| 1. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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FERMI/LARGE AREA TELESCOPE BRIGHT GAMMA-RAY SOURCE LIST
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 183:1, s. 46-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Following its launch in 2008 June, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi) began a sky survey in August. The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on Fermi in three months produced a deeper and better resolved map of the gamma-ray sky than any previous space mission. We present here initial results for energies above 100 MeV for the 205 most significant (statistical significance greater than similar to 10 sigma) gamma-ray sources in these data. These are the best characterized and best localized point-like (i.e., spatially unresolved) gamma-ray sources in the early mission data.
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| 2. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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FERMI/LARGE AREA TELESCOPE DISCOVERY OF GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM THE FLAT-SPECTRUM RADIO QUASAR PKS 1454-354
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 697:1, s. 934-941
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the discovery by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope of high-energy gamma-ray (GeV) emission from the flat-spectrum radio quasar PKS 1454-354 (z = 1.424). On 2008 September 4, the source rose to a peak flux of (3.5 +/- 0.7) x 10(-6) ph cm(-2) s(-1) (E > 100 MeV) on a timescale of hours and then slowly dropped over the following 2 days. No significant spectral changes occurred during the flare. Fermi/LAT observations also showed that PKS 1454-354 is the most probable counterpart of the unidentified EGRET source 3EG J1500-3509. Multiwavelength measurements performed during the following days (7 September with Swift; 6-7 September with the ground-based optical telescope Automated Telescope for Optical Monitoring; 13 September with the Australia Telescope Compact Array) resulted in radio, optical, UV, and X-ray fluxes greater than archival data, confirming the activity of PKS 1454-354.
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| 3. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS OF THE VELA PULSAR
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 696:2, s. 1084-1093
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Vela pulsar is the brightest persistent source in the GeV sky and thus is the traditional first target for new gamma-ray observatories. We report here on initial Fermi Large Area Telescope observations during verification phase pointed exposure and early sky survey scanning. We have used the Vela signal to verify Fermi timing and angular resolution. The high-quality pulse profile, with some 32,400 pulsed photons at E >= 0.03 GeV, shows new features, including pulse structure as fine as 0.3 ms and a distinct third peak, which shifts in phase with energy. We examine the high-energy behavior of the pulsed emission; initial spectra suggest a phase-averaged power-law index of Gamma = 1.51(-0.04)(+0.05) with an exponential cutoff at E-c = 2.9 +/- 0.1 GeV. Spectral fits with generalized cutoffs of the form e(-(E/Ec)b) require b <= 1, which is inconsistent with magnetic pair attenuation, and thus favor outer-magnetosphere emission models. Finally, we report on upper limits to any unpulsed component, as might be associated with a surrounding pulsar wind nebula.
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| 4. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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BRIGHT ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI SOURCE LIST FROM THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THE FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE ALL-SKY SURVEY
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 700:1, s. 597-622
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The first three months of sky-survey operation with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope reveal 132 bright sources at |b| > 10 degrees with test statistic greater than 100 ( corresponding to about 10 sigma). Two methods, based on the CGRaBS, CRATES, and BZCat catalogs, indicate high-confidence associations of 106 of these sources with known active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This sample is referred to as the LAT Bright AGN Sample (LBAS). It contains two radio galaxies, namely, Centaurus A and NGC 1275, and 104 blazars consisting of 58 flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), 42 BL Lac objects, and 4 blazars with unknown classification. Four new blazars were discovered on the basis of the LAT detections. Remarkably, the LBAS includes 10 high-energy-peaked BL Lacs (HBLs), sources which were previously difficult to detect in the GeV range. Another 10 lower-confidence associations are found. Only 33 of the sources, plus two at |b| < 10 degrees, were previously detected with Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope( EGRET), probably due to variability. The analysis of the gamma-ray properties of the LBAS sources reveals that the average GeV spectra of BL Lac objects are significantly harder than the spectra of FSRQs. No significant correlation between radio and peak gamma-ray fluxes is observed. Blazar log N-log S distributions and luminosity functions are constructed to investigate the evolution of the different blazar classes, with positive evolution indicated for FSRQs but none for BL Lacs. The contribution of LAT blazars to the total extragalactic gamma-ray intensity is estimated.
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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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The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope Discovers the Pulsar in the Young Galactic Supernova Remnant CTA 1
- 2008
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 322:5905, s. 1218-1221
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Energetic young pulsars and expanding blast waves [ supernova remnants (SNRs)] are the most visible remains after massive stars, ending their lives, explode in core-collapse supernovae. The Fermi Gamma- Ray Space Telescope has unveiled a radio quiet pulsar located near the center of the compact synchrotron nebula inside the supernova remnant CTA 1. The pulsar, discovered through its gamma- ray pulsations, has a period of 316.86 milliseconds and a period derivative of 3.614 x 10(-13) seconds per second. Its characteristic age of 10(4) years is comparable to that estimated for the SNR. We speculate that most unidentified Galactic gamma- ray sources associated with star- forming regions and SNRs are such young pulsars.
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| 7. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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Measurement of the Cosmic Ray e(+)+e(-) Spectrum from 20 GeV to 1 TeV with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
- 2009
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Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 102:Article number: 181101
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Designed as a high-sensitivity gamma-ray observatory, the Fermi Large Area Telescope is also an electron detector with a large acceptance exceeding 2 m(2) sr at 300 GeV. Building on the gamma-ray analysis, we have developed an efficient electron detection strategy which provides sufficient background rejection for measurement of the steeply falling electron spectrum up to 1 TeV. Our high precision data show that the electron spectrum falls with energy as E-3.0 and does not exhibit prominent spectral features. Interpretations in terms of a conventional diffusive model as well as a potential local extra component are briefly discussed.
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| 8. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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FERMI DISCOVERY OF GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM NGC 1275
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 699:1, s. 31-39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the discovery of high-energy (E > 100 MeV) gamma-ray emission from NGC 1275, a giant elliptical galaxy lying at the center of the Perseus cluster of galaxies, based on observations made with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The positional center of the gamma-ray source is only approximate to 3' away from the NGC 1275 nucleus, well within the 95% LAT error circle of approximate to 5'. The spatial distribution of gamma-ay photons is consistent with a point source. The average flux and power-law photon index measured with the LAT from 2008 August 4 to 2008 December 5 are F-gamma = (2.10 +/- 0.23) x 10(-7) ph (>100 MeV) cm(-2) s(-1) and Gamma = 2.17 +/- 0.05, respectively. The measurements are statistically consistent with constant flux during the four-month LAT observing period. Previous EGRET observations gave an upper limit of F-gamma < 3.72 x 10(-8) ph (>100 MeV) cm(-2) s(-1) to the gamma-ray flux from NGC 1275. This indicates that the source is variable on timescales of years to decades, and therefore restricts the fraction of emission that can be produced in extended regions of the galaxy cluster. Contemporaneous and historical radio observations are also reported. The broadband spectrum of NGC 1275 is modeled with a simple one-zone synchrotron/synchrotron self-Compton model and a model with a decelerating jet flow.
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| 9. |
- Abdo, A. A., et al.
(författare)
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FERMI/LARGE AREA TELESCOPE DISCOVERY OF GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM A RELATIVISTIC JET IN THE NARROW-LINE QUASAR PMN J0948+0022
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 699:2, s. 976-984
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the discovery by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope of high-energy. gamma-ray emission from the peculiar quasar PMN J0948+0022 (z = 0.5846). The optical spectrum of this object exhibits rather narrow H beta (FWHM(H beta) similar to 1500 km s(-1)), weak forbidden lines, and is therefore classified as a narrow-line type I quasar. This class of objects is thought to have relatively small black hole mass and to accrete at a high Eddington ratio. The radio loudness and variability of the compact radio core indicate the presence of a relativistic jet. Quasi-simultaneous radio/optical/X-ray and gamma-ray observations are presented. Both radio and gamma-ray emissions (observed over five months) are strongly variable. The simultaneous optical and X-ray data from Swift show a blue continuum attributed to the accretion disk and a hard X-ray spectrum attributed to the jet. The resulting broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) and, in particular, the gamma-ray spectrum measured by Fermi are similar to those of more powerful Flat-Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs). A comparison of the radio and gamma-ray characteristics of PMN J0948+0022 with the other blazars detected by LAT shows that this source has a relatively low radio and gamma-ray power with respect to other FSRQs. The physical parameters obtained from modeling the SED also fall at the low power end of the FSRQ parameter region discussed in Celotti & Ghisellini. We suggest that the similarity of the SED of PMN J0948+0022 to that of more massive and more powerful quasars can be understood in a scenario in which the SED properties depend on the Eddington ratio rather than on the absolute power.
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| 10. |
- Birney, Ewan, et al.
(författare)
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Identification and analysis of functional elements in 1% of the human genome by the ENCODE pilot project
- 2007
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 447:7146, s. 799-816
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the generation and analysis of functional data from multiple, diverse experiments performed on a targeted 1% of the human genome as part of the pilot phase of the ENCODE Project. These data have been further integrated and augmented by a number of evolutionary and computational analyses. Together, our results advance the collective knowledge about human genome function in several major areas. First, our studies provide convincing evidence that the genome is pervasively transcribed, such that the majority of its bases can be found in primary transcripts, including non-protein-coding transcripts, and those that extensively overlap one another. Second, systematic examination of transcriptional regulation has yielded new understanding about transcription start sites, including their relationship to specific regulatory sequences and features of chromatin accessibility and histone modification. Third, a more sophisticated view of chromatin structure has emerged, including its inter-relationship with DNA replication and transcriptional regulation. Finally, integration of these new sources of information, in particular with respect to mammalian evolution based on inter- and intra-species sequence comparisons, has yielded new mechanistic and evolutionary insights concerning the functional landscape of the human genome. Together, these studies are defining a path for pursuit of a more comprehensive characterization of human genome function.
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