We present detailed analysis of two gamma-ray sources, 1FGL J1801.3-2322c and 1FGL J1800.5-2359c, that have been found toward the supernova remnant (SNR) W28 with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on ...board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. 1FGL J1801.3-2322c is found to be an extended source within the boundary of SNR W28, and to extensively overlap with the TeV gamma-ray source HESS J1801-233, which is associated with a dense molecular cloud interacting with the SNR. The gamma-ray spectrum measured with the LAT from 0.2 to 100 GeV can be described by a broken power-law function with a break at similar to 1 GeV and photon indices of 2.09 +/- 0.08 (stat) +/- 0.28 (sys) below the break and 2.74 +/- 0.06 (stat) +/- 0.09 (sys) above the break. Given the clear association between HESS J1801-233 and the shocked molecular cloud and a smoothly connected spectrum in the GeV-TeV band, we consider the origin of the gamma-ray emission in both GeV and TeV ranges to be the interaction between particles accelerated in the SNR and the molecular cloud. The decay of neutral pions produced in interactions between accelerated hadrons and dense molecular gas provides a reasonable explanation for the broadband gamma-ray spectrum. 1FGL J1800.5-2359c, located outside the southern boundary of SNR W28, cannot be resolved. An upper limit on the size of the gamma-ray emission was estimated to be similar to 16' using events above similar to 2 GeV under the assumption of a circular shape with uniform surface brightness. It appears to coincide with the TeV source HESS J1800-240B, which is considered to be associated with a dense molecular cloud that contains the ultra compact H II region W28A2 (G5.89-0.39). We found no significant gamma-ray emission in the LAT energy band at the positions of TeV sources HESS J1800-230A and HESS J1800-230C. The LAT data for HESS J1800-230A combined with the TeV data points indicate a spectral break between 10 GeV and 100 GeV.
The light emitted by stars and accreting compact objects through the history of the universe is encoded in the intensity of the extragalactic background light (EBL). Knowledge of the EBL is important ...to understand the nature of star formation and galaxy evolution, but direct measurements of the EBL are limited by galactic and other foreground emissions. Here, we report an absorption feature seen in the combined spectra of a sample of gamma-ray blazars out to a redshift of z ~1.6. This feature is caused by attenuation of gamma rays by the EBL at optical to ultraviolet frequencies and allowed us to measure the EBL flux density in this frequency band.
A classical nova results from runaway thermonuclear explosions on the surface of a white dwarf that accretes matter from a low-mass main-sequence stellar companion. In 2012 and 2013, three novae were ...detected in γ rays and stood in contrast to the first γ-ray–detected nova V407 Cygni 2010, which belongs to a rare class of symbiotic binary systems. Despite likely differences in the compositions and masses of their white dwarf progenitors, the three classical novae are similarly characterized as soft-spectrum transient γ-ray sources detected over 2- to 3-week durations. The γ-ray detections point to unexpected high-energy particle acceleration processes linked to the mass ejection from thermonuclear explosions in an unanticipated class of Galactic γ-ray sources.
The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) detected gamma-rays up to 4 GeV from two bright X-class solar flares on 2012 March 7, showing both an impulsive and temporally extended emission phases. The ...gamma-rays appear to originate from the same active region as the X-rays associated with these flares. The >100 MeV gamma-ray flux decreases monotonically during the first hour (impulsive phase) followed by a slower decrease for the next 20 hr. A power law with a high-energy exponential cutoff can adequately describe the photon spectrum. Assuming that the gamma rays result from the decay of pions produced by accelerated protons and ions with a power-law spectrum, we find that the index of that spectrum is ~3, with minor variations during the impulsive phase. During the extended phase the photon spectrum softens monotonically, requiring the proton index varying from ~4 to >5. The >30 MeV proton flux observed by the GOES satellites also shows a flux decrease and spectral softening, but with a harder spectrum (index ~2-3). Based on these observations, we explore the relative merits of prompt or continuous acceleration scenarios, hadronic or leptonic emission processes, and acceleration at the solar corona or by the fast coronal mass ejections. We conclude that the most likely scenario is continuous acceleration of protons in the solar corona that penetrate the lower solar atmosphere and produce pions that decay into gamma rays. However, acceleration in the downstream of the shock cannot be definitely ruled out.
We present the analysis of the interstellar gamma-ray emission measured by the Fermi Large Area Telescope toward a region in the second Galactic quadrant at 100 degrees <= l <= 145 degrees and ...-15 degrees <= b <= +30 degrees. This region encompasses the prominent Gould Belt clouds of Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and the Polaris flare, as well as atomic and molecular complexes at larger distances, like that associated with NGC 7538 in the Perseus arm. The good kinematic separation in velocity between the local, Perseus, and outer arms, and the presence of massive complexes in each of them, make this region well suited to probe cosmic rays (CRs) and the interstellar medium beyond the solar circle. The gamma-ray emissivity spectrum of the gas in the Gould Belt is consistent with expectations based on the locally measured CR spectra. The gamma-ray emissivity decreases from the Gould Belt to the Perseus arm, but the measured gradient is flatter than expectations for CR sources peaking in the inner Galaxy as suggested by pulsars. The X-CO = N(H-2)/W-CO conversion factor is found to increase from (0.87 +/- 0.05) x 10(20) cm(-2) (K km s(-1))(-1) in the Gould Belt to (1.9 +/- 0.2) x 10(20) cm(-2) (K km s(-1))(-1) in the Perseus arm. We derive masses for the molecular clouds under study. Dark gas, not properly traced by radio and microwave surveys, is detected in the Gould Belt through a correlated excess of dust and gamma-ray emission: its mass amounts to similar to 50% of the CO-traced mass.
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.
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has detected the γ-ray glow emanating from the giant radio lobes of the radio galaxy Centaurus A. The resolved γ-ray image shows the lobes clearly separated from ...the central active source. In contrast to all other active galaxies detected so far in high-energy γ-rays, the lobe flux constitutes a considerable portion (greater than one-half) of the total source emission. The γ-ray emission from the lobes is interpreted as inverse Compton-scattered relic radiation from the cosmic microwave background, with additional contribution at higher energies from the infrared-to-optical extragalactic background light.These measurements provide ã-ray constraints on the magnetic field and particle energy content in radio galaxy lobes, as well as a promising method to probe the cosmic relic photon fields.
1. Buffering of glutamate-induced Ca2+ loads in single rat hippocampal neurons grown in primary culture was studied with ratiometric fluorescent Ca2+ indicators. The hypothesis that mitochondria ...buffer the large Ca2+ loads elicited by glutamate was tested. 2. The relationship between glutamate concentration and the resulting increase in the free intracellular Ca2+ concentration (Ca2+i) reached an asymptote at 30 microM glutamate. This apparent ceiling was not a result of saturation of the Ca2+ indicator, because these results were obtained with the low-affinity (dissociation constant = 7 microM) Ca2+ indicator coumarin benzothiazole. 3. Five minutes of exposure to glutamate elicited concentration-dependent neuronal death detected 20-24 h later by the release of the cytosolic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase into the media. Maximal neurotoxicity was elicited at glutamate concentrations > or = 300 microM. The discrepancy between the glutamate concentration required to evoke a maximal rise in Ca2+i and the higher concentration necessary elicit maximal Ca(2+)-triggered cell death suggests that large neurotoxic Ca2+ loads are in part removed to a noncytoplasmic pool. 4. Treatment of hippocampal neurons with the protonophore carbonyl cyanide p-(trifluoro-methoxy) phenylhydrazone (FCCP; 1 microM, 5 min) greatly increased the amplitude of glutamate-induced Ca2+i transients, although it had little effect on basal Ca2+i. The effect of FCCP was more pronounced on responses elicited by stimuli that produced large Ca2+ loads. Similar results were obtained by inhibition of electron transport with antimycin A1. Neither agent, under the conditions described here, significantly depressed cellular ATP levels as indicated by luciferase-based ATP measurements, consistent with the robust anaerobic metabolism of cultured cells. Thus inhibition of mitochondrial function disrupted the buffering of glutamate-induced Ca2+ loads in a manner that was not related to changes in ATP. 5. Removal of extracellular Na+ for 20 min before exposure to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) (200 microM, 3 min), presumably reducing intracellular Na+, evoked a prolonged plateau phase in the recovery of the Ca2+i transient that resembled the mitochondrion-mediated Ca2+i plateau previously observed in sensory neurons. Return of extracellular Na+ immediately after exposure to NMDA increased the height and shortened the duration of the plateau phase. Thus manipulation of extracellular Na+ altered the plateau in a manner consistent with plateau height being modulated by intracellular Na+ levels. 6. In neurons depleted of Na+ and challenged with NMDA, a plateau resulted; during the plateau, application of FCCP in the absence of extracellular Ca2+ produced a large increase in Ca2+i. In contrast, similar treatment of cells that were not depleted of Na+ failed to increase Ca2+i. Thus Na+ depletion traps Ca2+ within an FCCP-sensitive intracellular store. 7. Glutamate-induced Ca2+ loads are sequestered by an intracellular store that had a low affinity and a high capacity for Ca2+, was released by FCCP, was sensitive to antimycin A1, and was modulated by intracellular Na+ levels. We conclude that mitochondria sequester glutamate-induced Ca2+ loads and suggest that Ca2+ entry into mitochondria may account for the poor correlation between glutamate-induced neurotoxicity and glutamate-induced changes in Ca2+i.
In three years of observations since the beginning of nominal science operations in 2008 August, the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has observed high-energy ...(> ~20 MeV) gamma -ray emission from 35 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Among these, 28 GRBs have been detected above 100 MeV and 7 GRBs above ~20 MeV. The first Fermi-LAT catalog of GRBs is a compilation of these detections and provides a systematic study of high-energy emission from GRBs for the first time. To generate the catalog, we examined 733 GRBs detected by the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on Fermi and processed each of them using the same analysis sequence. Details of the methodology followed by the LAT collaboration for the GRB analysis are provided. We summarize the temporal and spectral properties of the LAT-detected GRBs. We also discuss characteristics of LAT-detected emission such as its delayed onset and longer duration compared with emission detected by the GBM, its power-law temporal decay at late times, and the fact that it is dominated by a power-law spectral component that appears in addition to the usual Band model.
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