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Probing the EBL Evolution at High Redshift Using GRBs Detected with the Fermi-LAT

Journal Article · · The Astrophysical Journal (Online)
The extragalactic background light (EBL), from ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths, is predominantly due to emission from stars, accreting black holes and reprocessed light due to Galactic dust. The EBL can be studied through the imprint it leaves, via γ–γ absorption of high-energy photons, in the spectra of distant γ-ray sources. The EBL has been probed through the search for the attenuation it produces in the spectra of BL Lacertae (BL Lac) objects and individual γ-ray bursts (GRBs). GRBs have significant advantages over blazars for the study of the EBL especially at high redshifts. Here we analyze a combined sample of 22 GRBs, detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope between 65 MeV and 500 GeV. We report a marginal detection (at the ~2.8σ level) of the EBL attenuation in the stacked spectra of the source sample. This measurement represents a first constraint of the EBL at an effective redshift of ~1.8. Here, we combine our results with prior EBL constraints and conclude that Fermi-LAT is instrumental to constrain the UV component of the EBL. We discuss the implications on existing empirical models of EBL evolution.
Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1418089
Journal Information:
The Astrophysical Journal (Online), Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal (Online) Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 850; ISSN 1538-4357
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (3)

Measurement of the extragalactic background light using MAGIC and Fermi-LAT gamma-ray observations of blazars up to z = 1 journal April 2019
A gamma-ray determination of the Universe’s star formation history journal November 2018
Measurement of the extragalactic background light using MAGIC and Fermi-LAT gamma-ray observations of blazars up to z = 1 text January 2019

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