Observations of TeV γ-rays from Mrk 421 during December 2005 to April 2006 with the TACTIC telescope

Abstract

The TACTIC γ-ray telescope has observed Mrk 421 on 66 clear nights from December 07, 2005 to April 30, 2006, totalling ∼202 h of on-source observations. Here, we report the detection of flaring activity from the source at ⩾1 TeV energy and the time-averaged differential γ-ray spectrum in the energy range 1–11 TeV for the data taken between December 27, 2005 and February 07, 2006 when the source was in a relatively higher state as compared to the rest of the observation period. Analysis of this data spell, comprising ∼97 h reveals the presence of a ∼12.0 σ γ-ray signal with daily flux of >1 Crab unit on several days. A pure power law spectrum with exponent −3.11 ± 0.11 as well as a power law spectrum with an exponential cutoff ( Γ = −2.51 ± 0.26 and E 0 = (4.7 ± 2.1) TeV) are found to provide reasonable fits to the inferred differential spectrum within statistical uncertainties. We believe that the TeV light curve presented here, for nearly 5 months of extensive coverage, as well as the spectral information at γ-ray energies of >5 TeV provide a useful input for other groups working in the field of γ-ray astronomy.