| 1. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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A Population of Gamma-Ray Millisecond Pulsars Seen with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
- 2009
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 325:5942, s. 848-852
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pulsars are born with subsecond spin periods and slow by electromagnetic braking for several tens of millions of years, when detectable radiation ceases. A second life can occur for neutron stars in binary systems. They can acquire mass and angular momentum from their companions, to be spun up to millisecond periods and begin radiating again. We searched Fermi Large Area Telescope data for pulsations from all known millisecond pulsars (MSPs) outside of globular clusters, using rotation parameters from radio telescopes. Strong gamma-ray pulsations were detected for eight MSPs. The gamma-ray pulse profiles and spectral properties resemble those of young gamma-ray pulsars. The basic emission mechanism seems to be the same for MSPs and young pulsars, with the emission originating in regions far from the neutron star surface.
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| 2. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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Detection of 16 Gamma-Ray Pulsars Through Blind Frequency Searches Using the Fermi LAT
- 2009
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 325:5942, s. 840-844
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pulsars are rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron stars emitting radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum. Although there are more than 1800 known radio pulsars, until recently only seven were observed to pulse in gamma rays, and these were all discovered at other wavelengths. The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) makes it possible to pinpoint neutron stars through their gamma-ray pulsations. We report the detection of 16 gamma-ray pulsars in blind frequency searches using the LAT. Most of these pulsars are coincident with previously unidentified gamma-ray sources, and many are associated with supernova remnants. Direct detection of gamma-ray pulsars enables studies of emission mechanisms, population statistics, and the energetics of pulsar wind nebulae and supernova remnants.
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| 3. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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Detection of High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from the Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae with Fermi
- 2009
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 325:5942, s. 845-848
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the detection of gamma-ray emissions above 200 megaelectron volts at a significance level of 17 sigma from the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, using data obtained with the Large Area Telescope onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Globular clusters are expected to emit gamma rays because of the large populations of millisecond pulsars that they contain. The spectral shape of 47 Tucanae is consistent with gamma-ray emission from a population of millisecond pulsars. The observed gamma-ray luminosity implies an upper limit of 60 millisecond pulsars present in 47 Tucanae.
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| 4. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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DISCOVERY OF PULSATIONS FROM THE PULSAR J0205+6449 IN SNR 3C 58 WITH THE FERMI GAMMA-RAY SPACE TELESCOPE
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8205 .- 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 699:2, s. L102-L107
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the discovery of gamma-ray pulsations (>= 0.1 GeV) from the young radio and X-ray pulsar PSR J0205 + 6449 located in the Galactic supernova remnant 3C 58. Data in the gamma-ray band were acquired by the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST), while the radio rotational ephemeris used to fold gamma-rays was obtained using both the Green Bank Telescope and the Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank. The light curve consists of two peaks separated by 0.49 +/- 0.01 +/- 0.01 cycles which are aligned with the X-ray peaks. The first gamma-ray peak trails the radio pulse by 0.08 +/- 0.01 +/- 0.01, while its amplitude decreases with increasing energy as for the other gamma-ray pulsars. Spectral analysis of the pulsed gamma-ray emission suggests a simple power law of index -2.1 +/- 0.1 +/- 0.2 with an exponential cutoff at 3.0(-0.7)(+1.1) +/- 0.4 GeV. The first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The integral gamma-ray photon flux above 0.1 GeV is (13.7 +/- 1.4 +/- 3.0) x 10(-8) cm(-2) s(-1), which implies for a distance of 3.2 kpc and assuming a broad fan-like beam a luminosity of 8.3 x 10(34) erg s(-1) and an efficiency eta of 0.3%. Finally, we report a 95% upper limit on the flux of 1.7 x 10(-8) cm(-2) s(-1) for off-pulse emission from the object.
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| 5. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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EARLY FERMI GAMMA-RAY SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS OF THE QUASAR 3C 454.3
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 699:1, s. 817-823
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This is the first report of Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope observations of the quasar 3C 454.3, which has been undergoing pronounced long-term outbursts since 2000. The data from the Large Area Telescope, covering 2008 July 7-October 6, indicate strong, highly variable.-ray emission with an average flux of similar to 3 x 10 (6) photons cm(-2) s(-1), for energies > 100 MeV. The gamma-ray flux is variable, with strong, distinct, symmetrically shaped flares for which the flux increases by a factor of several on a timescale of about 3 days. This variability indicates a compact emission region, and the requirement that the source is optically thin to pair production implies relativistic beaming with Doppler factor delta > 8, consistent with the values inferred from Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations of superluminal expansion (delta similar to 25). The observed gamma-ray spectrum is not consistent with a simple power law, but instead steepens strongly above similar to 2 GeV, and is well described by a broken power law with photon indices of similar to 2.3 and similar to 3.5 below and above the break, respectively. This is the first direct observation of a break in the spectrum of a high-luminosity blazar above 100 MeV, and it is likely direct evidence for an intrinsic break in the energy distribution of the radiating particles. Alternatively, the spectral softening above 2 GeV could be due to gamma-ray absorption via photon-photon pair production on the soft X-ray photon field of the host active galactic nucleus, but such an interpretation would require the dissipation region to be located very close (less than or similar to 100 gravitational radii) to the black hole, which would be inconsistent with the X-ray spectrum of the source.
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| 6. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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Fermi LAT Observation of Diffuse Gamma Rays Produced Through Interactions Between Local Interstellar Matter and High-energy Cosmic Rays
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 703:2, s. 1249-1256
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Observations by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi mission of diffuse γ-rays in a mid-latitude region in the third quadrant (Galactic longitude l from 200° to 260° and latitude |b| from 22° to 60°) are reported. The region contains no known large molecular cloud and most of the atomic hydrogen is within 1 kpc of the solar system. The contributions of γ-ray point sources and inverse Compton scattering are estimated and subtracted. The residual γ-ray intensity exhibits a linear correlation with the atomic gas column density in energy from 100 MeV to 10 GeV. The measured integrated γ-ray emissivity is (1.63 ± 0.05) × 10-26 photons s-1sr-1 H-atom-1 and (0.66 ± 0.02) × 10-26 photons s-1sr-1 H-atom-1 above 100 MeV and above 300 MeV, respectively, with an additional systematic error of ~10%. The differential emissivity from 100 MeV to 10 GeV agrees with calculations based on cosmic ray spectra consistent with those directly measured, at the 10% level. The results obtained indicate that cosmic ray nuclei spectra within 1 kpc from the solar system in regions studied are close to the local interstellar spectra inferred from direct measurements at the Earth within ~10%.
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| 7. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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Fermi/LAT observations of LS 5039
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 0571-7248 .- 2041-8205. ; 706:1, s. L56-L61
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The first results from observations of the high-mass X-ray binary LS 5039 using the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope data between 2008 August and 2009 June are presented. Our results indicate variability that is consistent with the binary period, with the emission being modulated with a period of 3.903 ± 0.005 days; the first detection of this modulation at GeV energies. The light curve is characterized by a broad peak around superior conjunction in agreement with inverse Compton scattering models. The spectrum is represented by a power law with an exponential cutoff, yielding an overall flux (100 MeV-300 GeV) of 4.9 ± 0.5(stat) ± 1.8(syst) ×10–7 photon cm–2 s–1, with a cutoff at 2.1 ± 0.3(stat) ± 1.1(syst) GeV and photon index Γ = 1.9 ± 0.1(stat) ± 0.3(syst). The spectrum is observed to vary with orbital phase, specifically between inferior and superior conjunction. We suggest that the presence of a cutoff in the spectrum may be indicative of magnetospheric emission similar to the emission seen in many pulsars by Fermi.
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| 8. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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FERMI OBSERVATIONS OF GRB 090902B : A DISTINCT SPECTRAL COMPONENT IN THE PROMPT AND DELAYED EMISSION
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8205 .- 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 706:1, s. L138-L144
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the observation of the bright, long gamma-ray burst (GRB), GRB 090902B, by the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and Large Area Telescope (LAT) instruments on-board the Fermi observatory. This was one of the brightest GRBs to have been observed by the LAT, which detected several hundred photons during the prompt phase. With a redshift of z = 1.822, this burst is among the most luminous detected by Fermi. Time-resolved spectral analysis reveals a significant power-law component in the LAT data that is distinct from the usual Band model emission that is seen in the sub-MeV energy range. This power-law component appears to extrapolate from the GeV range to the lowest energies and is more intense than the Band component, both below similar to 50 keV and above 100 MeV. The Band component undergoes substantial spectral evolution over the entire course of the burst, while the photon index of the power-law component remains constant for most of the prompt phase, then hardens significantly toward the end. After the prompt phase, power-law emission persists in the LAT data as late as 1 ks post-trigger, with its flux declining as t(-1.5). The LAT detected a photon with the highest energy so far measured from a GRB, 33.4(-3.5)(+ 2.7) GeV. This event arrived 82 s after the GBM trigger and similar to 50 s after the prompt phase emission had ended in the GBM band. We discuss the implications of these results for models of GRB emission and for constraints on models of the extragalactic background light.
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| 9. |
- Aharonian, F., et al.
(författare)
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SIMULTANEOUS OBSERVATIONS OF PKS 2155-304 WITH HESS, FERMI, RXTE, AND ATOM : SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS AND VARIABILITY IN A LOW STATE
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8205 .- 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 696:2, s. L150-L155
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on the first simultaneous observations that cover the optical, X-ray, and high-energy gamma-ray bands of the BL Lac object PKS 2155-304. The gamma-ray bands were observed for 11 days, between 2008 August 25 and 2008 September 6 (MJD 54704-54715), jointly with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and the HESS atmospheric Cherenkov array, providing the first simultaneous MeV-TeV spectral energy distribution (SED) with the new generation of gamma-ray telescopes. The ATOM telescope and the RXTE and Swift observatories provided optical and X-ray coverage of the low-energy component over the same time period. The object was close to the lowest archival X-ray and very high energy (VHE; > 100 GeV) state, whereas the optical flux was much higher. The light curves show relatively little (similar to 30%) variability overall when compared to past flaring episodes, but we find a clear optical/VHE correlation and evidence for a correlation of the X-rays with the high-energy spectral index. Contrary to previous observations in the flaring state, we do not find any correlation between the X-ray and VHE components. Although synchrotron self-Compton models are often invoked to explain the SEDs of BL Lac objects, the most common versions of these models are at odds with the correlated variability we find in the various bands for PKS 2155-304.
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| 10. |
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Modulated High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from the Microquasar Cygnus X-3
- 2009
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 326:5959, s. 1512-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Microquasars are accreting black holes or neutron stars in binary systems with associated relativistic jets. Despite their frequent outburst activity, they have never been unambiguously detected emitting high-energy gamma rays. The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) has detected a variable high-energy source coinciding with the position of the x-ray binary and microquasar Cygnus X-3. Its identification with Cygnus X-3 is secured by the detection of its orbital period in gamma rays, as well as the correlation of the LAT flux with radio emission from the relativistic jets of Cygnus X-3. The gamma-ray emission probably originates from within the binary system, opening new areas in which to study the formation of relativistic jets.
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