EDUCATION:

Ph.D. 1993, Columbia University

RESEARCH:

• Gamma-Ray Astrophysics; Active Galactic Nuclei, Unidentified gamma-ray sources, Extragalactic gamma-ray background.
• Experimental Astrophysics; Ground-based Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes.

My research interests are in high energy astrophysics and astroparticle physics. I am involved in several projects. My main current projects are:

• STACEE: The Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment studies GeV/TeV gamma rays from astrophysical sources. STACEE uses a large collection of heliostats at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility in New Mexico. The STACEE collaboration use 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.
• VERITAS: Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System is a new 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 GLAST observations of high energy sources.
• Analysis of archival gamma-ray (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.
  
  
  Selected Publications

  "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).

  "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.

  "Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope High-Energy Gamma-Ray Observations of the Moon and quiet Sun," D. J. Thompson, D. L. Bertsch, D. J. Morris, R. Mukherjee, 1997, J. Geophys. Res., 102, 14735.

  "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.

   

  
   

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