| 1. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Charged-Particle Multiplicity Density at Midrapidity in Central Pb-Pb Collisions at root s(NN)=2.76 TeV
- 2010
-
In: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114. ; 105:25
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The first measurement of the charged-particle multiplicity density at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon pair root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV is presented. For an event sample corresponding to the most central 5% of the hadronic cross section, the pseudorapidity density of primary charged particles at midrapidity is 1584 +/- 4(stat) +/- 76(syst), which corresponds to 8.3 +/- 0.4(syst) per participating nucleon pair. This represents an increase of about a factor 1.9 relative to pp collisions at similar collision energies, and about a factor 2.2 to central Au-Au collisions at root s(NN) = 0.2 TeV. This measurement provides the first experimental constraint for models of nucleus-nucleus collisions at LHC energies.
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| 2. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Elliptic Flow of Charged Particles in Pb-Pb Collisions at root s(NN)=2.76 TeV
- 2010
-
In: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114. ; 105:25
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the first measurement of charged particle elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) p = 2.76 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region (vertical bar eta vertical bar < 0.8) and transverse momentum range 0.2 < p(t) < 5.0 GeV/c. The elliptic flow signal v(2), measured using the 4-particle correlation method, averaged over transverse momentum and pseudorapidity is 0.087 +/- 0.002(stat) +/- 0.003(syst) in the 40%-50% centrality class. The differential elliptic flow v(2)(p(t)) reaches a maximum of 0.2 near p(t) = 3 GeV/c. Compared to RHIC Au-Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV, the elliptic flow increases by about 30%. Some hydrodynamic model predictions which include viscous corrections are in agreement with the observed increase.
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| 3. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Charged-particle multiplicity measurement in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV with ALICE at LHC
- 2010
-
In: European Physical Journal C. Particles and Fields. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044. ; 68:3-4, s. 345-354
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The pseudorapidity density and multiplicity distribution of charged particles produced in proton-proton collisions at the LHC, at a centre-of-mass energy root s = 7 TeV, were measured in the central pseudorapidity region vertical bar eta vertical bar < 1. Comparisons are made with previous measurements at root s = 0.9 TeV and 2.36 TeV. At root s = 7 TeV, for events with at least one charged particle in |eta vertical bar| < 1, we obtain dN(ch)/d eta = 6.01 +/- 0.01(stat.)(-0.12)(+0.20) (syst.). This corresponds to an increase of 57.6%+/-0.4%(stat.)(-1.8%)(+3.6) (syst.) relative to collisions at 0.9 TeV, significantly higher than calculations from commonly used models. The multiplicity distribution at 7 TeV is described fairly well by the negative binomial distribution.
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| 4. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
First proton-proton collisions at the LHC as observed with the ALICE detector: measurement of the charged-particle pseudorapidity density at root s=900 GeV
- 2010
-
In: European Physical Journal C. Particles and Fields. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044. ; 65:1-2, s. 111-125
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- On 23rd November 2009, during the early commissioning of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC), two counter-rotating proton bunches were circulated for the first time concurrently in the machine, at the LHC injection energy of 450 GeV per beam. Although the proton intensity was very low, with only one pilot bunch per beam, and no systematic attempt was made to optimize the collision optics, all LHC experiments reported a number of collision candidates. In the ALICE experiment, the collision region was centred very well in both the longitudinal and transverse directions and 284 events were recorded in coincidence with the two passing proton bunches. The events were immediately reconstructed and analyzed both online and offline. We have used these events to measure the pseudorapidity density of charged primary particles in the central region. In the range vertical bar eta vertical bar < 0.5, we obtain dN(ch)/d eta = 3.10 +/- 0.13(stat.) +/- 0.22(syst.) for all inelastic interactions, and dN(ch)/d eta = 3.51 +/- 0.15(stat.) +/- 0.25(syst.) for nonsingle diffractive interactions. These results are consistent with previous measurements in proton-antiproton interactions at the same centre-of-mass energy at the CERN Sp<(p)over bar>S collider. They also illustrate the excellent functioning and rapid progress of the LHC accelerator, and of both the hardware and software of the ALICE experiment, in this early start-up phase.
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| 5. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Alignment of the ALICE Inner Tracking System with cosmic-ray tracks
- 2010
-
In: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 5
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) experiment devoted to investigating the strongly interacting matter created in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC energies. The ALICE ITS, Inner Tracking System, consists of six cylindrical layers of silicon detectors with three different technologies; in the outward direction: two layers of pixel detectors, two layers each of drift, and strip detectors. The number of parameters to be determined in the spatial alignment of the 2198 sensor modules of the ITS is about 13,000. The target alignment precision is well below 10 mu m in some cases (pixels). The sources of alignment information include survey measurements, and the reconstructed tracks from cosmic rays and from proton-proton collisions. The main track-based alignment method uses the Millepede global approach. An iterative local method was developed and used as well. We present the results obtained for the ITS alignment using about 10(5) charged tracks from cosmic rays that have been collected during summer 2008, with the ALICE solenoidal magnet switched off.
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| 6. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Charged-particle multiplicity measurement in proton-proton collisions at root s=0.9 and 2.36 TeV with ALICE at LHC
- 2010
-
In: European Physical Journal C. Particles and Fields. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044. ; 68:1-2, s. 89-108
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Charged-particle production was studied in proton-proton collisions collected at the LHC with the ALICE detector at centre-of-mass energies 0.9 TeV and 2.36 TeV in the pseudorapidity range vertical bar eta vertical bar < 1.4. In the central region (vertical bar eta vertical bar < 0.5), at 0.9 TeV, we measure charged-particle pseudo-rapidity density dN(ch)/d eta = 3.02 +/- 0.01(stat.)(-0.05)(+0.08)(syst.) for inelastic interactions, and dN(ch)/d eta = 3.58 +/- 0.01 (stat.)(-0.12)(+0.12)(syst.) for non-single-diffractive interactions. At 2.36 TeV, we find dN(ch)/d eta = 3.77 +/- 0.01(stat.)(-0.12)(+0.25)(syst.) for inelastic, and dN(ch)/d eta = 4.43 +/- 0.01(stat.)(-0.12)(+0.17)(syst.) for non-single-diffractive collisions. The relative increase in charged-particle multiplicity from the lower to higher energy is 24.7% +/- 0.5%(stat.)(-2.8)(+5.7)%(syst.) for inelastic and 23.7% +/- 0.5%(stat.)(-1.1)(+4.6)%(syst.) for non-single-diffractive interactions. This increase is consistent with that reported by the CMS collaboration for non-single-diffractive events and larger than that found by a number of commonly used models. The multiplicity distribution was measured in different pseudorapidity intervals and studied in terms of KNO variables at both energies. The results are compared to proton-antiproton data and to model predictions.
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| 7. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Midrapidity Antiproton-to-Proton Ratio in pp Collisons root s=0.9 and 7 TeV Measured by the ALICE Experiment
- 2010
-
In: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114. ; 105:7
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The ratio of the yields of antiprotons to protons in pp collisions has been measured by the ALICE experiment at root s = 0.9 and 7 TeV during the initial running periods of the Large Hadron Collider. The measurement covers the transverse momentum interval 0.45 < p(t) < 1.05 GeV/c and rapidity vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.5. The ratio is measured to be R-vertical bar y vertical bar<0.5 = 0.957 +/- 0.006(stat) +/- 0.0014(syst) at 0.9 Tev and R-vertical bar y vertical bar<0.5 = 0.991 +/- 0.005 +/- 0.014(syst) at 7 TeV and it is independent of both rapidity and transverse momentum. The results are consistent with the conventional model of baryon-number transport and set stringent limits on any additional contributions to baryon-number transfer over very large rapidity intervals in pp collisions.
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| 8. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
The ALICE experiment at the CERN LHC
- 2008
-
In: Journal of Instrumentation. - 1748-0221. ; 3:S08002
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is a general-purpose, heavy-ion detector at the CERN LHC which focuses on QCD, the strong-interaction sector of the Standard Model. It is designed to address the physics of strongly interacting matter and the quark-gluon plasma at extreme values of energy density and temperature in nucleus-nucleus collisions. Besides running with Pb ions, the physics programme includes collisions with lighter ions, lower energy running and dedicated proton-nucleus runs. ALICE will also take data with proton beams at the top LHC energy to collect reference data for the heavy-ion programme and to address several QCD topics for which ALICE is complementary to the other LHC detectors. The ALICE detector has been built by a collaboration including currently over 1000 physicists and engineers from 105 Institutes in 30 countries, Its overall dimensions are 16 x 16 x 26 m(3) with a total weight of approximately 10 000 t. The experiment consists of 18 different detector systems each with its own specific technology choice and design constraints, driven both by the physics requirements and the experimental conditions expected at LHC. The most stringent design constraint is to cope with the extreme particle multiplicity anticipated in central Pb-Pb collisions. The different subsystems were optimized to provide high-momentum resolution as well as excellent Particle Identification (PID) over a broad range in momentum, up to the highest multiplicities predicted for LHC. This will allow for comprehensive studies of hadrons, electrons, muons, and photons produced in the collision of heavy nuclei. Most detector systems are scheduled to be installed and ready for data taking by mid-2008 when the LHC is scheduled to start operation, with the exception of parts of the Photon Spectrometer (PHOS), Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) and Electro Magnetic Calorimeter (EMCal). These detectors will be completed for the high-luminosity ion run expected in 2010. This paper describes in detail the detector components as installed for the first data taking in the summer of 2008.
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| 9. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Transverse momentum spectra of charged particles in proton-proton collisions at root s=900 GeV with ALICE at the LHC
- 2010
-
In: Physics Letters. Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-2693. ; 693:2, s. 53-68
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The inclusive charged particle transverse momentum distribution is measured in proton-proton collisions at root s = 900 GeV at the LHC using the ALICE detector. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region (vertical bar eta vertical bar < 0.8) over the transverse momentum range 0.15 < p(T) < 10 GeV/c. The correlation between transverse momentum and particle multiplicity is also studied. Results are presented for inelastic (INEL) and non-single-diffractive (NSD) events. The average transverse momentum for vertical bar eta vertical bar < 0.8 is < p(T)>(INEL) = 0.483 +/- 0.001 (stat.) +/- 0.007 (syst.) GeV/c and < p(T)>(NSD) = 0.489 +/- 0.001 (stat.) +/- 0.007 (syst.) GeV/c, respectively. The data exhibit a slightly larger < p(T)> than measurements in wider pseudorapidity intervals. The results are compared to simulations with the Monte Carlo event generators PYTHIA and PHOJET. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.
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| 10. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in pp collisions at root s=900 GeV
- 2010
-
In: Physical Review D (Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology). - 1550-2368. ; 82:5
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on the measurement of two-pion correlation functions from pp collisions at root s = 900 GeV performed by the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. Our analysis shows an increase of the Hanbury Brown-Twiss radius with increasing event multiplicity, in line with other measurements done in particle- and nuclear collisions. Conversely, the strong decrease of the radius with increasing transverse momentum, as observed at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and at Tevatron, is not manifest in our data.
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| 11. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Production of pions, kaons and protons in pp collisions at root s=900 GeV with ALICE at the LHC
- 2011
-
In: European Physical Journal C. Particles and Fields. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044. ; 71:6
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The production of pi(+), pi(-), K+, K-, p, and (p) over bar at mid-rapidity has been measured in proton-proton collisions at root s = 900 GeV with the ALICE detector. Particle identification is performed using the specific energy loss in the inner tracking silicon detector and the time projection chamber. In addition, time-of-flight information is used to identify hadrons at higher momenta. Finally, the distinctive kink topology of the weak decay of charged kaons is used for an alternative measurement of the kaon transverse momentum (p(t)) spectra. Since these various particle identification tools give the best separation capabilities over different momentum ranges, the results are combined to extract spectra from p(t) = 100 MeV/c to 2.5 GeV/c. The measured spectra are further compared with QCD-inspired models which yield a poor description. The total yields and the mean pt are compared with previous measurements, and the trends as a function of collision energy are discussed.
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| 12. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Centrality Dependence of the Charged-Particle Multiplicity Density at Midrapidity in Pb-Pb Collisions at root s(NN)=2.76 TeV
- 2011
-
In: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114. ; 106:3
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The centrality dependence of the charged-particle multiplicity density at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2: 76 TeV is presented. The charged-particle density normalized per participating nucleon pair increases by about a factor of 2 from peripheral (70%-80%) to central (0%-5%) collisions. The centrality dependence is found to be similar to that observed at lower collision energies. The data are compared with models based on different mechanisms for particle production in nuclear collisions.
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| 13. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Femtoscopy of pp collisions at root s=0.9 and 7 TeV at the LHC with two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations
- 2011
-
In: Physical Review D (Particles, Fields, Gravitation and Cosmology). - 1550-2368. ; 84:11
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on the high statistics two-pion correlation functions from pp collisions at root s = 0.9 TeV and root s = 7 TeV, measured by the ALICE experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. The correlation functions as well as the extracted source radii scale with event multiplicity and pair momentum. When analyzed in the same multiplicity and pair transverse momentum range, the correlation is similar at the two collision energies. A three-dimensional femtoscopic analysis shows an increase of the emission zone with increasing event multiplicity as well as decreasing homogeneity lengths with increasing transverse momentum. The latter trend gets more pronounced as multiplicity increases. This suggests the development of space-momentum correlations, at least for collisions producing a high multiplicity of particles. We consider these trends in the context of previous femtoscopic studies in high-energy hadron and heavy-ion collisions and discuss possible underlying physics mechanisms. Detailed analysis of the correlation reveals an exponential shape in the outward and longitudinal directions, while the sideward remains a Gaussian. This is interpreted as a result of a significant contribution of strongly decaying resonances to the emission region shape. Significant nonfemtoscopic correlations are observed, and are argued to be the consequence of "mini-jet"-like structures extending to low p(t). They are well reproduced by the Monte-Carlo generators and seen also in pi(+)pi(-) correlations.
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| 14. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Strange particle production in proton-proton collisions at root s=0.9 TeV with ALICE at the LHC
- 2011
-
In: European Physical Journal C. Particles and Fields. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6044. ; 71:3
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The production of mesons containing strange quarks (K-S(0), phi) and both singly and doubly strange baryons (Lambda, (Lambda) over bar, and Xi(-) + (Xi) over bar (+)) are measured at mid-rapidity in pp collisions at root s = 0.9 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The results are obtained from the analysis of about 250 k minimum bias events recorded in 2009. Measurements of yields (dN/dy) and transverse momentum spectra at mid-rapidity for inelastic pp collisions are presented. For mesons, we report yields (< dN/dy >) of 0.184 +/- 0.002(stat.) +/- 0.006(syst.) for K-S(0) and 0.021 +/- 0.004(stat.) +/- 0.003(syst.) for phi. For baryons, we find < dN/dy > = 0.048 +/- 0.001(stat.) +/- 0.004(syst.) for Lambda, 0.047 +/- 0.002(stat.) +/- 0.005(syst.) for (Lambda) over bar and 0.0101 +/- 0.0020(stat.) +/- 0.0009(syst.) for Xi(-) + (Xi) over bar (+). The results are also compared with predictions for identified particle spectra from QCD-inspired models and provide a baseline for comparisons with both future pp measurements at higher energies and heavy-ion collisions.
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| 15. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Suppression of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in central Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76 TeV
- 2011
-
In: Physics Letters. Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-2693. ; 696:1-2, s. 30-39
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Inclusive transverse momentum spectra of primary charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV have been measured by the ALICE Collaboration at the LHC. The data are presented for central and peripheral collisions, corresponding to 0-5% and 70-80% of the hadronic Pb-Pb cross section. The measured charged particle spectra in |eta| < 0.8 and 0.3 < p(T) < 20 GeV/c are compared to the expectation in pp collisions at the same root s(NN), scaled by the number of underlying nucleon-nucleon collisions. The comparison is expressed in terms of the nuclear modification factor R-AA. The result indicates only weak medium effects (R-AA approximate to 0.7) in peripheral collisions. In central collisions, R-AA reaches a minimum of about 0.14 at p(T) = 6-7 GeV/c and increases significantly at larger p(T). The measured suppression of high-p(T) particles is stronger than that observed at lower collision energies, indicating that a very dense medium is formed in central Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC. (C) 2010 CERN. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 16. |
- Aamodt, K., et al.
(author)
-
Two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in central Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV
- 2011
-
In: Physics Letters. Section B: Nuclear, Elementary Particle and High-Energy Physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-2693. ; 696:4, s. 328-337
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The first measurement of two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in central Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV at the Large Hadron Collider is presented. We observe a growing trend with energy now not only for the longitudinal and the outward but also for the sideward pion source radius. The pion homogeneity volume and the decoupling time are significantly larger than those measured at RHIC. (C) 2010 CERN. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 17. |
- Abdollahi, S., et al.
(author)
-
Fermi Large Area Telescope Fourth Source Catalog
- 2020
-
In: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 247:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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| 18. |
- Abdollahi, S., et al.
(author)
-
Incremental Fermi Large Area Telescope Fourth Source Catalog
- 2022
-
In: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 260:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present an incremental version (4FGL-DR3, for Data Release 3) of the fourth Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) catalog of γ-ray sources. Based on the first 12 years of science data in the energy range from 50 MeV to 1 TeV, it contains 6658 sources. The analysis improves on that used for the 4FGL catalog over eight years of data: more sources are fit with curved spectra, we introduce a more robust spectral parameterization for pulsars, and we extend the spectral points to 1 TeV. The spectral parameters, spectral energy distributions, and associations are updated for all sources. Light curves are rebuilt for all sources with 1 yr intervals (not 2 month intervals). Among the 5064 original 4FGL sources, 16 were deleted, 112 are formally below the detection threshold over 12 yr (but are kept in the list), while 74 are newly associated, 10 have an improved association, and seven associations were withdrawn. Pulsars are split explicitly between young and millisecond pulsars. Pulsars and binaries newly detected in LAT sources, as well as more than 100 newly classified blazars, are reported. We add three extended sources and 1607 new point sources, mostly just above the detection threshold, among which eight are considered identified, and 699 have a plausible counterpart at other wavelengths. We discuss the degree-scale residuals to the global sky model and clusters of soft unassociated point sources close to the Galactic plane, which are possibly related to limitations of the interstellar emission model and missing extended sources.
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| 19. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(author)
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Unresolved Gamma-Ray Sky through its Angular Power Spectrum
- 2018
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In: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 121:24
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The gamma-ray sky has been observed with unprecedented accuracy in the last decade by the Fermi-large area telescope (LAT), allowing us to resolve and understand the high-energy Universe. The nature of the remaining unresolved emission [unresolved gamma-ray background (UGRB)] below the LAT source detection threshold can be uncovered by characterizing the amplitude and angular scale of the UGRB fluctuation field. This Letter presents a measurement of the UGRB autocorrelation angular power spectrum based on eight years of Fermi-LAT Pass 8 data products. The analysis is designed to be robust against contamination from resolved sources and noise systematics. The sensitivity to subthreshold sources is greatly enhanced with respect to previous measurements. We find evidence (with similar to 3.7 sigma significance) that the scenario in which two classes of sources contribute to the UGRB signal is favored over a single class. A double power law with exponential cutoff can explain the anisotropy energy spectrum well, with photon indices of the two populations being 2.55 +/- 0.23 and 1.86 +/- 0.15.
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| 20. |
- Ajello, M., et al.
(author)
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A gamma-ray pulsar timing array constrains the nanohertz gravitational wave background
- 2022
-
In: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 376:6592, s. 521-523
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- After large galaxies merge, their central supermassive black holes are expected to form binary systems. Their orbital motion should generate a gravitational wave background (GWB) at nanohertz frequencies. Searches for this background use pulsar timing arrays, which perform long-term monitoring of millisecond pulsars at radio wavelengths. We used 12.5 years of Fermi Large Area Telescope data to form a gamma-ray pulsar timing array. Results from 35 bright gamma-ray pulsars place a 95% credible limit on the GWB characteristic strain of 1.0 x 10(-14) at a frequency of 1 year(-1). The sensitivity is expected to scale with t(obs), the observing time span, as t(obs)(-13/6). This direct measurement provides an independent probe of the GWB while offering a check on radio noise models.
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| 21. |
- Ajello, M., et al.
(author)
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Bright Gamma-Ray Flares Observed in GRB 131108A
- 2019
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 886:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- GRB 131108A is a bright long gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected by the Large Area Telescope and the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Dedicated temporal and spectral analyses reveal three ?-ray flares dominating above 100 MeV, which are not directly related to the prompt emission in the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor band (10 keV?10 MeV). The high-energy light curve of GRB 131108A (100 MeV?10 GeV) shows an unusual evolution: a steep decay, followed by three flares with an underlying emission, and then a long-lasting decay phase. The detailed analysis of the ?-ray flares finds that the three flares are 6?20 times brighter than the underlying emission and are similar to each other. The fluence of each flare, (1.6?2.0)10(?6) erg cm(?2), is comparable to that of emission during the steep decay phase, 1.710(?6) erg cm(?2). The total fluence from three ?-ray flares is 5.310(?6) erg cm(?2). The three ?-ray flares show properties similar to the usual X-ray flares that are sharp flux increases, occurring in ?50% of afterglows, in some cases well after the prompt emission. Also, the temporal and spectral indices during the early steep decay phase and the decaying phase of each flare show the consistency with a relation of the curvature effect (
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| 22. |
- Ajello, M., et al.
(author)
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Fermi and Swift Observations of GRB 190114C : Tracing the Evolution of High-energy Emission from Prompt to Afterglow
- 2020
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 890:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on the observations of gamma-ray burst (GRB) 190114C by the Fermi Gamma -ray Space Telescope and the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. The prompt gamma-ray emission was detected by the Fermi GRB Monitor (GBM), the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT), and the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) and the long-lived afterglow emission was subsequently observed by the GBM, LAT, Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT), and Swift UV Optical Telescope. The early -time observations reveal multiple emission components that evolve independently, with a delayed power-law component that exhibits significant spectral attenuation above 40 MeV in the first few seconds of the burst. This power-law component transitions to a harder spectrum that is consistent with the afterglow emission observed by the XRT at later times. This afterglow component is clearly identifiable in the GBM and BAT light curves as a slowly fading emission component on which the rest of the prompt emission is superimposed. As a result, we are able to observe the transition from internal-shock- to external-shock-dominated emission. We find that the temporal and spectral evolution of the broadband afterglow emission can be well modeled as synchrotron emission from a forward shock propagating into a wind -like circumstellar environment. We estimate the initial bulk Lorentz factor using the observed high-energy spectral cutoff. Considering the onset of the afterglow component, we constrain the deceleration radius at which this forward shock begins to radiate in order to estimate the maximum synchrotron energy as a function of time. We find that even in the LAT energy range, there exist high-energy photons that are in tension with the theoretical maximum energy that can be achieved through synchrotron emission from a shock. These violations of the maximum synchrotron energy are further compounded by the detection of very high-energy (VHE) emission above 300 GeV by MAGIC concurrent with our observations. We conclude that the observations of VHE photons from GRB 190114C necessitates either an additional emission mechanism at very high energies that is hidden in the synchrotron component in the LAT energy range, an acceleration mechanism that imparts energy to the particles at a rate that is faster than the electron synchrotron energy -loss rate, or revisions of the fundamental assumptions used in estimating the maximum photon energy attainable through the synchrotron process.
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| 23. |
- Ajello, M., et al.
(author)
-
Fermi Large Area Telescope Performance after 10 Years of Operation
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 256:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Large Area Telescope (LAT), the primary instrument for the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi) mission, is an imaging, wide field-of-view, high-energy gamma-ray telescope, covering the energy range from 30 MeV to more than 300 GeV. We describe the performance of the instrument at the 10 yr milestone. LAT performance remains well within the specifications defined during the planning phase, validating the design choices and supporting the compelling case to extend the duration of the Fermi mission. The details provided here will be useful when designing the next generation of high-energy gamma-ray observatories.
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| 24. |
- Ajello, M., et al.
(author)
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Gamma Rays from Fast Black-hole Winds
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 921:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Massive black holes at the centers of galaxies can launch powerful wide-angle winds that, if sustained over time, can unbind the gas from the stellar bulges of galaxies. These winds may be responsible for the observed scaling relation between the masses of the central black holes and the velocity dispersion of stars in galactic bulges. Propagating through the galaxy, the wind should interact with the interstellar medium creating a strong shock, similar to those observed in supernovae explosions, which is able to accelerate charged particles to high energies. In this work we use data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope to search for the gamma-ray emission from galaxies with an ultrafast outflow (UFO): a fast (v similar to 0.1 c), highly ionized outflow, detected in absorption at hard X-rays in several nearby active galactic nuclei (AGN). Adopting a sensitive stacking analysis we are able to detect the average gamma-ray emission from these galaxies and exclude that it is due to processes other than UFOs. Moreover, our analysis shows that the gamma-ray luminosity scales with the AGN bolometric luminosity and that these outflows transfer similar to 0.04% of their mechanical power to gamma-rays. Interpreting the observed gamma-ray emission as produced by cosmic rays (CRs) accelerated at the shock front, we find that the gamma-ray emission may attest to the onset of the wind-host interaction and that these outflows can energize charged particles up to the transition region between galactic and extragalactic CRs.
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