The first three months of sky-survey operation with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope reveal 132 bright sources at |b| > 10 degrees with test statistic ...greater than 100 ( corresponding to about 10 sigma). Two methods, based on the CGRaBS, CRATES, and BZCat catalogs, indicate high-confidence associations of 106 of these sources with known active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This sample is referred to as the LAT Bright AGN Sample (LBAS). It contains two radio galaxies, namely, Centaurus A and NGC 1275, and 104 blazars consisting of 58 flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), 42 BL Lac objects, and 4 blazars with unknown classification. Four new blazars were discovered on the basis of the LAT detections. Remarkably, the LBAS includes 10 high-energy-peaked BL Lacs (HBLs), sources which were previously difficult to detect in the GeV range. Another 10 lower-confidence associations are found. Only 33 of the sources, plus two at |b| < 10 degrees, were previously detected with Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope( EGRET), probably due to variability. The analysis of the gamma-ray properties of the LBAS sources reveals that the average GeV spectra of BL Lac objects are significantly harder than the spectra of FSRQs. No significant correlation between radio and peak gamma-ray fluxes is observed. Blazar log N-log S distributions and luminosity functions are constructed to investigate the evolution of the different blazar classes, with positive evolution indicated for FSRQs but none for BL Lacs. The contribution of LAT blazars to the total extragalactic gamma-ray intensity is estimated.
We report on the observations of 14 dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope taken during the first 11 months of survey mode operations. The Fermi telescope, which ...is conducting an all-sky gamma-ray survey in the 20 MeV to > 300 GeV energy range, provides a new opportunity to test particle dark matter models through the expected gamma-ray emission produced by pair annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs). Local Group dSphs, the largest galactic substructures predicted by the cold dark matter scenario, are attractive targets for such indirect searches for dark matter because they are nearby and among the most extreme dark matter dominated environments. No significant gamma-ray emission was detected above 100 MeV from the candidate dwarf galaxies. We determine upper limits to the gamma-ray flux assuming both power-law spectra and representative spectra from WIMP annihilation. The resulting integral flux above 100 MeV is constrained to be at a level below around 10(-9) photons cm(-2) s(-1). Using recent stellar kinematic data, the gamma-ray flux limits are combined with improved determinations of the dark matter density profile in eight of the 14 candidate dwarfs to place limits on the pair-annihilation cross section of WIMPs in several widely studied extensions of the standard model, including its supersymmetric extension and other models that received recent attention. With the present data, we are able to rule out large parts of the parameter space where the thermal relic density is below the observed cosmological dark matter density and WIMPs (neutralinos here) are dominantly produced non-thermally, e. g., in models where supersymmetry breaking occurs via anomaly mediation. The gamma-ray limits presented here also constrain some WIMP models proposed to explain the Fermi and PAMELA e(+)e(-) data, including low-mass wino-like neutralinos and models with TeV masses pair annihilating into muon-antimuon pairs.
We perform a detailed study of the sensitivity to the anisotropies related to dark matter (DM) annihilation in the isotropic gamma-ray background (IGRB) as measured by the Fermi Large Area Telescope ...(Fermi LAT). For the first time, we take into account the effects of the Galactic foregrounds and use a realistic representation of the Fermi LAT. We implement an analysis pipeline which simulates Fermi LAT data sets starting from model maps of the Galactic foregrounds, the Fermi-resolved point sources, the extragalactic diffuse emission and the signal from DM annihilation. The effects of the detector are taken into account by convolving the model maps with the Fermi LAT instrumental response. We then use the angular power spectrum to characterize the anisotropy properties of the simulated data and to study the sensitivity to DM. We consider DM anisotropies of extragalactic origin and of Galactic origin (which can be generated through annihilation in the Milky Way substructures) as opposed to a background of anisotropies generated by sources of astrophysical origin, blazars for example. We find that with statistics from 5 yr of observation, Fermi is sensitive to a DM contribution at the level of 1-10 per cent of the measured IGRB depending on the DM mass m
χ and annihilation mode. In terms of the thermally averaged cross-section 〈σA
v〉, this corresponds to ∼10−25 cm3 s−1, i.e. slightly above the typical expectations for a thermal relic, for low values of the DM mass m
χ≲ 100 GeV. The anisotropy method for DM searches has a sensitivity comparable to the usual methods based only on the energy spectrum and thus constitutes an independent and complementary piece of information in the DM puzzle.
We report the detection of high-energy Delta *g-ray emission from two starburst galaxies using data obtained with the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Steady ...point-like emission above 200 MeV has been detected at significance levels of 6.8 Delta *s and 4.8 Delta *s, respectively, from sources positionally coincident with locations of the starburst galaxies M82 and NGC 253. The total fluxes of the sources are consistent with Delta *g-ray emission originating from the interaction of cosmic rays with local interstellar gas and radiation fields and constitute evidence for a link between massive star formation and Delta *g-ray emission in star-forming galaxies.
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 greater, > or approximately equal to 1 GeV relative to diffuse galactic gamma-ray emission models consistent with directly measured CR spectra (the so-called "EGRET GeV excess"). 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 for energies 100 MeV to 10 GeV and galactic latitudes 10 degrees < or = |b| < or = 20 degrees. 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.
We investigate the sensitivity of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope(GLAST) to indirectly detect weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs)through the $\gamma$-ray signal that their pair ...annihilation produces. WIMPsare among the favorite candidates to explain the compelling evidence that about80% of the mass in the Universe is non-baryonic dark matter (DM). They areserendipitously motivated by various extensions of the standard model ofparticle physics such as Supersymmetry and Universal Extra Dimensions (UED).With its unprecedented sensitivity and its very large energy range (20 MeV tomore than 300 GeV) the main instrument on board the GLAST satellite, the LargeArea Telescope (LAT), will open a new window of discovery. As our estimatesshow, the LAT will be able to detect an indirect DM signature for a large classof WIMP models given a cuspy profile for the DM distribution. Using the currentstate of the art Monte Carlo and event reconstruction software developed withinthe LAT collaboration, we present preliminary sensitivity studies for severalpossible sources inside and outside the Galaxy. We also discuss the potentialof the LAT to detect UED via the electron/positron channel. Diffuse backgroundmodeling and other background issues that will be important in setting limitsor seeing a signal are presented.
The first published Fermi large area telescope (Fermi-LAT) measurement of the isotropic diffuse gamma-ray emission is in good agreement with a single power law, and is not showing any signature of a ...dominant contribution from dark matter sources in the energy range from 20 to 100 GeV. We use the absolute size and spectral shape of this measured flux to derive cross section limits on three types of generic dark matter candidates: annihilating into quarks, charged leptons and monochromatic photons. Predicted gamma-ray fluxes from annihilating dark matter are strongly affected by the underlying distribution of dark matter, and by using different available results of matter structure formation we assess these uncertainties. We also quantify how the dark matter constraints depend on the assumed conventional backgrounds and on the Universe's transparency to high-energy gamma-rays. In reasonable background and dark matter structure scenarios (but not in all scenarios we consider) it is possible to exclude models proposed to explain the excess of electrons and positrons measured by the Fermi-LAT and PAMELA experiments. Derived limits also start to probe cross sections expected from thermally produced relics (e.g. in minimal supersymmetry models) annihilating predominantly into quarks. For the monochromatic gamma-ray signature, the current measurement constrains only dark matter scenarios with very strong signals.
Observations by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi mission of diffuse Delta *g-rays in a mid-latitude region in the third quadrant (Galactic longitude l from 200 deg to 260 deg and latitude ...|b| from 22 deg to 60 deg ) are reported. The region contains no known large molecular cloud and most of the atomic hydrogen is within 1 kpc of the solar system. The contributions of Delta *g-ray point sources and inverse Compton scattering are estimated and subtracted. The residual Delta *g-ray intensity exhibits a linear correlation with the atomic gas column density in energy from 100 MeV to 10 GeV. The measured integrated Delta *g-ray emissivity is (1.63 +/- 0.05) X 10-26 photons s-1sr-1 H-atom-1 and (0.66 +/- 0.02) X 10-26 photons s-1sr-1 H-atom-1 above 100 MeV and above 300 MeV, respectively, with an additional systematic error of ~10%. The differential emissivity from 100 MeV to 10 GeV agrees with calculations based on cosmic ray spectra consistent with those directly measured, at the 10% level. The results obtained indicate that cosmic ray nuclei spectra within 1 kpc from the solar system in regions studied are close to the local interstellar spectra inferred from direct measurements at the Earth within ~10%.
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.
We report on the first Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) measurements of the so-called "extragalactic" diffuse gamma-ray emission (EGB). This component of the diffuse gamma-ray emission is generally ...considered to have an isotropic or nearly isotropic distribution on the sky with diverse contributions discussed in the literature. The derivation of the EGB is based on detailed modeling of the bright foreground diffuse Galactic gamma-ray emission, the detected LAT sources, and the solar gamma-ray emission. We find the spectrum of the EGB is consistent with a power law with a differential spectral index gamma = 2.41 +/- 0.05 and intensity I(>100 MeV) = (1.03 +/- 0.17) x 10(-5) cm(-2) s(-1) sr(-1), where the error is systematics dominated. Our EGB spectrum is featureless, less intense, and softer than that derived from EGRET data.
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