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

Abdo, A A; Ackermann, M; Ajello, M; Allafort, A; Bechtol, K; Berenji, B; Blandford, R D; Bloom, E D; Borgland, A W; Bouvier, A; Atwood, W B; Baldini, L; Bellazzini, R; Ballet, J; Barbiellini, G; Baring, M G; Bastieri, D; Baughman, B M; Bhat, P N; Bonamente, E

doi:10.1088/0004-637X/723/2/1082

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

Journal Article · Wed Nov 10 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/723/2/1082· OSTI ID:21471275

Abdo, A A ^[1]; Ackermann, M; Ajello, M; Allafort, A; Bechtol, K; Berenji, B; Blandford, R D; Bloom, E D; Borgland, A W; Bouvier, A ^[2]; Atwood, W B ^[3]; Baldini, L; Bellazzini, R ^[4]; Ballet, J ^[5]; Barbiellini, G ^[6]; Baring, M G ^[7]; Bastieri, D ^[8]; Baughman, B M ^[9]; Bhat, P N ^[10]; Bonamente, E ^[11]

Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States)
W. W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)
Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, Department of Physics and Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa, I-56127 Pisa (Italy)
Laboratoire AIM, CEA-IRFU/CNRS/Universite Paris Diderot, Service d'Astrophysique, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette (France)
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste, I-34127 Trieste (Italy)
Rice University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, MS-108, P. O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251 (United States)
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova, I-35131 Padova (Italy)
Department of Physics, Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)
Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR), University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899 (United States)
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Perugia, I-06123 Perugia (Italy)

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.

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OSTI ID:: 21471275

Journal Information:: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 723, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/723/2/1082; ISSN 0004-637X

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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

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