A determination of the gamma-ray flux and photon spectral index distributions of blazars from the \u3ci\u3eFermi\u3c/i\u3e-LAT 3LAC

We present a determination of the distributions of gamma-ray photon flux – the so-called LogN–LogS relation – and photon spectral index for blazars, based on the third extragalactic source catalogue of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope\u27s Large Area Telescope, and considering the photon energy range from 100 MeV to 100 GeV. The data set consists of the 774 blazars in the so-called Clean sample detected with a greater than approximately 7σ detection threshold and located above ±20° Galactic latitude. We use non-parametric methods verified in previous works to reconstruct the intrinsic distributions from the observed ones which account for the data truncations introduced by observational bias and includes the effects of the possible correlation between the flux and photon index. The intrinsic flux distribution can be represented by a broken power law with a high-flux power-law index of −2.43 ± 0.08 and a low-flux power-law index of −1.87 ± 0.10. The intrinsic photon index distribution can be represented by a Gaussian with mean of 2.62 ± 0.05 and width of 0.17 ± 0.02. We also report the intrinsic distributions for the subpopulations of BL Lac and FSRQ (Flat Spectrum Radio Quasar)-type blazars separately and these differ substantially. We then estimate the contribution of FSRQs and BL Lacs to the diffuse extragalactic gamma-ray background radiation. Under the simplistic assumption that the flux distributions probed in this analysis continue to arbitrary low flux, we calculate that the best-fitting contribution of FSRQs is 35 per cent and BL Lacs 17 per cent of the total gamma-ray output of the Universe in this energy range

The Mid-Infrared Luminosity Evolution and Luminosity Function of Quasars with \u3cem\u3eWISE\u3c/em\u3e and SDSS

We determine the 22 μm luminosity evolution and luminosity function for quasars from a data set of over 20,000 objects obtained by combining flux-limited Sloan Digital Sky Survey optical and Wide field Infrared Survey Explorer mid-infrared data. We apply methods developed in previous works to access the intrinsic population distributions non-parametrically, taking into account the truncations and correlations inherent in the data. We find that the population of quasars exhibits positive luminosity evolution with redshift in the mid-infrared, but with considerably less mid-infrared evolution than in the optical or radio bands. With the luminosity evolutions accounted for, we determine the density evolution and local mid-infrared luminosity function. The latter displays a sharp flattening at local luminosities below ~1031 erg s−1 Hz−1, which has been reported previously at 15 μm for AGN classified as both type 1 and type 2. We calculate the integrated total emission from quasars at 22 μm and find it to be a small fraction of both the cosmic infrared background light and the integrated emission from all sources at this wavelength

Determination of the intrinsic Luminosity Time Correlation in the X-ray Afterglows of GRBs

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which have been observed up to redshifts z approx 9.5 can be good probes of the early universe and have the potential of testing cosmological models. The analysis by Dainotti of GRB Swift afterglow lightcurves with known redshifts and definite X-ray plateau shows an anti-correlation between the rest frame time when the plateau ends (the plateau end time) and the calculated luminosity at that time (or approximately an anti-correlation between plateau duration and luminosity). We present here an update of this correlation with a larger data sample of 101 GRBs with good lightcurves. Since some of this correlation could result from the redshift dependences of these intrinsic parameters, namely their cosmological evolution we use the Efron-Petrosian method to reveal the intrinsic nature of this correlation. We find that a substantial part of the correlation is intrinsic and describe how we recover it and how this can be used to constrain physical models of the plateau emission, whose origin is still unknown. The present result could help clarifing the debated issue about the nature of the plateau emission.Comment: Astrophysical Journal accepte

Flux and Photon Spectral Index Distributions of Fermi-LAT Blazars and Contribution to the Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Background

We present a determination of the distributions of the photon spectral index and gamma-ray flux—the so-called log N–log S relation—for the 352 blazars detected with a greater than approximately 7σ detection threshold and located above ±20◦ Galactic latitude by the Large Area Telescope of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in its first year catalog. Because the flux detection threshold depends on the photon index, the observed raw distributions do not provide the true log N–log S counts or the true distribution of the photon index. We use the non-parametric methods developed by Efron and Petrosian to reconstruct the intrinsic distributions from the observed ones which account for the data truncations introduced by observational bias and includes the effects of the possible correlation between the two variables. We demonstrate the robustness of our procedures using a simulated data set of blazars and then apply these to the real data and find that for the population as a whole the intrinsic flux distribution can be represented by a broken power law with high and low indices of −2.37 ± 0.13 and −1.70 ± 0.26, respectively, and the intrinsic photon index distribution can be represented by a Gaussian with mean of 2.41±0.13 and width of 0.25± 0.03. We also find the intrinsic distributions for the sub-populations of BL Lac and flat spectrum radio quasar type blazars separately. We then calculate the contribution of Fermi blazars to the diffuse extragalactic gamma-ray background radiation. Under the assumption that the flux distribution of blazars continues to arbitrarily low fluxes, we calculate the best-fit contribution of all blazars to the total extragalactic gamma-ray output to be 60%, with a large uncertainty

A Multi-Chamber System for Analyzing the Outgassing, Deposition, and Associated Optical Degradation Properties of Materials in a Vacuum

We report on the Camera Materials Test Chamber, a multi-vessel apparatus which analyzes the outgassing consequences of candidate materials for use in the vacuum cryostat of a new telescope camera. The system measures the outgassing products and rates of samples of materials at different temperatures, and collects films of outgassing products to measure the effects on light transmission in six optical bands. The design of the apparatus minimizes potential measurement errors introduced by background contamination.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, published in RSI (minor edits made to match journal accepted version

The Radio and Optical Luminosity Evolution of Quasars II -- The SDSS Sample

We determine the radio and optical luminosity evolutions and the true distribution of the radio-loudness parameter R, defined as the ratio of the radio to optical luminosity, for a set of more than 5000 quasars combining Sloan Digital Sky Survey optical and Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty cm (FIRST) radio data. We apply the method of Efron and Petrosian to access the intrinsic distribution parameters, taking into account the truncations and correlations inherent in the data. We find that the population exhibits strong positive evolution with redshift in both wavebands, with somewhat greater radio evolution than optical. With the luminosity evolutions accounted for, we determine the density evolutions and local radio and optical luminosity functions. The intrinsic distribution of the radio-loudness parameter R is found to be quite different from the observed one and is smooth with no evidence of a bimodality in radio loudness for log R ≥ −1. The results we find are in general agreement with the previous analysis of Singal et al., which used POSS-I optical and FIRST radio data

Waveband Luminosity Correlations in Flux-Limited Multiwavelength Data

We explore the general question of correlations among different waveband luminosities in a flux-limited multiband observational data set. Such correlations, often observed for astronomical sources, may be either intrinsic or induced by the redshift evolution of the luminosities and the data truncation due to the flux limits. We first address this question analytically. We then use simulated flux-limited data with three different known intrinsic luminosity correlations and prescribed luminosity functions and evolution similar to the ones expected for quasars. We explore how the intrinsic nature of luminosity correlations can be deduced, including exploring the efficacy of partial correlation analysis with redshift binning in determining whether luminosity correlations are intrinsic and finding the form of the intrinsic correlation. By applying methods that we have developed in recent works, we show that we can recover the true cosmological evolution of the luminosity functions and the intrinsic correlations between the luminosities. Finally, we demonstrate the methods for determining intrinsic luminosity correlations on actual observed samples of quasars with mid-infrared, radio, and optical fluxes and redshifts, finding that the luminosity-luminosity correlation is significantly stronger between mid-infrared and optical than that between radio and optical luminosities, supporting the canonical jet-launching and heating model of active galaxies

Determination of the Intrinsic Luminosity Time Correlation in the X-Ray Afterglows of Gamma-Ray Bursts

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which have been observed up to redshifts z ≈ 9.5, can be good probes of the early universe and have the potential to test cosmological models. Dainotti’s analysis of GRB Swift afterglow light curves with known redshifts and a definite X-ray plateau shows an anti-correlation between the rest-frame time when the plateau ends (the plateau end time) and the calculated luminosity at that time (or approximately an anti-correlation between plateau duration and luminosity). Here, we present an update of this correlation with a larger data sample of 101 GRBs with good light curves. Since some of this correlation could result from the redshift dependences of these intrinsic parameters, namely, their cosmological evolution, we use the Efron–Petrosian method to reveal the intrinsic nature of this correlation. We find that a substantial part of the correlation is intrinsic and describe how we recover it and how this can be used to constrain physical models of the plateau emission, the origin of which is still unknown. The present result could help to clarify the debated nature of the plateau emission