| 1. |
- Archambault, S., et al.
(författare)
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Deep Broadband Observations of the Distant Gamma-Ray Blazar PKS 1424+240
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 785:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present deep VERITAS observations of the blazar PKS 1424+240, along with contemporaneous Fermi Large Area Telescope, Swift X-ray Telescope, and Swift UV Optical Telescope data between 2009 February 19 and 2013 June 8. This blazar resides at a redshift of z ≥ 0.6035, displaying a significantly attenuated gamma-ray flux above 100 GeV due to photon absorption via pair-production with the extragalactic background light. We present more than 100 hr of VERITAS observations over three years, a multiwavelength light curve, and the contemporaneous spectral energy distributions. The source shows a higher flux of (2.1 ± 0.3) × 10–7 photons m–2 s–1 above 120 GeV in 2009 and 2011 as compared to the flux measured in 2013, corresponding to (1.02 ± 0.08) × 10–7 photons m–2 s–1 above 120 GeV. The measured differential very high energy (VHE; E ≥ 100 GeV) spectral indices are Γ = 3.8 ± 0.3, 4.3 ± 0.6 and 4.5 ± 0.2 in 2009, 2011, and 2013, respectively. No significant spectral change across the observation epochs is detected. We find no evidence for variability at gamma-ray opacities of greater than τ = 2, where it is postulated that any variability would be small and occur on timescales longer than a year if hadronic cosmic-ray interactions with extragalactic photon fields provide a secondary VHE photon flux. The data cannot rule out such variability due to low statistics.
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| 2. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Fermi-LAT Observations of the Gamma-Ray Burst GRB 130427A
- 2014
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 343:6166, s. 42-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The observations of the exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst (GRB) 130427A by the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope provide constraints on the nature of these unique astrophysical sources. GRB 130427A had the largest fluence, highest-energy photon (95 GeV), longest gamma-ray duration (20 hours), and one of the largest isotropic energy releases ever observed from a GRB. Temporal and spectral analyses of GRB 130427A challenge the widely accepted model that the nonthermal high-energy emission in the afterglow phase of GRBs is synchrotron emission radiated by electrons accelerated at an external shock.
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| 3. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Fermi establishes classical novae as a distinct class of gamma-ray sources
- 2014
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 345:6196, s. 554-558
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A classical nova results from runaway thermonuclear explosions on the surface of a white dwarf that accretes matter from a low-mass main-sequence stellar companion. In 2012 and 2013, three novae were detected in gamma rays and stood in contrast to the first gamma-ray-detected nova V407 Cygni 2010, which belongs to a rare class of symbiotic binary systems. Despite likely differences in the compositions and masses of their white dwarf progenitors, the three classical novae are similarly characterized as soft-spectrum transient gamma-ray sources detected over 2- to 3-week durations. The gamma-ray detections point to unexpected high-energy particle acceleration processes linked to the mass ejection from thermonuclear explosions in an unanticipated class of Galactic gamma-ray sources.
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| 4. |
- Preece, R., et al.
(författare)
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The First Pulse of the Extremely Bright GRB 130427A : A Test Lab for Synchrotron Shocks
- 2014
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 343:6166, s. 51-54
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gamma-ray burst (GRB) 130427A is one of the most energetic GRBs ever observed. The initial pulse up to 2.5 seconds is possibly the brightest well-isolated pulse observed to date. A fine time resolution spectral analysis shows power-law decays of the peak energy from the onset of the pulse, consistent with models of internal synchrotron shock pulses. However, a strongly correlated power-law behavior is observed between the luminosity and the spectral peak energy that is inconsistent with curvature effects arising in the relativistic outflow. It is difficult for any of the existing models to account for all of the observed spectral and temporal behaviors simultaneously.
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| 5. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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Inferred Cosmic-Ray Spectrum from Fermi Large Area Telescope gamma-Ray Observations of Earth's Limb
- 2014
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 112:15, s. 151103-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent accurate measurements of cosmic-ray (CR) species by ATIC-2, CREAM, and PAMELA reveal an unexpected hardening in the proton and He spectra above a few hundred GeV, a gradual softening of the spectra just below a few hundred GeV, and a harder spectrum of He compared to that of protons. These newly discovered features may offer a clue to the origin of high-energy CRs. We use the Fermi Large Area Telescope observations of the gamma-ray emission from Earth's limb for an indirect measurement of the local spectrum of CR protons in the energy range similar to 90 GeV-6 TeV (derived from a photon energy range 15 GeV-1 TeV). Our analysis shows that single power law and broken power law spectra fit the data equally well and yield a proton spectrum with index 2.68 +/- 0.04 and 2.61 +/- 0.08 above similar to 200 GeV, respectively.
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| 6. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM SOLAR FLARES : SUMMARY OF FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE DETECTIONS AND ANALYSIS OF TWO M-CLASS FLARES
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 787:1, s. 15-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the detections of 18 solar flares detected in high-energy gamma-rays (above 100 MeV) with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) during its first 4 yr of operation. This work suggests that particle acceleration up to very high energies in solar flares is more common than previously thought, occurring even in modest flares, and for longer durations. Interestingly, all these flares are associated with fairly fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs). We then describe the detailed temporal, spatial, and spectral characteristics of the first two long-lasting events: the 2011 March 7 flare, a moderate (M3.7) impulsive flare followed by slowly varying gamma-ray emission over 13 hr, and the 2011 June 7 M2.5 flare, which was followed by gamma-ray emission lasting for 2 hr. We compare the Fermi LAT data with X-ray and proton data measurements from GOES and RHESSI. We argue that the gamma-rays are more likely produced through pion decay than electron bremsstrahlung, and we find that the energy spectrum of the proton distribution softens during the extended emission of the 2011 March 7 flare. This would disfavor a trapping scenario for particles accelerated during the impulsive phase of the flare and point to a continuous acceleration process at play for the duration of the flares. CME shocks are known for accelerating the solar energetic particles (SEPs) observed in situ on similar timescales, but it might be challenging to explain the production of gamma-rays at the surface of the Sun while the CME is halfway to the Earth. A stochastic turbulence acceleration process occurring in the solar corona is another likely scenario. Detailed comparison of characteristics of SEPs and gamma-ray-emitting particles for several flares will be helpful to distinguish between these two possibilities.
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| 7. |
- Barbiellini, G., et al.
(författare)
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Fermi Large Area Telescope Observations of Blazar 3C 279 Occultations by the Sun
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 784:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Observations of occultations of bright. gamma-ray sources by the Sun may reveal predicted pair halos around blazars and/or new physics, such as, e.g., hypothetical light dark matter particles-axions. We use Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope (Fermi) data to analyze four occultations of blazar 3C 279 by theSun on October 8 each year from 2008 to 2011. A combined analysis of the observations of these occultations allows a point-like source at the position of 3C279 to be detected with significance of approximate to 3 sigma, but does not reveal any significant excess over the flux expected from the quiescent Sun.The likelihood ratio test rules out complete transparency of the Sun to the blazar. gamma-ray emission at a 3s confidence level.
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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. |
- Ajello, M., et al.
(författare)
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Impulsive and long duration high-energy gamma-ray emission from the very bright 2012 march 7 solar flares
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 789:1, s. 20-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) detected gamma-rays up to 4 GeV from two bright X-class solar flares on 2012 March 7, showing both an impulsive and temporally extended emission phases. The gamma-rays appear to originate from the same active region as the X-rays associated with these flares. The >100 MeV gamma-ray flux decreases monotonically during the first hour (impulsive phase) followed by a slower decrease for the next 20 hr. A power law with a high-energy exponential cutoff can adequately describe the photon spectrum. Assuming that the gamma rays result from the decay of pions produced by accelerated protons and ions with a power-law spectrum, we find that the index of that spectrum is similar to 3, with minor variations during the impulsive phase. During the extended phase the photon spectrum softens monotonically, requiring the proton index varying from similar to 4 to >5. The >30 MeV proton flux observed by the GOES satellites also shows a flux decrease and spectral softening, but with a harder spectrum (index similar to 2-3). Based on these observations, we explore the relative merits of prompt or continuous acceleration scenarios, hadronic or leptonic emission processes, and acceleration at the solar corona or by the fast coronal mass ejections. We conclude that the most likely scenario is continuous acceleration of protons in the solar corona that penetrate the lower solar atmosphere and produce pions that decay into gamma rays. However, acceleration in the downstream of the shock cannot be definitely ruled out.
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| 10. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
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SEARCH FOR COSMIC-RAY-INDUCED GAMMA-RAY EMISSION IN GALAXY CLUSTERS
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 787:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Current theories predict relativistic hadronic particle populations in clusters of galaxies in addition to the already observed relativistic leptons. In these scenarios hadronic interactions give rise to neutral pions which decay into gamma rays that are potentially observable with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi space telescope. We present a joint likelihood analysis searching for spatially extended gamma-ray emission at the locations of 50 galaxy clusters in four years of Fermi-LAT data under the assumption of the universal cosmic-ray (CR) model proposed by Pinzke & Pfrommer. We find an excess at a significance of 2.7 sigma, which upon closer inspection, however, is correlated to individual excess emission toward three galaxy clusters: A400, A1367, and A3112. We discuss these cases in detail and conservatively attribute the emission to unmodeled background systems (for example, radio galaxies within the clusters). Through the combined analysis of 50 clusters, we exclude hadronic injection efficiencies in simple hadronic models above 21% and establish limits on the CR to thermal pressure ratio within the virial radius, R-200, to be below 1.25%-1.4% depending on the morphological classification. In addition, we derive new limits on the gamma-ray flux from individual clusters in our sample.
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