Engineering topics

Berenji, B

Publications and source records attributed to Berenji, B.

At least 55 records · Page 3

DOE OSTI2011

DETECTION OF HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RAY EMISSION DURING THE X-RAY FLARING ACTIVITY IN GRB 100728A

We present the simultaneous Swift and Fermi observations of the bright GRB 100728A and its afterglow. The early X-ray emission is dominated by a vigorous flaring activity continuing until 1 ks after the burst. In the same time interval, high-energy emission is significantly detected by the Fermi/Large Area Telescope. Marginal evidence of GeV emission is observed up to later times. We discuss the broadband properties of this burst within both the internal and external shock scenarios, with a particular emphasis on the relation between X-ray flares, the GeV emission, and a continued long-duration central engine activity as their power source.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

OBSERVATIONS OF THE YOUNG SUPERNOVA REMNANT RX J1713.7-3946 WITH THE FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE

We present observations of the young supernova remnant (SNR) RX J1713.7-3946 with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). We clearly detect a source positionally coincident with the SNR. The source is extended with a best-fit extension of 0.{sup 0}55 {+-} 0.{sup 0}04 matching the size of the non-thermal X-ray and TeV gamma-ray emission from the remnant. The positional coincidence and the matching extended emission allow us to identify the LAT source with SNR RX J1713.7-3946. The spectrum of the source can be described by a very hard power law with a photon index of {Gamma} = 1.5 {+-} 0.1 that coincides in normalization with the steeper H.E.S.S.-detected gamma-ray spectrum at higher energies. The broadband gamma-ray emission is consistent with a leptonic origin as the dominant mechanism for the gamma-ray emission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

FERMI GAMMA-RAY SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS OF THE GAMMA-RAY OUTBURST FROM 3C454.3 IN NOVEMBER 2010

The flat-spectrum radio quasar 3C454.3 underwent an extraordinary 5 day {gamma}-ray outburst in 2010 November when the daily flux measured with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) at photon energies E > 100 MeV reached (66 {+-} 2) x 10{sup -6} photons cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}. This is a factor of three higher than its previous maximum flux recorded in 2009 December and {approx}> 5 times brighter than the Vela pulsar, which is normally the brightest source in the {gamma}-ray sky. The 3 hr peak flux was (85 {+-} 5)x10{sup -6} photons cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}, corresponding to an apparent isotropic luminosity of (2.1 {+-} 0.2)x10{sup 50} erg s{sup -1}, the highest ever recorded for a blazar. In this Letter, we investigate the features of this exceptional event in the {gamma}-ray band of the Fermi-LAT. In contrast to previous flares of the same source observed with the Fermi-LAT, clear spectral changes are observed during the flare.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

THE FIRST FERMI MULTIFREQUENCY CAMPAIGN ON BL LACERTAE: CHARACTERIZING THE LOW-ACTIVITY STATE OF THE EPONYMOUS BLAZAR

We report on observations of BL Lacertae during the first 18 months of Fermi LAT science operations and present results from a 48 day multifrequency coordinated campaign from 2008 August 19 to 2008 October 7. The radio to gamma-ray behavior of BL Lac is unveiled during a low-activity state thanks to the coordinated observations of radio-band (Metsaehovi and VLBA), near-IR/optical (Tuorla, Steward, OAGH, and MDM), and X-ray (RXTE and Swift) observatories. No variability was resolved in gamma rays during the campaign, and the brightness level was 15 times lower than the level of the 1997 EGRET outburst. Moderate and uncorrelated variability has been detected in UV and X-rays. The X-ray spectrum is found to be concave, indicating the transition region between the low- and high-energy components of the spectral energy distribution (SED). VLBA observation detected a synchrotron spectrum self-absorption turnover in the innermost part of the radio jet appearing to be elongated and inhomogeneous, and constrained the average magnetic field there to be less than 3 G. Over the following months, BL Lac appeared variable in gamma rays, showing flares (in 2009 April and 2010 January). There is no evidence for the correlation of gamma rays with the optical flux monitored from the ground in 18 months. The SED may be described by a single-zone or a two-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model, but a hybrid SSC plus external radiation Compton model seems to be preferred based on the observed variability and the fact that it provides a fit closest to equipartition.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

INSIGHTS INTO THE HIGH-ENERGY {gamma}-RAY EMISSION OF MARKARIAN 501 FROM EXTENSIVE MULTIFREQUENCY OBSERVATIONS IN THE FERMI ERA

We report on the {gamma}-ray activity of the blazar Mrk 501 during the first 480 days of Fermi operation. We find that the average Large Area Telescope (LAT) {gamma}-ray spectrum of Mrk 501 can be well described by a single power-law function with a photon index of 1.78 {+-} 0.03. While we observe relatively mild flux variations with the Fermi-LAT (within less than a factor of two), we detect remarkable spectral variability where the hardest observed spectral index within the LAT energy range is 1.52 {+-} 0.14, and the softest one is 2.51 {+-} 0.20. These unexpected spectral changes do not correlate with the measured flux variations above 0.3 GeV. In this paper, we also present the first results from the 4.5 month long multifrequency campaign (2009 March 15-August 1) on Mrk 501, which included the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), Swift, RXTE, MAGIC, and VERITAS, the F-GAMMA, GASP-WEBT, and other collaborations and instruments which provided excellent temporal and energy coverage of the source throughout the entire campaign. The extensive radio to TeV data set from this campaign provides us with the most detailed spectral energy distribution yet collected for this source during its relatively low activity. The average spectral energy distribution of Mrk 501 is well described by the standard one-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model. In the framework of this model, we find that the dominant emission region is characterized by a size {approx}<0.1 pc (comparable within a factor of few to the size of the partially resolved VLBA core at 15-43 GHz), and that the total jet power ({approx_equal}10{sup 44} erg s{sup -1}) constitutes only a small fraction ({approx}10{sup -3}) of the Eddington luminosity. The energy distribution of the freshly accelerated radiating electrons required to fit the time-averaged data has a broken power-law form in the energy range 0.3 GeV-10 TeV, with spectral indices 2.2 and 2.7 below and above the break energy of 20 GeV. We argue that such a form is consistent with a scenario in which the bulk of the energy dissipation within the dominant emission zone of Mrk 501 is due to relativistic, proton-mediated shocks. We find that the ultrarelativistic electrons and mildly relativistic protons within the blazar zone, if comparable in number, are in approximate energy equipartition, with their energy dominating the jet magnetic field energy by about two orders of magnitude.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

CONSTRAINTS ON THE COSMIC-RAY DENSITY GRADIENT BEYOND THE SOLAR CIRCLE FROM FERMI {gamma}-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF THE THIRD GALACTIC QUADRANT

We report an analysis of the interstellar {gamma}-ray emission in the third Galactic quadrant measured by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. The window encompassing the Galactic plane from longitude 210{sup 0} to 250{sup 0} has kinematically well-defined segments of the Local and the Perseus arms, suitable to study the cosmic-ray (CR) densities across the outer Galaxy. We measure no large gradient with Galactocentric distance of the {gamma}-ray emissivities per interstellar H atom over the regions sampled in this study. The gradient depends, however, on the optical depth correction applied to derive the H I column densities. No significant variations are found in the interstellar spectra in the outer Galaxy, indicating similar shapes of the CR spectrum up to the Perseus arm for particles with GeV to tens of GeV energies. The emissivity as a function of Galactocentric radius does not show a large enhancement in the spiral arms with respect to the interarm region. The measured emissivity gradient is flatter than expectations based on a CR propagation model using the radial distribution of supernova remnants and uniform diffusion properties. In this context, observations require a larger halo size and/or a flatter CR source distribution than usually assumed. The molecular mass calibrating ratio, X{sub CO} = N(H{sub 2})/W{sub CO}, is found to be (2.08 {+-} 0.11) x 10{sup 20} cm{sup -2}(K km s{sup -1}){sup -1} in the Local arm clouds and is not significantly sensitive to the choice of H I spin temperature. No significant variations are found for clouds in the interarm region.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

FERMI-LAT SEARCH FOR PULSAR WIND NEBULAE AROUND GAMMA-RAY PULSARS

The high sensitivity of the Fermi-LAT (Large Area Telescope) offers the first opportunity to study faint and extended GeV sources such as pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). After one year of observation the LAT detected and identified three PWNe: the Crab Nebula, Vela-X, and the PWN inside MSH 15-52. In the meantime, the list of LAT detected pulsars increased steadily. These pulsars are characterized by high energy loss rates ( E-dot ) from {approx}3 x 10{sup 33} erg s{sup -1} to 5 x 10{sup 38} erg s{sup -1} and are therefore likely to power a PWN. This paper summarizes the search for PWNe in the off-pulse windows of 54 LAT-detected pulsars using 16 months of survey observations. Ten sources show significant emission, seven of these likely being of magnetospheric origin. The detection of significant emission in the off-pulse interval offers new constraints on the {gamma}-ray emitting regions in pulsar magnetospheres. The three other sources with significant emission are the Crab Nebula, Vela-X, and a new PWN candidate associated with the LAT pulsar PSR J1023-5746, coincident with the TeV source HESS J1023-575. We further explore the association between the HESS and the Fermi source by modeling its spectral energy distribution. Flux upper limits derived for the 44 remaining sources are used to provide new constraints on famous PWNe that have been detected at keV and/or TeV energies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

MULTI-WAVELENGTH OBSERVATIONS OF THE FLARING GAMMA-RAY BLAZAR 3C 66A IN 2008 OCTOBER

The BL Lacertae object 3C 66A was detected in a flaring state by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and VERITAS in 2008 October. In addition to these gamma-ray observations, F-GAMMA, GASP-WEBT, PAIRITEL, MDM, ATOM, Swift, and Chandra provided radio to X-ray coverage. The available light curves show variability and, in particular, correlated flares are observed in the optical and Fermi-LAT gamma-ray band. The resulting spectral energy distribution can be well fitted using standard leptonic models with and without an external radiation field for inverse Compton scattering. It is found, however, that only the model with an external radiation field can accommodate the intra-night variability observed at optical wavelengths.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2010

FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE CONSTRAINTS ON THE GAMMA-RAY OPACITY OF THE UNIVERSE

The extragalactic background light (EBL) includes photons with wavelengths from ultraviolet to infrared, which are effective at attenuating gamma rays with energy above {approx}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 on board Fermi detects a sample of {gamma}-ray blazars with redshift up to z {approx} 3, and GRBs with redshift up to z {approx} 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. can be ruled out with high confidence.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2010

FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE OBSERVATION OF A GAMMA-RAY SOURCE AT THE POSITION OF ETA CARINAE

The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected a {gamma}-ray source that is spatially consistent with the location of Eta Carinae. This source has been persistently bright since the beginning of the LAT survey observations (from 2008 August to 2009 July, the time interval considered here). The {gamma}-ray signal is detected significantly throughout the LAT energy band (i.e., up to {approx}100 GeV). The 0.1-100 GeV energy spectrum is well represented by a combination of a cutoff power-law model (<10 GeV) and a hard power-law component (>10 GeV). The total flux (>100 MeV) is 3.7{sup +0.3}{sub -0.1} x 10{sup -7} photons s{sup -1} cm{sup -2}, with additional systematic uncertainties of 10%, and consistent with the average flux measured by AGILE. The light curve obtained by Fermi is consistent with steady emission. Our observations do not confirm the presence of a {gamma}-ray flare in 2008 October, as reported by Tavani et al., although we cannot exclude that a flare lasting only a few hours escaped detection by the Fermi LAT. We also do not find any evidence for {gamma}-ray variability that correlates with the large X-ray variability of Eta Carinae observed during 2008 December and 2009 January. We are thus not able to establish an unambiguous identification of the LAT source with Eta Carinae.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2010

Searches for cosmic-ray electron anisotropies with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

The Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi satellite (Fermi LAT) detected more than 1.6x10{sup 6} cosmic-ray electrons/positrons with energies above 60 GeV during its first year of operation. The arrival directions of these events were searched for anisotropies of angular scale extending from {approx}10 deg. up to 90 deg., and of minimum energy extending from 60 GeV up to 480 GeV. Two independent techniques were used to search for anisotropies, both resulting in null results. Upper limits on the degree of the anisotropy were set that depended on the analyzed energy range and on the anisotropy's angular scale. The upper limits for a dipole anisotropy ranged from {approx}0.5% to {approx}10%.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2010

Fermi LAT observations of cosmic-ray electrons from 7 GeV to 1 TeV

We present the results of our analysis of cosmic-ray electrons using about 8x10{sup 6} electron candidates detected in the first 12 months on-orbit by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This work extends our previously published cosmic-ray electron spectrum down to 7 GeV, giving a spectral range of approximately 2.5 decades up to 1 TeV. We describe in detail the analysis and its validation using beam-test and on-orbit data. In addition, we describe the spectrum measured via a subset of events selected for the best energy resolution as a cross-check on the measurement using the full event sample. Our electron spectrum can be described with a power law {proportional_to}E{sup -3.08{+-}0.05} with no prominent spectral features within systematic uncertainties. Within the limits of our uncertainties, we can accommodate a slight spectral hardening at around 100 GeV and a slight softening above 500 GeV.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2010

GAMMA-RAY LIGHT CURVES AND VARIABILITY OF BRIGHT FERMI-DETECTED BLAZARS

This paper presents light curves as well as the first systematic characterization of variability of the 106 objects in the high-confidence Fermi Large Area Telescope Bright AGN Sample (LBAS). Weekly light curves of this sample, obtained during the first 11 months of the Fermi survey (2008 August 4-2009 July 4), are tested for variability and their properties are quantified through autocorrelation function and structure function analysis. For the brightest sources, 3 or 4 day binned light curves are extracted in order to determine power density spectra (PDSs) and to fit the temporal structure of major flares. More than 50% of the sources are found to be variable with high significance, where high states do not exceed 1/4 of the total observation range. Variation amplitudes are larger for flat spectrum radio quasars and low/intermediate synchrotron frequency peaked BL Lac objects. Autocorrelation timescales derived from weekly light curves vary from four to a dozen of weeks. Variable sources of the sample have weekly and 3-4 day bin light curves that can be described by 1/f {sup {alpha}} PDS, and show two kinds of gamma-ray variability: (1) rather constant baseline with sporadic flaring activity characterized by flatter PDS slopes resembling flickering and red noise with occasional intermittence and (2)-measured for a few blazars showing strong activity-complex and structured temporal profiles characterized by long-term memory and steeper PDS slopes, reflecting a random walk underlying mechanism. The average slope of the PDS of the brightest 22 FSRQs and of the 6 brightest BL Lacs is 1.5 and 1.7, respectively. The study of temporal profiles of well-resolved flares observed in the 10 brightest LBAS sources shows that they generally have symmetric profiles and that their total duration vary between 10 and 100 days. Results presented here can assist in source class recognition for unidentified sources and can serve as reference for more detailed analysis of the brightest gamma-ray blazars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2010

FERMI GAMMA-RAY SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS OF GAMMA-RAY OUTBURSTS FROM 3C 454.3 IN 2009 DECEMBER AND 2010 APRIL

The flat spectrum radio quasar 3C 454.3 underwent an extraordinary outburst in 2009 December when it became the brightest {gamma}-ray source in the sky for over 1 week. Its daily flux measured with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope at photon energies E>100 MeV reached F{sub 100} = 22 {+-} 1 x 10{sup -6} photon cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}, representing the highest daily flux of any blazar ever recorded in high-energy {gamma}-rays. It again became the brightest source in the sky in 2010 April, triggering a pointed-mode observation by Fermi. The correlated {gamma}-ray temporal and spectral properties during these exceptional events are presented and discussed. The main results show flux variability over time scales less than 3 hr and very mild spectral variability with an indication of gradual hardening preceding major flares. The light curves during periods of enhanced activity in 2008 July-August and 2010 December show strong resemblance, with a flux plateau of a few days preceding the major flare. No consistent loop pattern emerged in the {gamma}-ray spectral index versus the flux plane as would be expected in acceleration and cooling scenarios. The maximum energy of a photon from 3C 454.3 is {approx}20 GeV and a minimum Doppler factor of {approx}13 is derived. The {gamma}-ray spectrum of 3C 454.3 shows a significant spectral break between {approx}2 and 3 GeV that is very weakly dependent on the flux state, even when the flux changes by an order of magnitude.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2010

FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE AND MULTI-WAVELENGTH OBSERVATIONS OF THE FLARING ACTIVITY OF PKS 1510-089 BETWEEN 2008 SEPTEMBER AND 2009 JUNE

We report on the multi-wavelength observations of PKS 1510-089 (a flat spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ) at z = 0.361) during its high activity period between 2008 September and 2009 June. During this 11 month period, the source was characterized by a complex variability at optical, UV, and {gamma}-ray bands, on timescales down to 6-12 hr. The brightest {gamma}-ray isotropic luminosity, recorded on 2009 March 26, was {approx_equal}2 x 10{sup 48} erg s{sup -1}. The spectrum in the Fermi Large Area Telescope energy range shows a mild curvature described well by a log-parabolic law, and can be understood as due to the Klein-Nishina effect. The {gamma}-ray flux has a complex correlation with the other wavelengths. There is no correlation at all with the X-ray band, a weak correlation with the UV, and a significant correlation with the optical flux. The {gamma}-ray flux seems to lead the optical one by about 13 days. From the UV photometry, we estimated a black hole mass of {approx_equal}5.4 x 10{sup 8} M{sub sun} and an accretion rate of {approx_equal}0.5 M{sub sun} yr{sup -1}. Although the power in the thermal and non-thermal outputs is smaller compared to the very luminous and distant FSRQs, PKS 1510-089 exhibits a quite large Compton dominance and a prominent big blue bump (BBB) as observed in the most powerful {gamma}-ray quasars. The BBB was still prominent during the historical maximum optical state in 2009 May, but the optical/UV spectral index was softer than in the quiescent state. This seems to indicate that the BBB was not completely dominated by the synchrotron emission during the highest optical state. We model the broadband spectrum assuming a leptonic scenario in which the inverse Compton emission is dominated by the scattering of soft photons produced externally to the jet. The resulting model-dependent jet energetic content is compatible with a scenario in which the jet is powered by the accretion disk, with a total efficiency within the Kerr black hole limit.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2010

FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS OF GAMMA-RAY PULSARS PSR J1057-5226, J1709-4429, AND J1952+3252

The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data have confirmed the pulsed emission from all six high-confidence gamma-ray pulsars previously known from the EGRET observations. We report results obtained from the analysis of 13 months of LAT data for three of these pulsars (PSR J1057-5226, PSR J1709-4429, and PSR J1952+3252) each of which had some unique feature among the EGRET pulsars. The excellent sensitivity of LAT allows more detailed analysis of the evolution of the pulse profile with energy and also of the variation of the spectral shape with phase. We measure the cutoff energy of the pulsed emission from these pulsars for the first time and provide a more complete picture of the emission mechanism. The results confirm some, but not all, of the features seen in the EGRET data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2010

FERMI-LAT OBSERVATIONS OF THE GEMINGA PULSAR

We report on the Fermi-LAT observations of the Geminga pulsar, the second brightest non-variable GeV source in the {gamma}-ray sky and the first example of a radio-quiet {gamma}-ray pulsar. The observations cover one year, from the launch of the Fermi satellite through 2009 June 15. A data sample of over 60,000 photons enabled us to build a timing solution based solely on {gamma}-rays. Timing analysis shows two prominent peaks, separated by {Delta}{phi} = 0.497 {+-} 0.004 in phase, which narrow with increasing energy. Pulsed {gamma}-rays are observed beyond 18 GeV, precluding emission below 2.7 stellar radii because of magnetic absorption. The phase-averaged spectrum was fitted with a power law with exponential cutoff of spectral index {Gamma} = (1.30 {+-} 0.01 {+-} 0.04), cutoff energy E {sub 0} = (2.46 {+-} 0.04 {+-} 0.17) GeV, and an integral photon flux above 0.1 GeV of (4.14 {+-} 0.02 {+-} 0.32) x 10{sup -6} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}. The first uncertainties are statistical and the second ones are systematic. The phase-resolved spectroscopy shows a clear evolution of the spectral parameters, with the spectral index reaching a minimum value just before the leading peak and the cutoff energy having maxima around the peaks. The phase-resolved spectroscopy reveals that pulsar emission is present at all rotational phases. The spectral shape, broad pulse profile, and maximum photon energy favor the outer magnetospheric emission scenarios.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2010

THE FERMI-LAT HIGH-LATITUDE SURVEY: SOURCE COUNT DISTRIBUTIONS AND THE ORIGIN OF THE EXTRAGALACTIC DIFFUSE BACKGROUND

This is the first of a series of papers aimed at characterizing the populations detected in the high-latitude sky of the Fermi-LAT survey. In this work, we focus on the intrinsic spectral and flux properties of the source sample. We show that when selection effects are properly taken into account, Fermi sources are on average steeper than previously found (e.g., in the bright source list) with an average photon index of 2.40 {+-} 0.02 over the entire 0.1-100 GeV energy band. We confirm that flat spectrum radio quasars have steeper spectra than BL Lacertae objects with an average index of 2.48 {+-} 0.02 versus 2.18 {+-} 0.02. Using several methods, we build the deepest source count distribution at GeV energies, deriving that the intrinsic source (i.e., blazar) surface density at F{sub 100} {>=} 10{sup -9} ph cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} is 0.12{sup +0.03}{sub -0.02} deg{sup -2}. The integration of the source count distribution yields that point sources contribute 16({+-}1.8)% ({+-}7% systematic uncertainty) of the GeV isotropic diffuse background. At the fluxes currently reached by LAT, we can rule out the hypothesis that pointlike sources (i.e., blazars) produce a larger fraction of the diffuse emission.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗