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CONSTRAINTS ON THE INTERGALACTIC MAGNETIC FIELD WITH GAMMA-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF BLAZARS

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal
 [1]; ;  [2]; ;  [3];  [4]
  1. U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Code 7653, 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20375-5352 (United States)
  2. Department of Physics, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 (United States)
  3. Department of Physics and Center for Space Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250 (United States)
  4. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Kinard Lab of Physics, Clemson, SC 29634-0978 (United States)
Distant BL Lacertae objects emit γ-rays that interact with the extragalactic background light (EBL), creating electron–positron pairs, and reducing the flux measured by ground-based imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) at very-high energies (VHE). These pairs can Compton-scatter the cosmic microwave background, creating a γ-ray signature at slightly lower energies that is observable by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). This signal is strongly dependent on the intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF) strength (B) and its coherence length (L{sub B}). We use IACT spectra taken from the literature for 5 VHE-detected BL Lac objects and combine them with LAT spectra for these sources to constrain these IGMF parameters. Low B values can be ruled out by the constraint that the cascade flux cannot exceed that observed by the LAT. High values of B can be ruled out from the constraint that the EBL-deabsorbed IACT spectrum cannot be greater than the LAT spectrum extrapolated into the VHE band, unless the cascade spectrum contributes a sizable fraction of the LAT flux. We rule out low B values (B ≲ 10{sup −19} G for L{sub B} ≥ 1 Mpc) at >5σ in all trials with different EBL models and data selection, except when using >1 GeV spectra and the lowest EBL models. We were not able to constrain high values of B.
OSTI ID:
22521910
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 814; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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The NuSTAR view on hard-TeV BL Lacs journal May 2018
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Looking for axion dark matter in dwarf spheroidal galaxies journal October 2018
Baryon Loading Efficiency and Particle Acceleration Efficiency of Relativistic Jets: Cases For Low Luminosity BL Lacs text January 2016
New GTC spectroscopic data and a statistical study to better constrain the redshift of the BL Lac RGB J2243 + 203 journal November 2018
Impact of Plasma Instability on Constraint of the Intergalactic Magnetic Field journal December 2018
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Falsifying cosmological models based on a non-linear electrodynamics journal June 2018
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Role of matter in gravitation: Going beyond the Einstein-Maxwell theory journal December 2019
The extreme HBL behaviour of Markarian 501 during 2012 text January 2018
Baryon Asymmetry and Gravitational Waves from Pseudoscalar Inflation text January 2017
IMAGINE: a comprehensive view of the interstellar medium, Galactic magnetic fields and cosmic rays journal August 2018
Fast Radio Bursts text January 2019
Baryon asymmetry and gravitational waves from pseudoscalar inflation journal December 2017
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Fast radio bursts journal October 2018
The NuSTAR view on Hard-TeV BL Lacs text January 2017
IMAGINE: A comprehensive view of the interstellar medium, Galactic magnetic fields and cosmic rays text January 2018
Fast radio bursts [Быстрые радиовсплески] journal March 2018
2WHSP: A multi-frequency selected catalogue of high energy and very high energy γ -ray blazars and blazar candidates journal January 2017
Magnetogenesis from axion inflation journal October 2016
The evolution of primordial magnetic fields since their generation journal September 2016
Extreme HBL behavior of Markarian 501 during 2012 journal December 2018
New synthesis models of consistent extragalactic background light over cosmic time journal January 2019
Baryon Loading Efficiency and Particle Acceleration Efficiency of Relativistic Jets: Cases for low Luminosity bl lacs journal August 2016
Late-Time Magnetogenesis Driven by Axionlike Particle Dark Matter and a Dark Photon journal July 2018
The evolution of primordial magnetic field since its generation text January 2015

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