Fermi Large Area Telescope Constraints on the Gamma-ray

A.A. Abdo; M. Ackermann; M. Ajello; A. Allafort; W.B. Atwood; L. Baldini; J. Ballet; J. Granot; M. Ziegler

Fermi Large Area Telescope Constraints on the Gamma-ray

A.A. Abdo, M. Ackermann, M. Ajello, A. Allafort, W.B. Atwood, L. Baldini, J. Ballet, J. Granot, M. Ziegler

Centre for Astrophysics Research (CAR)

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Abstract

The Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) includes photons with wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared, which are effective at attenuating gamma rays with energy above ~10 GeV during propagation from sources at cosmological distances. This results in a redshift- and energy-dependent attenuation of the gamma-ray flux of extragalactic sources such as blazars and Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The Large Area Telescope onboard Fermi detects a sample of gamma-ray blazars with redshift up to z~3, and GRBs with redshift up to z~4.3. Using photons above 10 GeV collected by Fermi over more than one year of observations for these sources, we investigate the effect of gamma-ray flux attenuation by the EBL. We place upper limits on the gamma-ray opacity of the Universe at various energies and redshifts, and compare this with predictions from well-known EBL models. We find that an EBL intensity in the optical-ultraviolet wavelengths as great as predicted by the "baseline" model of Stecker et al. (2006) can be ruled out with high confidence.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1082-1096
Journal	The Astrophysical Journal
Volume	723
Issue number	2
Publication status	Published - 2010

Keywords

diffuse radiation
dust, extinction
gamma rays: general
opacity
galaxies: active
gamma-ray burst: general

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title = "Fermi Large Area Telescope Constraints on the Gamma-ray",

abstract = "The Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) includes photons with wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared, which are effective at attenuating gamma rays with energy above ~10 GeV during propagation from sources at cosmological distances. This results in a redshift- and energy-dependent attenuation of the gamma-ray flux of extragalactic sources such as blazars and Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The Large Area Telescope onboard Fermi detects a sample of gamma-ray blazars with redshift up to z~3, and GRBs with redshift up to z~4.3. Using photons above 10 GeV collected by Fermi over more than one year of observations for these sources, we investigate the effect of gamma-ray flux attenuation by the EBL. We place upper limits on the gamma-ray opacity of the Universe at various energies and redshifts, and compare this with predictions from well-known EBL models. We find that an EBL intensity in the optical-ultraviolet wavelengths as great as predicted by the {"}baseline{"} model of Stecker et al. (2006) can be ruled out with high confidence.",

keywords = "diffuse radiation, dust, extinction, gamma rays: general, opacity, galaxies: active, gamma-ray burst: general",

author = "A.A. Abdo and M. Ackermann and M. Ajello and A. Allafort and W.B. Atwood and L. Baldini and J. Ballet and J. Granot and M. Ziegler",

note = "{\textquoteleft}In these times, during the rise in the popularity of institutional repositories, the Society does not forbid authors from depositing their work in such repositories. However, the AAS regards the deposit of scholarly work in such repositories to be a decision of the individual scholar, as long as the individual's actions respect the diligence of the journals and their reviewers.{\textquoteright} Original article can be found at: http://iopscience.iop.org/ Copyright American Astronomical Society",

year = "2010",

language = "English",

volume = "723",

pages = "1082--1096",

journal = "The Astrophysical Journal",

issn = "0004-637X",

publisher = "IOP Publishing Ltd.",

number = "2",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Fermi Large Area Telescope Constraints on the Gamma-ray

AU - Abdo, A.A.

AU - Ackermann, M.

AU - Ajello, M.

AU - Allafort, A.

AU - Atwood, W.B.

AU - Baldini, L.

AU - Ballet, J.

AU - Granot, J.

AU - Ziegler, M.

N1 - ‘In these times, during the rise in the popularity of institutional repositories, the Society does not forbid authors from depositing their work in such repositories. However, the AAS regards the deposit of scholarly work in such repositories to be a decision of the individual scholar, as long as the individual's actions respect the diligence of the journals and their reviewers.’ Original article can be found at: http://iopscience.iop.org/ Copyright American Astronomical Society

PY - 2010

Y1 - 2010

N2 - The Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) includes photons with wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared, which are effective at attenuating gamma rays with energy above ~10 GeV during propagation from sources at cosmological distances. This results in a redshift- and energy-dependent attenuation of the gamma-ray flux of extragalactic sources such as blazars and Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The Large Area Telescope onboard Fermi detects a sample of gamma-ray blazars with redshift up to z~3, and GRBs with redshift up to z~4.3. Using photons above 10 GeV collected by Fermi over more than one year of observations for these sources, we investigate the effect of gamma-ray flux attenuation by the EBL. We place upper limits on the gamma-ray opacity of the Universe at various energies and redshifts, and compare this with predictions from well-known EBL models. We find that an EBL intensity in the optical-ultraviolet wavelengths as great as predicted by the "baseline" model of Stecker et al. (2006) can be ruled out with high confidence.

AB - The Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) includes photons with wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared, which are effective at attenuating gamma rays with energy above ~10 GeV during propagation from sources at cosmological distances. This results in a redshift- and energy-dependent attenuation of the gamma-ray flux of extragalactic sources such as blazars and Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The Large Area Telescope onboard Fermi detects a sample of gamma-ray blazars with redshift up to z~3, and GRBs with redshift up to z~4.3. Using photons above 10 GeV collected by Fermi over more than one year of observations for these sources, we investigate the effect of gamma-ray flux attenuation by the EBL. We place upper limits on the gamma-ray opacity of the Universe at various energies and redshifts, and compare this with predictions from well-known EBL models. We find that an EBL intensity in the optical-ultraviolet wavelengths as great as predicted by the "baseline" model of Stecker et al. (2006) can be ruled out with high confidence.

KW - diffuse radiation

KW - dust, extinction

KW - gamma rays: general

KW - opacity

KW - galaxies: active

KW - gamma-ray burst: general

M3 - Article

SN - 0004-637X

VL - 723

SP - 1082

EP - 1096

JO - The Astrophysical Journal

JF - The Astrophysical Journal

IS - 2

ER -

Fermi Large Area Telescope Constraints on the Gamma-ray

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Keywords

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