The nature of high-energy gamma-ray emission from Star-Forming Galaxies is of utmost importance for understanding both the origin of Cosmic Rays and the high-energy processes that shape galaxy formation. Observations from the gamma-ray telescope Fermi-LAT have detected gamma-ray emission from a handful of nearby Star-Forming Galaxies. Interestingly, observations of the Small Magellanic Cloud show evidence for a spectral cutoff at energies of approximately 10 GeV. This has raised the question as to whether some Star-Forming Galaxies are unable to contain their Cosmic Ray population. Using the Fermitools to analyse the gamma-ray emission from a selection of bright nearby Star-Forming Galaxies, this study intends to explore the possibility of finding further evidence for exponential cutoffs in the gamma-ray spectrum of Star-Forming Galaxies. The shape of the combined spectrum of the 49 galaxies in the sample was determined using least-square fitting of a single power law, a broken power law and a power law with an exponential cutoff. No evidence of an exponentialcutoff was found and the shape of the spectrum was best described by a broken power law with indices Γ1 = -2.48 ± 0.05 and Γ2 = -0.88 ± 0.09. This is in poor agreement with previous observations, which favour a simple power law with an index in the range -2.2 to -2.4. Interestingly, the single power law, while disfavoured over the broken power law at ~7σ, was best fit with the index Γ = -2.35 ± 0.06, which is surprisingly well in agreement with previous observations. The discrepancy between the results presented here and those found in the literature is interpreted as due to insufficient treatment of background fluctuations and the possible existence of bright sources at the unverified blank sky locations used for modelling the background.

Title: Point defects in materials for detection of X-ray and gamma radiation Author: Martin Rejhon Department: Institute of Physics of Charles University Supervisor: prof. Ing. Jan Franc, DrSc., Institute of Physics of Charles Uni- versity Abstract: Cadmium telluride and its compounds are suitable materials for pro- duction of X-ray and gamma-ray detectors working at room temperature. How- ever, the detector quality is affected by material imperfections, such as crystal defects and impurities. It results into forming of deep levels which act as re- combination and trapping centers. Then, the accumulated space charge at these deep levels influences electric and spectroscopic properties of the detector. In the end it may result in the polarization effect, when the electric field is localized in vicinity of one contact and detection properties are decreased. This thesis reports a complex study of a detector band structure by various meth- ods with focus on differences between CdTe, CdZnTe, CdTeSe and CdZnTeSe. The electro-optic Pockels effect is used to investigate the influence of the illumi- nation in range 900 − 1800 nm on the inner electric field. The temperature and time evolutions of the electric field after application of bias or switching of the additional light at 940 nm were measured to determine deep levels...

Cette thèse s’inscrit dans le cadre de la préparation de la mission spatiale franco­-chinoise SVOM (Space Variable Object Monitor) opérationnelle à l’horizon 2021 et qui aura pour but de détecter et caractériser les sursauts gamma. La première partie de la thèse consiste au développement d’un logiciel de simulation de COLIBRI (Catching OpticaL and Infrared BRight transIents), un télescope de suivi au sol de SVOM. Il comporte un simulateur de sursauts gamma, un exposure time calculator, un simulateur d'image, un algorithme estimant le redshift photométrique. Il a permis d'une part d’estimer les performances scientifiques du télescope afin de s'assurer qu'elles satisfont le cahier des charges, et d'autre part d'estimer une précision sur l'estimation de la distance du sursaut de l'ordre de 10% et 15% sur le redshift pour les sursauts à 3.5 < z < 8 et z > 8. La deuxième partie de la thèse porte sur l’étude de la propriété des poussières au sein des galaxies dans lesquelles se produisent ces sursauts gamma, mais aussi à l’étude de leur activité de formation stellaire. J'ai comparé les courbes d'extinction mesurées sur la ligne de visée de 7 GRBs à la courbe d'atténuation de leurs galaxies à l'aide d'un code de SED fitting, CIGALE. En comparant à un code de transfert radiatif on obtient des informations sur la distribution étoiles / poussière au sein de ces galaxies. Sur un échantillon élargi, on montre que les courbes d'atténuation pentues (plates) corrèlent avec des galaxies avec une faible (grande) atténuation due à la poussière, les moins (plus) activent en formation stellaire et les moins (plus) massives / This thesis lies within the framework of the sino-french SVOM (Space Variable Object Monitor) mission to be launched in 2021 whose objective is the detection and characterisation of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The first part consists in the development of an end-to-end software for COLIBRI (Catching OpticaL and Infrared BRight transIents), a SVOM ground follow-up telescope. It consists in a GRB simulator, an Exposure Time Calculator, an image simulator and a photometric redshift algorithm. It allowed to estimate the telescope scientific performances to ensure that the optical design was fulfilling the scientific requirements. The relative accuracy on the photometric redshift delivered by COLIBRI is estimated to be about 10% and 15% for GRBs at 3.5 < z < 8 et z > 8. The second part of the thesis deals mainly with the study of dust properties in GRB host galaxies, but also with the star formation activity in these galaxies. We compare extinction curves measured along the GRB line of sight for 7 GRBs to the attenuation curve of their host galaxies measured with CIGALE, a SED fitting code. By comparing these curves to the results of a radiative transfer code, we obtain information about the geometrical distribution of dust and stars in these galaxies. On a larger sample of 23 galaxies, we show that the steepest (flattest) attenuation curves are associated to galaxies with a large (small) amount of dust attenuation, less (more) active in star formation and less (more) massive galaxies

In a collaboration with limnologists at Uppsala University a planar HPGe detector has been used to find 210Pb in lake bottom sediment in hopes of getting an estimation for the sedimentation rate. Using a least squares fit to the data, the sedimentation rate was calculated to 0.08 ± 0.01 cm/year with background subtraction, and with it a timescale for the age of the sediment could be implemented. With this timescale the lake bottom sediment can be dated as far back as a century. Along with this, using 137Cs traces from the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 a consistency check can be made for our timescale. It is estimated that the Chernobyl disaster occurred at 1989 ± 7 years which is consistent with reality since 1986 is included in the interval 1982-1989. This helps us validate the determined sedimentation rates.

While there are existing methods of gamma ray-track reconstruction in specialized detectors such as AGATA, including backtracking and clustering, it is naturally of interest to diversify the portfolio of available tools to provide us viable alternatives. In this study some possibilities found in the field of machine learning were investigated, more specifically within the field of graph neural networks. In this project there was attempt to reconstruct gamma tracks in a germanium solid using data simulated in Geant4. The data consists of photon energies below the pair production limit and so we are limited to the processes of photoelectric absorption and Compton scattering. The author turned to the field of graph networks to utilize its edge and node structure for data of such variable input size as found in this task. A graph neural network (GNN) was implemented and trained on a variety of gamma multiplicities and energies and was subsequently tested in terms of various accuracy parameters and generated energy spectra. In the end the best result involved an edge classifier trained on a large dataset containing a 10^6 tracks bundled together into separate events to be resolved. The network was capable of recalling up to 95 percent of the connective edges for the selected threshold in the infinite resolution case with a peak-to-total ratio of 68 percent for a set of packed data with a model trained on simulated data including realistic uncertainties in both position and energy. / Trots att det existerar en mängd metoder för rekonstruktion av spår i specialiserade detektorer som AGATA är det av naturligt intresse att diversifiera och undersöka nya verktyg för uppgiften. I denna studie undersöktes några möjligheter inom maskininlärning, närmare bestämt inom området neurala grafnätverk.  Under projektets gång simulerades data av fotoner i en ihålig, sfärisk geometri av germanium i Geant4. Den simulerade datan är begränsad till energier under parproduktion så datan består av reaktioner genom den fotoelektriska effekten och comptonspridning. Den variabla storleken på denna data och dess spridning i detektorns geometri lämpar sig för ett grafformat med nod och länkstruktur. Ett neuralt grafnätverk (GNN) implementerades och tränades på data med gamma av variabel multiplicitet och energi och evaluerades på ett urval prestandaparametrar och dess förmåga att generera ett användbart spektra. Slutresultatet involverade en länkklassificerings modell tränat på data med 10^6 spår sammanslagna till händelser. Nätverket återkallade 95 procent av positiva länkar för ett val av tröskelvärde i fallet med oändlig upplösning med ett peak-to-total på 68 procent för packad data behandlad med osäkerhet i energi och position motsvarande fallet med begränsad upplösning.

Die Protonentherapie, welche zur Behandlung von Tumoren mittlerweile weltweit eingesetzt wird, könnte von einem System zur Reichweitekontrolle des Protonenstrahls bedeutend profitieren. Einen Rückschluss auf die Position der Protonen in Echtzeit ermöglicht die prompte Gammastrahlung. Diese Sekundärstrahlung entsteht durch nukleare Wechselwirkungen der Protonen mit den Atomkernen im Gewebe. Derzeit existieren verschiedene Methoden die aus einer Messung der zeitlichen oder räumlichen Verteilung dieser hochenergetischen Photonen versuchen eine Reichweiteinformation zu gewinnen. Die Methoden zur Nutzung prompter Gammastrahlung beruhen auf den verlässlichen Voraussagen von Teilchentransportrechnungen. Im Vergleich zu Messungen zeigen diese jedoch Diskrepanzen in den Photonenproduktionsquerschnitten aufgrund mangelnder experimenteller Stützstellen. Um einen Beitrag zu der Datenlage zu leisten, soll das Emissionsspektrum prompter Gammastrahlung am Kohlenstoff bestimmt werden. Dazu werden mithilfe von Entfaltungsalgorithmen aus den aufbereiteten Messdaten und der simulierten Detektorantwort vorhandene Energielinien und deren Intensität extrahiert. Über eine Normierung auf die Anzahl einfallender Protonen erfolgt die Bestimmung von Ausbeuten prompter Gammastrahlung bei der Bestrahlung homogener Kohlenstofftargets mit Protonen.:1 Einleitung und Motivation 2 Grundlagen der Entfaltung von Gammaspektren 2.1 Inverses Problem 2.1.1 Gold-Dekonvolution 2.1.2 Spektrum-Stripping 3 Experimentelle Bestimmung des prompten Gammaspektrums 3.1 Vorbetrachtungen und Aufbau des Experimentes 3.2 Verarbeitung der Messdaten 3.3 Optimierung des Messaufbaus und Maßnahmen der Untergrundreduktion 3.3.1 Abschirmung der Detektoren und Untergrundkorrektur 3.3.2 Flugzeitdiskriminierung 4 Entfaltung der gewonnenen Gammaspektren 4.1 Bestimmung der Detektorantwort mit GEANT 4 4.1.1 Bestimmung der detektorspezifischen Energieauflösung und des Ansprechvermögens über Quellmessungen 4.2 Entfaltung 4.2.1 Ergebnisse der Gold-Dekonvolution 4.2.2 Ergebnisse des Spektrum-Stripping 4.3 Protonenfluenznormierung 5 Zusammenfassung und Ausblick Anhang A Depositionsspektren der Detektoren 2 (125°) und 3 (55°) 69 Literaturverzeichnis Abbildungsverzeichnis Tabellenverzeichnis Abkürzungsverzeichnis Danksagung Selbstständigkeitserklärung / Proton therapy, which has become a clinically established technology for cancer treatment worldwide, would greatly benefit from an appropriate range verification system. A signature, which can be used to trace the range of the primary protons in real time during the treatment, is the so-called prompt gamma radiation. It is produced in nuclear reactions of the protons with the nuclei in tissue. Currently, there are different approaches which try to decode a range information from the spatial or time distribution of these high energetic photons. Methods utilizing prompt gamma-rays rely on the prediction of particle transport simulations. In comparison to measurements these simulations show severe deviations in prompt gamma-ray yield due to insufficient availability of experimental data. To make a contribution to the data situation, the prompt gamma-ray emission spectra for carbon should be investigated. Therefore deconvolution algorithms are applied to measured spectra with knowledge of the detector response function. Unfolded energy lines and their intensities are examined. With help of proton fluence some yields for the irradiation of homogeneous graphite targets are determined.:1 Einleitung und Motivation 2 Grundlagen der Entfaltung von Gammaspektren 2.1 Inverses Problem 2.1.1 Gold-Dekonvolution 2.1.2 Spektrum-Stripping 3 Experimentelle Bestimmung des prompten Gammaspektrums 3.1 Vorbetrachtungen und Aufbau des Experimentes 3.2 Verarbeitung der Messdaten 3.3 Optimierung des Messaufbaus und Maßnahmen der Untergrundreduktion 3.3.1 Abschirmung der Detektoren und Untergrundkorrektur 3.3.2 Flugzeitdiskriminierung 4 Entfaltung der gewonnenen Gammaspektren 4.1 Bestimmung der Detektorantwort mit GEANT 4 4.1.1 Bestimmung der detektorspezifischen Energieauflösung und des Ansprechvermögens über Quellmessungen 4.2 Entfaltung 4.2.1 Ergebnisse der Gold-Dekonvolution 4.2.2 Ergebnisse des Spektrum-Stripping 4.3 Protonenfluenznormierung 5 Zusammenfassung und Ausblick Anhang A Depositionsspektren der Detektoren 2 (125°) und 3 (55°) 69 Literaturverzeichnis Abbildungsverzeichnis Tabellenverzeichnis Abkürzungsverzeichnis Danksagung Selbstständigkeitserklärung

A space camera is a promising candidate to address the non-stop rising interest for astrophysics research in the Compton regime. The MeVCube mission is intended to be launched in 2022, hosting an on-board Compton Camera. To better support the development of the instrument in this early stage, a series of feasibility studies to assess two potential launch orbits were performed. The studies were composed by a series of mission analysis simulations which permitted the characterisation of the orbital environments for the two orbital options. Several sources of background noise to the instrument were identified. The population of trapped protons and trapped electrons were simulated for the periods of Solar Minimum and Solar Maximum, as well as the levels of Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) flux. The performance of trade-off studies concluded that an equatorial orbit is more preferable for reducing the influence of background noise. To better estimate the environment effects at the equatorial orbit, the number of particles which can penetrate the detector shielding were simulated. The next step was to perform a series secondary studies whose aim were to simulate the induced current on the electrodes, produced by the interactions occurring within the detector. The actualisation of these simulations required the study of photon interaction with matter, the various Cadmium-Zink-Telluride (CZT) types and the how they operate, and the use of a sophisticated software to perform the appropriate simulations. COMSOL, which allows the method of FEA, was chosen as the tool to perform the simulations. The geometry of the detector voxel was primarily designed in SIEMENS NX. The geometry was inserted into COMSOL, where a number of iterations were performed to finalise the appropriate mesh size, which ensured an accurate representation of the Electric field and the Weighting potential within the detector voxel. The induced current on the electrodes was decided to be calculated via MATLAB. As a verification step it was thought useful to firstly plot the weighting potential of the three electrodes under test; the chosen anode pixel, the steering grid and the cathode. The process revealed a series of numerical errors, most likely introduced by the type of mesh chosen or by the data manipulation process via MATLAB. Significant reduction of the numerical errors would lead to more accurate values for the induced current. Unfortunately, due to time constraints this was a task that was not completed. Solving this problem would be optimal for future studies with MATLAB, as the induced current on the electrodes can be correctly calculated based on charge transport within the detector bulk. / MeVCube, DESY

Dunkle Materie bindet etwa 24 % der gesamten Energie im Universum. Bis heute ist jedoch dessen Ursprung nicht bekannt. Untersuchungen von Galaxien und kosmologischen Messungen deuten auf Dunkle Materie hin. Ein Kandidat für Dunkle Materie ist das sogenannte Weakly Interactive Massive Particle (WIMP), welches nur der Schwerkraft und der schwachen Wechselwirkung unterliegt. Eines dieser supersymmetrischen Teilchen ist das Neutralino. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, nach Dunkler Materie in dieser Form zu suchen. Aufgrund seiner Nähe sowie der hohen Dichte an Dunkler Materie bietet das Zentrum unserer Galaxie besondere Möglichkeiten zur Suche nach diesen Teilchen. Es wird vermutet, dass Neutralinos miteinander wechselwirken, dabei in Teilchen des Standard Modells zerfallen und so Photonen mit hohen Energien entstehen. Die Suche nach hochenergetischen Gammastrahlen in der Nähe des Galaktischen Zentrums kann folglich das Rätsel der Dunklen Materie lösen. Das Gammastrahlenobservatorium VERITAS hat das Galaktische Zentrum für etwa 108 Stunden beobachtet. Diese Daten wurden mittels einer unbinned Likelihood-Analyse auf die Existenz von Dunkler Materie untersucht. Da VERITAS das Galaktische Zentrum bei geringer Elevation beobachtet, können nur Gammastrahlen in einem Energiebereich zwischen 4 und 70 TeV detektiert werden. Die Analysemethode modelliert sowohl die räumliche Verteilung der Dunklen Materie als auch das Gammastrahlenspektrum. Der Beitrag der Gammastrahlen, welcher nicht von Dunkler Materie erzeugt wird, ist mittels einer punktförmigen Quelle modelliert. Zum Schluss wird der Untergrund mit realen Daten außerhalb des Galaktischen Zentrums abgeschätzt. Im Energiebereich zwischen 4 und 100 TeV wurden keine Signale der Dunklen Materie gefunden. Obere Grenzwerte für den Wechselwirkungsquerschnitt der WIMPs ergeben ⟨σv⟩ < (6.6 − 7.6) × 10−25 cm^3 oberhalb von 70 TeV in einem 95-prozentigen Erwartungsintervall. / Dark matter accounts for 24% of the universe’s energy, but the form in which it is stored is currently unknown. Understanding what form this matter takes is one of the major unsolved mysteries of modern physics. Much evidence exists for dark matter in the measurements of galaxies, dwarf galaxies, galaxy clusters, and cosmological measurements. One theory posits dark matter is a new undiscovered particle that only interacts via gravity and the weak force, called a weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP). One WIMP candidate is a supersymmetric particle called a neutralino. The objective of this thesis is to search for these dark matter particles, and attempt to measure their mass and cross section. Dark matter particles appear to concentrate in most galaxy-scale gravitational wells. One region of space that is both nearby and assumed to have a high density of dark matter is the center of our own galaxy. The neutralino is expected to annihilate into Standard Model particles, which may decay into photons. Therefore, a search for gamma rays near the Galactic Center may uncover the presence of dark matter. 108 hours of VERITAS gamma-ray observations of the Galactic Center are used in an unbinned likelihood analysis to search for dark matter. The Galactic Center’s low elevation results in VERITAS observing gamma rays in the 4–70 TeV energy range. The analysis used in this thesis consists of modeling the halo of dark matter at the Galactic Center, as well as the spectrum of gamma rays produced when two WIMPs annihilate. A point source is added to model the non-dark-matter gamma-ray emission detected from the Galactic Center. Background models are constructed from data of separate off-Galactic-Center observations. No dark matter signal is found in the 4–100 TeV mass range. Upper limits on the WIMP’s velocity-averaged cross section have been calculated, which above 70 TeV result in new limits of ⟨σv⟩ < (6.6 − 7.6) × 10−25 cm3 at the 95% confidence level.

L’expérience H.E.S.S. (High Energy Spectroscopic System) composée de cinq télescopes Tcherenkov observe le ciel en rayons gamma au-delà d'une centaine de GeV jusqu'à plusieurs dizaines de TeV. Les rayons gamma sont produits par des phénomènes non-thermiques parmi les plus violents dans l'univers au voisinage d'objets astrophysique comme les pulsars, supernovae ou trous noirs, mais pourraient être également produits par l'annihilation de particules de matière noire.De nombreuses sondes cosmologiques et astrophysiques suggèrent que 85% de la matière dans l'Univers est d'origine inconnue. Cette matière appelée matière noire, de nature non baryonique, serait constituée de particules non encore découvertes dont les candidats privilégiés seraient des particules massives interagissant faiblement (WIMPs) avec la matière ordinaire, particules prédites au-delà du Modèle Standard de la physique des particules.Des particules de matière noire peuvent s'annihiler en particules du Modèle Standard dans les régions denses de l'Univers. Parmi les produits d'annihilations se trouvent les photons dont la détection à hautes énergies par des télescopes au sol à effet Tcherenkov pourrait apporter des informations uniques sur la nature de la matière noire.H.E.S.S. observe des régions du ciel dense en matière noire comme le Centre Galactique et des galaxies naines satellites de la Voie Lactée.Une interprétation d'un excès de rayons gamma détecté au Centre Galactique par H.E.S.S. en termes d’accélération de protons par une population de pulsars millisecondes est présenté.10 ans d'observations du Centre Galactique avec le réseau H.E.S.S. I de quatre télescopes, cinq ans de prise de données vers la région du Centre Galactique avec le réseau complet H.E.S.S. II, et un jeu de deux ans de données vers des galaxies naines découvertes récemment sont analysés. Les recherches de signaux d'annihilation de matière noire vers ces cibles ont produit les limites plus fortes à présent sur la section efficace d'annihilation de matière noire dans la plage en masse du TeV. Le potentiel de détection de matière noire avec le futur réseau de télescopes CTA (Cherenkov Telescope Array) vers la région central du halo Galactique est étudiés. / The H.E.S.S. (High Energy Spectroscopic System) experiment is an array of five Cherenkov telescopes that observe the sky in gamma-rays from about 100 GeV up to several ten TeV.Gamma rays are produced in violent non-thermal phenomena in the Universe in the neighborhood of pulsars, supernovae, black holes, ..., and could also be produced by the annihilation of dark matter particles.Numerous cosmological and astrophysical probes suggest that 85% of the total matter budget in the Universe is of unknown origin. This component of matter known as dark matter is non baryonic and could consist of yet undiscovered particles which privileged candidates are arguably massive particles with electroweak couplings with ordinary matter (WIMPs).Dark matter particles may annihilate into Standard Model particles in dense regions of the Universe. Among the annihilation products are photons which detection at high energy with ground-based Cherenkov telescopes could bring unique information on the nature of the dark matter.H.E.S.S. observes dark-matter-dense regions of the sky such as the Galactic Center and dwarf galaxy satellites of the Milky Way. A study on the interpretation of an excess of gamma-rays detected by H.E.S.S. at the Galactic Center in terms of acceleration of protons by a population of unresolved millisecond pulsars is performed.10 years of observations of the Galactic Center with the four-telescope H.E.S.S.-I array, five years of data taking towards the Galactic Center region with the full H.E.S.S.-II array and a two-years dataset towards newly discovered dwarf spheroidal galaxies are analyzed. The search for dark matter annihilation signals towards these targets provided the strongest limits so far on dark matter annihilation cross section in gamma rays of TeV energies. The potential of dark matter detection with the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) towards the inner Galactic halo are studied. They may annihilate into Standard Model particles in dense regions of the Universe. Among the annihilation products are high energy photons. The detection of these photons with ground-based Cherenkov telescopes may reveal the nature of the dark matter. H.E.S.S. have observed some dark-matter-dense regions of the sky likethe Galactic Center and dwarf galaxies satellites of the Milky Way. In this work 10 years of observations of the Galactic Center with the four-telescopes H.E.S.S.-I array, five years of data taking towards the Galactic Center region with the full H.E.S.S.-II array and a two-years dataset towards newly discovered dwarf spheroidal galaxies are analyzed. The searches for dark matter annihilation signals towards these targets produced the strongest limits so far on dark matter annihilation cross section in gamma rays of TeV energies.Perspectives of dark matter detection with the future array CTA (Cherenkov Telescope Array) towards the inner Galactic halo are also discussed. A study on the interpretation of an excess of gamma-rays detected by H.E.S.S. at the Galactic Center in terms of acceleration of protons by a population of unresolved millisecond pulsars complements the dark matter searches.

In this thesis we present new results for the 99.9% confidence level flux upper limits on the pulsed VHE gamma ray signal coming from the Crab pulsar. In order to achieve optimum hadronic background suppression we implement a new neural network based selection technique and apply it to Cherenkov shower imaging data from the WHIPPLE 10m IACT telescope at Mount Hopkins Arizona. Special emphasis will be given to the fact that the neural network selector is trained with real data exclusively. An energy estimator for gamma ray induced extensive air shower events has been derived from Monte Carlo simulations using the Monte Carlo framework GrISU. This estimator, applied to the image data, serves as input to the neural set selector and is needed to determine the energy dependent flux upper limits. We compare our results to the results from previous studies and the performance of our neural network selection technique to the so-called Supercuts and Optimized Supercuts methods.The new flux upper limits and the new technique show the potential to settle the question about the production mechanism of pulsar radiation. However, the current analysis does not answer this question fully.