| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
-
Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Rioux, John D., et al.
(författare)
-
Genetic variation in the 5q31 cytokine gene cluster confers susceptibility to Crohn disease
- 2001
-
Ingår i: Nature Genetics. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 29:2, s. 223-228
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Linkage disequilibrium (LD) mapping provides a powerful method for fine-structure localization of rare disease genes, but has not yet been widely applied to common disease1. We sought to design a systematic approach for LD mapping and apply it to the localization of a gene (IBD5) conferring susceptibility to Crohn disease. The key issues are: (i) to detect a significant LD signal (ii) to rigorously bound the critical region and (iii) to identify the causal genetic variant within this region. We previously mapped the IBD5 locus to a large region spanning 18 cM of chromosome 5q31 (P<10−4). Using dense genetic maps of microsatellite markers and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the entire region, we found strong evidence of LD. We bound the region to a common haplotype spanning 250 kb that shows strong association with the disease (P<2×10−7) and contains the cytokine gene cluster. This finding provides overwhelming evidence that a specific common haplotype of the cytokine region in 5q31 confers susceptibility to Crohn disease. However, genetic evidence alone is not sufficient to identify the causal mutation within this region, as strong LD across the region results in multiple SNPs having equivalent genetic evidence—each consistent with the expected properties of the IBD5 locus. These results have important implications for Crohn disease in particular and LD mapping in general.
|
|
| 5. |
- Acero, F., et al.
(författare)
-
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.
|
|
| 6. |
- Acero, F., et al.
(författare)
-
FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE THIRD SOURCE CATALOG
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 218:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the third Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) source catalog (3FGL) of sources in the 100 MeV-300 GeV range. Based on the first 4 yr of science data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope mission, it is the deepest yet in this energy range. Relative to the Second Fermi LAT catalog, the 3FGL catalog incorporates twice as much data, as well as a number of analysis improvements, including improved calibrations at the event reconstruction level, an updated model for Galactic diffuse.-ray emission, a refined procedure for source detection, and improved methods for associating LAT sources with potential counterparts at other wavelengths. The 3FGL catalog includes 3033 sources above 4 sigma significance, with source location regions, spectral properties, and monthly light curves for each. Of these, 78 are flagged as potentially being due to imperfections in the model for Galactic diffuse emission. Twenty-five sources are modeled explicitly as spatially extended, and overall 238 sources are considered as identified based on angular extent or correlated variability (periodic or otherwise) observed at other wavelengths. For 1010 sources we have not found plausible counterparts at other wavelengths. More than 1100 of the identified or associated sources are active galaxies of the blazar class; several other classes of non-blazar active galaxies are also represented in the 3FGL. Pulsars represent the largest Galactic source class. From source counts of Galactic sources we estimate that the contribution of unresolved sources to the Galactic diffuse emission is similar to 3% at 1 GeV.
|
|
| 7. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Anisotropies in the diffuse gamma-ray background measured by the Fermi LAT
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 85:8
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The contribution of unresolved sources to the diffuse gamma-ray background could induce anisotropies in this emission on small angular scales. We analyze the angular power spectrum of the diffuse emission measured by the Fermi Large Area Telescope at Galactic latitudes vertical bar b vertical bar > 30 degrees in four energy bins spanning 1-50 GeV. At multipoles l >= 155, corresponding to angular scales less than or similar to 2 degrees, angular power above the photon noise level is detected at >99.99% confidence level in the 1-2 GeV, 2-5 GeV, and 5-10 GeV energy bins, and at >99% confidence level at 10-50 GeV. Within each energy bin the measured angular power takes approximately the same value at all multipoles l >= 155, suggesting that it originates from the contribution of one or more unclustered source populations. The amplitude of the angular power normalized to the mean intensity in each energy bin is consistent with a constant value at all energies, C-P/< I >(2) 9.05 +/- 0.84 x 10(-6) sr, while the energy dependence of C-P is consistent with the anisotropy arising from one or more source populations with power-law photon spectra with spectral index Gamma(s) = 2.40 +/- 0.07. We discuss the implications of the measured angular power for gamma-ray source populations that may provide a contribution to the diffuse gamma-ray background.
|
|
| 8. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Constraining Dark Matter Models from a Combined Analysis of Milky Way Satellites with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 107:24
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Satellite galaxies of the Milky Way are among the most promising targets for dark matter searches in gamma rays. We present a search for dark matter consisting of weakly interacting massive particles, applying a joint likelihood analysis to 10 satellite galaxies with 24 months of data of the Fermi Large Area Telescope. No dark matter signal is detected. Including the uncertainty in the dark matter distribution, robust upper limits are placed on dark matter annihilation cross sections. The 95% confidence level upper limits range from about 10(-26) cm(3) s(-1) at 5 GeV to about 5 x 10(-23) cm(3) s(-1) at 1 TeV, depending on the dark matter annihilation final state. For the first time, using gamma rays, we are able to rule out models with the most generic cross section (similar to 3 x 10(-26) cm(3) s(-1) for a purely s-wave cross section), without assuming additional boost factors.
|
|
| 9. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Dark matter constraints from observations of 25 Milky Way satellite galaxies with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 89:4
-
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.
|
|
| 10. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Deep view of the Large Magellanic Cloud with six years of Fermi-LAT observations
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 586
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The nearby Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) provides a rare opportunity of a spatially resolved view of an external star-forming galaxy in gamma-rays. The LMC was detected at 0.1-100 GeV as an extended source with CGRO/EGRET and using early observations with the Fermi-LAT. The emission was found to correlate with massive star-forming regions and to be particularly bright towards 30 Doradus. Aims. Studies of the origin and transport of cosmic rays (CRs) in the Milky Way are frequently hampered by line-of-sight confusion and poor distance determination. The LMC offers a complementary way to address these questions by revealing whether and how the gamma-ray emission is connected to specific objects, populations of objects, and structures in the galaxy. Methods. We revisited the gamma-ray emission from the LMC using about 73 months of Fermi-LAT P7REP data in the 0.2-100 GeV range. We developed a complete spatial and spectral model of the LMC emission, for which we tested several approaches: a simple geometrical description, template-fitting, and a physically driven model for CR-induced interstellar emission. Results. In addition to identifying PSR J0540-6919 through its pulsations, we find two hard sources positionally coincident with plerion N 157B and supernova remnant N 132D, which were also detected at TeV energies with H.E.S.S. We detect an additional soft source that is currently unidentified. Extended emission dominates the total flux from the LMC. It consists of an extended component of about the size of the galaxy and additional emission from three to four regions with degree-scale sizes. If it is interpreted as CRs interacting with interstellar gas, the large-scale emission implies a large-scale population of similar to 1-100 GeV CRs with a density of similar to 30% of the local Galactic value. On top of that, the three to four small-scale emission regions would correspond to enhancements of the CR density by factors 2 to 6 or higher, possibly more energetic and younger populations of CRs compared to the large-scale population. An alternative explanation is that this is emission from an unresolved population of at least two dozen objects, such as pulsars and their nebulae or supernova remnants. This small-scale extended emission has a spatial distribution that does not clearly correlate with known components of the LMC, except for a possible relation to cavities and supergiant shells. Conclusions. The Fermi-LAT GeV observations allowed us to detect individual sources in the LMC. Three of the newly discovered sources are associated with rare and extreme objects. The 30 Doradus region is prominent in GeV gamma-rays because PSR J0540-6919 and N 157B are strong emitters. The extended emission from the galaxy has an unexpected spatial distribution, and observations at higher energies and in radio may help to clarify its origin.
|
|
| 11. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Fermi establishes classical novae as a distinct class of gamma-ray sources
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 345:6196, s. 554-558
-
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.
|
|
| 12. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
FERMI-LAT OBSERVATIONS OF THE LIGO EVENT GW150914
- 2016
-
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.
|
|
| 13. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Fermi LAT search for dark matter in gamma-ray lines and the inclusive photon spectrum
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 86:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dark matter particle annihilation or decay can produce monochromatic gamma-ray lines and contribute to the diffuse gamma-ray background. Flux upper limits are presented for gamma-ray spectral lines from 7 to 200 GeV and for the diffuse gamma-ray background from 4.8 GeV to 264 GeV obtained from two years of Fermi Large Area Telescope data integrated over most of the sky. We give cross-section upper limits and decay lifetime lower limits for dark matter models that produce gamma-ray lines or contribute to the diffuse spectrum, including models proposed as explanations of the PAMELA and Fermi cosmic-ray data.
|
|
| 14. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RAY EMISSION FROM SOLAR FLARES : SUMMARY OF FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE DETECTIONS AND ANALYSIS OF TWO M-CLASS FLARES
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 787:1, s. 15-
-
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.
|
|
| 15. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Inferred Cosmic-Ray Spectrum from Fermi Large Area Telescope gamma-Ray Observations of Earth's Limb
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 112:15, s. 151103-
-
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.
|
|
| 16. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
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.
|
|
| 17. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Measurement of the high-energy gamma-ray emission from the Moon with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
- 2016
-
Ingår i: PHYSICAL REVIEW D. - 2470-0010. ; 93:8
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have measured the gamma-ray emission spectrum of the Moon using the data collected by the Large Area Telescope onboard the Fermi satellite during its first seven years of operation, in the energy range from 30 MeV up to a few GeV. We have also studied the time evolution of the flux, finding a correlation with the solar activity. We have developed a full Monte Carlo simulation describing the interactions of cosmic rays with the lunar surface. The results of the present analysis can be explained in the framework of this model, where the production of gamma rays is due to the interactions of cosmic-ray proton and helium nuclei with the surface of the Moon. Finally, we have used our simulation to derive the cosmic-ray proton and helium spectra near Earth from the Moon gamma-ray data.
|
|
| 18. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
MULTIWAVELENGTH EVIDENCE FOR QUASI-PERIODIC MODULATION IN THE GAMMA-RAY BLAZAR PG 1553+113
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 2041-8205 .- 2041-8213. ; 813:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report for the first time a gamma-ray and multiwavelength nearly periodic oscillation in an active galactic nucleus. Using the Fermi Large Area Telescope we have discovered an apparent quasi-periodicity in the gamma-ray flux (E > 100 MeV) from the GeV/TeV BL Lac object PG 1553+113. The marginal significance of the 2.18 +/- 0.08 year period gamma-ray cycle is strengthened by correlated oscillations observed in radio and optical fluxes, through data collected in the Owens Valley Radio Observatory, Tuorla, Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope, and Catalina Sky Survey monitoring programs and Swift-UVOT. The optical cycle appearing in similar to 10 years of data has a similar period, while the 15 GHz oscillation is less regular than seen in the other bands. Further long-term multiwavelength monitoring of this blazar may discriminate among the possible explanations for this quasi-periodicity.
|
|
| 19. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Resolving the Extragalactic gamma-Ray Background above 50 GeV with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 116:15
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) Collaboration has recently released a catalog of 360 sources detected above 50 GeV (2FHL). This catalog was obtained using 80 months of data re-processed with Pass 8, the newest event-level analysis, which significantly improves the acceptance and angular resolution of the instrument. Most of the 2FHL sources at high Galactic latitude are blazars. Using detailed Monte Carlo simulations, we measure, for the first time, the source count distribution, dN= dS, of extragalactic.-ray sources at E > 50 GeV and find that it is compatible with a Euclidean distribution down to the lowest measured source flux in the 2FHL (8 x 10(-12) ph cm(-2) s(-1)). We employ a one-point photon fluctuation analysis to constrain the behavior of dN= dS below the source detection threshold. Overall, the source count distribution is constrained over three decades in flux and found compatible with a broken power law with a break flux, Sb, in the range [8 x 10-12; 1.5 x 10-11] ph cm(-2) s(-1) and power-law indices below and above the break of a 2. [1.60; 1.75] and a 1 +/- 2.49 +/- 0.12, respectively. Integration of dN= dS shows that point sources account for at least 86_16 -14 % of the total extragalactic gamma-ray background. The simple form of the derived source count distribution is consistent with a single population (i. e., blazars) dominating the source counts to the minimum flux explored by this analysis. We estimate the density of sources detectable in blind surveys that will be performed in the coming years by the Cherenkov Telescope Array.
|
|
| 20. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
SEARCH FOR COSMIC-RAY-INDUCED GAMMA-RAY EMISSION IN GALAXY CLUSTERS
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 787:1
-
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.
|
|
| 21. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
SEARCH FOR DARK MATTER SATELLITES USING FERMI-LAT
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 747:2, s. 121-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Numerical simulations based on the ACDM model of cosmology predict a large number of as yet unobserved Galactic dark matter satellites. We report the results of a Large Area Telescope (LAT) search for these satellites via the gamma-ray emission expected from the annihilation of weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) dark matter. Some dark matter satellites are expected to have hard gamma-ray spectra, finite angular extents, and a lack of counterparts at other wavelengths. We sought to identify LAT sources with these characteristics, focusing on gamma-ray spectra consistent with WIMP annihilation through the b (b) over bar channel. We found no viable dark matter satellite candidates using one year of data, and we present a framework for interpreting this result in the context of numerical simulations to constrain the velocity-averaged annihilation cross section for a conventional 100 GeV WIMP annihilating through the b (b) over bar channel.
|
|
| 22. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
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%.
|
|
| 23. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Search for gamma-ray emission from the Coma Cluster with six years of Fermi-LAT data
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 819:2
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present results from gamma-ray observations of the Coma cluster incorporating six years of Fermi-LAT data and the newly released "Pass 8" event-level analysis. Our analysis of the region reveals low-significance residual structures within the virial radius of the cluster that are too faint for a detailed investigation with the current data. Using a likelihood approach that is free of assumptions on the spectral shape we derive upper limits on the gamma-ray flux that is expected from energetic particle interactions in the cluster. We also consider a benchmark spatial and spectral template motivated by models in which the observed radio halo is mostly emission by secondary electrons. In this case, the median expected and observed upper limits for the flux above 100MeV are 1.7 x 10(-9) ph cm(-2) s(-1) and 5.2 x 10(-9) ph cm(-2) s(-1) respectively (the latter corresponds to residual emission at the level of 1.8 sigma). These bounds are comparable to or higher than predicted levels of hadronic gamma-ray emission in cosmic-ray (CR) models with or without reacceleration of secondary electrons, although direct comparisons are sensitive to assumptions regarding the origin and propagation mode of CRs and magnetic field properties. The minimal expected.-ray flux from radio and star-forming galaxies within the Coma cluster is roughly an order of magnitude below the median sensitivity of our analysis.
|
|
| 24. |
|
|
| 25. |
- Ackermann, M., et al.
(författare)
-
Search for gamma-ray spectral lines with the Fermi Large Area Telescope and dark matter implications
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Physical Review D. - 1550-7998 .- 1550-2368. ; 88:8, s. 082002-
-
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
|
|
