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T. Nagai (University of Utah), V. Vassiliev (University of California, Los Angeles), VERITAS Collaboration
Regions with high star formation rates (SFR) in starburst galaxies (SBGs) are frequently accompanied by high density clouds of interstellar matter (ISM). If high energy cosmic rays are accelerated in supernovae explosions of heavy progenitor stars, they will generate diffuse gamma-ray radiation as they collide with these high density clouds. The gamma-ray luminosity of these extragalactic objects is suppressed by a large distance factor compared to supernovae in our own galaxy. However, flux estimates indicate that if star bursting regions have a proper combination of critical parameters--size, age, SFR, magnetic field strength, ISM density--the cumulative enhancement of the gamma-ray luminosity resulting from multiple explosions of supernovae into dense ISM may generate an observable flux for nearby SBGs. A search for TeV gamma-ray emission from IC342, a nearby SBG, was conducted with the Whipple 10m gamma-ray telescope from September 2002 to March 2004. We will discuss our source selection criteria and present analysis results of the IC342 observations.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #3
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.