Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog Research Articles

Evidence for rapid variability at high energies in GRBs

ABSTRACT Intrinsic variability was searched for in arrival times of six gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) at high energies – between 30 MeV and 2 GeV – detected by the Fermi satellite’s Large Area Telescope (LAT). The GRBs were selected from the Fermi LAT catalogue with preference for events with numerous photons, a strong initial pulse, and measured redshifts. Three long GRBs and three short GRBs were selected and tested. Two different variability-detection algorithms were deployed, one counting photons in pairs, and the other multiplying time gaps between photons. In both tests, a real GRB was compared to 1000 Monte Carlo versions of itself smoothed over a wide range of different time-scales. The minimum detected variability time-scales for long bursts (GRB 080916C, GRB 090926A, GRB 131108A) was found to be (0.005, 10.0, 10.0) s for the photon pair test and (2.0, 20.0, 10.0) s for the time-gap multiplication test. Additionally, the minimum detected variability time-scales for the short bursts (GRB 090510, GRB 140619B, GRB 160709A) was found to be (0.05, 0.01, 20.0) s for the photon pair test and (0.05, 0.01, 20.0) s for the gap multiplication test. Statistical uncertainties in these times are about a factor of 2. The durations of these variability time-scales may be used to constrain the geometry, dynamics, speed, cosmological dispersion, Lorentz-invariance violations, weak equivalence principle violations, and GRB models.

Decoding Rotating Neutron Stars: Role of the Symmetry Energy Slope

In 2023 December, the Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog announced the discovery of 33 new millisecond pulsars. Motivated by that, in this work, I study how different values of the symmetry energy slope (L) affect the properties of static and slowly rotating neutron stars. For fixed values of angular velocity, I study how the slope influences the increase of the maximum mass, the radii of the canonical 1.4 M ⊙, its eccentricity, as well the same quantities for the 2.01 M ⊙ stars. I show that different slope values cause different variations not only in the absolute quantities but also in relative ones. Indeed, different slope values predict different values for the eccentricity, which does not depend on the absolute value of the neutron stars’ radii. Therefore, this quantity can be a powerful tool to constrain the symmetry energy slope.

Gluon condensation signature in the GeV gamma-ray spectra of pulsars

The accumulation of gluons inside nucleons, i.e., the gluon condensation, may lead to a characteristic broken power-law gamma-ray spectrum in high-energy nucleon collisions. Here we show that the observed spectra of at least 25 sources in the second Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog of Gamma-ray Pulsars can be well fitted by such a broken power-law function that has only four free parameters. It strongly indicates that the gamma-ray emission from these pulsars is of hadronic origin, but with gluon condensation inside hadrons. It is well known that the quark-gluon distribution in a free nucleon is different from that in a bound nucleon. This work exposes the nuclear $A$ dependence of the gluon condensation effect, where $A$ refers to the baryon number. Our study reveals the gluon condensation under the condition of $A\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$, which may open a new window for eavesdropping on the structure of compact stars on the subnuclear level.

New Identifications and Multiwavelength Properties of Extragalactic Fermi Gamma-Ray Sources in the SPT-SZ Survey Field

The fourth Fermi Large Area Telescope catalog (4FGL) contains 5064 γ-ray sources detected at high significance, but 26% of them still lack associations at other wavelengths. The SPT-SZ survey, conducted between 2008 and 2011 with the South Pole Telescope (SPT), covers 2500 deg2 of the southern sky in three millimeter-wavelength (mm) bands and was used to construct a catalog of nearly 5000 emissive sources. In this study, we introduce a new cross-matching scheme to search for multiwavelength counterparts of extragalactic γ-ray sources using a mm catalog. We apply a Poissonian probability to evaluate the rate of spurious false associations and compare the multiwavelength associations from the radio, mm, near-infrared, and X-ray with 4FGL γ-ray sources. In the SPT-SZ survey field, 85% of 4FGL sources are associated with mm counterparts. These mm sources include 94% of previously associated 4FGL sources and 56% of previously unassociated 4FGL sources. The latter group contains 40 4FGL sources for which SPT has provided the first identified counterparts. Nearly all of the SPT-associated 4FGL sources can be described as flat-spectrum radio quasars or blazars. We find that the mm band is the most efficient wavelength for detecting γ-ray blazars when considering both completeness and purity. We also demonstrate that the mm band correlates better to the γ-ray band than the radio or X-ray bands. With the next generation of CMB experiments, this technique can be extended to greater sensitivities and more sky area to further complete the identifications of the remaining unknown γ-ray blazars.

Detection of the Farthest Globular Cluster NGC 6715 and Two Other GCs in Gamma-Rays with Fermi-LAT

In this paper, ∼12 yr long-term Pass 8 data from Fermi Large Area Telescope for the 157 globular clusters are carefully re-analyzed. Besides the 31 globular clusters reported in the fourth Fermi Large Area Telescope catalog Data Release 2, NGC 1851 is identified as a gamma-ray emitter and the significant gamma-ray emissions from NGC 6715 and NGC 6723 are detected. Especially NGC 6715 is located at a distance of 26.8 kpc, so far it is the farthest globular cluster detected in gamma-rays. A detailed analysis for these three globular clusters has been performed, but their gamma-ray pulsation emissions or flux variabilities are not found. The numbers of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) in these globular clusters are estimated under the assumption that each MSP inside globular clusters emits a similar amount of gamma-rays. Some possible origins of gamma-ray emission from globular clusters, such as MSPs, pulsar binary systems and/or dark matter, are discussed.

3HWC: The Third HAWC Catalog of Very-high-energy Gamma-Ray Sources

Abstract We present a new catalog of TeV gamma-ray sources using 1523 days of data from the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory. The catalog represents the most sensitive survey of the northern gamma-ray sky at energies above several TeV, with three times the exposure compared to the previous HAWC catalog, 2HWC. We report 65 sources detected at ≥5σ significance, along with the positions and spectral fits for each source. The catalog contains eight sources that have no counterpart in the 2HWC catalog, but are within 1° of previously detected TeV emitters, and 20 sources that are more than 1° away from any previously detected TeV source. Of these 20 new sources, 14 have a potential counterpart in the fourth Fermi Large Area Telescope catalog of gamma-ray sources. We also explore potential associations of 3HWC sources with pulsars in the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) pulsar catalog and supernova remnants in the Galactic supernova remnant catalog.

Hunting Distant BL Lacertae Objects with the Photometric Technique Using Swift and SARA

Abstract BL Lacertae objects represent a large fraction (22%) of γ-ray sources in the Third Fermi Large Area Telescope catalog (3FGL). Nearly half of the BL Lac object population remains without a redshift because of their featureless optical spectra. We aim to increase the number of BL Lac objects with a redshift measurement by using the photometric technique. For this work, we have used six Swift-UVOT filters and SDSS g′, r′, i′, and z′ optical filters mounted on the 0.65 m SARA–CTIO located in Chile and the 1.0 m SARA–ORM in the Canary Islands. A sample of 45 sources was selected from the 3FGL catalog for which photometry was performed in 10 optical and UV filters to obtain redshift measurements. We found three sources with z > 1.3, while reliable upper limits have been provided for 17 sources. The results presented here bring the total number of high-z (z > 1.3) BL Lac objects to 29.

Spectral characterization of the non-thermal X-ray emission of gamma-ray pulsars

ABSTRACT We report on a detailed spectral characterization of the non-thermal X-ray emission for a large sample of gamma-ray pulsars in the second Fermi Large Area Telescope catalogue. We outline the criteria adopted for the selection of our sample, its completeness, and critically describe different approaches to estimate the spectral shape and flux of pulsars. We perform a systematic modelling of the pulsars’ X-ray spectra using archival observations with XMM–Newton, Chandra, and NuSTAR and extract the corresponding non-thermal X-ray spectral distributions. This set of data is made available online and is useful to confront with predictions of theoretical models.

New High-z BL Lacs Using the Photometric Method with Swift and SARA

Abstract BL Lacertae (BL Lac) objects are prominent members of the third Fermi Large Area Telescope catalog of γ-ray sources. Half of the members of the BL Lac population (∼300) lack redshift measurements, which is due to the absence of lines in their optical spectra, thereby making it difficult to utilize spectroscopic methods. Our photometric dropout technique can be used to establish the redshift for a fraction of these sources. This work employed six filters mounted on the Swift-UVOT and four optical filters on two telescopes, the 0.65 m SARA-CTIO in Chile and 1.0 m SARA-ORM in the Canary Islands, Spain. A sample of 15 sources was extracted from the Swift archival data for which six filter UVOT observations were conducted. By complementing the Swift observations with the SARA ones, we were able to discover two high-redshift sources: 3FGL J1155.4-3417 and 3FGL J1156.7–2250 at z = 1.83 − 0.13 + 0.10 and z = 1.73 − 0.19 + 0.11 , respectively, resulting from the dropouts in the power-law template fits to these data. The discoveries add to the important (26 total) sample of high-redshift BL Lacs. While the sample of high-z BL Lacs is still rather small, these objects do not seem to fit well within known schemes of the blazar population and represent the best probes of the extragalactic background light.

A LUMINOUS GAMMA-RAY BINARY IN THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD

ABSTRACT Gamma-ray binaries consist of a neutron star or a black hole interacting with a normal star to produce gamma-ray emission that dominates the radiative output of the system. Only a handful of such systems have been previously discovered, all within our Galaxy. Here, we report the discovery of a luminous gamma-ray binary in the Large Magellanic Cloud, found with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT), from a search for periodic modulation in all sources in the third Fermi LAT catalog. This is the first such system to be found outside the Milky Way. The system has an orbital period of 10.3 days, and is associated with a massive O5III star located in the supernova remnant DEM L241, previously identified as the candidate high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB) CXOU J053600.0–673507. X-ray and radio emission are also modulated on the 10.3 day period, but are in anti-phase with the gamma-ray modulation. Optical radial velocity measurements suggest that the system contains a neutron star. The source is significantly more luminous than similar sources in the Milky Way, at radio, optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths. The detection of this extra-galactic system, but no new Galactic systems, raises the possibility that the predicted number of gamma-ray binaries in our Galaxy has been overestimated, and that HMXBs may be born containing relatively slowly rotating neutron stars.

Radio-quiet Gamma-ray Pulsars

A radio-quiet γ-ray pulsar is a neutron star that has significant γ-ray pulsation but without observed radio emission or only limited emission detected by high sensitivity radio surveys. The launch of the Fermi spacecraft in 2008 opened a new epoch to study the population of these pulsars. In the 2^nd Fermi Large Area Telescope catalog of γ-ray pulsars, there are 35 (30 % of the 117 pulsars in the catalog) known samples classified as radio-quiet γ-ray pulsars with radio flux density (S₁₄₀₀) of less than 30 μJy. Accompanying the observations obtained in various wavelengths, astronomers not only have the opportunity to study the emitting nature of radio-quiet γ-ray pulsars but also have proposed different models to explain their radiation mechanism. This article will review the history of the discovery, the emission properties, and the previous efforts to study pulsars in this population. Some particular cases known as Geminga-like pulsars (e.g., PSR J0633+1746, PSR J0007+7303, PSR J2021+4026, and so on) are also specified to discuss their common and specific features.

Optical archival spectra of blazar candidates of uncertain type in the 3rd Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog

Despite the fact that blazars constitute the rarest class among active galactic nuclei (AGNs) they are the largest known population of associated $\gamma$-ray sources. Many of the $\gamma$-ray objects listed in the Fermi-Large Area Telescope Third Source catalog (3FGL) are classified as blazar candidates of uncertain type (BCUs), either because they show multifrequency behaviour similar to blazars but lacking optical spectra in the literature, or because the quality of such spectra is too low to confirm their nature. Here we select, out of 585 BCUs in the 3FGL, 42 BCUs which we identify as probable blazars by their WISE infrared colors and which also have optical spectra that are available in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and/or Six-Degree Field Galaxy Survey Database (6dFGS). We confirm the blazar nature of all of the sources. We furthermore conclude that 28 of them are BL Lacs, 8 are radio-loud quasars with flat radio spectrum and 6 are BL Lac whose emission is dominated by their host galaxy.

What powers the most relativistic jets? – I. BL Lacs

The dramatic relativistic jets pointing directly at us in BL Lac objects can be well modelled by bulk motion beaming of synchrotron self-Compton emission powered by a low Eddington fraction accretion flow. Nearly 500 of these AGN are seen in the 2nd Fermi Large Area Telescope catalogue of AGN. We combine the jet models which describe individual spectra with the expected jet parameter scalings with mass and mass accretion rate to predict the expected number of Fermi detected sources given the number densities of AGN from cosmological simulations. We select only sources with Eddington scaled mass accretion rate $< 0.01$ (i.e. radiatively inefficient flows), and include cooling, orientation effects, and the effects of absorption from pair production on the extragalactic IR background. These models overpredict the number of Fermi detected BL Lacs by a factor of 1000! This clearly shows that one of the underlying assumptions is incorrect, almost certainly that jets do not scale simply with mass and accretion rate. The most plausible additional parameter which can affect the region producing the Fermi emission is black hole spin. We can reproduce the observed numbers of BL Lacs if such relativistic jets are only produced by the highest spin ($a_*>0.8$) black holes, in agreement with the longstanding spin-jet paradigm. This also requires that high spins are intrinsically rare, as predicted by the cosmological simulations for growing black hole mass via chaotic (randomly aligned) accretion episodes, where only the most massive black holes have high spin due to black hole-black hole mergers.

A statistical classification of the unassociated gamma-ray sources in the second Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog

With the assistance of the identified/associated sources in the second Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) catalog, we analyze and resolve the spatial distribution and the distributionsof the gamma-ray spectral and variability indices of the remaining 575 unassociated Fermi LAT sources. Consequently, it is suggested that the unassociated sources could statistically consist of Galactic supernova remnants/pulsar wind nebulae, BL Lacertae objects, flat spectrum radio quasars and other types of active galaxies with fractions of 25%, 29%, 41% and 5%, respectively.

REVISITING THE GAMMA-RAY SOURCE 2FGL J1823.8+4312

One of the great challenges of gamma-ray astronomy is identifying the lower energy counterparts to these high-energy sources. Recently, in this journal, Massaro et al. attempted to find the counterpart of 2FGL J1823.8+4312, a gamma-ray active galactic nucleus (AGN) of uncertain type from the Second Fermi Large Area Telescope catalog. After considering mid-infrared data in the field from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), those authors conclude that the preferred identification of 2FGL J1823.8+4312 is WISE J182352.33+431452.5, despite the fact that the mid-infrared source is undetected at radio energies. They claim that WISE J182352.33+431452.5 constitutes the discovery of a new class of extragalactic X-ray source, either a radio-faint blazar or the prototype of a new class of active galaxy with an enigmatic spectral energy distribution. This conclusion is claimed to be independent of whether or not the WISE source is the actual counterpart to 2FGL J1823.8+4312. Based on a re-analysis of public data in this field and new spectroscopy from Palomar, we conclude that WISE J182352.33+431452.5 is a dust-reddened quasar at z = 0.560, a representative example of a very common extragalactic AGN class. Were WISE J182352.33+431452.5 to be associated with the gamma-ray emission, this would be an unusual and exciting discovery. However, we argue that 2FGL J1823.8+4312 is more likely associated with either WISE J182409.25+431404.7 or, more likely, WISE J182419.04+430949.6, two radio-loud sources in the field. The former is a radio-loud quasar and the latter is an optically variable source with a featureless blue spectrum.

Gamma-ray active galactic nucleus type through machine-learning algorithms

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi) is producing the most detailed inventory of the gamma-ray sky to date. Despite tremendous achievements approximately 25 per cent of all Fermi extragalactic sources in the Second Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalogue (2FGL) are listed as active galactic nuclei (AGN) of uncertain type. Typically, these are suspected blazar candidates without a conclusive optical spectrum or lacking spectroscopic observations. Here, we explore the use of machine-learning algorithms – random forests and support vector machines – to predict specific AGN subclass based on observed gamma-ray spectral properties. After training and testing on identified/associated AGN from the 2FGL we find that 235 out of 269 AGN of uncertain type have properties compatible with gamma-ray BL Lacertae and flat-spectrum radio quasars with accuracy rates of 85 per cent. Additionally, direct comparison of our results with class predictions made after following the infrared colour–colour space of Massaro et al. shows that the agreement rate is over four-fifths for 54 overlapping sources, providing independent cross-validation. These results can help tailor follow-up spectroscopic programmes and inform future pointed surveys with ground-based Cherenkov telescopes.

RADIO/GAMMA-RAY TIME DELAY IN THE PARSEC-SCALE CORES OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

We report the detection of a non-zero time delay between radio emission measured by the VLBA at 15.4 GHz and gamma-ray radiation (gamma-ray leads radio) registered by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope for a sample of 183 radio and gamma-ray bright active galactic nuclei (AGNs). For the correlation analysis we used 100 MeV - 100 GeV gamma-ray photon fluxes, taken from monthly binned measurements from the first Fermi LAT catalog, and 15.4 GHz radio flux densities from the MOJAVE VLBA program. The correlation is most pronounced if the core flux density is used, strongly indicating that the gamma-ray emission is generated within the compact region of the 15 GHz VLBA core. Determining the Pearson's r and Kendall's tau correlation coefficients for different time lags, we find that for the majority of sources the radio/gamma-ray delay ranges from 1 to 8 months in the observer's frame and peaks at about 1.2 months in the source's frame. We interpret the primary source of the time delay to be synchrotron opacity in the nuclear region.