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DOE OSTI2011

DISCOVERING THE MISSING 2.2 < z < 3 QUASARS BY COMBINING OPTICAL VARIABILITY AND OPTICAL/NEAR-INFRARED COLORS

The identification of quasars in the redshift range 2.2 < z < 3 is known to be very inefficient because the optical colors of such quasars are indistinguishable from those of stars. Recent studies have proposed using optical variability or near-infrared (near-IR) colors to improve the identification of the missing quasars in this redshift range. Here we present a case study combining both methods. We select a sample of 70 quasar candidates from variables in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82, which are non-ultraviolet excess sources and have UKIDSS near-IR public data. They are clearly separated into two parts on the Y - K/g - z color-color diagram, and 59 of them meet or lie close to a newly proposed Y - K/g - z selection criterion for z < 4 quasars. Of these 59 sources, 44 were previously identified as quasars in SDSS DR7, and 35 of them are quasars at 2.2 < z < 3. We present spectroscopic observations of 14 of 15 remaining quasar candidates using the Bok 2.3 m telescope and the MMT 6.5 m telescope, and successfully identify all of them as new quasars at z = 2.36-2.88. We also apply this method to a sample of 643 variable quasar candidates with SDSS-UKIDSS nine-band photometric data selected from 1875 new quasar candidates in SDSS Stripe 82 given by Butler and Bloom based on the time-series selections, and find that 188 of them are probably new quasars with photometric redshifts at 2.2 < z < 3. Our results indicate that the combination of optical variability and optical/near-IR colors is probably the most efficient way to find 2.2 < z < 3 quasars and is very helpful for constructing a complete quasar sample. We discuss its implications for ongoing and upcoming large optical and near-IR sky surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

MOTION VERIFIED RED STARS (MoVeRS): A CATALOG OF PROPER MOTION SELECTED LOW-MASS STARS FROM WISE, SDSS, AND 2MASS

We present a photometric catalog of 8,735,004 proper motion selected low-mass stars (KML-spectral types) within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) footprint, from the combined SDSS Data Release 10 (DR10), Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) point-source catalog (PSC), and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) AllWISE catalog. Stars were selected using r − i, i − z, r − z, z − J, and z − W1 colors, and SDSS, WISE, and 2MASS astrometry was combined to compute proper motions. The resulting 3,518,150 stars were augmented with proper motions for 5,216,854 earlier type stars from the combined SDSS and United States Naval Observatory B1.0 catalog (USNO-B). We used SDSS+USNO-B proper motions to determine the best criteria for selecting a clean sample of stars. Only stars whose proper motions were greater than their 2σ uncertainty were included. Our Motion Verified Red Stars catalog is available through SDSS CasJobs and VizieR.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Detecting new γ-ray sources based on multi-frequency data the case of 1WHSPJ031423.9+061956

We use the Fermi Science Tools in an attempt to unveil faint γ-ray blazars that may be above the threshold for detectability with Fermi-LAT and are not identified by automated methods. Our search for new sources in the 100MeV-300GeV band is mainly driven by the 1/2WHSP catalogs, which list high synchrotron peaked blazars expected to be emitters of VHE photons. Here we present the γ-ray detection of 1WHSP J031423.9+061956, modelling its high energy spectrum as a power law. We describe an example where multi-frequency selection, performed at much lower energies (from radio to X-ray), helps to pin-point a high energy source. The 1/2WHSP catalogs are built with the aim of providing a list of TeV targets for the VHE arrays of Cherenkov telescopes. Moreover, these catalogs provide useful seeds for identifying new high energy sources within the raw-data from Fermi. With the aid of multi-frequency data, we can explore the very high energy domain in greater details, improving the description of the γ-ray sky.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2023

Powerful Radio Sources in the Southern Sky. I. Optical Identifications

Since the early sixties, our view of radio galaxies and quasars has been drastically shaped by discoveries made thanks to observations of radio sources listed in the Third Cambridge Catalog and its revised version (3CR). However, the largest fraction of data collected to date on 3CR sources was performed with relatively old instruments, rarely repeated and/or updated. Importantly, the 3CR contains only objects located in the Northern Hemisphere, thus having limited access to new and innovative astronomical facilities. To mitigate these limitations, we present a new catalog of powerful radio sources visible from the Southern Hemisphere, extracted from the GLEAM 4 Jy (G4Jy) catalog and based on equivalent selection criteria as the 3CR. This new catalog, named G4Jy-3CRE, where the E stands for “equivalent,” lists a total of 264 sources at decl. below -5° and with 9 Jy limiting sensitivity at ~178 MHz. We explored archival radio maps obtained with different surveys and compared them with optical images available in the Pan-STARRS, DES, and DSS databases to search for optical counterparts of their radio cores. We compared mid-infrared counterparts, originally associated in the G4Jy, with the optical ones identified here, and we present results of a vast literature search carried out to collect redshift estimates for all G4Jy-3CRE sources resulting in a total of 145 reliable z measurements.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2024

X-ray science using the ESRF—extremely brilliant source

The Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS), the first high-energy 4th-generation synchrotron radiation source, constructed at the ESRF and based upon the novel concept of a Hybrid Multi-Bend Achromat (HMBA), has started user operation on August 25th, 2020. We report here on selected recent scientific results exploiting the greatly improved performances of this novel X-ray source.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2011

NEAR-INFRARED PROPERTIES OF THE X-RAY-EMITTING YOUNG STELLAR OBJECTS IN THE CARINA NEBULA

The Great Nebula in Carina (NGC 3372) is the best target to study in detail the process of violent massive star formation and the resulting feedback effects of cloud dispersal and triggered star formation. While the population of massive stars is rather well studied, the associated low-mass stellar population was largely unknown up to now. The near-infrared study in this paper builds on the results of the Chandra Carina Complex Project, that detected 14,368 X-ray sources in the 1.4 deg{sup 2} survey region, an automatic source classification study that classified 10,714 of these X-ray sources as very likely young stars in Carina, and an analysis of the clustering properties of the X-ray-selected Carina members. In order to determine physical properties of the X-ray-selected stars, most of which were previously unstudied, we used HAWK-I at the ESO Very Large Telescope to conduct a very deep near-IR survey with subarcsecond angular resolution, covering an area of about 1280 arcmin{sup 2}. The HAWK-I images reveal more than 600,000 individual infrared sources, whereby objects as faint as J {approx} 23, H {approx} 22, and K{sub s} {approx} 21 are detected at signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) {>=}3. While less than half of the Chandra X-ray sources have counterparts in the Two Micron All Sky Survey catalog, the {approx}5 mag deeper HAWK-I data reveal infrared counterparts to 6636 (=88.8%) of the 7472 Chandra X-ray sources in the HAWK-I field. We analyze near-infrared color-color and color-magnitude diagrams to derive information about the extinctions, infrared excesses (as tracers for circumstellar disks), ages, and masses of the X-ray-selected objects. The near-infrared properties agree well with the results of the automatic X-ray source classification, showing that the remaining contamination in the X-ray-selected sample of Carina members is very low ({approx}<7%). The shape of the K-band luminosity function of the X-ray-selected Carina members agrees well with that derived for the Orion Nebula Cluster, suggesting that, down to the X-ray detection limit around 0.5-1 M{sub sun}, the shape of the initial mass function (IMF) in Carina is consistent with that in Orion (and thus the field IMF). The fraction of stars with near-infrared excesses is rather small, {approx}<10%, but shows considerable variations between individual parts of the complex. The distribution of extinctions for the diskless stars ranges from {approx}1.6 mag to {approx}6.2 mag (central 80th percentile), clearly showing a considerable range of differential extinction between individual stars in the complex.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2011

SPECTROSCOPY OF LUMINOUS z > 7 GALAXY CANDIDATES AND SOURCES OF CONTAMINATION IN z > 7 GALAXY SEARCHES

We present three bright z{sup +}-dropout candidates selected from deep near-infrared (NIR) imaging of the COSMOS 2 deg{sup 2} field. All three objects match the 0.8-8 {mu}m colors of other published z > 7 candidates but are 3 mag brighter, facilitating further study. Deep spectroscopy of two of the candidates covering 0.64-1.02 {mu}m with Keck-DEIMOS and all three covering 0.94-1.10 {mu}m and 1.52-1.80 {mu}m with Keck-NIRSPEC detects weak spectral features tentatively identified as Ly{alpha} at z = 6.95 and z = 7.69 in two of the objects. The third object is placed at z {approx} 1.6 based on a 24 {mu}m and weak optical detection. A comparison with the spectral energy distributions of known z < 7 galaxies, including objects with strong spectral lines, large extinction, and large systematic uncertainties in the photometry, yields no objects with similar colors. However, the {lambda} > 1 {mu}m properties of all three objects can be matched to optically detected sources with photometric redshifts at z {approx} 1.8, so the non-detection in the i {sup +} and z {sup +} bands is the primary factor which favors a z > 7 solution. If any of these objects are at z {approx} 7, the bright end of the luminosity function is significantly higher at z > 7 than suggested by previous studies, but consistent within the statistical uncertainty and the dark matter halo distribution. If these objects are at low redshift, the Lyman break selection must be contaminated by a previously unknown population of low-redshift objects with very strong breaks in their broadband spectral energy distributions and blue NIR colors. The implications of this result on luminosity function evolution at high redshift are discussed. We show that the primary limitation of z > 7 galaxy searches with broad filters is the depth of the available optical data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Sustainable Materials Selection in Manufactured Products: A Framework for Design-Integrated Life Cycle Thinking with Case Studies

Materials selection can provide a major opportunity to improve the environmental performance of manufactured products. Substitution of conventional materials with eco-friendly options can lower a product's environmental impact while still meeting key application requirements. A prerequisite for sustainability-informed decision-making is that relevant data and information are available for all materials being considered. Here we outline examples of the types and sources of data needed; and we explore key considerations for sustainable materials selection through a series of practical, cross-sectoral case studies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2015

THE YOUNG STELLAR OBJECT POPULATION IN THE VELA-D MOLECULAR CLOUD

We investigate the young stellar population in the Vela Molecular Ridge, Cloud-D, a star-forming region observed by both the Spitzer/NASA and Herschel/ESA space telescopes. The point-source, band-merged, Spitzer-IRAC catalog complemented with MIPS photometry previously obtained is used to search for candidate young stellar objects (YSOs), also including sources detected in less than four IRAC bands. Bona fide YSOs are selected by using appropriate color-color and color-magnitude criteria aimed at excluding both Galactic and extragalactic contaminants. The derived star formation rate and efficiency are compared with the same quantities characterizing other star-forming clouds. Additional photometric data, spanning from the near-IR to the submillimeter, are used to evaluate both bolometric luminosity and temperature for 33 YSOs located in a region of the cloud observed by both Spitzer and Herschel. The luminosity-temperature diagram suggests that some of these sources are representative of Class 0 objects with bolometric temperatures below 70 K and luminosities of the order of the solar luminosity. Far-IR observations from the Herschel/Hi-GAL key project for a survey of the Galactic plane are also used to obtain a band-merged photometric catalog of Herschel sources intended to independently search for protostars. We find 122 Herschel cores located on the molecular cloud, 30 of which are protostellar and 92 of which are starless. The global protostellar luminosity function is obtained by merging the Spitzer and Herschel protostars. Considering that 10 protostars are found in both the Spitzer and Herschel lists, it follows that in the investigated region we find 53 protostars and that the Spitzer-selected protostars account for approximately two-thirds of the total.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

The ALMA spectroscopic survey in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field: continuum number counts, resolved 1.2 mm extragalactic background, and properties of the faintest dusty star-forming galaxies

We present an analysis of a deep (1σ = 13 μJy) cosmological 1.2 mm continuum map based on ASPECS, the ALMA Spectroscopic Survey in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. In the 1 arcmin{sup 2} covered by ASPECS we detect nine sources at >3.5σ significance at 1.2 mm. Our ALMA-selected sample has a median redshift of z=1.6±0.4, with only one galaxy detected at z > 2 within the survey area. This value is significantly lower than that found in millimeter samples selected at a higher flux density cutoff and similar frequencies. Most galaxies have specific star formation rates (SFRs) similar to that of main-sequence galaxies at the same epoch, and we find median values of stellar mass and SFRs of 4.0×10{sup 10} M{sub ⊙} and ∼40 M{sub ⊙} yr{sup −1}, respectively. Using the dust emission as a tracer for the interstellar medium (ISM) mass, we derive depletion times that are typically longer than 300 Myr, and we find molecular gas fractions ranging from ∼0.1 to 1.0. As noted by previous studies, these values are lower than those using CO-based ISM estimates by a factor of ∼2. The 1 mm number counts (corrected for fidelity and completeness) are in agreement with previous studies that were typically restricted to brighter sources. With our individual detections only, we recover 55% ± 4% of the extragalactic background light (EBL) at 1.2 mm measured by the Planck satellite, and we recover 80% ± 7% of this EBL if we include the bright end of the number counts and additional detections from stacking. The stacked contribution is dominated by galaxies at z∼1--2, with stellar masses of (1–3) × 10{sup 10} M {sub ⊙}. For the first time, we are able to characterize the population of galaxies that dominate the EBL at 1.2 mm.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2014

SU-E-T-348: Verification MU Calculation for Conformal Radiotherapy with Multileaf Collimator Using Report AAPM TG 114

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to develop and validate an open source independent MU dose calculation software for 3D conformal radiotherapy with multileaf high and low resolution according to the report of AAPM TG 11 Methods: Treatment plans were done using Iplan v4.5 BrainLAB TPS. A 6MV photon beam produced by Primus and Novalis linear accelerators equipped with an Optifocus MLC and HDMLC, respectively. TPS dose calculation algorithms were pencil beam and Monte Carlo. 1082 treatments plans were selected for the study. The algorithm was written in free and open source CodeBlocks C++ platform. Treatment plans were imported by the software using RTP format. Equivalent size field is obtained from the positions of the leaves; the effective depth of calculation can be introduced by TPS's dosimetry report or automatically calculated starting from SSD. The inverse square law is calculated by the 3D coordinates of the isocenter and normalization point of the treatment plan. The dosimetric parameters TPR, Sc, Sp and WF are linearly interpolated. Results: 1082 plans of both machines were analyzed. The average uncertainty between the TPS and the independent calculation was −0.43% ± 2.42% [−7.90%, 7.50%]. Specifically for the Primus the variation obtained was −0.85% ± 2.53% and for the Novalis 0.00% ± 2.23%. Data show that 94.8% of the cases the uncertainty was less than or equal to 5%, while 98.9% is less than or equal to 6%. Conclusion: The developed software is appropriate for use in calculation of UM. This software can be obtained upon request.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

DOE OSTI2012

Application of Spatial Data Modeling and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for Identification of Potential Siting Options for Various Electrical Generation Sources

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) initiated an internal National Electric Generation Siting Study, which is an ongoing multiphase study addressing several key questions related to our national electrical energy supply. This effort has led to the development of a tool, OR-SAGE (Oak Ridge Siting Analysis for power Generation Expansion), to support siting evaluations. The objective in developing OR-SAGE was to use industry-accepted approaches and/or develop appropriate criteria for screening sites and employ an array of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data sources at ORNL to identify candidate areas for a power generation technology application. The initial phase of the study examined nuclear power generation. These early nuclear phase results were shared with staff from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), which formed the genesis and support for an expansion of the work to several other power generation forms, including advanced coal with carbon capture and storage (CCS), solar, and compressed air energy storage (CAES). Wind generation was not included in this scope of work for EPRI. The OR-SAGE tool is essentially a dynamic visualization database. The results shown in this report represent a single static set of results using a specific set of input parameters. In this case, the GIS input parameters were optimized to support an economic study conducted by EPRI. A single set of individual results should not be construed as an ultimate energy solution, since US energy policy is very complex. However, the strength of the OR-SAGE tool is that numerous alternative scenarios can be quickly generated to provide additional insight into electrical generation or other GIS-based applications. The screening process divides the contiguous United States into 100 x 100 m (1-hectare) squares (cells), applying successive power generation-appropriate site selection and evaluation criteria (SSEC) to each cell. There are just under 700 million cells representing the contiguous United States. If a cell meets the requirements of each criterion, the cell is deemed a candidate area for siting a specific power generation form relative to a reference plant for that power type. Some SSEC parameters preclude siting a power plant because of an environmental, regulatory, or land-use constraint. Other SSEC assist in identifying less favorable areas, such as proximity to hazardous operations. All of the selected SSEC tend to recommend against sites. The focus of the ORNL electrical generation source siting study is on identifying candidate areas from which potential sites might be selected, stopping short of performing any detailed site evaluations or comparisons. This approach is designed to quickly screen for and characterize candidate areas. Critical assumptions supporting this work include the supply of cooling water to thermoelectric power generation; a methodology to provide an adequate siting footprint for typical power plant applications; a methodology to estimate thermoelectric plant capacity while accounting for available cooling water; and a methodology to account for future ({approx}2035) siting limitations as population increases and demands on freshwater sources change. OR-SAGE algorithms were built to account for these critical assumptions. Stream flow is the primary thermoelectric plant cooling source evaluated in this study. All cooling was assumed to be provided by a closed-cycle cooling (CCC) system requiring makeup water to account for evaporation and blowdown. Limited evaluations of shoreline cooling and the use of municipal processed water (gray) cooling were performed. Using a representative set of SSEC as input to the OR-SAGE tool and employing the accompanying critical assumptions, independent results for the various power generation sources studied were calculated.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2021

Wastewater Disposal Has Not Significantly Altered the Regional Stress State in Southern Kansas

Wastewater disposal is primarily responsible for the increased seismicity rate since ~2013 in southern Kansas. Previous work that used shear-wave splitting (SWS) in southern Kansas interpreted an ~90° temporal rotation in the fast polarization direction and attributed it to increased pore pressures resulting from fluid injection. However, this interpreted rotation coincided with a change in the stations used to make the SWS measurements. We investigate the temporal variability of fast azimuths in southern Kansas by making SWS measurements on earthquake families with similar source–receiver paths recorded on a stable local seismic network. We select high-quality SWS measurements by investigating the stability of results across 65 different frequency bands between 0.5 and 15 Hz. We find that the fast polarization direction in southern Kansas is relatively constant with an average east-northeast (~N79°E) orientation between 2014 and 2017. Our fast polarization measurements are primarily a reflection of the maximum principal horizontal stress direction (SHmax). We observe a slight spatial change in SHmax to the northeast (~N55°E) near the Nemaha ridge in Oklahoma. However, we do not observe any significant temporal rotation of SHmax or variation in delay time (i.e., crack density) in southern Kansas, contrary to the earlier study. The previously interpreted ~90° rotation may either be a reflection of a very local stress change or a misinterpretation of SWS results potentially due to the use of inconsistent source–receiver paths. Our SWS measurements cover the period of peak wastewater disposal and seismicity rates and suggest an absence of significant temporal rotations in the local anisotropy and stress orientations associated with wastewater disposal.

Geochemistry & Geophysics↗

DOE OSTI2023

High-Order Mesh Morphing for Boundary and Interface Fitting to Implicit Geometries

Here, we propose a method that morphs high-order meshes such that their boundaries and interfaces coincide/align with implicitly defined geometries. Our focus is particularly on the case when the target surface is prescribed as the zero isocontour of a smooth discrete function. Common examples of this scenario include using level set functions to represent material interfaces in multimaterial configurations, and evolving geometries in shape and topology optimization. The proposed method formulates the mesh optimization problem as a variational minimization of the sum of a chosen mesh-quality metric using the Target-Matrix Optimization Paradigm (TMOP) and a penalty term that weakly forces the selected faces of the mesh to align with the target surface. The distinct features of the method are use of a source mesh to represent the level set function with sufficient accuracy, and adaptive strategies for setting the penalization weight and selecting the faces of the mesh to be fit to the target isocontour of the level set field. We demonstrate that the proposed method is robust for generating boundary- and interface-fitted meshes for curvilinear domains using different element types in 2D and 3D.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Scalable, biologically sourced depolymerizable polydienes with intrinsically weakened carbon–carbon bonds

Currently, there are few examples of circularly recyclable polymers with all-carbon backbones, probably owing to the challenge of using selective C–C bond cleavage to efficiently produce monomers in recycling processes. Furthermore, here we demonstrate a series of biologically sourced polymuconate polymers synthesized via simple free-radical polymerization that exhibit intrinsically weakened C–C bonds and controlled chemical recycling to monomers. Modifying the side chains and copolymerization ratios allows a wide range of mechanical property tuning, achieving performances comparable to those of commercial plastics such as polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate and polybutadiene. Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment for production at a scale of 100 kilotons per year show that the materials are currently slightly more expensive and environmentally intensive compared with conventional rubbers. However, use of recycled materials via depolymerization can greatly decrease the cost and environmental impacts of polymuconate production (for example, down to US$1.59 per kilogram) to outperform its commercial counterparts.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2014

Synchronizing femtosecond laser with x-ray synchrotron operating at arbitrarily different frequencies

The ability to synchronize a femtosecond laser to x-ray pulses is crucial for performing ultrafast time-resolved x-ray scattering experiments at synchrotrons. Conventionally, the task has been achieved by locking a harmonic frequency of the laser oscillator to the storage ring master radio-frequency (RF). However, when the frequency mismatch between the two sources cannot be compensated by small adjustments to the laser cavity length, synchronization to a harmonic frequency requires modifying the optical components of the laser system. We demonstrate a novel synchronization scheme, which is a flexible alternative for synchronizing these two sources operating at arbitrarily different frequencies. First, we find the greatest common divisor (GCD) of the two frequencies that is still within the limited tuning range of the laser cavity length. The GCD is generated by dividing down from the storage ring RF, and is separately multiplied up to provide a feedback signal for synchronizing the laser cavity. Unique to our scheme, the GCD also serves as a harmonic RF source for the laser amplifier such that only laser oscillator pulses at fixed integer multiples of the storage ring RF are selected for amplification and delivery to experiments. Our method is implemented at the Photon Test Facility beamline of Pohang Light Source where timing-jitter less than 4 ps (r.m.s.) is measured using a new shot-to-shot method.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2013

The microlensing event rate and optical depth toward the galactic bulge from MOA-II

We present measurements of the microlensing optical depth and event rate toward the Galactic Bulge (GB) based on two years of the MOA-II survey. This sample contains ∼1000 microlensing events, with an Einstein radius crossing time of t {sub E} ≤ 200 days in 22 bulge fields covering ∼42 deg{sup 2} between –5° < l < 10° and –7° < b < –1°. Our event rate and optical depth analysis uses 474 events with well-defined microlensing parameters. In the central fields with |l| < 5°, we find an event rate of Γ = [2.39 ± 1.1]e {sup [0.60±0.05](3–|b|)} × 10{sup –5} star{sup –1} yr{sup –1} and an optical depth (for events with t {sub E} ≤ 200 days) of τ{sub 200} = [2.35 ± 0.18]e {sup [0.51±0.07](3–|b|)} × 10{sup –6} for the 427 events, using all sources brighter than I{sub s} ≤ 20 mag. The distribution of observed fields is centered at (l, b) = (0.°38, –3.°72). We find that the event rate is maximized at low latitudes and a longitude of l ≈ 1°. For the 111 events in 3.2 deg{sup 2} of the central GB at |b| ≤ 3.°0 and 0.°0 ≤ l ≤ 2.°0, centered at (l, b) = (0.°97, –2.°26), we find Γ=4.57{sub −0.46}{sup +0.51}×10{sup −5} star{sup –1} yr{sup –1} and τ{sub 200}=3.64{sub −0.45}{sup +0.51}×10{sup −6}. We also consider a red clump giant (RCG) star sample with I{sub s} < 17.5, and we find that the event rate for the RCG sample is slightly lower than but consistent with the all-source event rate. The main difference is the lack of long duration events in the RCG sample due to a known selection effect. Our results are consistent with previous optical depth measurements, but they are somewhat lower than previous all-source measurements, and slightly higher than previous RCG optical depth measurements. This suggests that the previously observed difference in optical depth measurements between all-source and RCG samples may largely be due to statistical fluctuations. These event rate measurements toward the central GB are necessary to predict the microlensing event rate and to optimize the survey fields in future space missions such as Wide Field Infrared Space Telescope.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2012

Unidentified sources in the Fermi-LAT second source catalog: the case for DM subhalos

The Large Area Telescope (LAT) aboard the Fermi satellite allows us to study the high-energy γ-ray sky with unprecedented sensitivity. However, the origin of 31% of the detected γ-ray sources remains unknown. This population of unassociated γ-ray sources may contain new object classes, among them sources of photons from self-annihilating or decaying non-baryonic dark matter. Fermi-LAT might be capable to detect up to a few of these dark matter subhalos as faint and moderately extended γ-ray sources with a temporally steady high-energy emission. After applying corresponding selection cuts to the second year Fermi catalog 2FGL, we investigate 13 candidate objects in more detail including their multi-wavelength properties in the radio, infrared, optical, UV, and X-ray bands. For the γ-ray band, we analyze both the 24-month and 42-month Fermi-LAT data sets. We probe the γ-ray spectra for indications of a spectral cutoff, which singles out four sources of particular interest. We find all sources to be compatible with a point-source scenario. Multi-wavelength associations and, in particular, their infrared color-color data indicate no source to be compatible with a dark matter origin, and we find the majority of the candidates to probably originate from faint, high-frequency peaked BL Lac type objects. We discuss possibilities to further investigate source candidates and future prospects to search for dark matter subhalos.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗