Reshmi Mukherjee Professor of Physics (Barnard College) Research Page: www.astro.columbia.edu/veritas/ E-mail: muk (at) astro.columbia.edu Office: 506 Altschul, 1010 Pupin Telephone: (212) 854-5101

Research Interests:

• High-Energy Gamma-Ray Astrophysics: Active Galactic Nuclei, Unidentified gamma-ray sources, Extragalactic gamma-ray background. Galactic sources (pulsar wind nebulae, SNRs).
• Experimental Astrophysics: Ground-based Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes.

My research interests are in high energy astrophysics and astroparticle physics. Current research projects are:

• VERITAS: Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System is a major ground-based gamma-ray observatory with an array of four 12m optical reflectors for gamma-ray astronomy in the GeV - TeV energy range. VERITAS will study extragalactic and galactic high energy gamma-ray sources in the 50 GeV - 50 TeV band (with maximum sensitivity from 100 GeV to 10 TeV). This VHE Observatory will effectively complement FERMI observations of high energy sources. VERITAS research at Barnard College, Columbia University is funded by the NSF.

• CTA: I am a member of the Cherenkov Telescope Array-US collaboration. CTA is an advanced facility for ground-based gamma-ray astronomya being planned for the future.

• Analysis of archival gamma-ray (Fermi & EGRET) and X-ray data: Study of the unidentified high energy gamma-ray sources. Study of gamma-ray blazars detected at GeV and TeV energies, the extragalactic gamma-ray background, clusters of galaxies. Study of Galactic sources, pulsar wind nebulae & supernova remnants. High energy gamma ray astrophysics research with Fermi data is funded by several NASA Fermi GI grants.

Past research projects:

• STACEE: The Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment studied GeV/TeV gamma rays from astrophysical sources. STACEE used a large collection of heliostats at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility in New Mexico. The STACEE collaboration used these mirrors at night to detect the quick flashes of blue Cherenkov light that result from gamma-ray air showers. These gamma rays originate from galactic and extragalactic astrophysical sources. STACEE operated successfully until June 2007.

  Teaching (2012):

• Physics BC 3006: Quantum Physics (Spring)
• Physics BC 3086: Quantum Physics Laboratory (Spring)
• Physics BC 2001: Mechanics (Spring)

  Background:

  • 2010 - Present: Helen Goodhart Altschul Professor of Physics, Barnard College
  • 2007 - 2010: Professor & Chair, Physics & Astronomy, Barnard College
  • 2003 - 2007: Associate Professor, Physics & Astronomy, Barnard College
  • 1997 - 2003: Assistant Professor, Barnard College
  • 1996 - 1997: Visiting Scientist, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
  • 1993 - 1997: Research Scientist, Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, USRA/NASA/GSFC
  • 1993 - Ph.D., Physics (Title: Development of a High Resolution Liquid Xenon Detector for Gamma-Ray Astrophysics), Columbia University
  • 1991 - M.Phil, Physics, Columbia University
  • 1989 - M.A., Physics, Columbia University
  • 1986 - B.Sc., Physics (Hons.), Presidency College, University of Calcutta

  Selected Publications
  

  Up-to-date VERITAS publications: VERITAS Collaboration & R. Mukherjee.

  "Transient X-ray sources in the field of the Unidentified Gamma-Ray Source TeV J2032+4130 in Cygnus," E. Kara, M. Errando, W. Max-Moerbeck, E. Aliu, E., M. Bottcher, P. Fortin, J. P. Halpern, R. Mukherjee, A. C. S. Readhead, J. L. Richards, 2012, ApJ, 746, 159.

  "Transient X-ray sources in the field of the Unidentified Gamma-Ray Source TeV J2032+4130 in Cygnus," D. E. Harris, F. Massaro, C. C. Cheung, D. Horns, M. Raue, L. Stawarz, S. Wagner, P. Colin, D. Mazin, R. Wagner, M. Beilicke, S. LeBohec, M. Hui, R. Mukherjee, 2011, ApJ, 743, 177.

  "Implications for the structure of the relativistic jet from multiwavelength observations of NGC 6251," G. Migliori, P. Grandi, E. Torresi, C. Dermer, J. Finke, A. Celotti, R. Mukherjee, M. Errando, F. Gargano, F. Giordano, M. Giroletti, M. 2011, A&A, 533, 72.

  "Transient X-ray sources in the field of the unidentified gamma-ray source TeV J2032+4130 in Cygnus," R. Mukherjee, E. V. Gotthelf, J. P. Halpern, Astrophysics and Space Science, 2007, 309, 29.

  "Transient X-ray sources in the field of the Unidentified Gamma-Ray Source TeV J2032+4130 in Cygnus," R. Mukherjee, E. V. Gotthelf, J. P. Halpern, o appear in Proceedings of the conference "The Multi-Messenger Approach to High-Energy Gamma-ray Sources" Barcelona/Spain (2006), Astrophysics and Space Science, Volume 309, Issue 1-4, pp. 29-33.

  "Chandra Observation of the Unidentified TeV Gamma-Ray Source HESS J1303-631 in the Galactic Plane," R. Mukherjee & J. P. Halpern, 2005, ApJ, 629, 1017.

  "STACEE Observation of Low-Frequency Peaked BL Lac Objects," R. Mukherjee, et al., 2005, Proceedings of the 29th International Cosmic Ray Conference. August 3-10, 2005, Pune, India.

  " Multifrequency Strategies for the Identification of Gamma-Ray Sources," R. Mukherjee & J. P. Halpern, Chapter prepared for the book "Cosmic Gamma-ray Sources", edited by K.S. Cheng and G.E. Romero, to be published by Kluwer Academic Press, 2004.

  " High-Energy Gamma-Ray Observations of W Comae with the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cerenkov Effect Experiment", R. A. Scalzo, et al., 2004, ApJ, 607, 778.

  "Search for a Point-Source Counterpart of the Unidentified Gamma-Ray Source TeV J2032+4130 in Cygnus," R. Mukherjee, J. P. Halpern, E. V. Gotthelf, M. Eracleous, and N. Mirabal, 2003, ApJ, 589, 487.

  " Predictions of the High-Energy Emission from BL Lac Objects: The Case of W Comae," M. Boettcher, R. Mukherjee, & A. Reimer, 2002, ApJ, 581, 143.

  " A Statistical Detection of Gamma-ray Emission from Galaxy Clusters: Implications for the Gamma-ray Background and Structure Formation," C. Scharf & R. Mukherjee, 2002, ApJ, 580, 154.

  " Is the EGRET Source 3EG J1621+8203 the Radio Galaxy NGC~6251?," R. Mukherjee, J. Halpern, N. Mirabal, E. V. Gotthelf, 2002, ApJ, 574, 693.

  "STACEE Observations of Markarian 421 during an Extended Gamma-Ray Outburst , L. M. Boone, et al., 2002, ApJ, 579L, 5.

  "The Laser Calibration Sysyem for the STACEE Ground-based Gamma-ray Detector," D. Hanna & R. Mukherjee, 2002, Nuclear Instruments & Methods (NIM), 482/1-2, 271.

  "The Luminosity Function of the EGRET Gamma-Ray Blazars," J. Chiang & R. Mukherjee, 1998, ApJ, 496, 752.

  "EGRET Observations of High Energy Gamma-ray Emission from Blazars: An Update," R. Mukherjee, D. L. Bertsch, S. D. Bloom, B. L. Dingus, J. A. Esposito, C. E. Fichtel, R. C. Hartman, S. D. Hunter, G. Kanbach, D. A. Kniffen, Y. C. Lin, H. A. Mayer-Hasselwander, L. M. McDonald, P. F. Michelson, C. von Montigny, A. Mucke, P. L. Nolan, M. Pohl, O. Reimer, E. Schneid, P. Sreekumar, D. J. Thompson, 1997, ApJ, accepted, Nov. 20, 1997 issue.

  "Discovery of a Nonblazar Gamma-Ray Transient Source near the Galactic Plane: GRO J1838-04," M. Tavani, R. Mukherjee, J.R. Mattox, J. Halpern, D.J. Thompson, G. Kanbach, W. Hermsen, S.N. Zhang, R.S. Foster, 1997, ApJ, 479L, 109.

  "EGRET Observations of the 1993 March Gamma-Ray Flare from PKS 0528+134," Mukherjee, R., Dingus, B. L., Gear, W. K., Hartman, R. C., Hunter, S. D., Marscher, A. P., Moore, E. M., Pohl, M., Robson, E. I., Sreekumar, P., Stevens, J. A., Terasranta, H., Tornikoski, M., Travis, J. P., Wagner, S. J., Zhang, Y. F., 1996, ApJ, 470, 831.

  "EGRET gamma-ray sources: GRO J0744+54 and GRO J0957+65 (=BL Lac Object 0954+658)," Mukherjee, R., Aller, H.D., Aller, M.F., Bertsch, D.L., Collmar, W., Digel, S.W., Dingus, B.L., Esposito, J.A., Fichtel, Hartman, R.C., Hunter, S.D., Johnson, W.N., Kanbach, G., Kniffen, D.A., Lin, Y.C., Mattox, J.R., Mayer-Hasselwander, H.A., Michelson, P.F., von Montigny, C., Nolan, P.L., Ramanamurthy, P.V., Schneid, E., Sreekumar, P., Terasranta, H., Thompson, D.J., Wagner, S.J., 1995, ApJ, 445, 189-195.

  "On the nature of the EGRET unidentified sources: Are they Geminga-like pulsars?," Mukherjee, R., Bertsch, D.L., Dingus, B.L., Kanbach, G., Kniffen, D.A., Sreekumar, P., and Thompson, D.J., 1995, ApJ, 441, L61-L64.

  More publications ...

  
  VERITAS research in Prof. Mukherjee's Group at Barnard College and Columbia University is funded by the NSF Grants PHY-1207211 and PHY-0855627. Fermi-related research is funded by the NASA Grant NNX12AJ30G.

  Last updated 2012 September	www@astro.columbia.edu