TEVCAT - TeV Gamma-Ray Source Catalog

Overview

TeVCat (http://tevcat.uchicago.edu/) is an online, interactive catalog for very-high-energy (VHE: energies, E >~ 50 GeV) gamma-ray astronomy. As VHE astronomy continues to grow, the usefulness of a one-stop clearing house for information on new sources is increasingly evident. TeVCat is intended to be such a resource. With sky maps, scientific information, visibility plotters and linked references available at the website, it will help the wider gamma-ray community stay up-to-date and informed on this exciting and rapidly developing field.

This HEASARC database table provides the TeVCat list of VHE sources as well as links to the TeV source resource pages on the TeVCat website. The catalog and the website at the University of Chicago are maintained by Scott Wakely and Deirdre Horan.

Catalog Bibcode

2008ICRC....3.1341W

Bulletin

The TEVCAT database table was last updated on 17 March 2024.

References

TeVCat: An online catalog for Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy.
    Wakely, S.P., Horan, D.
   <Proceedings of the 30th International Cosmic Ray Conference. July 3 - 11,
    2007, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Edited by Rogelio Caballero, Juan Carlos
    D'Olivo, Gustavo Medina-Tanco, Lukas Nellen, Federico A. Sanchez, Jose F.
    Valdes-Galicia. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City,
    Mexico, 2008. Volume 3, p.1341-1344.>
   =2008ICRC....3.1341W

The authors request that TeVCat be cited if used in an academic work.

Provenance

This table was first ingested by the HEASARC in July 2017 based on the catalog of VHE gamma-ray sources available at http://tevcat.uchicago.edu/. It is updated automatically within a few days of the catalog being updated on the University of Chicago website.

Parameters

Source_Number
A sequentially assigned number for each source in the catalog. While the values are unique, they are not guaranteed to be persistent across updates.

Source_Sample
The originating sample from which the TeV source was taken, where 1 refers to "Well-Established" sources which comprise the "default" catalog, while 2 to "Newly Announced" sources. Sources which have been published in refereed journals since the definitive detection of the Crab in 1989 are in the default catalog. Sources which have been shown at conferences or claimed in ATELs, etc., the authors place in the "Newly Announced" category, with the understanding that once the refereed publication comes out, it moves into the "default" catalog. These sources should all satisfy the traditional 5-sigma detection threshold.

Name
A commonly used name for the TeV source.

Alt_Name
An alternative designation for the TeV source.

RA
The Right Ascension of the TeV source in the selected equinox.

Dec
The Declination of the TeV source in the selected equinox.

LII
The Galactic Longitude of the TeV source.

BII
The Galactic Latitude of the TeV source.

Source_Type
The type/classification of the TeV source. Most of these types are self-explanatory. The following acronyms are used:

    Acronym  Meaning

     FR I    Fanaroff-Riley Type I radio galaxy
     FSRQ    Flat-spectrum radio quasar
     HBL     High-frequency peaked blazar
     IBL     Intermediate-frequency peaked blazar
     PSR     Pulsar
     PWN     Pulsar wind nebula
     SNR     Supernova remnant
     UNID    Unidentified source

Flux
The flux of the TeV source, in Crab units, in the E > 50 GeV range.

Spectral_Index
The spectral index of the TeV source in the E > 50 GeV range.

Distance
The estimated distance D to the TeV source, in kpc. This is given for sources in the nearby universe (D <~ 4 Mpc). For more distant objects, the redshift is specified instead.

Redshift
The redshift z of the TeV source. This is given for distant sources (D >> 4 Mpc). For nearer objects, the distance is specified instead.

Discovery_Date
The date of the TeV source discovery (YYYY-MM).

Extended_Flag
A Boolean flag parameter [01] which is set to 1 to indicate an extended TeV source.

X_Size
The angular size of the TeV source in the Right Ascension direction, in degrees.

Y_Size
The angular size of the TeV source in the Declination direction, in degrees.

TeVCat_URL
The URL for the TeVCat source information web page on the University of Chicago TeVCat website.

Contact Person

Questions or comments regarding the contents of the TeVCat catalog should be addressed to the TeVCat team at tevcat@gmail.com.

Questions about the HEASARC implementation of the TEVCAT database table should be addressed to the HEASARC User Hotline.

Page Author: Browse Software Development Team
Last Modified: Monday, 09-Jul-2018 21:21:49 EDT