1 research outputs found
A -ray determination of the Universe's star-formation history
The light emitted by all galaxies over the history of the Universe produces
the extragalactic background light (EBL) at ultraviolet, optical, and infrared
wavelengths. The EBL is a source of opacity for rays via photon-photon
interactions, leaving an imprint in the spectra of distant -ray
sources. We measure this attenuation using {739} active galaxies and one
gamma-ray burst detected by the {\it Fermi} Large Area Telescope. This allows
us to reconstruct the evolution of the EBL and determine the star-formation
history of the Universe over 90\% of cosmic time. Our star-formation history is
consistent with independent measurements from galaxy surveys, peaking at
redshift . Upper limits of the EBL at the epoch of re-ionization
suggest a turnover in the abundance of faint galaxies at .Comment: Published on Science. This is the authors' version of the manuscrip