function(DCF) method,the structure function(SF) method and the z-transformed discrete correlation function(ZDCF) method.The results imply that there is a possible periodic variation of 1211 days in each passband light curve.The source varies violently and complicatedly,and exhibits a brightening trend in the light curves.
The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) project is proposed to study high energy gamma ray astronomy (40 GeV–1 PeV) and cosmic ray physics (20 TeV–1 EeV). The wide field of view Cherenkov telescope array, as a component of the LHAASO project, will be used to study the energy spectrum and composition of cosmic rays by measuring the total Cherenkov light generated by air showers and the shower maximum depth. Two prototype telescopes have been in operation since 2008. The pointing accuracy of each telescope is crucial for the direction reconstruction of the primary particles. On the other hand, the primary energy reconstruction relies on the shape of the Cherenkov image on the camera and the unrecorded photons due to the imperfect connections between the photomultiplier tubes. UV bright stars are used as point-like objects to calibrate the pointing and to study the optical properties of the camera, the spot size and the fractions of unrecorded photons in the insensitive areas of the camera.