| 1. |
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| 2. |
- Abdalla, H., et al.
(författare)
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Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array for probing cosmology and fundamental physics with gamma-ray propagation
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 1475-7516. ; :2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), the new-generation ground-based observatory for gamma-ray astronomy, provides unique capabilities to address significant open questions in astrophysics, cosmology, and fundamental physics. We study some of the salient areas of gamma-ray cosmology that can be explored as part of the Key Science Projects of CTA, through simulated observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and of their relativistic jets. Observations of AGN with CTA will enable a measurement of gamma-ray absorption on the extragalactic background light with a statistical uncertainty below 15% up to a redshift z = 2 and to constrain or detect gamma-ray halos up to intergalactic-magnetic-field strengths of at least 0.3 pG. Extragalactic observations with CTA also show promising potential to probe physics beyond the Standard Model. The best limits on Lorentz invariance violation from gamma-ray astronomy will be improved by a factor of at least two to three. CTA will also probe the parameter space in which axion-like particles could constitute a significant fraction, if not all, of dark matter. We conclude on the synergies between CTA and other upcoming facilities that will foster the growth of gamma-ray cosmology.
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| 3. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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2FHL : THE SECOND CATALOG OF HARD FERMI-LAT SOURCES
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 222:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a catalog of sources detected above 50 GeV by the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) in 80 months of data. The newly delivered Pass. 8 event-level analysis allows the detection and characterization of sources in the 50 GeV-2 TeV energy range. In this energy band, Fermi-LAT. has detected 360 sources, which constitute the second catalog of hard Fermi-LAT. sources (2FHL). The improved angular resolution enables the precise localization of point sources (similar to 1.' 7 radius at 68% C.L.) and the detection and characterization of spatially extended sources. We find that 86% of the sources can be associated with counterparts at other wavelengths, of which the majority (75%) are active galactic nuclei and the rest (11%) are Galactic sources. Only 25% of the 2FHL sources have been previously detected by Cherenkov telescopes, implying that the 2FHL provides a reservoir of candidates to be followed up at very high energies. This work closes the energy gap between the observations performed at GeV energies by Fermi-LAT. on orbit and the observations performed at higher energies by Cherenkov telescopes from the ground.
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| 4. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
FERMI-LAT OBSERVATIONS OF THE LIGO EVENT GW150914
- 2016
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 823:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) has an instantaneous field of view (FoV) covering similar to 1/5 of the sky and it completes a survey of the entire sky in high-energy gamma-rays every 3 hr. It enables searches for transient phenomena over timescales from milliseconds to years. Among these phenomena could be electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave (GW) sources. In this paper, we present a detailed study of the LAT observations relevant to Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) event GW150914, which is the first direct detection of gravitational waves and has been interpreted as being due to the coalescence of two stellar-mass black holes. The localization region for GW150914 was outside the LAT FoV at the time of the GW signal. However, as part of routine survey observations, the LAT observed the entire LIGO localization region within similar to 70 minutes of the trigger and thus enabled a comprehensive search for a.-ray counterpart to GW150914. The study of the LAT data presented here did not find any potential counterparts to GW150914, but it did provide limits on the presence of a transient counterpart above 100 MeV on timescales of hours to days over the entire GW150914 localization region.
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| 5. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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The spectrum of isotropic diffuse gamma-ray emission between 100 MeV and 820 GeV
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 799:1, s. 86-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The gamma-ray sky can be decomposed into individually detected sources, diffuse emission attributed to the interactions of Galactic cosmic rays with gas and radiation fields, and a residual all-sky emission component commonly called the isotropic diffuse gamma-ray background (IGRB). The IGRB comprises all extragalactic emissions too faint or too diffuse to be resolved in a given survey, as well as any residual Galactic foregrounds that are approximately isotropic. The first IGRB measurement with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi) used 10 months of sky-survey data and considered an energy range between 200 MeV and 100 GeV. Improvements in event selection and characterization of cosmic-ray backgrounds, better understanding of the diffuse Galactic emission (DGE), and a longer data accumulation of 50 months allow for a refinement and extension of the IGRB measurement with the LAT, now covering the energy range from 100 MeV to 820 GeV. The IGRB spectrum shows a significant high-energy cutoff feature and can be well described over nearly four decades in energy by a power law with exponential cutoff having a spectral index of 2.32 +/- 0.02 and a break energy of (279 +/- 52) GeV using our baseline DGE model. The total intensity attributed to the IGRB is (7.2 +/- 0.6) x 10(-6) cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1) above 100 MeV, with an additional +15%/-30% systematic uncertainty due to the Galactic diffuse foregrounds.
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| 6. |
- De Angelis, A., et al.
(författare)
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Science with e-ASTROGAM A space mission for MeV-GeV gamma-ray astrophysics
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of High Energy Astrophysics. - : Elsevier. - 2214-4048 .- 2214-4056. ; 19, s. 1-106
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- e-ASTROGAM ('enhanced ASTROGAM') is a breakthrough Observatory space mission, with a detector composed by a Silicon tracker, a calorimeter, and an anticoincidence system, dedicated to the study of the non-thermal Universe in the photon energy range from 0.3 MeV to 3 GeV - the lower energy limit can be pushed to energies as low as 150 keV for the tracker, and to 30 keV for calorimetric detection. The mission is based on an advanced space-proven detector technology, with unprecedented sensitivity, angular and energy resolution, combined with polarimetric capability. Thanks to its performance in the MeV-GeV domain, substantially improving its predecessors, e-ASTROGAM will open a new window on the non-thermal Universe, making pioneering observations of the most powerful Galactic and extragalactic sources, elucidating the nature of their relativistic outflows and their effects on the surroundings. With a line sensitivity in the MeV energy range one to two orders of magnitude better than previous generation instruments, e-ASTROGAM will determine the origin of key isotopes fundamental for the understanding of supernova explosion and the chemical evolution of our Galaxy. The mission will provide unique data of significant interest to a broad astronomical community, complementary to powerful observatories such as LIGO-Virgo-GEO600-KAGRA, SKA, ALMA, E-ELT, TMT, LSST, JWST, Athena, CTA, IceCube, KM3NeT, and LISA.
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| 7. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Search for gamma-ray spectral lines with the Fermi Large Area Telescope and dark matter implications
- 2013
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Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 88:8, s. 082002-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) are a theoretical class of particles that are excellent dark matter candidates. WIMP annihilation or decay may produce essentially monochromatic gamma rays detectable by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) against the astrophysical gamma-ray emission of the Galaxy. We have searched for spectral lines in the energy range 5-300 GeV using 3.7 years of data, reprocessed with updated instrument calibrations and an improved energy dispersion model compared to the previous Fermi-LAT Collaboration line searches. We searched in five regions selected to optimize sensitivity to different theoretically motivated dark matter density distributions. We did not find any globally significant lines in our a priori search regions and present 95% confidence limits for annihilation cross sections of self-conjugate WIMPs and decay lifetimes. Our most significant fit occurred at 133 GeV in our smallest search region and had a local significance of 3.3 standard deviations, which translates to a global significance of 1.5 standard deviations. We discuss potential systematic effects in this search, and examine the feature at 133 GeV in detail. We find that the use both of reprocessed data and of additional
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| 8. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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THE SPECTRUM AND MORPHOLOGY OF THE FERMI BUBBLES
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 793:1, s. 64-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Fermi bubbles are two large structures in the gamma-ray sky extending to 55 degrees above and below the Galactic center. We analyze 50 months of Fermi Large Area Telescope data between 100MeV and 500 GeV above 10 degrees in Galactic latitude to derive the spectrum and morphology of the Fermi bubbles. We thoroughly explore the systematic uncertainties that arise when modeling the Galactic diffuse emission through two separate approaches. The gamma-ray spectrum is well described by either a log parabola or a power law with an exponential cutoff. We exclude a simple power law with more than 7 sigma significance. The power law with an exponential cutoff has an index of 1.9 +/- 0.2 and a cutoff energy of 110 +/- 50 GeV. We find that the gamma-ray luminosity of the bubbles is 4.4(-0.9)(+2.4) x 10(37) erg s(-1). We confirm a significant enhancement of gamma-ray emission in the southeastern part of the bubbles, but we do not find significant evidence for a jet. No significant variation of the spectrum across the bubbles is detected. The width of the boundary of the bubbles is estimated to be 3.4(-2.6)(+3.7) deg. Both inverse Compton (IC) models and hadronic models including IC emission from secondary leptons fit the gamma-ray data well. In the IC scenario, synchrotron emission from the same population of electrons can also explain the WMAP and Planck microwave haze with a magnetic field between 5 and 20 mu G.
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| 9. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Updated search for spectral lines from Galactic dark matter interactions with pass 8 data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope
- 2015
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Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 91:12
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dark matter in the Milky Way may annihilate directly into. rays, producing a monoenergetic spectral line. Therefore, detecting such a signature would be strong evidence for dark matter annihilation or decay. We search for spectral lines in the Fermi Large Area Telescope observations of the Milky Way halo in the energy range 200 MeV-500 GeV using analysis methods from our most recent line searches. The main improvements relative to previous works are our use of 5.8 years of data reprocessed with the Pass 8 event-level analysis and the additional data resulting from the modified observing strategy designed to increase exposure of the Galactic center region. We search in five sky regions selected to optimize sensitivity to different theoretically motivated dark matter scenarios and find no significant detections. In addition to presenting the results from our search for lines, we also investigate the previously reported tentative detection of a line at 133 GeV using the new Pass 8 data.
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| 10. |
- Ajello, M., et al.
(författare)
-
FERMI-LAT OBSERVATIONS OF HIGH-ENERGY gamma-RAY EMISSION TOWARD THE GALACTIC CENTER
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 819:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) has provided the most detailed view to date of the emission toward the Galactic center (GC) in high-energy gamma-rays. This paper describes the analysis of data taken during the first 62 months of the mission in the energy range 1-100 GeV from a 15 degrees x 15 degrees region about the direction of the GC. Specialized interstellar emission models (IEMs) are constructed to enable the separation of the.-ray emissions produced by cosmic ray particles interacting with the interstellar gas and radiation fields in the Milky Way into that from the inner similar to 1 kpc surrounding the GC, and that from the rest of the Galaxy. A catalog of point sources for the 15 degrees x 15 degrees region is self-consistently constructed using these IEMs: the First Fermi-LAT Inner Galaxy Point Source Catalog (1FIG). The spatial locations, fluxes, and spectral properties of the 1FIG sources are presented, and compared with gamma-ray point sources over the same region taken from existing catalogs. After subtracting the interstellar emission and point-source contributions a residual is found. If templates that peak toward the GC are used to model the positive residual the agreement with the data improves, but none of the additional templates tried account for all of its spatial structure. The spectrum of the positive residual modeled with these templates has a strong dependence on the choice of IEM.
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| 11. |
- Ajello, M., et al.
(författare)
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Fermi-LAT Observations of LIGO/Virgo Event GW170817
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 861:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) observations of the binary neutron star merger event GW170817 and the associated short gamma-ray burst (SGRB) GRB 170817A detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor. The LAT was entering the South Atlantic Anomaly at the time of the LIGO/Virgo trigger (t(GW)) and therefore cannot place constraints on the existence of high-energy (E > 100 MeV) emission associated with the moment of binary coalescence. We focus instead on constraining high-energy emission on longer timescales. No candidate electromagnetic counterpart was detected by the LAT on timescales of minutes, hours, or days after the LIGO/Virgo detection. The resulting flux upper bound (at 95% C. L.) from the LAT is 4.5. x. 10(-10) erg cm(-2) s(-1) in the 0.1-1 GeV range covering a period from tGW. +. 1153 s to t(GW). +. 2027 s. At the distance of GRB 170817A, this flux upper bound corresponds to a luminosity upper bound of 9.7. x. 10(43) erg s(-1), which is five orders of magnitude less luminous than the only other LAT SGRB with known redshift, GRB 090510. We also discuss the prospects for LAT detection of electromagnetic counterparts to future gravitational-wave events from Advanced LIGO/Virgo in the context of GW170817/GRB 170817A.
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| 12. |
- Acero, F., et al.
(författare)
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DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODEL OF GALACTIC INTERSTELLAR EMISSION FOR STANDARD POINT-SOURCE ANALYSIS OF FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE DATA
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 223:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most of the celestial. rays detected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope originate from the interstellar medium when energetic cosmic rays interact with interstellar nucleons and photons. Conventional point-source and extended-source studies rely on the modeling of this diffuse emission for accurate characterization. Here, we describe the development of the Galactic Interstellar Emission Model (GIEM), which is the standard adopted by the LAT Collaboration and is publicly available. This model is based on a linear combination of maps for interstellar gas column density in Galactocentric annuli and for the inverse-Compton emission produced in the Galaxy. In the GIEM, we also include large-scale structures like Loop. I and the Fermi bubbles. The measured gas emissivity spectra confirm that the cosmic-ray proton density decreases with Galactocentric distance beyond 5 kpc from the Galactic Center. The measurements also suggest a softening of the proton spectrum with Galactocentric distance. We observe that the Fermi bubbles have boundaries with a shape similar to a catenary at latitudes below 20 degrees and we observe an enhanced emission toward their base extending in the north and south Galactic directions and located within similar to 4 degrees of the Galactic Center.
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| 13. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Search for extended gamma-ray emission from the Virgo Galaxy Cluster with Fermi-LAT
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 812:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Galaxy clusters are one of the prime sites to search for dark matter (DM) annihilation signals. Depending on the substructure of the DM halo of a galaxy cluster and the cross sections for DM annihilation channels, these signals might be detectable by the latest generation of gamma-ray telescopes. Here we use three years of Fermi-Large Area Telescope data, which are the most suitable for searching for very extended emission in the vicinity of the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. Our analysis reveals statistically significant extended emission which can be well characterized by a uniformly emitting disk profile with a radius of 3 degrees that moreover is offset from the cluster center. We demonstrate that the significance of this extended emission strongly depends on the adopted interstellar emission model (IEM) and is most likely an artifact of our incomplete description of the IEM in this region. We also search for and find new point source candidates in the region. We then derive conservative upper limits on the velocity-averaged DM pair annihilation cross section from Virgo. We take into account the potential gamma-ray flux enhancement due to DM sub-halos and its complex morphology as a merging cluster. For DM annihilating into b (b) over bar, assuming a conservative sub-halo model setup, we find limits that are between 1 and 1.5 orders of magnitude above the expectation from the thermal cross section for m(DM) <= 100 GeV. In a more optimistic scenario, we exclude similar to 3 x 10(-26)cm(3)s(-1) for m(DM)less than or similar to 40 GeV for the same channel. Finally, we derive upper limits on the gamma-ray-flux produced by hadronic cosmic-ray interactions in the inter cluster medium. We find that the volume-averaged cosmic-ray-to-thermal pressure ratio is less than similar to 6%.
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| 14. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Searching for Dark Matter Annihilation from Milky Way Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies with Six Years of Fermi Large Area Telescope Data
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 115:23
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies (dSphs) of the Milky Way are some of the most dark matter (DM) dominated objects known. We report on gamma-ray observations of Milky Way dSphs based on six years of Fermi Large Area Telescope data processed with the new PASS8 event-level analysis. None of the dSphs are significantly detected in gamma rays, and we present upper limits on the DM annihilation cross section from a combined analysis of 15 dSphs. These constraints are among the strongest and most robust to date and lie below the canonical thermal relic cross section for DM of mass less than or similar to 100 GeV annihilating via quark and tau-lepton channels.
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| 15. |
- Abdollahi, S., et al.
(författare)
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A gamma-ray determination of the Universe's star formation history
- 2018
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 362:6418, s. 1031-1034
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The light emitted by all galaxies over the history of the Universe produces the extragalactic background light (EBL) at ultraviolet, optical, and infrared wavelengths. The EBL is a source of opacity for gamma rays via photon-photon interactions, leaving an imprint in the spectra of distant gamma-ray sources. We measured this attenuation using 739 active galaxies and one gamma-ray burst detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This allowed us to reconstruct the evolution of the EBL and determine the star formation history of the Universe over 90% of cosmic time. Our star formation history is consistent with independent measurements from galaxy surveys, peaking at redshift z similar to 2. Upper limits of the EBL at the epoch of reionization suggest a turnover in the abundance of faint galaxies at z similar to 6.
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| 16. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Constraints on the galactic halo dark matter from fermi-lat diffuse measurements
- 2012
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 761:2, s. 91-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have performed an analysis of the diffuse gamma-ray emission with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) in the Milky Way halo region, searching for a signal from dark matter annihilation or decay. In the absence of a robust dark matter signal, constraints are presented. We consider both gamma rays produced directly in the dark matter annihilation/decay and produced by inverse Compton scattering of the e(+)/e(-) produced in the annihilation/decay. Conservative limits are derived requiring that the dark matter signal does not exceed the observed diffuse gamma-ray emission. A second set of more stringent limits is derived based on modeling the foreground astrophysical diffuse emission using the GALPROP code. Uncertainties in the height of the diffusive cosmic-ray halo, the distribution of the cosmic-ray sources in the Galaxy, the index of the injection cosmic-ray electron spectrum, and the column density of the interstellar gas are taken into account using a profile likelihood formalism, while the parameters governing the cosmic-ray propagation have been derived from fits to local cosmic-ray data. The resulting limits impact the range of particle masses over which dark matter thermal production in the early universe is possible, and challenge the interpretation of the PAMELA/Fermi-LAT cosmic ray anomalies as the annihilation of dark matter.
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| 17. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Limits on dark matter annihilation signals from the Fermi LAT 4-year measurement of the isotropic gamma-ray background
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 1475-7516. ; :9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We search for evidence of dark matter (DM) annihilation in the isotropic gamma-ray background (IGRB) measured with 50 months of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) observations. An improved theoretical description of the cosmological DM annihilation signal, based on two complementary techniques and assuming generic weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) properties, renders more precise predictions compared to previous work. More specifically, we estimate the cosmologically-induced gamma-ray intensity to have an uncertainty of a factor similar to 20 in canonical setups. We consistently include both the Galactic and extragalactic signals under the same theoretical framework, and study the impact of the former on the IGRB spectrum derivation. We find no evidence for a DM signal and we set limits on the DM-induced isotropic gamma-ray signal. Our limits are competitive for DM particle masses up to tens of TeV and, indeed, are the strongest limits derived from Fermi LAT data at TeV energies. This is possible thanks to the new Fermi LAT IGRB measurement, which now extends up to an energy of 820 GeV. We quantify uncertainties in detail and show the potential this type of search offers for testing the WIMP paradigm with a complementary and truly cosmological probe of DM particle signals.
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| 18. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Search for Gamma-Ray Emission from Local Primordial Black Holes with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing (IOPP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 857:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Black holes with masses below approximately 10(15) g are expected to emit gamma-rays with energies above a few tens of MeV, which can be detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Although black holes with these masses cannot be formed as a result of stellar evolution, they may have formed in the early universe and are therefore called primordial black holes (PBHs). Previous searches for PBHs have focused on either short-timescale bursts or the contribution of PBHs to the isotropic gamma-ray emission. We show that, in cases of individual PBHs, the Fermi-LAT is most sensitive to PBHs with temperatures above approximately 16 GeV and masses 6 x 10(11) g, which it can detect out to a distance of about 0.03 pc. These PBHs have a remaining lifetime of months to years at the start of the Fermi mission. They would appear as potentially moving point sources with gamma-ray emission that become spectrally harder and brighter with time until the PBH completely evaporates. In this paper, we develop a new algorithm to detect the proper motion of gamma-ray point sources, and apply it to 318 unassociated point sources at a high galactic latitude in the third Fermi-LAT source catalog. None of the unassociated point sources with spectra consistent with PBH evaporation show significant proper motion. Using the nondetection of PBH candidates, we derive a 99% confidence limit on the PBH evaporation rate in the vicinity of Earth, <(rho)over dot>(PBH) < 7.2 x 10(3) pc(-3) yr(-1). This limit is similar to the limits obtained with ground-based gamma-ray observatories.
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| 19. |
- Ajello, M., et al.
(författare)
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Search for Spectral Irregularities due to Photon-Axionlike-Particle Oscillations with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
- 2016
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 116:16
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the search for spectral irregularities induced by oscillations between photons and axionlike-particles (ALPs) in the gamma-ray spectrum of NGC 1275, the central galaxy of the Perseus cluster. Using 6 years of Fermi Large Area Telescope data, we find no evidence for ALPs and exclude couplings above 5 x 10(-12) GeV-1 for ALP masses 0.5 less than or similar to m(a) less than or similar to 5 neV at 95% confidence. The limits are competitive with the sensitivity of planned laboratory experiments, and, together with other bounds, strongly constrain the possibility that ALPs can reduce the gamma-ray opacity of the Universe.
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| 20. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Searches for cosmic-ray electron anisotropies with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
- 2010
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Ingår i: PHYS REV D. - 1550-7998. ; 82:9, s. 092003-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi satellite (Fermi LAT) detected more than 1.6 x 10(6) cosmic-ray electrons/positrons with energies above 60 GeV during its first year of operation. The arrival directions of these events were searched for anisotropies of angular scale extending from similar to 10 degrees up to 90 degrees, and of minimum energy extending from 60 GeV up to 480 GeV. Two independent techniques were used to search for anisotropies, both resulting in null results. Upper limits on the degree of the anisotropy were set that depended on the analyzed energy range and on the anisotropy's angular scale. The upper limits for a dipole anisotropy ranged from similar to 0.5% to similar to 10%.
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| 21. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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The Fermi Galactic Center GeV Excess and Implications for Dark Matter
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics Publishing. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 840:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The region around the Galactic Center (GC) is now well established to be brighter at energies of a few GeV than what is expected from conventional models of diffuse gamma-ray emission and catalogs of known gamma-ray sources. We study the GeV excess using 6.5 yr of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope. We characterize the uncertainty of the GC excess spectrum and morphology due to uncertainties in cosmic-ray source distributions and propagation, uncertainties in the distribution of interstellar gas in the Milky Way, and uncertainties due to a potential contribution from the Fermi bubbles. We also evaluate uncertainties in the excess properties due to resolved point sources of gamma rays. The GC is of particular interest, as it would be expected to have the brightest signal from annihilation of weakly interacting massive dark matter (DM) particles. However, control regions along the Galactic plane, where a DM signal is not expected, show excesses of similar amplitude relative to the local background. Based on the magnitude of the systematic uncertainties, we conservatively report upper limits for the annihilation cross-section as a function of particle mass and annihilation channel.
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| 22. |
- Ajello, M., et al.
(författare)
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High-energy emission from a magnetar giant flare in the Sculptor galaxy
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Nature. - 2397-3366. ; 5:4, s. 385-391
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Magnetars are the most highly magnetized neutron stars in the cosmos (with magnetic field 1013–1015 G). Giant flares from magnetars are rare, short-duration (about 0.1 s) bursts of hard X-rays and soft γ rays1,2. Owing to the limited sensitivity and energy coverage of previous telescopes, no magnetar giant flare has been detected at gigaelectronvolt (GeV) energies. Here, we report the discovery of GeV emission from a magnetar giant flare on 15 April 2020 (refs. 3,4 and A. J. Castro-Tirado et al., manuscript in preparation). The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected GeV γ rays from 19 s until 284 s after the initial detection of a signal in the megaelectronvolt (MeV) band. Our analysis shows that these γ rays are spatially associated with the nearby (3.5 megaparsecs) Sculptor galaxy and are unlikely to originate from a cosmological γ-ray burst. Thus, we infer that the γ rays originated with the magnetar giant flare in Sculptor. We suggest that the GeV signal is generated by an ultra-relativistic outflow that first radiates the prompt MeV-band photons, and then deposits its energy far from the stellar magnetosphere. After a propagation delay, the outflow interacts with environmental gas and produces shock waves that accelerate electrons to very high energies; these electrons then emit GeV γ rays as optically thin synchrotron radiation. This observation implies that a relativistic outflow is associated with the magnetar giant flare, and suggests the possibility that magnetars can power some short γ-ray bursts.
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| 23. |
- Abdollahi, S., et al.
(författare)
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Fermi Large Area Telescope Fourth Source Catalog
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 247:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the fourth Fermi Large Area Telescope catalog (4FGL) of gamma-ray sources. Based on the first eight years of science data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope mission in the energy range from 50 MeV to 1 TeV, it is the deepest yet in this energy range. Relative to the 3FGL catalog, the 4FGL catalog has twice as much exposure as well as a number of analysis improvements, including an updated model for the Galactic diffuse gamma-ray emission, and two sets of light curves (one-year and two-month intervals). The 4FGL catalog includes 5064 sources above 4 sigma significance, for which we provide localization and spectral properties. Seventy-five sources are modeled explicitly as spatially extended, and overall, 358 sources are considered as identified based on angular extent, periodicity, or correlated variability observed at other wavelengths. For 1336 sources, we have not found plausible counterparts at other wavelengths. More than 3130 of the identified or associated sources are active galaxies of the blazar class, and 239 are pulsars.
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| 24. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Dark matter constraints from observations of 25 Milky Way satellite galaxies with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
- 2014
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Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 89:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies of the Milky Way are some of the most dark-matter-dominated objects known. Due to their proximity, high dark matter content, and lack of astrophysical backgrounds, dwarf spheroidal galaxies are widely considered to be among the most promising targets for the indirect detection of dark matter via gamma rays. Here we report on.-ray observations of 25 Milky Way dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies based on 4 years of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data. None of the dwarf galaxies are significantly detected in. rays, and we present.-ray flux upper limits between 500 MeV and 500 GeV. We determine the dark matter content of 18 dwarf spheroidal galaxies from stellar kinematic data and combine LAT observations of 15 dwarf galaxies to constrain the dark matter annihilation cross section. We set some of the tightest constraints to date on the annihilation of dark matter particles with masses between 2 GeV and 10 TeV into prototypical standard model channels. We find these results to be robust against systematic uncertainties in the LAT instrument performance, diffuse.-ray background modeling, and assumed dark matter density profile.
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| 25. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Observations of M31 and M33 with the Fermi Large Area Telescope : A Galactic Center Excess in Andromeda?
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 836:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) has opened the way for comparative studies of cosmic rays (CRs) and high-energy objects in the Milky Way (MW) and in other, external, star-forming galaxies. Using 2 yr of observations with the Fermi LAT, Local Group galaxy M31 was detected as a marginally extended gamma-ray source, while only an upper limit has been derived for the other nearby galaxy M33. We revisited the gamma-ray emission in the direction of M31 and M33 using more than 7 yr of LAT Pass 8 data in the energy range 0.1-100 GeV, presenting detailed morphological and spectral analyses. M33 remains undetected, and we computed an upper limit of 2.0 x 10(-12) erg cm(-2) s(-1) on the 0.1-100 GeV energy flux (95% confidence level). This revised upper limit remains consistent with the observed correlation between gamma-ray luminosity and star formation rate tracers and implies an average CR density in M33 that is at most half of that of the MW. M31 is detected with a significance of nearly 10 sigma. Its spectrum is consistent with a power law with photon index Gamma = 2.4 +/- 0.1(stat) (vertical bar) (syst) and a 0.1-100 GeV energy flux of (5.6 +/- 0.6(stat vertical bar syst)) x 10(-12) erg cm(-1) s(-1). M31 is detected to be extended with a 4 sigma significance. The spatial distribution of the emission is consistent with a uniform-brightness disk with a radius of 0 degrees.4 and no offset from the center of the galaxy, but nonuniform intensity distributions cannot be excluded. The flux from M31 appears confined to the inner regions of the galaxy and does not fill the disk of the galaxy or extend far from it. The gamma-ray signal is not correlated with regions rich in gas or star formation activity, which suggests that the emission is not interstellar in origin, unless the energetic particles radiating in gamma rays do not originate in recent star formation. Alternative and nonexclusive interpretations are that the emission results from a population of millisecond pulsars dispersed in the bulge and disk of M31 by disrupted globular clusters or from the decay or annihilation of dark matter particles, similar to what has been proposed to account for the so-called Galactic center excess found in Fermi-LAT observations of the MW.
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