In this work, we report the discovery with Fermi/LAT of γ-ray emission from three radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies: PKS 1502+036 (z = 0.409), 1H 0323+342 (z = 0.061), and PKS 2004 – 447 (z = ...0.24). In addition to PMN J0948+0022 (z = 0.585), the first source of this type to be detected in γ rays, they may form an emerging new class of γ-ray active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Lastly, these findings can have strong implications on our knowledge about relativistic jets and the unified model of the AGN.
We present multiwavelength studies of the 106.6 ms gamma-ray pulsar PSR J1907+06 near the TeV source MGRO J1908+06. Timing observations with Fermi result in a precise position determination for the ...pulsar of R.A. = 19h07m547(2), decl. = +06:02:16(2) placing the pulsar firmly within the TeV source extent, suggesting the TeV source is the pulsar wind nebula of PSR J1907+0602. Pulsed gamma-ray emission is clearly visible at energies from 100 MeV to above 10 GeV. The phase-averaged power-law index in the energy range E > 0.1 GeV is = 1.76 \pm 0.05 with an exponential cutoff energy E_{c} = 3.6 \pm 0.5 GeV. We present the energy-dependent gamma-ray pulsed light curve as well as limits on off-pulse emission associated with the TeV source. We also report the detection of very faint (flux density of ~3.4 microJy) radio pulsations with the Arecibo telescope at 1.5 GHz having a dispersion measure DM = 82.1 \pm 1.1 cm^{-3}pc. This indicates a distance of 3.2 \pm 0.6 kpc and a pseudo-luminosity of L_{1400} ~ 0.035 mJy kpc^2. A Chandra ACIS observation revealed an absorbed, possibly extended, compact <(4 arcsec) X-ray source with significant non-thermal emission at R.A. = 19h07m54.76, decl. = +06:02:14.6 with a flux of 2.3^{+0.6}_{-1.4} X 10^{-14} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}. From archival ASCA observations, we place upper limits on any arcminute scale 2--10 keV X-ray emission of ~ 1 X 10^{-13} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}. The implied distance to the pulsar is compatible with that of the supernova remnant G40.5-0.5, located on the far side of the TeV nebula from PSR J1907+0602, and the S74 molecular cloud on the nearer side which we discuss as potential birth sites.
Following the recent discovery of Delta *g rays from the radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy PMN J0948+0022 (z = 0.5846), we started a multiwavelength campaign from radio to Delta *g rays, which ...was carried out between the end of 2009 March and the beginning of July. The source displayed activity at all the observed wavelengths: a general decreasing trend from optical to Delta *g-ray frequencies was followed by an increase of radio emission after less than two months from the peak of the Delta *g-ray emission. The largest flux change, about a factor of about 4, occurred in the X-ray band. The smallest was at ultraviolet and near-infrared frequencies, where the rate of the detected photons dropped by a factor 1.6-1.9. At optical wavelengths, where the sampling rate was the highest, it was possible to observe day scale variability, with flux variations up to a factor of about 3. The behavior of PMN J0948+0022 observed in this campaign and the calculated power carried out by its jet in the form of protons, electrons, radiation, and magnetic field are quite similar to that of blazars, specifically of flat-spectrum radio quasars. These results confirm the idea that radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies host relativistic jets with power similar to that of average blazars.
Cosmic rays are particles (mostly protons) accelerated to relativistic speeds. Despite wide agreement that supernova remnants (SNRs) are the sources of galactic cosmic rays, unequivocal evidence for ...the acceleration of protons in these objects is still lacking. When accelerated protons encounter interstellar material, they produce neutral pions, which in turn decay into gamma rays. This offers a compelling way to detect the acceleration sites of protons. The identification of pion-decay gamma rays has been difficult because high-energy electrons also produce gamma rays via bremsstrahlung and inverse Compton scattering. We detected the characteristic pion-decay feature in the gamma-ray spectra of two SNRs, IC 443 and W44, with the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This detection provides direct evidence that cosmic-ray protons are accelerated in SNRs.
We measured separate cosmic-ray electron and positron spectra with the Fermi Large Area Telescope. Because the instrument does not have an onboard magnet, we distinguish the two species by exploiting ...Earth's shadow, which is offset in opposite directions for opposite charges due to Earth's magnetic field. We estimate and subtract the cosmic-ray proton background using two different methods that produce consistent results. We report the electron-only spectrum, the positron-only spectrum, and the positron fraction between 20 and 200 GeV. We confirm that the fraction rises with energy in the 20-100 GeV range. The three new spectral points between 100 and 200 GeV are consistent with a fraction that is continuing to rise with energy.
The observations of the exceptionally bright gamma-ray burst (GRB) 130427A by the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope provide constraints on the nature of these unique ...astrophysical sources. GRB 130427A had the largest fluence, highest-energy photon (95 GeV), longest γ-ray duration (20 hours), and one of the largest isotropie energy releases ever observed from a GRB. Temporal and spectral analyses of GRB 130427A challenge the widely accepted model that the nonthermal high-energy emission in the afterglow phase of GRBs is synchrotron emission radiated by electrons accelerated at an external shock.
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) cm3 s(-1) at 5 GeV to about 5×10(-23) cm3 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 (∼3×10(-26) cm3 s(-1) for a purely s-wave cross section), without assuming additional boost factors.
The Large Area Telescope (Fermi/LAT, hereafter LAT), the primary instrument on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi) mission, is an imaging, wide field-of-view (FoV), high-energy gamma -ray ...telescope, covering the energy range from below 20 MeV to more than 300 GeV. The LAT was built by an international collaboration with contributions from space agencies, high-energy particle physics institutes, and universities in France, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the United States. This paper describes the LAT, its preflight expected performance, and summarizes the key science objectives that will be addressed. On-orbit performance will be presented in detail in a subsequent paper. The LAT is a pair-conversion telescope with a precision tracker and calorimeter, each consisting of a 4 X 4 array of 16 modules, a segmented anticoincidence detector that covers the tracker array, and a programmable trigger and data acquisition system. Each tracker module has a vertical stack of 18 (x, y) tracking planes, including two layers (x and y) of single-sided silicon strip detectors and high-Z converter material (tungsten) per tray. Every calorimeter module has 96 CsI(Tl) crystals, arranged in an eight-layer hodoscopic configuration with a total depth of 8.6 radiation lengths, giving both longitudinal and transverse information about the energy deposition pattern. The calorimeter's depth and segmentation enable the high-energy reach of the LAT and contribute significantly to background rejection. The aspect ratio of the tracker (height/width) is 0.4, allowing a large FoV (2.4 sr) and ensuring that most pair-conversion showers initiated in the tracker will pass into the calorimeter for energy measurement. Data obtained with the LAT are intended to (1) permit rapid notification of high-energy gamma -ray bursts and transients and facilitate monitoring of variable sources, (2) yield an extensive catalog of several thousand high-energy sources obtained from an all-sky survey, (3) measure spectra from 20 MeV to more than 50 GeV for several hundred sources, (4) localize point sources to 0.3-2 arcmin, (5) map and obtain spectra of extended sources such as SNRs, molecular clouds, and nearby galaxies, (6) measure the diffuse isotropic gamma -ray background up to TeV energies, and (7) explore the discovery space for dark matter.
ABSTRACT
We present a catalog of high-energy gamma-ray sources detected by the Large Area
Telescope (LAT), the primary science instrument on the
Fermi Gamma-ray
Space Telescope (Fermi)
, during the ...first 11 months of the science
phase of the mission, which began on 2008 August 4. The First
Fermi
-LAT catalog (1FGL) contains 1451 sources detected and
characterized in the 100 MeV to 100 GeV range. Source detection was based on the
average flux over the 11 month period, and the threshold likelihood Test
Statistic is 25, corresponding to a significance of just over 4σ. The 1FGL
catalog includes source location regions, defined in terms of elliptical fits to
the 95% confidence regions and power-law spectral fits as well as flux
measurements in five energy bands for each source. In addition, monthly light
curves are provided. Using a protocol defined before launch we have tested for
several populations of gamma-ray sources among the sources in the catalog. For
individual LAT-detected sources we provide firm identifications or plausible
associations with sources in other astronomical catalogs. Identifications are
based on correlated variability with counterparts at other wavelengths, or on
spin or orbital periodicity. For the catalogs and association criteria that we
have selected, 630 of the sources are unassociated. Care was taken to
characterize the sensitivity of the results to the model of interstellar diffuse
gamma-ray emission used to model the bright foreground, with the result that 161
sources at low Galactic latitudes and toward bright local interstellar clouds
are flagged as having properties that are strongly dependent on the model or as
potentially being due to incorrectly modeled structure in the Galactic diffuse
emission.
We have conducted a detailed investigation of the broadband spectral properties of the gamma-ray selected blazars of the Fermi LAT Bright AGN Sample (LBAS). By combining our accurately estimated ...Fermi gamma-ray spectra with Swift, radio, infra-red, optical, and other hard X-ray/gamma-ray data, collected within 3 months of the LBAS data taking period, we were able to assemble high-quality and quasi-simultaneous spectral energy distributions (SED) for 48 LBAS blazars. The SED of these gamma-ray sources is similar to that of blazars discovered at other wavelengths, clearly showing, in the usual log nu-log nu F-nu representation, the typical broadband spectral signatures normally attributed to a combination of low-energy synchrotron radiation followed by inverse Compton emission of one or more components. We have used these SED to characterize the peak intensity of both the low-and the high-energy components. The results have been used to derive empirical relationships that estimate the position of the two peaks from the broadband colors (i.e., the radio to optical, alpha(ro), and optical to X-ray, alpha(ox), spectral slopes) and from the gamma-ray spectral index. Our data show that the synchrotron peak frequency (nu(S)(peak)) is positioned between 10(12.5) and 10(14.5) Hz in broad-lined flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) and between 10(13) and 10(17) Hz in featureless BL Lacertae objects. We find that the gamma-ray spectral slope is strongly correlated with the synchrotron peak energy and with the X-ray spectral index, as expected at first order in synchrotron-inverse Compton scenarios. However, simple homogeneous, one-zone, synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) models cannot explain most of our SED, especially in the case of FSRQs and low energy peaked (LBL) BL Lacs. More complex models involving external Compton radiation or multiple SSC components are required to reproduce the overall SED and the observed spectral variability. While more than 50% of known radio bright high energy peaked (HBL) BL Lacs are detected in the LBAS sample, only less than 13% of known bright FSRQs and LBL BL Lacs are included. This suggests that the latter sources, as a class, may be much fainter gamma-ray emitters than LBAS blazars, and could in fact radiate close to the expectations of simple SSC models. We categorized all our sources according to a new physical classification scheme based on the generally accepted paradigm for Active Galactic Nuclei and on the results of this SED study. Since the LAT detector is more sensitive to flat spectrum gamma-ray sources, the correlation between nu(S)(peak) and gamma-ray spectral index strongly favors the detection of high energy peaked blazars, thus explaining the Fermi overabundance of this type of sources compared to radio and EGRET samples. This selection effect is similar to that experienced in the soft X-ray band where HBL BL Lacs are the dominant type of blazars.
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