Last week, the VHEGA members Rubén López-Coto and Daniel Morcuende attended the International Cosmic Rays Conference 2023 (ICRC 2023), one of the most important conferences in astroparticle physics and gamma-ray astrophysics with about 1500 participants. The ICRC, which is held biannually, was hosted this year in Nagoya, one of Japan's largest cities.

On the one hand, Daniel presented the performance study of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory's first Large-Sized Telescope (LST-1) based on the article recently accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Rubén, on the other hand, was appointed as the rapporteur of the gamma-ray astrophysics sessions, with the important task of gathering and summarizing the new key results presented during the conference.

They met colleagues from MAGIC, CTAO, and other collaborations—people with whom they frequently collaborate but do not often meet in person. Aside from learning about the most recent scientific advances in high-energy astrophysics, they also enjoyed the Japanese culture and cuisine.

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We look forward to more conferences!

The article on the performance of the Large-Sized Telescope prototype (LST-1) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) has been recently accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Rubén López-Coto and Daniel Morcuende, VHEGA members from IAA-CSIC, are among the corresponding authors of the paper.

The work is based on the observations of the Crab Nebula and Pulsar, the standard candle at very-high-energy gamma rays. It demonstrates the capabilities of the telescope and validates the data analysis and the simulations for upcoming publications based on LST-1 data. Therefore, this is a milestone for the LST Collaboration and a big step forward toward completing the commissioning of the telescope.

For more information, you can take a look at the new’s Spanish version on the IAA-CSIC webpage: Observaciones de la Nebulosa del Cangrejo confirman el excepcional desempeño del primer telescopio LST del Observatorio CTA. The official announcement can also be found on the CTAO website. And the publication is already publicly available at arXiv.

Stay tuned for LST-1 publications. This is just the beginning!

The VHEGA group and some of its most adventurous friends embarked this past Friday on a two-day trip in Sierra Nevada's highest mountain; and reached the top of the Iberian peninsula moments before sunrise.

Although the journey was at some times hard due to the weather conditions, the effort was rewarded with the majestic views of the sunrise from such a special place.

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After the descent, we all celebrated that we made it back safe and sound with a few beers and the impressive local food.