Observations of the Crab Nebula with MACE (major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment)

The Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) is a large size (21 m) Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope (IACT) installed at an altitude of 4270 m above sea level at Hanle, Ladakh in northern India. Here we report the detection of Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission from Crab Nebula above 80 GeV. We analyzed similar to 15 h of data collected at low zenith angle between November 2022 and February 2023. The energy spectrum is well described by a log-parabola function with a flux of similar to (3.46 +/- 0.26(stat)) x 10(-10) TeV(-1)cm(-2)s(-1), at 400 GeV with spectral index of 2.09 +/- 0.06(stat) and a curvature parameter of 0.08 +/- 0.07(stat). The gamma-rays are detected in an energy range spanning from 80 GeV to similar to 5 TeV. The energy resolution improves from similar to 34% at an analysis energy threshold of 80 GeV to similar to 21% above 1 TeV. The daily light curve and the spectral energy distribution obtained for the Crab Nebula is in agreement with previous measurements, considering statistical and systematic uncertainties.