2 research outputs found
A Physical Background Model for the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor
We present the first physically motivated background model for the Gamma-Ray
Burst Monitor (GBM) onboard the Fermi satellite. Such a physically motivated
background model has the potential to significantly improve the scientific
output of Fermi/GBM, as it can be used to improve the background estimate for
spectral analysis and localization of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and other
sources. Additionally, it can also lead to detections of new transient events,
since long/weak or slowly rising ones do not activate one of the existing
trigger algorithms. In this paper we show the derivation of such a physically
motivated background model, which includes the modeling of the different
background sources and the correct handling of the response of GBM. While the
goal of the paper is to introduce the model rather than developing a transient
search algorithm, we demonstrate the ability of the model to fit the background
seen by GBM by showing four applications, namely (1) for a canonical GRB, (2)
for the ultra-long GRB 091024, (3) for the V404 Cygni outburst in June 2015,
and (4) the ultra-long GRB 130925A.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 15 pages, 22 figure