1,117 research outputs found
Simulating the High Energy Gamma-ray sky seen by the GLAST Large Area Telescope
This paper presents the simulation of the GLAST high energy gamma-ray
telescope. The simulation package, written in C++, is based on the Geant4
toolkit, and it is integrated into a general framework used to process events.
A detailed simulation of the electronic signals inside Silicon detectors has
been provided and it is used for the particle tracking, which is handled by a
dedicated software. A unique repository for the geometrical description of the
detector has been realized using the XML language and a C++ library to access
this information has been designed and implemented. A new event display based
on the HepRep protocol was implemented. The full simulation was used to
simulate a full week of GLAST high energy gamma-ray observations. This paper
outlines the contribution developed by the Italian GLAST software group.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the 6th
International Symposium ''Frontiers of Fundamental and Computational
Physics'' (FFP6), Udine (Italy), Sep. 26-29, 200
On possible interpretations of the high energy electron-positron spectrum measured by the Fermi Large Area Telescope
The Fermi-LAT experiment recently reported high precision measurements of the
spectrum of cosmic-ray electrons-plus-positrons (CRE) between 20 GeV and 1 TeV.
The spectrum shows no prominent spectral features, and is significantly harder
than that inferred from several previous experiments. Here we discuss several
interpretations of the Fermi results based either on a single large scale
Galactic CRE component or by invoking additional electron-positron primary
sources, e.g. nearby pulsars or particle Dark Matter annihilation. We show that
while the reported Fermi-LAT data alone can be interpreted in terms of a single
component scenario, when combined with other complementary experimental
results, specifically the CRE spectrum measured by H.E.S.S. and especially the
positron fraction reported by PAMELA between 1 and 100 GeV, that class of
models fails to provide a consistent interpretation. Rather, we find that
several combinations of parameters, involving both the pulsar and dark matter
scenarios, allow a consistent description of those results. We also briefly
discuss the possibility of discriminating between the pulsar and dark matter
interpretations by looking for a possible anisotropy in the CRE flux.Comment: 29 pages, 12 figures. Final version accepted for publication in
Astroparticle Physic
Gamma-ray flaring activity from the gravitationally lensed blazar PKS 1830-211 observed by Fermi LAT
The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
routinely detects the highly dust-absorbed, reddened, and MeV-peaked flat
spectrum radio quasar PKS 1830-211 (z=2.507). Its apparent isotropic gamma-ray
luminosity (E>100 MeV) averaged over 3 years of observations and peaking
on 2010 October 14/15 at 2.9 X 10^{50} erg s^{-1}, makes it among the brightest
high-redshift Fermi blazars. No published model with a single lens can account
for all of the observed characteristics of this complex system. Based on radio
observations, one expects time delayed variability to follow about 25 days
after a primary flare, with flux about a factor 1.5 less. Two large gamma-ray
flares of PKS 1830-211 have been detected by the LAT in the considered period
and no substantial evidence for such a delayed activity was found. This allows
us to place a lower limit of about 6 on the gamma rays flux ratio between the
two lensed images. Swift XRT observations from a dedicated Target of
Opportunity program indicate a hard spectrum and with no significant
correlation of X-ray flux with the gamma-ray variability. The spectral energy
distribution can be modeled with inverse Compton scattering of thermal photons
from the dusty torus. The implications of the LAT data in terms of variability,
the lack of evident delayed flare events, and different radio and gamma-ray
flux ratios are discussed. Microlensing effects, absorption, size and location
of the emitting regions, the complex mass distribution of the system, an
energy-dependent inner structure of the source, and flux suppression by the
lens galaxy for one image path may be considered as hypotheses for
understanding our results.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. Accepted by the The Astrophysical
Journal. Corresponding authors: S. Ciprini (ASI ASDC & INAF OAR, Rome,
Italy), S. Buson (INAF Padova & Univ. of Padova, Padova, Italy), J. Finke
(NRL, Washington, DC, USA), F. D'Ammando (INAF IRA, Bologna, Italy
Discovery of very high energy gamma rays from PKS 1424+240 and multiwavelength constraints on its redshift
We report the first detection of very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission
above 140 GeV from PKS 1424+240, a BL Lac object with an unknown redshift. The
photon spectrum above 140 GeV measured by VERITAS is well described by a power
law with a photon index of 3.8 +- 0.5_stat +- 0.3_syst and a flux normalization
at 200 GeV of (5.1 +- 0.9_stat +- 0.5_syst) x 10^{-11} TeV^-1 cm^-2 s^-1, where
stat and syst denote the statistical and systematical uncertainty,
respectively. The VHE flux is steady over the observation period between MJD
54881 and 55003 (2009 February 19 to June 21). Flux variability is also not
observed in contemporaneous high energy observations with the Fermi Large Area
Telescope (LAT). Contemporaneous X-ray and optical data were also obtained from
the Swift XRT and MDM observatory, respectively. The broadband spectral energy
distribution (SED) is well described by a one-zone synchrotron self-Compton
(SSC) model favoring a redshift of less than 0.1. Using the photon index
measured with Fermi in combination with recent extragalactic background light
(EBL) absorption models it can be concluded from the VERITAS data that the
redshift of PKS 1424+240 is less than 0.66.Comment: accepted for publication, Ap
Fermi Large Area Telescope Measurements of the Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emission at Intermediate Galactic Latitudes
The diffuse Galactic gamma-ray emission is produced by cosmic rays (CRs)
interacting with the interstellar gas and radiation field. Measurements by the
Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) instrument on the Compton
Gamma-Ray Observatory indicated excess gamma-ray emission > 1 GeV relative to
diffuse Galactic gamma-ray emission models consistent with directly measured CR
spectra (the so-called ``EGRET GeV excess''). The excess emission was observed
in all directions on the sky, and a variety of explanations have been proposed,
including beyond-the-Standard-Model scenarios like annihilating or decaying
dark matter. The Large Area Telescope (LAT) instrument on the Fermi Gamma-ray
Space Telescope has measured the diffuse gamma-ray emission with improved
sensitivity and resolution compared to EGRET. We report on LAT measurements of
the diffuse gamma-ray emission for energies 100 MeV to 10 GeV and Galactic
latitudes 10 deg. <= |b| <= 20 deg. The LAT spectrum for this region of the sky
is well reproduced by a diffuse Galactic gamma-ray emission model that is
consistent with local CR spectra and inconsistent with the EGRET GeV excess.Comment: 2 figures, 1 table, accepted by Physical Review Letters, available
online Dec. 18th, 200
Fermi LAT observations of the Geminga pulsar
We report on the \textit{Fermi}-LAT observations of the Geminga pulsar, the
second brightest non-variable GeV source in the -ray sky and the first
example of a radio-quiet -ray pulsar. The observations cover one year,
from the launch of the satellite through 2009 June 15. A data sample of
over 60,000 photons enabled us to build a timing solution based solely on
rays. Timing analysis shows two prominent peaks, separated by = 0.497 0.004 in phase, which narrow with increasing energy. Pulsed
rays are observed beyond 18 GeV, precluding emission below 2.7 stellar
radii because of magnetic absorption. The phase-averaged spectrum was fitted
with a power law with exponential cut-off of spectral index = (1.30
0.01 0.04), cut-off energy = (2.46 0.04 0.17)
GeV and an integral photon flux above 0.1 GeV of (4.14 0.02 0.32)
10 cm s. The first uncertainties are statistical
and the second are systematic. The phase-resolved spectroscopy shows a clear
evolution of the spectral parameters, with the spectral index reaching a
minimum value just before the leading peak and the cut-off energy having maxima
around the peaks. Phase-resolved spectroscopy reveals that pulsar emission is
present at all rotational phases. The spectral shape, broad pulse profile, and
maximum photon energy favor the outer magnetospheric emission scenarios.Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journal. Corresponding authors: Denis Dumora
([email protected]), Fabio Gargano ([email protected]),
Massimiliano Razzano ([email protected]
Fermi Large Area Telescope View of the Core of the Radio Galaxy Centaurus A
We present gamma-ray observations with the LAT on board the Fermi Gamma-Ray
Telescope of the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus~A. The previous EGRET detection
is confirmed, and the localization is improved using data from the first 10
months of Fermi science operation. In previous work, we presented the detection
of the lobes by the LAT; in this work, we concentrate on the gamma-ray core of
Cen~A. Flux levels as seen by the LAT are not significantly different from that
found by EGRET, nor is the extremely soft LAT spectrum
(\G=2.67\pm0.10_{stat}\pm0.08_{sys} where the photon flux is \Phi\propto
E^{-\G}). The LAT core spectrum, extrapolated to higher energies, is
marginally consistent with the non-simultaneous HESS spectrum of the source.
The LAT observations are complemented by simultaneous observations from Suzaku,
the Swift Burst Alert Telescope and X-ray Telescope, and radio observations
with the Tracking Active Galactic Nuclei with Austral Milliarcsecond
Interferometry (TANAMI) program, along with a variety of non-simultaneous
archival data from a variety of instruments and wavelengths to produce a
spectral energy distribution (SED). We fit this broadband data set with a
single-zone synchrotron/synchrotron self-Compton model, which describes the
radio through GeV emission well, but fails to account for the non-simultaneous
higher energy TeV emission observed by HESS from 2004-2008. The fit requires a
low Doppler factor, in contrast to BL Lacs which generally require larger
values to fit their broadband SEDs. This indicates the \g-ray emission
originates from a slower region than that from BL Lacs, consistent with
previous modeling results from Cen~A. This slower region could be a slower
moving layer around a fast spine, or a slower region farther out from the black
hole in a decelerating flow.Comment: Accepted by ApJ. 32 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. J. Finke and Y.
Fukazawa corresponding author
Gamma-ray flares from the Crab Nebula
A young and energetic pulsar powers the well-known Crab Nebula. Here we
describe two separate gamma-ray (photon energy >100 MeV) flares from this
source detected by the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space
Telescope. The first flare occurred in February 2009 and lasted approximately
16 days. The second flare was detected in September 2010 and lasted
approximately 4 days. During these outbursts the gamma-ray flux from the nebula
increased by factors of four and six, respectively. The brevity of the flares
implies that the gamma rays were emitted via synchrotron radiation from PeV
(10^15 eV) electrons in a region smaller than 1.4 10^-2 pc. These are the
highest energy particles that can be associated with a discrete astronomical
source, and they pose challenges to particle acceleration theory.Comment: Contact authors: Rolf Buehler,[email protected]; Stefan
Funk,[email protected]; Roger Blandford,rdb3@stanford ; 16 pages,2
figure
Discovery of Pulsed -rays from PSR J0034-0534 with the Fermi LAT: A Case for Co-located Radio and -ray Emission Regions
Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) have been firmly established as a class of
gamma-ray emitters via the detection of pulsations above 0.1 GeV from eight
MSPs by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Using thirteen months of LAT data
significant gamma-ray pulsations at the radio period have been detected from
the MSP PSR J0034-0534, making it the ninth clear MSP detection by the LAT. The
gamma-ray light curve shows two peaks separated by 0.2740.015 in phase
which are very nearly aligned with the radio peaks, a phenomenon seen only in
the Crab pulsar until now. The 0.1 GeV spectrum of this pulsar is well
fit by an exponentially cutoff power law with a cutoff energy of 1.80.1 GeV and a photon index of 1.50.1, first errors are
statistical and second are systematic. The near-alignment of the radio and
gamma-ray peaks strongly suggests that the radio and gamma-ray emission regions
are co-located and both are the result of caustic formation.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Ap
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