Instrumental background in balloon-borne gamma-ray spectrometers and techniques for its reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gehrels, N.

1985-01-01

Instrumental background in balloon-borne gamma-ray spectrometers is presented. The calculations are based on newly available interaction cross sections and new analytic techniques, and are the most detailed and accurate published to date. Results compare well with measurements made in the 20 keV to 10 MeV energy range by the Goddard Low Energy Gamma-ray Spectrometer (LEGS). The principal components of the continuum background in spectrometers with GE detectors and thick active shields are: (1) elastic neutron scattering of atmospheric neutrons on the Ge nuclei; (2) aperture flux of atmospheric and cosmic gamma rays; (3) beta decays of unstable nuclides produced by nuclear interactions of atmospheric protons and neutrons with Ge nuclei; and (4) shield leakage of atmospheric gamma rays. The improved understanding of these components leads to several recommended techniques for reducing the background.

A search for gamma rays of 1.5-20.0 MeV from Centaurus A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Neill, Terrence; Tumer, O. Tumay; Zych, Allen; White, R. Stephen

1989-01-01

A search for a gamma-ray continuum and lines from Centaurus A is reported. No measurable gamma rays are found in the 1.5-20.0 MeV and 3 sigma upper limits are reported for various energies which are about a factor of two lower than the results reported by von Ballmoos et al. (1987). These upper limits, along with those of SAS 2 and COS B, suggest that the energy distribution turns over in the energy range of 500 keV to a few MeV. A high source temperature of 5 MeV or synchrotron self-Compton models for producing an excess of gamma rays of a few MeV do not appear necessary.

Magnetic photon splitting and gamma ray burst spectra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baring, Matthew G.

1992-01-01

The splitting of photons into two photons becomes both possible and significant in magnetic fields in excess of 10(exp 12) Gauss. Below the threshold energy, 2m sub e c(exp 2) for single photon pair production, splitting can be an astronomically observable phenomenon evident in gamma ray burst spectra. In such circumstances, it was found that magnetic photon splitting reprocesses the gamma ray burst continuum by degrading the photon energy, with a net effect that is quite similar to pair cascade reprocessing of the spectrum. Results are presented for the spectral modifications due to splitting, taking into account the different probabilities for splitting for different polarization modes. Unpolarized and polarized pair cascade photon spectra form the input spectra for the model, which calculates the resulting splitting reprocessed spectra numerically by solving the photon kinetic equations for each polarization mode. This inclusion of photon polarizations is found to not alter previous predictions that splitting produce a significant flattening of the hard X ray continuum and a bump at MeV energies below a pair production turnover. The spectrum near the bump is always strongly polarized.

HIREGS observations of the Galactic center and Galactic plane: Separation of the diffuse Galactic hard X-ray continuum from the point source spectra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boggs, S. E.; Lin, R. P.; Coburn, W.; Feffer, P.; Pelling, R. M.; Schroeder, P.; Slassi-Sennou, S.

1997-01-01

The balloon-borne high resolution gamma ray and X-ray germanium spectrometer (HIREGS) was used to observe the Galactic center and two positions along the Galactic plane from Antarctica in January 1995. For its flight, the collimators were configured to measure the Galactic diffuse hard X-ray continuum between 20 and 200 keV by directly measuring the point source contributions to the wide field of view flux for subtraction. The hard X-ray spectra of GX 1+4 and GRO J1655-40 were measured with the diffuse continuum subtracted off. The analysis technique for source separation is discussed and the preliminary separated spectra for these point sources and the Galactic diffuse emission are presented.

Cosmic-ray effects in the Gum nebula

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramaty, R.; Boldt, E. A.

1971-01-01

The effects of low energy heavy nuclei from the supernova explosion on nearby interstellar space were investigated. In addition to the ionization and heating of the Gum nebula, these particles may produce detectable fluxes of X-rays and gamma rays, both as continuum radiation and line emission.

A 3-Dimensional Analysis of the Galactic Gamma-Ray Emission Resulting from Cosmic-Ray Interactions with the Interstellar Gas and Radiation Fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sodroski, Thomas J.; Dwek, Eli (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The contractor will provide support for the analysis of data under ADP (NRA 96-ADP- 09; Proposal No . 167-96adp). The primary task objective is to construct a 3-D model for the distribution of high-energy (20 MeV - 30 GeV) gamma-ray emission in the Galactic disk. Under this task the contractor will utilize data from the EGRET instrument on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, H I and CO surveys, radio-continuum surveys at 408 MHz, 1420 MHz, 5 GHz, and 19 GHz, the COBE Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIME) all-sky maps from 1 to 240 p, and ground-based B, V, J, H, and K photometry. The respective contributions to the gamma-ray emission from cosmic ray/matter interactions, inverse Compton scattering, and extragalactic emission will be determined.

Measurement and simulation of a Compton suppression system for safeguards application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Seung Kyu; Seo, Hee; Won, Byung-Hee; Lee, Chaehun; Shin, Hee-Sung; Na, Sang-Ho; Song, Dae-Yong; Kim, Ho-Dong; Park, Geun-Il; Park, Se-Hwan

2015-11-01

Plutonium (Pu) contents in spent nuclear fuels, recovered uranium (U) or uranium/transuranium (U/TRU) products must be measured in order to secure the safeguardability of a pyroprocessing facility. Self-induced X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) and gamma-ray spectroscopy are useful techniques for determining Pu-to-U ratios and Pu isotope ratios of spent fuel. Photon measurements of spent nuclear fuel by using high-resolution spectrometers such as high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors show a large continuum background in the low-energy region, which is due in large part to Compton scattering of energetic gamma rays. This paper proposes a Compton suppression system for reducing of the Compton continuum background. In the present study, the system was configured by using an HPGe main detector and a BGO (bismuth germanate: Bi4Ge3O12) guard detector. The system performances for gamma-ray measurement and XRF were evaluated by means of Monte Carlo simulations and measurements of the radiation source. The Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) simulations were performed using the same geometry as for the experiments, and considered, for exact results, the production of secondary electrons and photons. As a performance test of the Compton suppression system, the peak-to-Compton ratio, which is a figure of merit to evaluate the gamma-ray detection, was enhanced by a factor of three or more when the Compton suppression system was used.

Electron-positron pairs, Compton reflection, and the X-ray spectra of active galactic nuclei

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zdziarski, Andrzej A.; Ghisellini, Gabriele; George, Ian M.; Fabian, A. C.; Svensson, Roland; Done, Chris

1990-01-01

It is shown here that reprocessing of radiation fron nonthermal pair cascades by cold material in the central parts of active galactic nuclei (AGN) gives rise to X-ray and gamma-ray spectra that satisfy current observational constraints. An average 1-30 keV X-ray spectral index alpha(x) of about 0.7 in the compact range 30-300 is obtained for a wide range of Lorentz factors of the injected electrons. The gamma-ray spectra are steep, with alpha(gamma) about two, and satisfy the observational constraints. Radiation from pair cascades exhibits steep power law decreases in soft X-rays similar to those observed in AGN. The overall picture is consistent with AGN having an accretion disk which intercepts and reprocesses a substantial fraction of the nonthermal continuum incident upon it from above and below.

Gamma-ray emission from black holes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ling, James C.

1991-01-01

Strong continuum gamma-ray emission at about 1 MeV possibly correlated with a narrow annihilation line at 511 keV has been observed from both Cygnus X-1 and the Galactic center. Such correlated emission has been interpreted as a unique gamma-ray signature for theoretically predicted relativistic, positron-electron pair-dominated plasma in regions surrounding the black holes. In this paper, the Cygnus X-1 results, which have provided important new insights about the source, are reviewed. Cygnus X-1 may be considered a canonical reference stellar black hole whose spectral and temporal characteristics can be used for comparison with those of other black-hole candidates including the Galactic center and AGN.

A high resolution liquid xenon imaging telescope for 0.3-10 MeV gamma-ray astrophysics: Construction and initial balloon flights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aprile, Elena

1994-01-01

An instrument is described which will provide a direct image of gamma-ray line or continuum sources in the energy range 300 keV to 10 MeV. The use of this instrument to study the celestial distribution of the (exp 26)Al isotope by observing the 1.809 MeV deexcitation gamma-ray line is illustrated. The source location accuracy is 2' or better. The imaging telescope is a liquid xenon time projection chamber coupled with a coded aperture mask (LXe-CAT). This instrument will confirm and extend the COMPTEL observations from the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) with an improved capability for identifying the actual Galactic source or sources of (exp 26)Al, which are currently not known with certainty. sources currently under consideration include red giants on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), novae, Type 1b or Type 2 supernovae, Wolf-Rayet stars and cosmic-rays interacting in molecular clouds. The instrument could also identify a local source of the celestial 1.809 MeV gamma-ray line, such as a recent nearby supernova.

Gamma-ray lens development status for a European gamma-ray imager

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frontera, F.; Pisa, A.; Carassiti, V.; Evangelisti, F.; Loffredo, G.; Pellicciotta, D.; Andersen, K. H.; Courtois, P.; Amati, L.; Caroli, E.; Franceschini, T.; Landini, G.; Silvestri, S.; Stephen, J. B.

2006-06-01

A breakthrough in the sensitivity level of the hard X-/gamma-ray telescopes, which today are based on detectors that view the sky through (or not) coded masks, is expected when focusing optics will be available also in this energy range. Focusing techniques are now in an advanced stage of development. To date the most efficient technique to focus hard X-rays with energies above 100 keV appears to be the Bragg diffraction from crystals in transmission configuration (Laue lenses). Crystals with mosaic structure appear to be the most suitable to build a Laue lens with a broad passband, even though other alternative structures are being investigated. The goal of our project is the development of a broad band focusing telescope based on gamma-ray lenses for the study of the continuum emission of celestial sources from 60 keV up to >600 keV. We will report details of our project, its development status and results of our assessment study of a lens configuration for the European Gamma Ray Imager (GRI) mission now under study for the ESA plan Cosmic Vision 2015-2025.

A Monte Carlo simulation to study a design of a gamma-ray detector for neutron resonance densitometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsuchiya, H.; Harada, H.; Koizumi, M.; Kitatani, F.; Takamine, J.; Kureta, M.; Iimura, H.

2013-11-01

Neutron resonance densitometry (NRD) has been proposed to quantify nuclear materials in melted fuel (MF) that will be removed from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The problem is complex due to the expected presence of strong neutron absorbing impurities such as 10B and high radiation field that is mainly caused by 137Cs. To identify the impurities under the high radiation field, NRD is based on a combination of neutron resonance transmission analysis (NRTA) and neutron resonance capture analysis (NRCA). We investigated with Geant4 the performance of a gamma-ray detector for NRCA in NRD. The gamma-ray detector has a well shape, consisting of cylindrical and tube type LaBr3 scintillators. We show how it measures 478 keV gamma rays derived from 10B(n, αγ) reaction in MF under a high 137Cs-radiation environment. It was found that the gamma-ray detector was able to well suppress the Compton edge of 662-keV gamma rays of 137Cs and had a high peak-to-Compton continuum ratio, by using the tube type scintillator as a back-catcher detector. Then, we demonstrate that with this ability, detection of 478-keV gamma rays from 10B is accomplished in realistic measuring time.

Evaluation of prompt gamma-ray data and nuclear structure of niobium-94 with statistical model calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turkoglu, Danyal

Precise knowledge of prompt gamma-ray intensities following neutron capture is critical for elemental and isotopic analyses, homeland security, modeling nuclear reactors, etc. A recently-developed database of prompt gamma-ray production cross sections and nuclear structure information in the form of a decay scheme, called the Evaluated Gamma-ray Activation File (EGAF), is under revision. Statistical model calculations are useful for checking the consistency of the decay scheme, providing insight on its completeness and accuracy. Furthermore, these statistical model calculations are necessary to estimate the contribution of continuum gamma-rays, which cannot be experimentally resolved due to the high density of excited states in medium- and heavy-mass nuclei. Decay-scheme improvements in EGAF lead to improvements to other databases (Evaluated Nuclear Structure Data File, Reference Input Parameter Library) that are ultimately used in nuclear-reaction models to generate the Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF). Gamma-ray transitions following neutron capture in 93Nb have been studied at the cold-neutron beam facility at the Budapest Research Reactor. Measurements have been performed using a coaxial HPGe detector with Compton suppression. Partial gamma-ray production capture cross sections at a neutron velocity of 2200 m/s have been deduced relative to that of the 255.9-keV transition after cold-neutron capture by 93Nb. With the measurement of a niobium chloride target, this partial cross section was internally standardized to the cross section for the 1951-keV transition after cold-neutron capture by 35Cl. The resulting (0.1377 +/- 0.0018) barn (b) partial cross section produced a calibration factor that was 23% lower than previously measured for the EGAF database. The thermal-neutron cross sections were deduced for the 93Nb(n,gamma ) 94mNb and 93Nb(n,gamma) 94gNb reactions by summing the experimentally-measured partial gamma-ray production cross sections associated with the ground-state transitions below the 396-keV level and combining that summation with the contribution to the ground state from the quasi-continuum above 396 keV, determined with Monte Carlo statistical model calculations using the DICEBOX computer code. These values, sigmam and sigma 0, were (0.83 +/- 0.05) b and (1.16 +/- 0.11) b, respectively, and found to be in agreement with literature values. Comparison of the modeled population and experimental depopulation of individual levels confirmed tentative spin assignments and suggested changes where imbalances existed.

Modeling the Martian neutron and gamma-ray leakage fluxes using Geant4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pirard, Benoit; Desorgher, Laurent; Diez, Benedicte; Gasnault, Olivier

A new evaluation of the Martian neutron and gamma-ray (continuum and line) leakage fluxes has been performed using the Geant4 code. Even if numerous studies have recently been carried out with Monte Carlo methods to characterize planetary radiation environments, only a few however have been able to reproduce in detail the neutron and gamma-ray spectra observed in orbit. We report on the efforts performed to adapt and validate the Geant4-based PLAN- ETOCOSMICS code for use in planetary neutron and gamma-ray spectroscopy data analysis. Beside the advantage of high transparency and modularity common to Geant4 applications, the new code uses reviewed nuclear cross section data, realistic atmospheric profiles and soil layering, as well as specific effects such as gravity acceleration for low energy neutrons. Results from first simulations are presented for some Martian reference compositions and show a high consistency with corresponding neutron and gamma-ray spectra measured on board Mars Odyssey. Finally we discuss the advantages and perspectives of the improved code for precise simulation of planetary radiation environments.

Inter-pulse high-resolution gamma-ray spectra using a 14 MeV pulsed neutron generator

USGS Publications Warehouse

Evans, L.G.; Trombka, J.I.; Jensen, D.H.; Stephenson, W.A.; Hoover, R.A.; Mikesell, J.L.; Tanner, A.B.; Senftle, F.E.

1984-01-01

A neutron generator pulsed at 100 s-1 was suspended in an artificial borehole containing a 7.7 metric ton mixture of sand, aragonite, magnetite, sulfur, and salt. Two Ge(HP) gamma-ray detectors were used: one in a borehole sonde, and one at the outside wall of the sample tank opposite the neutron generator target. Gamma-ray spectra were collected by the outside detector during each of 10 discrete time windows during the 10 ms period following the onset of gamma-ray build-up after each neutron burst. The sample was measured first when dry and then when saturated with water. In the dry sample, gamma rays due to inelastic neutron scattering, neutron capture, and decay were counted during the first (150 ??s) time window. Subsequently only capture and decay gamma rays were observed. In the wet sample, only neutron capture and decay gamma rays were observed. Neutron capture gamma rays dominated the spectrum during the period from 150 to 400 ??s after the neutron burst in both samples, but decreased with time much more rapidly in the wet sample. A signal-to-noise-ratio (S/N) analysis indicates that optimum conditions for neutron capture analysis occurred in the 350-800 ??s window. A poor S/N in the first 100-150 ??s is due to a large background continuum during the first time interval. Time gating can be used to enhance gamma-ray spectra, depending on the nuclides in the target material and the reactions needed to produce them, and should improve the sensitivity of in situ well logging. ?? 1984.

Gamma-ray spectroscopy: The diffuse galactic glow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartmann, Dieter H.

1991-01-01

The goal of this project is the development of a numerical code that provides statistical models of the sky distribution of gamma-ray lines due to the production of radioactive isotopes by ongoing Galactic nucleosynthesis. We are particularly interested in quasi-steady emission from novae, supernovae, and stellar winds, but continuum radiation and transient sources must also be considered. We have made significant progress during the first half period of this project and expect the timely completion of a code that can be applied to Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE) Galactic plane survey data.

On the origin of power-law X-ray spectra of active galactic nuclei

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schlosman, I.; Shaham, J.; Shaviv, G.

1984-01-01

In the present analytical model for a power law X-ray continuum production in active galactic nuclei, the dissipation of turbulent energy flux above the accretion disk forms an optically thin transition layer with an inverted temperature gradient. The emitted thermal radiation has a power law spectrum in the 0.1-100 keV range, with a photon energy spectral index gamma of about 0.4-1.0. Thermal X-ray contribution from the layer is 5-10 percent of the total disk luminosity. The gamma value of 0.75 is suggested as a 'natural' power law index for Seyfert galaxies and QSOs.

Search for gamma-ray transients using the SMM spectrometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Share, G. H.; Harris, M. J.; Leising, M. D.; Messina, D. C.

1993-01-01

Observations for transient radiation made by the Gamma Ray Spectrometer on the SMM satellite are summarized. Spectra were obtained from 215 solar flares and 177 gamma-ray bursts. No narrow or moderately broadened lines were observed in any of the bursts. The rate of bursts is consistent with a constant over the mission but is weakly correlated with solar activity. No evidence was found for bursts of 511 keV line emission, unaccompanied by a strong continuum, at levels not less than 0.05 gamma/sq cm s for bursts lasting not more than 16 s. No evidence was found for broad features near 1 MeV from Cyg X-1, the Galactic center, or the Crab in 12-d integrations at levels not less than 0.006 gamma/sq cm s. No evidence was found for transient celestial narrow-line emission from 300 keV to 7 MeV on min-to-hrs-long time scales from 1984 to 1989.

RXTE Observation of the Tycho Supernova Remnant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

The, Lih-Sin

1998-01-01

SN1006 [4] and Cas A [1, 9] supernova remnants have been shown convincingly to have a hard X-ray power-law continuum. This continuum is thought to be the synchrotron radiation from accelerated electrons of approx. 100 TeV at the shock fronts. Our goal of AO2 RXTE observation is to detect the hard X-ray continuum and to determine the nature of the continuum from Tycho SNR. A detection of a power-law continuum from Tycho SNR can strongly argue for SNRs are the source of cosmic rays with the first order Fermi acceleration as the energizing process. We report the results of our AO2 RXTE 1 x 10(exp 5) sec observation of Tycho SNR. We detect two components of the X-ray spectrum from Tycho SNR both at better than 3 omega confidence. The best two component models are: bremsstrahlung (kT=2.67 +/- 0.13 keV) + bremsstrahlung (kT=7.07 +/- 2.21/1.72 keV) or bremsstrahlung (kT=2.36 +/- 0.21/0.57 keV) + power-law (gamma=2.58 +/- 0.12/0.09 ). This result is an improvement compaxed with the previous most sensitive X-ray measurements by Ginga which shows Tycho's observed X-ray continuum requires a two-component model to yield acceptable fits with the hard component parameters being highly uncertain. Our RXTE measurements constrain all parameter within 3o, ranges. However, we cannot yet distinguish between thermal and nonthermal models for the hard component. In the followings, we describe what we accomplished in the period covered by the grant proposal.

Diffuse Galactic Continuum Gamma Rays. A Model Compatible with EGRET Data and Cosmic-ray Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strong, Andrew W.; Moskalenko, Igor V.; Reimer, Olaf

2004-01-01

We present a study of the compatibility of some current models of the diffuse Galactic continuum gamma-rays with EGRET data. A set of regions sampling the whole sky is chosen to provide a comprehensive range of tests. The range of EGRET data used is extended to 100 GeV. The models are computed with our GALPROP cosmic-ray propagation and gamma-ray production code. We confirm that the "conventional model" based on the locally observed electron and nucleon spectra is inadequate, for all sky regions. A conventional model plus hard sources in the inner Galaxy is also inadequate, since this cannot explain the GeV excess away from the Galactic plane. Models with a hard electron injection spectrum are inconsistent with the local spectrum even considering the expected fluctuations; they are also inconsistent with the EGRET data above 10 GeV. We present a new model which fits the spectrum in all sky regions adequately. Secondary antiproton data were used to fix the Galactic average proton spectrum, while the electron spectrum is adjusted using the spectrum of diffuse emission it- self. The derived electron and proton spectra are compatible with those measured locally considering fluctuations due to energy losses, propagation, or possibly de- tails of Galactic structure. This model requires a much less dramatic variation in the electron spectrum than models with a hard electron injection spectrum, and moreover it fits the y-ray spectrum better and to the highest EGRET energies. It gives a good representation of the latitude distribution of the y-ray emission from the plane to the poles, and of the longitude distribution. We show that secondary positrons and electrons make an essential contribution to Galactic diffuse y-ray emission.

Observation of X-ray lines from a gamma-ray burst (GRB991216): evidence of moving ejecta from the progenitor.

PubMed

Piro, L; Garmire, G; Garcia, M; Stratta, G; Costa, E; Feroci, M; Mészáros, P; Vietri, M; Bradt, H; Frail, D; Frontera, F; Halpern, J; Heise, J; Hurley, K; Kawai, N; Kippen, R M; Marshall, F; Murakami, T; Sokolov, V V; Takeshima, T; Yoshida, A

2000-11-03

We report on the discovery of two emission features observed in the x-ray spectrum of the afterglow of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) of 16 December 1999 by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. These features are identified with the Ly(alpha) line and the narrow recombination continuum by hydrogenic ions of iron at a redshift z = 1.00 +/- 0.02, providing an unambiguous measurement of the distance of a GRB. Line width and intensity imply that the progenitor of the GRB was a massive star system that ejected, before the GRB event, a quantity of iron approximately 0.01 of the mass of the sun at a velocity approximately 0.1 of the speed of light, probably by a supernova explosion.

Gamma rays from the de-excitation of C-12 resonance 15.11 MeV and C-12 resonance 4.44 MeV as probes of energetic particle spectra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crannell, C. J.; Crannell, H.; Ramaty, R.

1977-01-01

The flux of 15.11 MeV gamma rays relative to the flux 4.44 MeV gamma rays was calculated from measured cross sections for excitation of the corresponding states of C-12 and from experimental determinations of the branching ratios for direct de-excitation of these states to the ground state. Because of the difference in threshold energies for excitation of these two levels, the relative intensities in the two lines are particularly sensitive to the spectral distribution of energetic particles which excite the corresponding nuclear levels. For both solar and cosmic emission, the observability of the 15.11 MeV line is expected to be enhances by low source-background continuum in this energy range.

The suppression of pulsar and gamma-ray burst annihilation lines by magnetic photon splitting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baring, Matthew G.

1993-01-01

Neutron stars, relativistic and compact by nature, show great potential for the copious creation of electron-positron pairs in the magnetospheres; these rapidly cool, thermalize, and then annihilate. It is therefore expected that many neutron sources might display evidence of pair annihilation lines in the 400-500 keV range. It is shown that magnetic photon splitting, which operates effectively at these energies and in the enormous neutron star magnetic fields, can destroy an annihilation feature by absorbing line photons and reprocessing them to lower energies. In so doing, photon splitting creates a soft gamma-ray bump and a broad quasi-power-law contribution to the X-ray continuum, which is too flat to conflict with the observed X-ray paucity in gamma-ray bursts. The destruction of the line occurs in neutron stars with surface fields of 5 x 10 exp 12 G or maybe even less, depending on the size of the emission region.

High energy irradiations simulating cosmic-ray-induced planetary gamma ray production. I - Fe target

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Metzger, A. E.; Parker, R. H.; Yellin, J.

1986-01-01

Two thick Fe targets were bombarded by a series of 6 GeV proton irradiations for the purpose of simulating the cosmic ray bombardment of planetary objects in space. Gamma ray energy spectra were obtained with a germanium solid state detector during the bombardment, and 46 of the gamma ray lines were ascribed to the Fe targets. A comparison between observed and predicted values showed good agreement for Fe lines from neutron inelastic scattering and spallation reactions, and less satisfactory agreement for neutron capture reactions, the latter attributed to the difference in composition between the Fe target and the mean lunar abundance used in the modeling. Through an analysis of the irradiation results together with continuum data obtained in lunar orbit, it was found that 100 hours of measurement with a current instrument should generate a spectrum containing approximately 20 lines due to Fe alone, with a 2-sigma sensitivity for detection of about 0.2 percent.

A Compton Suppressed Gamma Ray Counter For Radio Assay of Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godfrey, Benjamin

2016-03-01

Rare event searches, such as direct dark matter experiments, require materials with ultra-low levels of natural radioactivity. We present a neutron activation analysis (NAA) technique for assaying metals, specifically titanium used for cryostat construction. Earlier attempts at NAA encountered limitations due to bulk activation via (n, p) reactions, which contributed to large continuum backgrounds due to Compton tails. Our method involves a heavy water shielded exposure to minimize (n,p) reactions and a sodium iodide shielded high purity germanium counter for the gamma ray assay. Preliminary results on assays for U/Th/K contamination in titaniumwill be presented.

On-ground detection of an electron-positron annihilation line from thunderclouds.

PubMed

Umemoto, D; Tsuchiya, H; Enoto, T; Yamada, S; Yuasa, T; Kawaharada, M; Kitaguchi, T; Nakazawa, K; Kokubun, M; Kato, H; Okano, M; Tamagawa, T; Makishima, K

2016-02-01

Thunderclouds can produce bremsstrahlung gamma-ray emission, and sometimes even positrons. At 00:27:00 (UT) on 13 January 2012, an intense burst of gamma rays from a thundercloud was detected by the GROWTH experiment, located in Japan, facing the Sea of Japan. The event started with a sharp gamma-ray flash with a duration of <300 ms coincident with an intracloud discharge, followed by a decaying longer gamma-ray emission lasting for ∼60 s. The spectrum of this prolonged emission reached ∼10 MeV, and contained a distinct line emission at 508±3(stat.)±5(sys.) keV, to be identified with an electron-positron annihilation line. The line was narrow within the instrumental energy resolution (∼80keV), and contained 520±50 photons which amounted to ∼10% of the total signal photons of 5340±190 detected over 0.1-10 MeV. As a result, the line equivalent width reached 280±40 keV, which implies a nontrivial result. The result suggests that a downward positron beam produced both the continuum and the line photons.

On-ground detection of an electron-positron annihilation line from thunderclouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Umemoto, D.; Tsuchiya, H.; Enoto, T.; Yamada, S.; Yuasa, T.; Kawaharada, M.; Kitaguchi, T.; Nakazawa, K.; Kokubun, M.; Kato, H.; Okano, M.; Tamagawa, T.; Makishima, K.

2016-02-01

Thunderclouds can produce bremsstrahlung gamma-ray emission, and sometimes even positrons. At 00:27:00 (UT) on 13 January 2012, an intense burst of gamma rays from a thundercloud was detected by the GROWTH experiment, located in Japan, facing the Sea of Japan. The event started with a sharp gamma-ray flash with a duration of <300 ms coincident with an intracloud discharge, followed by a decaying longer gamma-ray emission lasting for ˜60 s. The spectrum of this prolonged emission reached ˜10 MeV, and contained a distinct line emission at 508 ±3 (stat .)±5 (sys .) keV, to be identified with an electron-positron annihilation line. The line was narrow within the instrumental energy resolution (˜80 keV) , and contained 520 ±50 photons which amounted to ˜10 % of the total signal photons of 5340 ±190 detected over 0.1-10 MeV. As a result, the line equivalent width reached 280 ±40 keV, which implies a nontrivial result. The result suggests that a downward positron beam produced both the continuum and the line photons.

Radioisotope identification method for poorly resolved gamma-ray spectrum of nuclear security concern

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ninh, Giang Nguyen; Phongphaeth, Pengvanich, E-mail: phongphaeth.p@chula.ac.th; Nares, Chankow

Gamma-ray signal can be used as a fingerprint for radioisotope identification. In the context of radioactive and nuclear materials security at the border control point, the detection task can present a significant challenge due to various constraints such as the limited measurement time, the shielding conditions, and the noise interference. This study proposes a novel method to identify the signal of one or several radioisotopes from a poorly resolved gamma-ray spectrum. In this method, the noise component in the raw spectrum is reduced by the wavelet decomposition approach, and the removal of the continuum background is performed using the baselinemore » determination algorithm. Finally, the identification of radioisotope is completed using the matrix linear regression method. The proposed method has been verified by experiments using the poorly resolved gamma-ray signals from various scenarios including single source, mixing of natural uranium with five of the most common industrial radioactive sources (57Co, 60Co, 133Ba, 137Cs, and 241Am). The preliminary results show that the proposed algorithm is comparable with the commercial method.« less

Detection of nuclear gamma rays from Centaurus A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, R. D.; Walraven, G. D.; Djuth, F. T.; Haymes, R. C.; Meegan, C. A.

1976-01-01

Results are reported for an observation of nuclear gamma rays in the energy range between 0.033 and 12.25 MeV from Centaurus A using a balloon-borne actively collimated NaI(Tl) crystal scintillation counter. The observing procedure is outlined, no systematic errors are found in the data, and power-law fits to the source's energy spectrum are attempted. A power law of approximately 0.86E to the -1.9 power photon/sq cm/sec per keV is shown to give an acceptable fit to the continuum, and the detection of two gamma-ray lines at 1.6 and 4.5 MeV, respectively, is discussed. It is found that the low-energy gamma-ray luminosity of Cen A is 9.4 by 10 to the 43rd power erg/sec for a distance of 5 Mpc and that Cen A is apparently variable in low-energy gamma radiation. It is suggested that the broad feature detected at 1.6 MeV may be due to three blended lines (possibly excited Ne-20, Mg-24, and Si-28), the 4.5-MeV line is most likely due to deexcitation of excited C-12, and the nuclear excitation results from either cosmic-ray bombardment of Cen A's interstellar medium or nucleosynthesis within the source.

Gamma-ray Burst and Gravitational Wave Counterpart Prospects in the MeV Band with AMEGO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Racusin, Judith; AMEGO Team

2018-01-01

The All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory (AMEGO) Probe mission concept is uniquely suited to address open questions in Gamma-ray Burst (GRB) science including the search for counterparts to gravitational-wave events. AMEGO is a wide field of view instrument (~60 deg radius) with a broad energy range (~200 keV to >10 GeV) and excellent continuum sensitivity. The sensitivity improvement will allow for probes of GRB emission mechanisms and jet composition in ways that have not been accessible with previous instruments. Potential for polarization measurement may also have profound impacts on the understanding of GRB mechanisms. AMEGO will also be an excellent facility for the search for gravitational wave counterparts to binary mergers including at least one neutron star, which are thought to produce short duration GRBs. This poster will describe how the AMEGO will advance these fields.

Capabilities of GRO/OSSE for observing solar flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kurfess, J. D.; Johnson, W. N.; Share, G. H.; Hulburt, E. O.; Matz, S. M.; Murphy, R. J.

1989-01-01

The launch of the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) near solar maximum makes solar flare studies early in the mission particularly advantageous. The Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE) on GRO, covering the energy range 0.05 to 150 MeV, has some significant advantages over the previous generation of satellite-borne gamma-ray detectors for solar observations. The OSSE detectors will have about 10 times the effective area of the Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) on Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) for both photons and high-energy neutrons. The OSSE also has the added capability of distinguishing between high-energy neutrons and photons directly. The OSSE spectral accumulation time (approx. 4s) is four times faster than that of the SMM/GRS; much better time resolution is available in selected energy ranges. These characteristics will allow the investigation of particle acceleration in flares based on the evolution of the continuum and nuclear line components of flare spectra, nuclear emission in small flares, the anisotropy of continuum emission in small flares, and the relative intensities of different nuclear lines. The OSSE observational program will be devoted primarily to non-solar sources. Therefore, solar observations require planning and special configurations. The instrumental and operational characteristics of OSSE are discussed in the context of undertaking solar observations. The opportunities for guest investigators to participate in solar flare studies with OSSE is also presented.

An X-Ray Reprocessing Model of Disk Thermal Emission in Type 1 Seyfert Galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chiang, James; White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Using a geometry consisting of a hot central Comptonizing plasma surrounded by a thin accretion disk, we model the optical through hard X-ray spectral energy distributions of the type 1 Seyfert. galaxies NGC 3516 and NGC 7469. As in the model proposed by Poutanen, Krolik, and Ryde for the X-ray binary Cygnus X-1 and later applied to Seyfert galaxies by Zdziarski, Lubifiski, and Smith, feedback between the radiation reprocessed by the disk and the thermal Comptonization emission from the hot central plasma plays a pivotal role in determining the X-ray spectrum, and as we show, the optical and ultraviolet spectra as well. Seemingly uncorrelated optical/UV and X-ray light curves, similar to those which have been observed from these objects can, in principle, be explained by variations in the size, shape, and temperature of the Comptonizing plasma. Furthermore, by positing a disk mass accretion rate which satisfies a condition for global energy balance between the thermal Comptonization luminosity and the power available from accretion, one can predict the spectral properties of the heretofore poorly measured hard X-ray continuum above approximately 50 keV in type 1 Seyfert galaxies. Conversely, forthcoming measurements of the hard X-ray continuum by more sensitive hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray telescopes, such as those aboard the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) in conjunction with simultaneous optical, UV, and soft X-ray monitoring, will allow the mass accretion rates to be directly constrained for these sources in the context of this model.

Prospects for Dark Matter Measurements with the Advanced Gamma Ray Imaging System (AGIS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buckley, James

2009-05-01

AGIS, a concept for a future gamma-ray observatory consisting of an array of 50 atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, would provide a powerful new tool for determining the nature of dark matter and its role in structure formation in the universe. The advent of more sensitive direct detection experiments, the launch of Fermi and the startup of the LHC make the near future an exciting time for dark matter searches. Indirect measurements of cosmic-ray electrons may already provide a hint of dark matter in our local halo. However, gamma-ray measurements will provide the only means for mapping the dark matter in the halo of our galaxy and other galaxies. In addition, the spectrum of gamma-rays (either direct annihilation to lines or continuum emission from other annihilation channels) will be imprinted with the mass of the dark matter particle, and the particular annihilation channels providing key measurements needed to identify the dark matter particle. While current gamma-ray instruments fall short of the generic sensitivity required to measure the dark matter signal from any sources other than the (confused) region around the Galactic center, we show that the planned AGIS array will have the angular resolution, energy resolution, low threshold energy and large effective area required to detect emission from dark matter annihilation in Galactic substructure or nearby Dwarf spheroidal galaxies.

Comparison of backgrounds in OSO-7 and SMM spectrometers and short-term activation in SMM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunphy, P. P.; Forrest, D. J.; Chupp, E. L.; Share, G. H.

1989-01-01

The backgrounds in the OSO-7 Gamma-Ray Monitor and the Solar Maximum Mission Gamma-Ray Spectrometer are compared. After scaling to the same volume, the background spectra agree to within 30 percent. This shows that analyses which successfully describe the background in one detector can be applied to similar detectors of different sizes and on different platforms. The background produced in the SMM spectrometer by a single trapped-radiation belt passage is also studied. This background is found to be dominated by a positron-annihilation line and a continuum spectrum with a high energy cutoff at 5 MeV.

Iron K Lines from Gamma Ray Bursts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kallman, T. R.; Meszaros, P.; Rees, M. J.

2003-01-01

We present models for reprocessing of an intense flux of X-rays and gamma rays expected in the vicinity of gamma ray burst sources. We consider the transfer and reprocessing of the energetic photons into observable features in the X-ray band, notably the K lines of iron. Our models are based on the assumption that the gas is sufficiently dense to allow the microphysical processes to be in a steady state, thus allowing efficient line emission with modest reprocessing mass and elemental abundances ranging from solar to moderately enriched. We show that the reprocessing is enhanced by down-Comptonization of photons whose energy would otherwise be too high to absorb on iron, and that pair production can have an effect on enhancing the line production. Both "distant" reprocessors such as supernova or wind remnants and "nearby" reprocessors such as outer stellar envelopes can reproduce the observed line fluxes with Fe abundances 30-100 times above solar, depending on the incidence angle. The high incidence angles required arise naturally only in nearby models, which for plausible values can reach Fe line to continuum ratios close to the reported values.

A high-resolution gamma-ray and hard X-ray spectrometer for solar flare observations in Max 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, R. P.; Curtis, D. W.; Harvey, P.; Hurley, K.; Primbsch, J. H.; Smith, D. M.; Pelling, R. M.; Duttweiler, F.

1988-01-01

A long duration balloon flight instrument for Max 1991 designed to study the acceleration of greater than 10 MeV ions and greater than 15 keV electrons in solar flares through high resolution spectroscopy of the gamma ray lines and hard X-ray and gamma ray continuum is described. The instrument, HIREGS, consists of an array of high-purity, n-type coaxial germanium detectors (HPGe) cooled to less than 90 K and surrounded by a bismuth germanate (BGO) anticoincidence shield. It will cover the energy range 15 keV to 20 MeV with keV spectral resolution, sufficient for accurate measurement of all parameters of the expected gamma ray lines with the exception of the neutron capture deuterium line. Electrical segmentation of the HPGe detector into a thin front segment and a thick rear segment, together with pulse-shape discrimination, provides optimal dynamic range and signal-to-background characteristics for flare measurements. Neutrons and gamma rays up to approximately 0.1 to 1 GeV can be detected and identified with the combination of the HPGe detectors and rear BGO shield. The HIREGS is planned for long duration balloon flights (LDBF) for solar flare studies during Max 1991. The two exploratory LDBFs carried out at mid-latitudes in 1987 to 1988 are described, and the LDBFs in Antarctica, which could in principle provide 24 hour/day solar coverage and very long flight durations (20 to 30 days) because of minimal ballast requirements are discussed.

COMPTEL gamma-ray observations of the C4 solar flare on 20 January 2000

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, C. A.; Arndt, M. B.; Bennett, K.; Connors, A.; Debrunner, H.; Diehl, R.; McConnell, M.; Miller, R. S.; Rank, G.; Ryan, J. M.; Schoenfelder, V.; Winkler, C.

2001-10-01

The ``Pre-SMM'' (Vestrand and Miller 1998) picture of gamma-ray line (GRL) flares was that they are relatively rare events. This picture was quickly put in question with the launch of the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM). Over 100 GRL flares were seen with sizes ranging from very large GOES class events (X12) down to moderately small events (M2). It was argued by some (Bai 1986) that this was still consistent with the idea that GRL events are rare. Others, however, argued the opposite (Vestrand 1988; Cliver, Crosby and Dennis 1994), stating that the lower end of this distribution was just a function of SMM's sensitivity. They stated that the launch of the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory (CGRO) would in fact continue this distribution to show even smaller GRL flares. In response to a BACODINE cosmic gamma-ray burst alert, COMPtonTELescope on the CGRO recorded gamma rays above 1 MeV from the C4 flare at 0221 UT 20 January 2000. This event, though at the limits of COMPTEL's sensitivity, clearly shows a nuclear line excess above the continuum. Using new spectroscopy techniques we were able to resolve individual lines. This has allowed us to make a basic comparison of this event with the GRL flare distribution from SMM and also compare this flare with a well-observed large GRL flare seen by OSSE. .

Imaging observations of SN1987A at gamma-ray energies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cook, W.R.; Palmer, D.M.; Prince, T.A.

1988-09-25

The Caltech imaging ..gamma..-ray telescope was launched by balloon from Alice Springs, NT, Australia for observations of SN1987A during the period 18.60--18.87 November 1987 UT. The preliminary results presented here are derived from 8200 seconds of instrument livetime on the supernova and 2500 seconds on the Crab Nebula and pulsar at a float altitude of 37 km. We have obtained the first images of the SN1987A region at ..gamma..-ray energies confirming that the bulk of the ..gamma..-ray emission comes from the supernova and not from LMC X-1. A count excess is detected between 300 and 1300 keV from the directionmore » of the supernova, one third of which comes from energy bands of width 80 and 92 keV centered on 847 and 1238 keV, respectively. The excess can be interpreted as a line photon flux plus scattered photon continuum from the radioactive decay of /sup 56/Co synthesized in the supernova explosion. We compare our data to recent predictions and find it to be consistent with models invoking moderate mixing of core material into the envelope.« less

Measurement and analysis of gamma-rays emitted from spent nuclear fuel above 3 MeV.

PubMed

Rodriguez, Douglas C; Anderson, Elaina; Anderson, Kevin K; Campbell, Luke W; Fast, James E; Jarman, Kenneth; Kulisek, Jonathan; Orton, Christopher R; Runkle, Robert C; Stave, Sean

2013-12-01

The gamma-ray spectrum of spent nuclear fuel in the 3-6 MeV energy range is important for active interrogation since gamma rays emitted from nuclear decay are not expected to interfere with measurements in this energy region. There is, unfortunately, a dearth of empirical measurements from spent nuclear fuel in this region. This work is an initial attempt to partially fill this gap by presenting an analysis of gamma-ray spectra collected from a set of spent nuclear fuel sources using a high-purity germanium detector array. This multi-crystal array possesses a large collection volume, providing high energy resolution up to 16 MeV. The results of these measurements establish the continuum count-rate in the energy region between 3 and 6 MeV. Also assessed is the potential for peaks from passive emissions to interfere with peak measurements resulting from active interrogation delayed emissions. As one of the first documented empirical measurements of passive emissions from spent fuel for energies above 3 MeV, this work provides a foundation for active interrogation model validation and detector development. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Broad-Band Continuum and Line Emission of the gamma-Ray Blazar PKS 0537-441

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pian, E.; Falomo, R.; Hartman, R. C.; Maraschi, L.; Tavecchio, F.; Tornikoski, M.; Treves, A.; Urry, C. M.; Ballo, L.; Mukherjee, R.;

Dark matter annihilation in the milky way galaxy: effects of baryonic compression.

PubMed

Prada, F; Klypin, A; Flix, J; Martínez, M; Simonneau, E

2004-12-10

If the dark matter (DM), which is considered to constitute most of the mass of galaxies, is made of supersymmetric particles, the central region of our Galaxy should emit gamma rays produced by their annihilation. We use detailed models of the Milky Way to make accurate estimates of continuum gamma-ray fluxes. We argue that the most important effect, which was previously neglected, is the compression of the dark matter due to the infall of baryons to the galactic center: it boosts the expected signal by a factor 1000. To illustrate this effect, we computed the expected gamma fluxes in the minimal supergravity scenario. Our models predict that the signal could be detected at high confidence levels by imaging atmospheric C erenkov telescopes assuming that neutralinos make up most of the DM in the Universe.

Gamma-widths, lifetimes and fluctuations in the nuclear quasi-continuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guttormsen, M.; Larsen, A. C.; Midtbø, J. E.; Crespo Campo, L.; Görgen, A.; Ingeberg, V. W.; Renstrøm, T.; Siem, S.; Tveten, G. M.; Zeiser, F.; Kirsch, L. E.

2018-05-01

Statistical γ-decay from highly excited states is determined by the nuclear level density (NLD) and the γ-ray strength function (γSF). These average quantities have been measured for several nuclei using the Oslo method. For the first time, we exploit the NLD and γSF to evaluate the γ-width in the energy region below the neutron binding energy, often called the quasi-continuum region. The lifetimes of states in the quasi-continuum are important benchmarks for a theoretical description of nuclear structure and dynamics at high temperature. The lifetimes may also have impact on reaction rates for the rapid neutron-capture process, now demonstrated to take place in neutron star mergers.

FLARE-LIKE VARIABILITY OF THE Mg II {lambda}2800 EMISSION LINE IN THE {gamma}-RAY BLAZAR 3C 454.3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leon-Tavares, J.; Chavushyan, V.; Patino-Alvarez, V.

2013-02-01

We report the detection of a statistically significant flare-like event in the Mg II {lambda}2800 emission line of 3C 454.3 during the outburst of autumn 2010. The highest levels of emission line flux recorded over the monitoring period (2008-2011) coincide with a superluminal jet component traversing through the radio core. This finding crucially links the broad emission line fluctuations to the non-thermal continuum emission produced by relativistically moving material in the jet and hence to the presence of broad-line region clouds surrounding the radio core. If the radio core were located at several parsecs from the central black hole, thenmore » our results would suggest the presence of broad-line region material outside the inner parsec where the canonical broad-line region is envisaged to be located. We briefly discuss the implications of broad emission line material ionized by non-thermal continuum in the context of virial black hole mass estimates and gamma-ray production mechanisms.« less

An optical spectrum of the afterglow of a gamma-ray burst at a redshift of z = 6.295.

PubMed

Kawai, N; Kosugi, G; Aoki, K; Yamada, T; Totani, T; Ohta, K; Iye, M; Hattori, T; Aoki, W; Furusawa, H; Hurley, K; Kawabata, K S; Kobayashi, N; Komiyama, Y; Mizumoto, Y; Nomoto, K; Noumaru, J; Ogasawara, R; Sato, R; Sekiguchi, K; Shirasaki, Y; Suzuki, M; Takata, T; Tamagawa, T; Terada, H; Watanabe, J; Yatsu, Y; Yoshida, A

2006-03-09

The prompt gamma-ray emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) should be detectable out to distances of z > 10 (ref. 1), and should therefore provide an excellent probe of the evolution of cosmic star formation, reionization of the intergalactic medium, and the metal enrichment history of the Universe. Hitherto, the highest measured redshift for a GRB has been z = 4.50 (ref. 5). Here we report the optical spectrum of the afterglow of GRB 050904 obtained 3.4 days after the burst; the spectrum shows a clear continuum at the long-wavelength end of the spectrum with a sharp cut-off at around 9,000 A due to Lyman alpha absorption at z approximately 6.3 (with a damping wing). A system of absorption lines of heavy elements at z = 6.295 +/- 0.002 was also detected, yielding the precise measurement of the redshift. The Si ii fine-structure lines suggest a dense, metal-enriched environment around the progenitor of the GRB.

CORONAS-F observation of gamma-ray emission from the solar flare on 2003 October 29

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurt, Victoria G.; Yushkov, Boris Yu.; Galkin, Vladimir I.; Kudela, Karel; Kashapova, Larisa K.

2017-10-01

Appreciable hard X-ray (HXR) and gamma-ray emissions in the 0.04-150 MeV energy range associated with the 2003 October 29 solar flare (X10/3B) were observed at 20:38-20:58 UT by the SONG instrument onboard the CORONAS-F mission. To restore flare gamma-ray spectra we fitted the SONG energy loss spectra with a three-component model of the incident spectrum: (1) a power law in energy, assumed to be due to electron bremsstrahlung; (2) a broad continuum produced by prompt nuclear de-excitation gamma-lines; and (3) a broad gamma-line generated from pion-decay. We also restored spectra from the RHESSI data, compared them with the SONG spectra and found a reasonable agreement between these spectra in the 0.1-10 MeV energy range. The pion-decay emission was observed from 20:44:20 UT and had its maximum at 20:48-20:51 UT. The power-law spectral index of accelerated protons estimated from the ratio between intensities of different components of gamma rays changed with time. The hardest spectrum with a power-law index S = -3.5 - 3.6 was observed at 20:48-20:51 UT. Time histories of the pion-decay emission and proton spectrum were compared with changes of the locations of flare energy release as shown by RHESSI hard X-ray images and remote and remote Hα brightenings. An apparent temporal correlation between processes of particle acceleration and restructuring of flare magnetic field was found. In particular, the protons were accelerated to subrelativistic energies after radical change of the character of footpoint motion from a converging motion to a separation motion.

SN 1991T - Gamma-Ray Observatory's first supernova?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burrows, Adam; Shankar, Anurag; Van Riper, Kenneth A.

1991-01-01

Consideration is given to the explosion of the Type Ia supernova SN 1991T in the nearby galaxy NGC 4527 detected in gamma-ray lines by the recently launched GRO. The dominant gamma-line and continuum features of the new 'delayed detonation' model FDEFA1 are calculated and compared to those for standard deflagration models W7 and cdtg7. It is shown that there are many useful hard photon discriminants of the Type Ia explosion mechanism that can, in principle, be detected by the OSSE and COMPTEL instruments on the GRO. Either SN 1991T, if bright enough, or one of the several Type Ia supernovae expected to be within the GRO's range during its active life, may make it possible to settle the detonation/deflagration debate, verify the generic thermonuclear white dwarf model of Type Ia explosions, and calibrate the Type Ia B(max)/847 keV line flux ratio.

A Pair Production Telescope for Medium-Energy Gamma-Ray Polarimetry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Stanley D.; Bloser, Peter F.; Depaola, Gerardo; Dion, Michael P.; DeNolfo, Georgia A.; Hanu, Andrei; Iparraguirre, Marcos; Legere, Jason; Longo, Francesco; McConnell, Mark L.;

Surface chemistry of selected lunar regions. [using gamma ray spectrometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bielefeld, M. J.; Reedy, R. C.; Metzger, A. E.; Trombka, A. I.; Arnold, J. R.

1976-01-01

A completely new analysis has been carried out on the data from the Apollo 15 and 16 gamma ray spectrometer experiments. The components of the continuum background have been estimated. The elements Th, K, Fe and Mg give useful results; results for Ti are significant only for a few high Ti regions. Errors are given, and the results are checked by other methods. Concentrations are reported for about sixty lunar regions; the ground track has been subdivided in various ways. The borders of the maria seem well-defined chemically, while the distribution of KREEP is broad. This wide distribution requires emplacement of KREEP before the era of mare formation. Its high concentration in western mare soils seems to require major vertical mixing.

Spectrum and variation of gamma-ray emission from the galactic center region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riegler, G. R.; Ling, J. C.; Mahoney, W. A.; Wheaton, W. A.; Jacobson, A. S.

1982-01-01

Continuum emission at 60-300 keV from the galactic center region was observed to decrease in intensity by 45 percent and to show a spectrum steepening between fall 1979 and spring 1980. At the same time 511 keV positron annihilation radiation decreased by a comparable fraction. No variations over shorter time scales were detected. The observations are consistent with a model where positrons and hard X-rays are produced in an electromagnetic cascade near a massive black hole.

Investigation of Nuclear Structure and Quasi-Discrete Features in 150,152Sm via the (p,t) Reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humby, Peter James Charnall

The (p,t) reaction was used to identify new levels and gamma-ray transitions in 150,152Sm utilising the particle-gamma and particle-gamma-gamma coincidence techniques. The experiment was performed using the STARLiTeR array located at the Cyclotron Institute of Texas A&M University. The relative partial cross sections for the observed levels, angle averaged between 34 and 58 degrees, were measured. A narrow peak-like structure was observed between 2.3-3.0 MeV excitation energy, in between the region of strongly populated discrete states at low energy and the high energy continuum region. In 150Sm, 39(4)% of the strength of the peak-like structure could be accounted for by the observed discrete states, which compares to a value of 93(15)% for 152Sm. The orbital angular-momentum transfer was probed by comparison of the experimental angular distributions to those calculated using the DWBA theory. The experimental angular distributions for the population of the peak-like structures are very similar in the two reactions, and significantly different to both the angular distribution of the background under the structures, and to the distribution obtained from the nearby continuum region at higher excitation energy. Post irradiation, the half-lives of isomeric states in 152Eu, populated in the 154Sm(p,3n) reaction, were obtained by measuring the decrease in intensity of the gamma rays emitted in the decay of these long lived levels. The half-life of the Jpi = 8- isomer 152m2Eu was measured to be 95.8(4) min, which is a factor of 2.5 reduction in uncertainty compared to the previous literature value of 96(1) min.

The average X-ray/gamma-ray spectra of Seyfert galaxies from Ginga and OSSE and the origin of the cosmic X-ray background

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zdziarski, Andrzej A.; Johnson, W. Neil; Done, Chris; Smith, David; Mcnaron-Brown, Kellie

1995-01-01

We have obtained the first average 2-500 keV spectra of Seyfert galaxies, using the data from Ginga and Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory's (CGRO) Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE). Our sample contains three classes of objects with markedly different spectra: radio-quiet Seyfert 1's and 2's, and radio-loud Seyfert 1's. The average radio-quiet Seyfert 1 spectrum is well-fitted by a power law continuum with the energy spectral index alpha approximately equals 0.9, a Compton reflection component corresponding to a approximately 2 pi covering solid angle, and ionized absorption. There is a high-energy cutoff in the incident power law continuum: the e-folding energy is E(sub c) approximately equals 0.6(sup +0.8 sub -0.3) MeV. The simplest model that describes this spectrum is Comptonization in a relativistic optically-thin thermal corona above the surface of an accretion disk. Radio-quiet Seyfert 2's show strong netural absorption, and there is an indication that their X-ray power laws are intrinsically harder. Finally, the radio-loud Seyfert spectrum has alpha approximately equals 0.7, moderate neutral absorption E(sub C) = 0.4(sup +0.7 sub -0.2) MeV, and no or little Compton reflection. This is incompatible with the radio-quiet Seyfert 1 spectrum, and probably indicating that the X-rays are beamed away from the accretion disk in these objects. The average spectra of Seyferts integrated over redshift with a power-law evolution can explain the hard X-ray spectrum of the cosmic background.

GeV Observations of star-forming galaxies with the Fermi large area telescope

DOE PAGES

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.; ...

2012-08-07

Some recent detections of the starburst galaxies M82 and NGC 253 by gamma-ray telescopes suggest that galaxies rapidly forming massive stars are more luminous at gamma-ray energies compared to their quiescent relatives. Building upon those results, we examine a sample of 69 dwarf, spiral, and luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies at photon energies 0.1-100 GeV using 3 years of data collected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi). Measured fluxes from significantly detected sources and flux upper limits for the remaining galaxies are used to explore the physics of cosmic rays in galaxies. Here,more » we find further evidence for quasi-linear scaling relations between gamma-ray luminosity and both radio continuum luminosity and total infrared luminosity which apply both to quiescent galaxies of the Local Group and low-redshift starburst galaxies (conservative P-values ≲ 0.05 accounting for statistical and systematic uncertainties). The normalizations of these scaling relations correspond to luminosity ratios of log (L 0.1-100 GeV/L 1.4 GHz) = 1.7 ± 0.1(statistical) ± 0.2(dispersion) and log (L 0.1-100 GeV/L 8-1000 μm) = –4.3 ± 0.1(statistical) ± 0.2(dispersion) for a galaxy with a star formation rate of 1 M ⊙yr –1, assuming a Chabrier initial mass function. Using the relationship between infrared luminosity and gamma-ray luminosity, the collective intensity of unresolved star-forming galaxies at redshifts 0 < z < 2.5 above 0.1 GeV is estimated to be 0.4-2.4 × 10 –6 ph cm –2 s –1 sr –1 (4%-23% of the intensity of the isotropic diffuse component measured with the LAT). Furthermore, we anticipate that ~10 galaxies could be detected by their cosmic-ray-induced gamma-ray emission during a 10 year Fermi mission.« less

GeV Observations of star-forming galaxies with the Fermi large area telescope

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.

Some recent detections of the starburst galaxies M82 and NGC 253 by gamma-ray telescopes suggest that galaxies rapidly forming massive stars are more luminous at gamma-ray energies compared to their quiescent relatives. Building upon those results, we examine a sample of 69 dwarf, spiral, and luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies at photon energies 0.1-100 GeV using 3 years of data collected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi). Measured fluxes from significantly detected sources and flux upper limits for the remaining galaxies are used to explore the physics of cosmic rays in galaxies. Here,more » we find further evidence for quasi-linear scaling relations between gamma-ray luminosity and both radio continuum luminosity and total infrared luminosity which apply both to quiescent galaxies of the Local Group and low-redshift starburst galaxies (conservative P-values ≲ 0.05 accounting for statistical and systematic uncertainties). The normalizations of these scaling relations correspond to luminosity ratios of log (L 0.1-100 GeV/L 1.4 GHz) = 1.7 ± 0.1(statistical) ± 0.2(dispersion) and log (L 0.1-100 GeV/L 8-1000 μm) = –4.3 ± 0.1(statistical) ± 0.2(dispersion) for a galaxy with a star formation rate of 1 M ⊙yr –1, assuming a Chabrier initial mass function. Using the relationship between infrared luminosity and gamma-ray luminosity, the collective intensity of unresolved star-forming galaxies at redshifts 0 < z < 2.5 above 0.1 GeV is estimated to be 0.4-2.4 × 10 –6 ph cm –2 s –1 sr –1 (4%-23% of the intensity of the isotropic diffuse component measured with the LAT). Furthermore, we anticipate that ~10 galaxies could be detected by their cosmic-ray-induced gamma-ray emission during a 10 year Fermi mission.« less

GeV Observations of star-forming glaxies with the FERMI Large Area Telescope

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.

Recent detections of the starburst galaxies M82 and NGC 253 by gamma-ray telescopes suggest that galaxies rapidly forming massive stars are more luminous at gamma-ray energies compared to their quiescent relatives. Building upon those results, we examine a sample of 69 dwarf, spiral, and luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies at photon energies 0.1-100 GeV using 3 years of data collected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi). Measured fluxes from significantly detected sources and flux upper limits for the remaining galaxies are used to explore the physics of cosmic rays in galaxies. We findmore » further evidence for quasi-linear scaling relations between gamma-ray luminosity and both radio continuum luminosity and total infrared luminosity which apply both to quiescent galaxies of the Local Group and low-redshift starburst galaxies (conservative P-values lesssim 0.05 accounting for statistical and systematic uncertainties). The normalizations of these scaling relations correspond to luminosity ratios of log (L 0.1-100 GeV/L 1.4 GHz) = 1.7 ± 0.1(statistical) ± 0.2(dispersion) and log (L 0.1-100 GeV/L 8-1000 μm) = –4.3 ± 0.1(statistical) ± 0.2(dispersion) for a galaxy with a star formation rate of 1 M ⊙ yr–1, assuming a Chabrier initial mass function. Using the relationship between infrared luminosity and gamma-ray luminosity, the collective intensity of unresolved star-forming galaxies at redshifts 0 < z < 2.5 above 0.1 GeV is estimated to be 0.4-2.4 × 10–6 ph cm–2 s–1 sr–1 (4%-23% of the intensity of the isotropic diffuse component measured with the LAT). We anticipate that ~10 galaxies could be detected by their cosmic-ray-induced gamma-ray emission during a 10 year Fermi mission.« less

Automated isotope identification algorithm using artificial neural networks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kamuda, Mark; Stinnett, Jacob; Sullivan, Clair

There is a need to develop an algorithm that can determine the relative activities of radio-isotopes in a large dataset of low-resolution gamma-ray spectra that contains a mixture of many radio-isotopes. Low-resolution gamma-ray spectra that contain mixtures of radio-isotopes often exhibit feature over-lap, requiring algorithms that can analyze these features when overlap occurs. While machine learning and pattern recognition algorithms have shown promise for the problem of radio-isotope identification, their ability to identify and quantify mixtures of radio-isotopes has not been studied. Because machine learning algorithms use abstract features of the spectrum, such as the shape of overlapping peaks andmore » Compton continuum, they are a natural choice for analyzing radio-isotope mixtures. An artificial neural network (ANN) has be trained to calculate the relative activities of 32 radio-isotopes in a spectrum. Furthermore, the ANN is trained with simulated gamma-ray spectra, allowing easy expansion of the library of target radio-isotopes. In this paper we present our initial algorithms based on an ANN and evaluate them against a series measured and simulated spectra.« less

Automated isotope identification algorithm using artificial neural networks

DOE PAGES

Kamuda, Mark; Stinnett, Jacob; Sullivan, Clair

2017-04-12

There is a need to develop an algorithm that can determine the relative activities of radio-isotopes in a large dataset of low-resolution gamma-ray spectra that contains a mixture of many radio-isotopes. Low-resolution gamma-ray spectra that contain mixtures of radio-isotopes often exhibit feature over-lap, requiring algorithms that can analyze these features when overlap occurs. While machine learning and pattern recognition algorithms have shown promise for the problem of radio-isotope identification, their ability to identify and quantify mixtures of radio-isotopes has not been studied. Because machine learning algorithms use abstract features of the spectrum, such as the shape of overlapping peaks andmore » Compton continuum, they are a natural choice for analyzing radio-isotope mixtures. An artificial neural network (ANN) has be trained to calculate the relative activities of 32 radio-isotopes in a spectrum. Furthermore, the ANN is trained with simulated gamma-ray spectra, allowing easy expansion of the library of target radio-isotopes. In this paper we present our initial algorithms based on an ANN and evaluate them against a series measured and simulated spectra.« less

Neutralino dark matter and the Fermi gamma-ray lines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chalons, Guillaume; Dolan, Matthew J.; McCabe, Christopher, E-mail: guillaume.chalons@kit.edu, E-mail: m.j.dolan@durham.ac.uk, E-mail: christopher.mccabe@durham.ac.uk

2013-02-01

Motivated by recent claims of lines in the Fermi gamma-ray spectrum, we critically examine means of enhancing neutralino annihilation into neutral gauge bosons. The signal can be boosted while remaining consistent with continuum photon constraints if a new singlet-like pseudoscalar is present. We consider singlet extensions of the MSSM, focusing on the NMSSM, where a 'well-tempered' neutralino can explain the lines while remaining consistent with current constraints. We adopt a complementary numerical and analytic approach throughout in order to gain intuition for the underlying physics. The scenario requires a rich spectrum of light neutralinos and charginos leading to characteristic phenomenologicalmore » signatures at the LHC whose properties we explore. Future direct detection prospects are excellent, with sizeable spin-dependent and spin-independent cross-sections.« less

ROSAT and ASCA Observations of the Seyfert Galaxy 1H0419-577-577, Identified with LB 1727

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, T. J.; George, I. M.; Nandra, K.; Marshall, H. L.; Grupe, D.; Remillard, R.; Leighly, K.

1998-01-01

We discuss the properties of the Seyfert 1.5 galaxy LB 1727 based upon the analysis of two ASCA observations, a two-month Rosat monitoring campaign, and optical data. The target is identified with the HEAO-A1 source 1H0419-577, so it has been observed by ASCA and ROSAT in order to obtain better X-ray variability and spectra data. Only modest (20%) variability is observed within or between ASCA and BeppoSAX observations in the approximately 2 - 10 keV band. However, the soft X-ray flux increased by a factor of 3 over a period of 2 months, while it was monitored daily by the ROSAT HRI instrument. The hard X-ray continuum can be parameterized as a power-law of slope Gamma approximately 1.5 - 1.6 across 0.7 - 11 keV in the rest-frame. We also report the first detection of an iron K(alpha) line in this source, consistent with emission from neutral material. The X-ray spectrum steepens sharply below 0.7 keV yielding a power-law of slope Gamma approximately 3.2. There is no evidence for absorption by neutral material, intrinsic to the nucleus. If the nucleus is unattenuated, then the break energy between the soft-excess and hard component is 0.7+/-0.08 keV. An ionized absorber may produce some turn-up in the spectrum at low energies, but a steepening of the underlying continuum is also required to explain the simultaneous ASCA and HRI data. We cannot rule out the possibility that a significant column of ionized material exists in the line-of-sight, if that is true, then the continuum break-energy can only be constrained to lie within the approximately 0.1 - 0.7 keV band.

ROSAT and ASCA Observations of the Seyfert Galaxy 1H0419-577, Identified with LB 1727

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, T. J.; George, I. M.; Nandra, K.; Grupe, D.; Remillard, R.; Leighly, K.; Marshall, H. L.

1998-01-01

We discuss the properties of the Seyfert 1.5 galaxy LB 1727 based upon the analysis of two ASCA observations, a two-month Rosat monitoring campaign, and optical data. The target is identified with the HEAO-A1 source 1H0419-577, so it has been observed by ASCA and ROSAT in order to obtain better X-ray variability and spectra data. Only modest (20%) variability is observed within or between ASCA and BeppoSAX observations in the approximately 2 - 10 keV band. However, the soft X-ray flux increased by a factor of 3 over a period of 2 months, while it was monitored daily by the ROSAT HRI instrument. The hard X-ray continuum can be parameterized as a power-law of slope Gamma approximately 1.5 - 1.6 across 9.7 - 11 keV in the rest-frame. We also report the first detection of an iron K(alpha) line in this source, consistent with emission from neutral material. The X-ray spectrum steepens sharply below 0.7 keV yielding a power-law of slope Gamma approximately 3.2. There is no evidence for absorption by neutral material, instrinsic to the nucleus. If the nucleus is unattenuated, then the break energy between the soft-excess and hard component is 0.7+/-0.08 keV. An ionized absorber may produce some tum-up in the spectrum at low energies, but a steepening of the underlying continuum is also required to explain the simultaneous ASCA and HRI data. We cannot rule out the possibility that a significant column of ionized material exists in the line-of-sight, if that is true, then the continuum break-energy can only be constrained to lie within the approximately 0.1 - -0.7 keV band.

Diffuse gamma radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, C. E.; Simpson, G. A.; Thompson, D. J.

1977-01-01

An examination of the intensity, energy spectrum, and spatial distribution of the diffuse gamma-radiation observed by SAS-2 satellite away from the galactic plane in the energy range above 35 MeV has shown that it consists of two components. One component is generally correlated with galactic latitudes, the atomic hydrogen column density was deduced from 21 cm measurements, and the continuum radio emission, believed to be synchrotron emission. It has an energy spectrum similar to that in the plane and joins smoothly to the intense radiation from the plane. It is therefore presumed to be of galactic origin. The other component is apparently isotropic, at least on a coarse scale, and has a steep energy spectrum. No evidence is found for a cosmic ray halo surrounding the galaxy in the shape of a sphere or oblate spheroid with galactic dimensions. Constraints for a halo model with significantly larger dimensions are set on the basis of an upper limit to the gamma-ray anisotropy.

The great flare of 1982 June 6

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tanaka, K.; Zirin, H.

1985-01-01

The great soft X-ray (SXR) flare (X12) of the past solar maximum was observed by Hinotori and by Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) on June 6, 1982. Hinotori data consist of hard X-ray (HXR) and SXR images in the rise and decay of the flare, high-resolution soft X-ray spectra throughout the flare, and HXR and gamma-ray data. The BBSO data include films of H-alpha, H-alpha blue wing, D3 and longitudinal magnetic field, as well as video tapes of continuum. Images in HXR, SXR, H-alpha, D3 and the continuum are compared and SXR spectra analyzed. The flare resulted from extended motion of a large spot shearing the magnetic field. D3 and white-light images exhibit a progression from fast flashes to two ribbons, while both HXR and SXR are centered on the optical kernels. The continuum emission shows the same temporal behavior as the HXR at 160 keV. In its early phases, the Fe XXV line was double-peaked, and a decreasing blueshifted (up to 400 km/sec) component was observed, from which the evaporation rate of chromospheric material was estimated. It is suggested that this upflow is adequate to supply the coronal cloud. Flare energetics are discussed in detail, and it is concluded that a significant amount of energy was deposited in the corona, and that nonthermal electrons are the major energy input.

Enhanced lines and box-shaped features in the gamma-ray spectrum from annihilating dark matter in the NMSSM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cerdeño, D.G.; Peiró, M.; Robles, S., E-mail: davidg.cerdeno@gmail.com, E-mail: miguel.peiro@uam.es, E-mail: sandra.robles@uam.es

2016-04-01

We study spectral features in the gamma-ray emission from dark matter (DM) annihilation in the Next-to-Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (NMSSM), with either neutralino or right-handed (RH) sneutrino DM . We perform a series of scans over the NMSSM parameter space, compute the DM annihilation cross section into two photons and the contribution of box-shaped features, and compare them with the limits derived from the Fermi-LAT search for gamma-ray lines using the latest Pass 8 data. We implement the LHC bounds on the Higgs sector and on the masses of supersymmetric particles as well as the constraints on low-energy observables. Wemore » also consider the recent upper limits from the Fermi-LAT satellite on the continuum gamma-ray emission from dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs). We show that in the case of the RH sneutrino the constraint on gamma-ray spectral features can be more stringent than the dSph bounds. This is due to the Breit-Wigner enhancement near the ubiquitous resonances with a CP even Higgs and the contribution of scalar and pseudoscalar Higgs final states to box-shaped features. By contrast, for neutralino DM, the di-photon final state is only enhanced in the resonance with a Z boson and box-shaped features are even more suppressed. Therefore, the observation of spectral features could constitute a discriminating factor between both models. In addition, we compare our results with direct DM searches, including the SuperCDMS and LUX limits on the elastic DM-nucleus scattering cross section and show that some of these scenarios would be accessible to next generation experiments. Thus, our findings strengthen the idea of complementarity among distinct DM search strategies.« less

COMPTEL Gamma-Ray Observations of the C4 Solar Flare on 20 January 2000

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, C. A.; COMPTEL Collaboration

2003-05-01

The Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) greatly changed the picture of gamma-ray line (GRL) flares. Once thought to be relatively rare and confined to only the largest of flares, SMM observations put this view in question. SMM observed over 100 GRL flares from very large (GOES class X12) to several orders of magnitude smaller (GOES class M2). It was argued by some (Bai 1986) that this was still consistent with the idea that GRL events are rare. Others, however, argued the opposite (Vestrand 1988; Cliver, Crosby and Dennis 1994), stating that the lower end of this distribution was just a function of SMM's sensitivity. They stated that the launch of the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory (CGRO) would in fact continue this distribution to show even smaller GRL flares. In response to a BACODINE cosmic gamma-ray burst alert, COMPTEL on the CGRO recorded gamma rays above 1 MeV from the C4 flare at 0221 UT 20 January 2000. This event, though at the limits of COMPTEL's sensitivity, clearly showed a nuclear line excess above the continuum. Using new spectroscopy techniques we were able to resolve individual lines. This has allowed us to make a basic comparison of this event with the GRL flare distribution from SMM and also compare this flare with a well-observed large GRL flare seen by OSSE. We show that this flare is normal, i.e., it is a natural extension of the SMM distribution of flares. The analysis of this flare means there is no evidence for a lower flare size for proton acceleration. Protons even in small flares contain a large part of the accelerated particle energy.

IGR J12319-0749: Evidence for Another Extreme Blazar Found with INTEGRAL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bassani, L.; Landi, R.; Marshall, F. E.; Malizia, A.; Bazzano, A.; Bird, A. J.; Gehrels, N.; Ubertini, P.; Masetti, N.

2012-01-01

We report on the identification of a new soft gamma-ray source, IGR J12319-0749, detected with the IBIS imager on board the INTEGRAL satellite. The source, which has an observed 20-100 keV flux of approx 8.3 × 10(exp -12) erg/sq. cm/ s, is spatially coincident with an active galactic nucleus (AGN) at redshift z = 3.12. The broad-band continuum, obtained by combining XRT and IBIS data, is flat (Gamma = 1.3) with evidence for a spectral break around 25 keV (100 keV in the source restframe). X-ray observations indicate flux variability, which is also supported by a comparison with a previous ROSAT measurement. IGR J12319-0749 is also a radio-emitting object likely characterised by a flat spectrum and high radio loudness; optically it is a broad-line emitting object with a massive black hole (2.8 × 10(exp 9) solar masses) at its centre. The source spectral energy distribution is similar to another high-redshift blazar, 225155+2217 at z = 3.668: both objects are bright, with a high accretion disk luminosity and a Compton peak located in the hard X-ray/soft gamma-ray band. IGR J12319-0749 is likely the second-most distant blazar detected so far by INTEGRAL.

Peak Doctor v 1.0.0 Labview Version

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Garner, Scott

2014-05-29

PeakDoctor software works interactively with its user to analyze raw gamma-ray spectroscopic data. The goal of the software is to produce a list of energies and areas of all of the peaks in the spectrum, as accurately as possible. It starts by performing an energy calibration, creating a function that describes how energy can be related to channel number. Next, the software determines which channels in the raw histogram are in the Compton continuum and which channels are parts of a peak. Then the software fits the Compton continuum with cubic polynomials. The last step is to fit all ofmore » the peaks with Gaussian functions, thus producing the list.« less

The broad-band x ray spectral variability of Mkn 841

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

George, I. M.; Nandra, K.; Fabian, A. C.; Turner, T. J.; Done, C.; Day, C. S. R.

1992-01-01

The results of a detailed spectral analysis of four X-ray observations of the luminous Seyfert 1.5 galaxy Mkn 841 performed using the EXOSAT and Ginga satellites over the period June 1984 to July 1990 are reported. Preliminary results from a short ROSAT PSPC observation of Mkn 841 in July 1990 are also presented. Variability is apparent in both the soft (0.1-1.0 keV) and medium (1-20 keV) energy bands. Above 1 keV, the spectra are adequately modelled by a power-law with a strong emission line of equivalent width approximately 450 eV. The energy of the line (approximately 6.4 keV) is indicative of K-shell fluorescence from neutral iron, leading to the interpretation that the line arises via X-ray illumination of cold material surrounding the source. In addition to the flux variability, the continuum shape also changes in a dramatic fashion, with variations in the apparent photon index Delta(Gamma) approximately 0.6. The large equivalent width of the emission line clearly indicates a strongly enhanced reflection component in the source, compared to other Seyferts observed with Ginga. The spectral changes are interpreted in terms of a variable power-law continuum superimposed on a flatter reflection component. For one Ginga observation, the reflected flux appears to dominate the medium energy X-ray emission, resulting in an unusually flat slope (Gamma approximately 1.0). The soft X-ray excess is found to be highly variable by a factor approximately 10. These variations are not correlated with the hard flux, but it seems likely that the soft component arises via reprocessing of the hard X-rays. We find no evidence for intrinsic absorption, with the equivalent hydrogen column density constrained to be less than or equal to few x 10(exp 20) cm(exp -2). The implications of these results for physical models for the emission regions in this and other X-ray bright Seyferts are briefly discussed.

Observations of solar flare photon energy spectra from 20 keV to 7 MeV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yoshimori, M.; Watanabe, H.; Nitta, N.

1985-01-01

Solar flare photon energy spectra in the 20 keV to 7 MeV range are derived from the Apr. 1, Apr. 4, apr. 27 and May 13, 1981 flares. The flares were observed with a hard X-ray and a gamma-ray spectrometers on board the Hinotori satellite. The results show that the spectral shape varies from flare to flare and the spectra harden in energies above about 400 keV. Effects of nuclear line emission on the continuum and of higher energy electron bremsstrahlung are considered to explain the spectral hardening.

Photon strength and the low-energy enhancement

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wiedeking, M.; Bernstein, L. A.; Bleuel, D. L.

2014-08-14

Several measurements in medium mass nuclei have reported a low-energy enhancement in the photon strength function. Although, much effort has been invested in unraveling the mysteries of this effect, its physical origin is still not conclusively understood. Here, a completely model-independent experimental approach to investigate the existence of this enhancement is presented. The experiment was designed to study statistical feeding from the quasi-continuum (below the neutron separation energy) to individual low-lying discrete levels in {sup 95}Mo produced in the (d, p) reaction. A key aspect to successfully study gamma decay from the region of high-level density is the detection andmore » extraction of correlated particle-gamma-gamma events which was accomplished using an array of Clover HPGe detectors and large area annular silicon detectors. The entrance channel excitation energy into the residual nucleus produced in the reaction was inferred from the detected proton energies in the silicon detectors. Gating on gamma-transitions originating from low-lying discrete levels specifies the state fed by statistical gamma-rays. Any particle-gamma-gamma event in combination with specific energy sum requirements ensures a clean and unambiguous determination of the initial and final state of the observed gamma rays. With these requirements the statistical feeding to individual discrete levels is extracted on an event-by-event basis. The results are presented and compared to {sup 95}Mo photon strength function data measured at the University of Oslo.« less

SUZAKU X-RAY IMAGING OF THE EXTENDED LOBE IN THE GIANT RADIO GALAXY NGC 6251 ASSOCIATED WITH THE FERMI-LAT SOURCE 2FGL J1629.4+8236

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Takeuchi, Y.; Kataoka, J.; Takahashi, Y.

2012-04-10

We report the results of a Suzaku X-ray imaging study of NGC 6251, a nearby giant radio galaxy with intermediate FR I/II radio properties. Our pointing direction was centered on the {gamma}-ray emission peak recently discovered with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) around the position of the northwest (NW) radio lobe 15 arcmin offset from the nucleus. After subtracting two 'off-source' pointings adjacent to the radio lobe and removing possible contaminants in the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer field of view, we found significant residual X-ray emission most likely diffuse in nature. The spectrum of the excess X-ray emission is wellmore » fitted by a power law with a photon index {Gamma} = 1.90 {+-} 0.15 and a 0.5-8 keV flux of 4 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -13} erg cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}. We interpret this diffuse X-ray emission component as being due to inverse Compton upscattering of the cosmic microwave background photons by ultrarelativistic electrons within the lobe, with only a minor contribution from the beamed emission of the large-scale jet. Utilizing archival radio data for the source, we demonstrate by means of broadband spectral modeling that the {gamma}-ray flux of the Fermi-LAT source 2FGL J1629.4+8236 may well be accounted for by the high-energy tail of the inverse Compton continuum of the lobe. Thus, this claimed association of {gamma}-rays from the NW lobe of NGC 6251, together with the recent Fermi-LAT imaging of the extended lobes of Centaurus A, indicates that particles may be efficiently (re-)accelerated up to ultrarelativistic energies within extended radio lobes of nearby radio galaxies in general.« less

An XMM-Newton Observation of the Seyfert Galaxy 1H0419-577 in an Extreme Low State

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pounds, K. A.; Reeves, J. N.; Page, K. L.; O'Brien, P. T.

2003-01-01

Previous observations of the luminous Seyfert galaxy 1H 0419-577 have found its X-ray spectrum to range from that of a typical Seyfert 1 with 2-10 keV power law index Gamma approx. 1.9 to a much flatter power law of Gamma approx. 1.5 or less. We report here a new XMM-Newton observation which allows the low state spectrum to be studied in much greater detail than hitherto. We find a very hard spectrum (Gamma approx. 1.0) which exhibits broad features that can be modelled with the addition of an extreme relativistic Fe K emission line or with partial covering of the underlying continuum by a substantial column density of near-neutral gas. Both the EPIC and RGS data show evidence for strong line emission of OVII and OVIII requiring an extended region of low density photoionised gas in 1H 0419- 577. Comparison with an earlier XMM-Newton observation when 1H 0419-577 was X-ray bright indicates the dominant spectral variability occurs via a steep power law component.

An XMM-Newton Observation of the Seyfert 1 Galaxy 1H 0419-577 in an Extreme Low State

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pounds, K. A.; Reeves, J. N.; Page, K. L.; OBrien, P. T.

2004-01-01

Previous observations of the luminous Seyfert 1 galaxy 1H 0419-577 have found its X-ray spectrum to range from that of a typical Seyfert 1 with 2-10 keV power law index Gamma approx. 1.9 to a much flatter power law of Gamma approx. 1.5 or less. We report here a new XMM-Newton observation which allows the low state spectrum to be studied in much greater detail than hitherto. We find a very hard spectrum (Gamma approx. 1.0), which exhibits broad features that can be modelled myth the addition of an extreme relativistic Fe K emission line or with partial covering of the underlying continuum by a substantial column density of near-neutral gas. Both the EPIC and RGS data show evidence for strong line emission of OVII and OVIII requiring an extended region of low density photoionised gas in 1H 0419-577. Comparison with an earlier XMM-Newton observation when 1H 0419-577 was 'X-ray bright' indicates the dominant spectral variability occurs via a steep power law component.

Measurements of the spatial structure and directivity of 100 KeV photon sources in solar flares using PVO and ISEE-3 spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Kinsey A.

1991-01-01

The objective of this grant was to measure the spatial structure and directivity of the hard X-ray and low energy gamma-ray (100 keV-2 MeV) continuum sources in solar flares using stereoscopic observations made with spectrometers aboard the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) and Third International Sun Earth Explorer (ISEE-3) spacecraft. Since the hard X-ray emission is produced by energetic electrons through the bremsstrahlung process, the observed directivity can be directly related to the 'beaming' of electrons accelerated during the flare as they propagate from the acceleration region in the corona to the chromosphere/transition region. Some models (e.g., the thick-target model) predict that most of the impulsive hard X-ray/low energy gamma-ray source is located in the chromosphere, the effective height of the X-ray source above the photosphere increasing with the decrease in the photon energy. This can be verified by determining the height-dependence of the photon source through stereoscopic observations of those flares which are partially occulted from the view of one of the two spacecraft. Thus predictions about beaming of electrons as well as their spatial distributions could be tested through the analysis proposed under this grant.

Operation and performance of the OSSE instrument

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cameron, R. A.; Kurfess, J. D.; Johnson, W. N.; Kinzer, R. L.; Kroeger, R. A.; Leising, M. D.; Murphy, R. J.; Share, G. H.; Strickman, M. S.; Grove, J. E.

1992-01-01

The Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE) on the Arthur Holly Compton Gamma Ray Observatory is described. An overview of the operation and control of the instrument is given, together with a discussion of typical observing strategies used with OSSE and basic data types produced by the instrument. Some performance measures for the instrument are presented that were obtained from pre-launch and in-flight data. These include observing statistics, continuum and line sensitivity, and detector effective area and gain stability.

Analysis of airborne radiometric data. Volume 3. Topical reports

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reed, J.H.; Shreve, D.C.; Sperling, M.

1978-05-01

This volume consists of four topical reports: a general discussion of the philosophy of unfolding spectra with continuum and discrete components, a mathematical treatment of the effects of various physical parameters on the uncollided gamma-ray spectrum at aircraft elevations, a discussion of the application of the unfolding code MAZNAI to airborne data, and a discussion of the effects of the nonlinear relationship between energy deposited and pulse height in NaI(T1) detectors.

Energetic particles in solar flares. Chapter 4 in the proceedings of the 2nd Skylab Workshop on Solar Flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramaty, R.; Colgate, S. A.; Dulk, G. A.; Hoyng, P.; Knight, J. W., III; Lin, R. P.; Melrose, D. B.; Paizis, C.; Orrall, F.; Shapiro, P. R.

1978-01-01

The recent direct observational evidence for the acceleration of particles in solar flares, i.e. radio emission, bremsstrahlung X-ray emission, gamma-ray line and continuum emission, as well as direct observations of energetic electrons and ions, are discussed and intercorrelated. At least two distinct phases of acceleration of solar particles exist that can be distinguished in terms of temporal behavior, type and energy of particles accelerated and the acceleration mechanism. Bulk energization seems the likely acceleration mechanism for the first phase while Fermi mechanism is a viable candidate for the second one.

RXTE Observations of Cas A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rothschild, R. E.; Lingenfelter, R. E.; Heindl, W. A.; Blanco, P. R.; Pelling, M. R.; Gruber, D. E.; Allen, G. E.; Jahoda, K.; Swank, J. H.; Woosley, S. E.;

Spectrum of atmospheric gamma rays to 10 MeV at lambda = 40 deg. [as function of altitude

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterson, L. E.; Schwartz, D. A.; Ling, J. C.

1973-01-01

Results of measurements of the differential counting rate spectra due to atmospheric gamma rays as a function of altitude to 3.6 g/sq cm over Texas. Two gain settings and a 128-channel pulse height analyzer were used to cover the range from 0.2 to 10 MeV. The detector was a 7.6 x 7.6 cm NaI crystal, which was surrounded on five sides by a 2-cm-thick plastic anticoincidence shield for charged particle rejection. The system had a nearly isotropic response to photons above 0.2 MeV. The spectrum at ceiling appeared as a steep continuum with a power-law index of about 1.4. The only obvious feature was the 0.51-MeV positron annihilation line. The spectral shape was independent for depths less than 20 g/sq cm, the absolute intensity varying in proportion to the intensity of the cosmic ray secondary charged particles. Also, at depths less than 30 g/sq cm the observed flux variation with altitude can be described in terms of an empirical depth-dependent source function.

Suzaku observation of IGR J16318-4848

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barragan, Laura; Wilms, Joern; Pottschmidt, Katja; Nowak, Michael A.; Kreykenbohm, Ingo; Walter, Roland; Tomsick, John A.

2009-01-01

We report on the first Suzaku observation of IGR J16318-4848, the most extreme example of a new group of highly absorbed X-ray binaries that have recently been discovered by the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL). The Suzaku observation was carried out between 2006 August 14 and 17, with a net exposure time of 97 ks. The average X-ray spectrum of the source can be well described (chi-square (sub red)= 0.99) with a continuum model typical for neutron stars i.e., a strongly absorbed power law continuum with a photon index of 0.676(42) and an exponential cutoff at 20.5(6) keY. The absorbing column is N(sub H) = 1.95(3) X 10(exp 24)/square cm. Consistent with earlier work, strong fluorescent emission lines of Fe K-alpha, Fe K-beta, and Ni K-alpha are observed. Despite the large N(sub H), no Compton shoulder is seen in the lines, arguing for a non-spherical and inhomogeneous absorber. Seen at an average 5-60 keV absorbed flux of 3.4 x 10(exp -10) erg/square cm/second, the source exhibits significant variability on timescales of hours.

Coupled multi-group neutron photon transport for the simulation of high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burns, Kimberly Ann

The accurate and efficient simulation of coupled neutron-photon problems is necessary for several important radiation detection applications. Examples include the detection of nuclear threats concealed in cargo containers and prompt gamma neutron activation analysis for nondestructive determination of elemental composition of unknown samples. In these applications, high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometers are used to preserve as much information as possible about the emitted photon flux, which consists of both continuum and characteristic gamma rays with discrete energies. Monte Carlo transport is the most commonly used modeling tool for this type of problem, but computational times for many problems can be prohibitive. This work explores the use of coupled Monte Carlo-deterministic methods for the simulation of neutron-induced photons for high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy applications. RAdiation Detection Scenario Analysis Toolbox (RADSAT), a code which couples deterministic and Monte Carlo transport to perform radiation detection scenario analysis in three dimensions [1], was used as the building block for the methods derived in this work. RADSAT was capable of performing coupled deterministic-Monte Carlo simulations for gamma-only and neutron-only problems. The purpose of this work was to develop the methodology necessary to perform coupled neutron-photon calculations and add this capability to RADSAT. Performing coupled neutron-photon calculations requires four main steps: the deterministic neutron transport calculation, the neutron-induced photon spectrum calculation, the deterministic photon transport calculation, and the Monte Carlo detector response calculation. The necessary requirements for each of these steps were determined. A major challenge in utilizing multigroup deterministic transport methods for neutron-photon problems was maintaining the discrete neutron-induced photon signatures throughout the simulation. Existing coupled neutron-photon cross-section libraries and the methods used to produce neutron-induced photons were unsuitable for high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy applications. Central to this work was the development of a method for generating multigroup neutron-photon cross-sections in a way that separates the discrete and continuum photon emissions so the neutron-induced photon signatures were preserved. The RADSAT-NG cross-section library was developed as a specialized multigroup neutron-photon cross-section set for the simulation of high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy applications. The methodology and cross sections were tested using code-to-code comparison with MCNP5 [2] and NJOY [3]. A simple benchmark geometry was used for all cases compared with MCNP. The geometry consists of a cubical sample with a 252Cf neutron source on one side and a HPGe gamma-ray spectrometer on the opposing side. Different materials were examined in the cubical sample: polyethylene (C2H4), P, N, O, and Fe. The cross sections for each of the materials were compared to cross sections collapsed using NJOY. Comparisons of the volume-averaged neutron flux within the sample, volume-averaged photon flux within the detector, and high-purity gamma-ray spectrometer response (only for polyethylene) were completed using RADSAT and MCNP. The code-to-code comparisons show promising results for the coupled Monte Carlo-deterministic method. The RADSAT-NG cross-section production method showed good agreement with NJOY for all materials considered although some additional work is needed in the resonance region and in the first and last energy bin. Some cross section discrepancies existed in the lowest and highest energy bin, but the overall shape and magnitude of the two methods agreed. For the volume-averaged photon flux within the detector, typically the five most intense lines agree to within approximately 5% of the MCNP calculated flux for all of materials considered. The agreement in the code-to-code comparisons cases demonstrates a proof-of-concept of the method for use in RADSAT for coupled neutron-photon problems in high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy applications. One of the primary motivators for using the coupled method over pure Monte Carlo method is the potential for significantly lower computational times. For the code-to-code comparison cases, the run times for RADSAT were approximately 25--500 times shorter than for MCNP, as shown in Table 1. This was assuming a 40 mCi 252Cf neutron source and 600 seconds of "real-world" measurement time. The only variance reduction technique implemented in the MCNP calculation was forward biasing of the source toward the sample target. Improved MCNP runtimes could be achieved with the addition of more advanced variance reduction techniques.

Planck Early Results. XV. Spectral Energy Distributions and Radio Continuum Spectra of Northern Extragalactic Radio Sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aatrokoski, J.; Ade, P. A. R.; Aghanim, N.; Aller, H. D.; Aller, M. F.; Angelakis, E.; Amaud, M.; Ashdown, M.; Aumont, J.; Baccigalupi, C.;

Planck early results. XV. Spectral energy distributions and radio continuum spectra of northern extragalactic radio sources

DOE PAGES

Aatrokoski, J.

2011-12-01

Spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and radio continuum spectra are presented for a northern sample of 104 extragalactic radio sources, based on the Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalogue (ERCSC) and simultaneous multifrequency data. The nine Planck frequencies, from 30 to 857GHz, are complemented by a set of simultaneous observations ranging from radio to gamma-rays. This is the first extensive frequency coverage in the radio and millimetre domains for an essentially complete sample of extragalactic radio sources, and it shows how the individual shocks, each in their own phase of development, shape the radio spectra as they move in the relativisticmore » jet. The SEDs presented in this paper were fitted with second and third degree polynomials to estimate the frequencies of the synchrotron and inverse Compton (IC) peaks, and the spectral indices of low and high frequency radio data, including the Planck ERCSC data, were calculated. SED modelling methods are discussed, with an emphasis on proper, physical modelling of the synchrotron bump using multiple components. Planck ERCSC data also suggest that the original accelerated electron energy spectrum could be much harder than commonly thought, with power-law index around 1.5 instead of the canonical 2.5. The implications of this are discussed for the acceleration mechanisms effective in blazar shock. Furthermore in many cases the Planck data indicate that gamma-ray emission must originate in the same shocks that produce the radio emission.« less

Analysis of Gamma-Ray Data from Solar Flares in Cycles 21 and 22

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vestrand, W. Thomas

1998-01-01

One of our primary accomplishments under grant NAGW-35381 was the systematic derivation and compilation, for the first time, of physical parameters for all gamma-ray flares detected by the SMM GRS during its ten year lifetime. The flare parameters derived from the gamma-ray spectra include: bremsstrahlung fluence and best-fit power-law parameters, narrow nuclear line fluence, positron annihilation line fluence, neutron capture line fluence, and an indication of whether or not greater than 10 MeV emissions were present. We combined this compilation of flare parameters with our plots of counting rate time histories and flare spectra to construct an atlas of gamma-ray flare characteristics. The atlas time histories display four energy bands: 56-199 kev, 298526 keV, 4-8 MeV, and 10-25 MeV. These energy bands respectively measure nonrelativistic bremsstrahlung, trans-relativistic bremsstrahlung, nuclear de-excitation, and ultra-relativistic bremsstrahlung. The atlas spectra show the integrated high-energy spectra measured for all GRS flares and dissects them into electron bremsstrahlung, positron annihilation and nuclear emission components. The atlas has been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplements and is currently in press. The atlas materials were also supplied to the Solar Data Analysis Center at Goddard Space Flight Center and were made available through a web site at the University of New Hampshire. Since a uniform methodology was adopted for deriving the flare parameters, this atlas will be very useful for future statistical and correlative studies of solar flares-three independent groups are presently using it to correlate interplanetary energetic particle measurements with our gamma-ray measurements. A better model for the response of the GRS instrument to high energy radiation was also developed. A refined response model was needed because the old model was not adequate for predicting the first and second escape peaks associated with strong nuclear lines nor could it accurately describe the Compton continuum shape. The new response was developed using a GEANT based simulation code and tested against preflight calibration data. The refinement of the response model and the removal of systematic errors now allow more detailed spectral studies of the GRS gamma-ray measurements. This refined response function was supplied to the Solar DAC at Goddard and was also made available via a web site at the University of New Hampshire.

Mirrored continuum and molecular scale simulations of the ignition of gamma phase RDX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, D. Scott; Chaudhuri, Santanu; Joshi, Kaushik; Lee, Kibaek

2017-01-01

We describe the ignition of an explosive crystal of gamma-phase RDX due to a thermal hot spot with reactive molecular dynamics (RMD), with first-principles trained, reactive force field based molecular potentials that represents an extremely complex reaction network. The RMD simulation is analyzed by sorting molecular product fragments into high and low molecular weight groups, to represent identifiable components that can be interpreted by a continuum model. A continuum model based on a Gibbs formulation has a single temperature and stress state for the mixture. The continuum simulation that mirrors the atomistic simulation allows us to study the atomistic simulation in the familiar physical chemistry framework and provides an essential, continuum/atomistic link.

Development of a Compton suppressed gamma spectrometer using Monte Carlo techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Britton, Richard

Gamma ray spectroscopy is routinely used to measure radiation in a number of situations. These include security applications, nuclear forensics studies, characterisation of radioactive sources, and environmental monitoring. For routine studies of environmental materials, the amount of radioactivity present is often very low, requiring spectroscopy systems which have to monitor the source for up to 7 days to achieve the required sensitivity. Recent developments in detector technology and data processing techniques have opened up the possibility of developing a highly efficient Compton Suppressed system, that was previously the preserve of large experimental collaborations. The accessibility of Monte-Carlo toolkits such as GEANT4 also provide the opportunity to optimise these systems using computer simulations, greatly reducing the need for expensive (and inefficient) testing in the laboratory. This thesis details the development of such a Compton Suppressed, planar HPGe detector system. Using the GEANT4 toolkit in combination with the experimental facilities at AWE, Aldermaston (which include HPGe detection systems, scintillator based detector systems, advanced shielding materials and gamma-gamma coincidence systems), simulations were built and validated to reproduce the detector response seen in the 'real-life' systems. This resulted in several improvements to the current system; for the shielding materials used, terrestrial and cosmic radiation were minimised, while reducing the X-ray fluorescence seen in the primary HPGe detector by an order of magnitude. With respect to the HPGe detector itself, an optimum thickness was identified for low energy (<300 keV) radiation, which maximised the efficiency for the energy range of interest while minimising the interaction probability for higher energy radionuclides (which are the primary cause of the Compton continuum that obscures lower energy decays). A combination of secondary detectors were then optimised to design a Compton Suppression system for the primary detector, which could improve the performance of the current Compton Suppression system by an order of magnitude. This equates to a reduction of the continuum by up to a factor of 240 for a nuclide such as Co-60, which is crucial for the detection of low-energy, low-activity emitters typically swamped by such a continuum. Finally, thoroughly optimised acquisition and analysis software has also been written to process data created by future high sensitivity gamma coincidence systems. This includes modules for the creation of histograms, coincidence matrices, and an ASCII to binary converter (for historical data) that has resulted in an analysis speed increase of up to 20000 times when compared to the software originally used for the extraction of coincidence information. Modules for low-energy time-walk correction and the removal of accidental coincidences are also included, which represent a capability that was not previously available.

IGR J12319-0749: Evidence for Another Extreme Blazar Found with INTEGRAL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bassani, L.; Landi, R.; Marshall, F. E.; Malizia, A.; Bazzano, A.; Bird, A. J.; Gehrels, N.; Ubertini, P.; Masetti, N.

2012-01-01

We report on the identification of a new soft gamma-ray source, IGR J12319 C0749, detected with the IBIS imager on board the INTEGRAL satellite. The source, which has an observed 20 C100 keV flux of 8.3 10.12 erg cm.2 s.1, is spatially coincident with an AGN at redshift z = 3.12. The broad-band continuum, obtained by combining XRT and IBIS data, is flat ( =1.3) with evidence for a spectral break around 25 keV (100 keV in the source rest frame). X-ray observations indicate flux variability which is further supported by a comparison with a previous ROSAT measurement. IGR J12319 C0749 is also a radio emitting object likely characterized by a flat spectrum and high radio loudness; optically it is a broad-line emitting object with a massive black hole (2.8 109 solar masses) at its center. The source Spectral Energy Distribution is similar to another high redshift blazar, 225155+2217 at z = 3.668: both objects are bright, with a large accretion disk luminosity and a Compton peak located in the hard X-ray/soft gamma-ray band. IGR J12319 C0749 is likely the second most distant blazar detected so far by INTEGRAL.

The continuum spectral characteristics of gamma-ray bursts observed by BATSE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pendleton, Geoffrey N.; Paciesas, William S.; Briggs, Michael S.; Mallozzi, Robert S.; Koshut, Tom M.; Fishman, Gerald J.; Meegan, Charles A.; Wilson, Robert B.; Harmon, Alan B.; Kouveliotou, Chryssa

1994-01-01

Distributions of the continuum spectral characteristics of 260 bursts in the first Burst And Transient Source Experiement (BATSE) catalog are presented. The data are derived from flux calculated from BATSE Large Area Detector (LAD) four-channel discriminator data. The data are converted from counts to protons using a direct spectral inversion technique to remove the effects of atmospheric scattering and the energy dependence of the detector angular response. Although there are intriguing clusters of bursts in the spectral hardness ratio distributions, no evidence for the presence of distinct burst classes based in spectral hardness ratios alone is found. All subsets of bursts selected for their spectral characteristics in this analysis exhibit spatial distributions consistent with isotropy. The spectral diversity of the burst population appears to be caused largely by the highly variable nature of the burst production mechanisms themselves.

THE HIGH-ENERGY, ARCMINUTE-SCALE GALACTIC CENTER GAMMA-RAY SOURCE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chernyakova, M.; Malyshev, D.; Aharonian, F. A.

2011-01-10

Employing data collected during the first 25 months of observations by the Fermi-LAT, we describe and subsequently seek to model the very high energy (>300 MeV) emission from the central few parsecs of our Galaxy. We analyze the morphological, spectral, and temporal characteristics of the central source, 1FGL J1745.6-2900. The data show a clear, statistically significant signal at energies above 10 GeV, where the Fermi-LAT has angular resolution comparable to that of HESS at TeV energies. This makes a meaningful joint analysis of the data possible. Our analysis of the Fermi data (alone) does not uncover any statistically significant variabilitymore » of 1FGL J1745.6-2900 at GeV energies on the month timescale. Using the combination of Fermi data on 1FGL J1745.6-2900 and HESS data on the coincident, TeV source HESS J1745-290, we show that the spectrum of the central gamma-ray source is inflected with a relatively steep spectral region matching between the flatter spectrum found at both low and high energies. We model the gamma-ray production in the inner 10 pc of the Galaxy and examine cosmic ray (CR) proton propagation scenarios that reproduce the observed spectrum of the central source. We show that a model that instantiates a transition from diffusive propagation of the CR protons at low energy to almost rectilinear propagation at high energies can explain well the spectral phenomenology. We find considerable degeneracy between different parameter choices which will only be broken with the addition of morphological information that gamma-ray telescopes cannot deliver given current angular resolution limits. We argue that a future analysis performed in combination with higher-resolution radio continuum data holds out the promise of breaking this degeneracy.« less

The behavior of beams of relativistic non-thermal electrons under the influence of collisions and synchrotron losses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mctiernan, James M.; Petrosian, Vahe

1989-01-01

For many astrophysical situations, such as in solar flares or cosmic gamma-ray bursts, continuum gamma rays with energies up to hundreds of MeV were observed, and can be interpreted to be due to bremsstrahlung radiation by relativistic electrons. The region of acceleration for these particles is not necessarily the same as the region in which the radiation is produced, and the effects of the transport of the electrons must be included in the general problem. Hence it is necessary to solve the kinetic equation for relativistic electrons, including all the interactions and loss mechanisms relevant at such energies. The resulting kinetic equation for non-thermal electrons, including the effects of Coulomb collisions and losses due to synchrotron emission, was solved analytically in some simple limiting cases, and numerically for the general cases including constant and varying background plasma density and magnetic field. New approximate analytic solutions are presented for collision dominated cases, for small pitch angles and all energies, synchrotron dominated cases, both steady-state and time dependent, for all pitch angles and energies, and for cases when both synchrotron and collisional energy losses are important, but for relativistic electrons. These analytic solutions are compared to the full numerical results in the proper limits. These results will be useful for calculation of spectra and angular distribution of the radiation (x rays, gamma-rays, and microwaves) emitted via synchrotron or bremsstrahlung processes by the electrons. These properties and their relevance to observations will be observed in subsequent papers.

ART: Surveying the Local Universe at 2-11 keV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Dell, S. L.; Ramsey, B. D.; Adams, M. L.; Brandt, W. N.; Bubarev, M. V.; Hassinger, G.; Pravlinski, M.; Predehl, P.; Romaine, S. E.; Swartz, D. A.;

PING Gamma Ray and Neutron Measurements of a Meter-Sized Carbonaceous Asteroid Analog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bodnarik, J.; Burger, D.; Evans, L.; Floyd, S.; Lim, L.; McClanahan, T.; Namkung, M.; Nowicki, S.; Parsons, A.; Schweitzer, J.;

MEGA: the next generation Medium Energy Gamma-ray Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paciesas, W.; Miller, R. S.; Andritschke, R.; Kanbach, G.; Zoglauer, A.; Bloser, P.; Hunter, S.; Cravens, J.; Cherry, M.; Guzik, T. G.; Stacy, J. G.; Wefel, J. P.; Di Cocco, G.; Hartmann, D.; Kippen, R. M.; Vestrand, W. T.; Kurfess, J.; Phlips, B.; Strickman, M.; Wulf, E.; Macri, J. R.; McConnell, M. L.; Ryan, J. M.; Reglero, V.; Zych, A. D.

2004-08-01

The MEGA mission would enable a sensitive all-sky survey of the medium-energy gamma-ray sky (0.3-50 MeV). This mission will bridge the huge sensitivity gap between the COMPTEL and OSSE experiments on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the SPI and IBIS instruments on INTEGRAL and the visionary ACT mission. It will, among other things, serve to compile a much larger catalog of sources in this energy range, perform far deeper searches for supernovae, better measure the galactic continuum emission as well as identify the components of the cosmic diffuse emission. It will accomplish these goals with a stack of Si-strip detector (SSD) planes surrounded by a dense high-Z calorimeter. At lower photon energies (below ˜ 30 MeV), the design is sensitive to Compton interactions, with the SSD system serving as a scattering medium that also detects and measures the Compton recoil energy deposit. If the energy of the recoil electron is sufficiently high (> 2 MeV), the track of the recoil electron can also be defined. At higher photon energies (above ˜ 10 MeV), the design is sensitive to pair production events, with the SSD system measuring the tracks of the electron and positron. We will discuss the various types of event signatures in detail and describe the advantages of this design over previous Compton telescope designs. Effective area, sensitivity and resolving power estimates are also presented along with simulations of expected scientific results and beam calibration results from the prototype instrument.

Formation of the 0.511.-MeV line in solar flares. [statistical mechanics of line spectra for gamma rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crannell, C. J.; Joyce, G.; Ramaty, R.; Werntz, C.

1976-01-01

The gamma-ray line produced at 0.51-MeV was studied and is shown to be the result of either of free annihilation of positrons with electrons or of the decay of positronium by 2-photon emission. Positron annihilation from the bound state of positronium may also proceed by 3-photon emission, resulting in a continuum with energies up to 0.51-MeV. Accurate calculations of the rates of free annihilation and positronium formation in a solar-flare plasma are presented. Estimates of the positronium-formulation rates by charge exchange and the rates of dissociation and quenching are also considered. The temperature and density dependence of the ratio of 3-photon to 2-photon emission was obtained. It is shown that when the ratio of free electrons to neutral atoms in the plasma is approximately unity or greater, the Doppler width of the 0.51-MeV line is a function of the temperature of the annihilation region. For the small ion densities characteristics of the photosphere, the width is predominantly a function of the density.

PKS 1502+106: A new and distant gamma-ray blazar in outburst discovered by the Fermi Large Area Telescope

DOE PAGES

Abdo, A. A.

2010-01-22

The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope discovered a rapid (~5 days duration), high-energy (E > 100 MeV) gamma-ray outburst from a source identified with the blazar PKS 1502+106 (OR 103, S3 1502+10, z = 1.839) starting on 2008 August 5 (~23 UTC, MJD 54683.95), and followed by bright and variable flux over the next few months. Our results on the gamma-ray localization and identification, as well as spectral and temporal behavior during the first months of the Fermi all-sky survey, are reported here in conjunction with a multiwaveband characterization as a result of onemore » of the first Fermi multifrequency campaigns. The campaign included a Swift ToO (followed up by a 16 day observation on August 7-22, MJD 54685-54700), VLBA (within the MOJAVE program), Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) 40 m, Effelsberg-100 m, Metsähovi-14 m, RATAN-600, and Kanata-Hiroshima radio/optical observations. Results from the analysis of archival observations by INTEGRAL, XMM-Newton, and Spitzer space telescopes are reported for a more complete picture of this new gamma-ray blazar. PKS 1502+106 is a sub-GeV peaked, powerful flat spectrum radio quasar (luminosity at E > 100 MeV, L γ, is about 1.1 × 10 49 erg s –1, and black hole mass likely close to 10 9 M ⊙), exhibiting marked gamma-ray bolometric dominance, in particular during the asymmetric outburst (L γ/L opt ~ 100, and 5 day averaged flux F E > 100 MeV = 2.91 ± 1.4 × 10 –6 ph cm –2 s –1), which was characterized by a factor greater than 3 of flux increase in less than 12 hr. The outburst was observed simultaneously from optical to X-ray bands (F 0.3 – 10 keV = 2.18 +0.15 –0.12 × 10 –12 erg cm –2 s –1, and hard photon index ~1.5, similar to past values) with a flux increase of less than 1 order of magnitude with respect to past observations, and was likely controlled by Comptonization of external-jet photons produced in the broad-line region (BLR) in the gamma-ray band. Furthermore, there is no evidence of a possible blue bump signature was observed in the optical-UV continuum spectrum, while some hints for a possible 4 day time lag with respect to the gamma-ray flare were found. Nonetheless, the properties of PKS 1502+106 and the strict optical/UV, X-, and gamma-ray cross-correlations suggest the contribution of the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC), in-jet, process should dominate from radio to X-rays. This mechanism may also be responsible for the consistent gamma-ray variability observed by the LAT on longer timescales, after the ignition of activity at these energies provided by the BLR-dissipated outburst. Modulations and subsequent minor, rapid flare events were detected, with a general fluctuation mode between pink-noise and a random-walk. The averaged gamma-ray spectrum showed a deviation from a simple power law, and can be described by a log-parabola curved model peaking around 0.4-0.5 GeV. The maximum energy of photons detected from the source in the first four months of LAT observations was 15.8 GeV, with no significant consequences on extragalactic background light predictions. A possible radio counterpart of the gamma-ray outburst can be assumed only if a delay of more than three months is considered on the basis of opacity effects at cm and longer wavelengths. The rotation of the electric vector position angle observed by VLBA from 2007 to 2008 could represent a slow field ordering and alignment with respect to the jet axis, likely a precursor feature of the ejection of a superluminal radio knot and the high-energy outburst. Finally, this observing campaign provides more insight into the connection between MeV-GeV flares and the moving, polarized structures observed by the VLBI.« less

The continuum spectral characteristics of gamma ray bursts observed by BATSE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pendleton, Geoffrey N.; Paciesas, William S.; Briggs, Michael S.; Mallozzi, Robert S.; Koshut, Tom M.; Fishman, Gerald J.; Meegan, Charles A.; Wilson, Robert B.; Harmon, Alan B.; Kouveliotou, Chryssa

1994-01-01

Distributions of the continuum spectral characteristics of 260 bursts in the first Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) catalog are presented. The data are derived from flux ratios calculated from the BATSE Large Area Detector (LAD) four channel discriminator data. The data are converted from counts to photons using a direct spectral inversion technique to remove the effects of atmospheric scattering and the energy dependence of the detector angular response. Although there are intriguing clusterings of bursts in the spectral hardness ratio distributions, no evidence for the presence of distinct burst classes based on spectral hardness ratios alone is found. All subsets of bursts selected for their spectral characteristics in this analysis exhibit spatial distributions consistent with isotropy. The spectral diversity of the burst population appears to be caused largely by the highly variable nature of the burst production mechanisms themselves.

Preliminary observations of the SELENE Gamma Ray Spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forni, O.; Diez, B.; Gasnault, O.; Munoz, B.; D'Uston, C.; Reedy, R. C.; Hasebe, N.

2008-09-01

Introduction We analyze the spectra measured by the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS) on board the SELENE satellite [1]. SELENE was inserted in lunar orbit on 4 Oct. 2007. After passing through a health check and a function check, the GRS was shifted to nominal observation on 21 Dec. 2007. The spectra consist in various lines of interest (O, Mg, Al, Si, Ti, Ca, Fe, K, Th, U, and possibly H) superposed on a continuum. The energies of the gamma rays identify the nuclides responsible for the gamma ray emission and their intensities relate to their abundance. Data collected through 17 Feb. 2008 are studied here, corresponding to an accumulation time (Fig. 1) sufficiently good to allow preliminary mapping. Analysis of the global gamma ray spectrum In order to obtain spectra with counting statistics sufficient for peak analysis, we accumulate all observations. The identification of lines is performed on this global lunar spectrum (Fig 2). Fit of individual lines The gamma ray lines that arise from decay of longlived radioactive species are among the easiest to analyze. So far the abundance of two species is studied thanks to such lines: potassium (1461 keV) and thorium (2614 keV). Secondary neutrons from cosmic ray interactions also produce gamma ray when reacting with the planetary material, according to scattering or absorption reactions. However these lines need substantial corrections before an interpretation in terms of abundance can be performed. Lines have been examined with different techniques. The simplest method consists in summing the spectra in a window containing the line of interest. The continuum is adjusted with a polynomial and removed. Such a method was used for the gamma ray spectra collected by Lunar Prospector [2]. This method is especially robust for isolated lines, such as those of K and Th mentioned above, or with very low statistics. The second method consists in fitting the lines by summing a quadratic continuum with Gaussian lines and exponential tails. We presently fit the spectra thanks to a program developed at CESR: Aquarius. Afterwards the areas associated with the parameters of these ideal lines are calculated. This method is welladapted for interfering lines, such as U, Al, and H around 2210 keV, but it requires good statistics. These two methods were used to analyze the Mars Odyssey gamma-ray spectra [3]. Prettyman et al. [4] applied a third method where theoretical spectra are simulated and matched against the observations. Below we propose a fourth approach based on statistical analyzes. Mapping of elemental abundances Data returned by the spacecraft are time-tagged records acquired with a resolution of 17 seconds. The angular distance covered by the spacecraft during this interval corresponds to about 1° at the surface. However the true resolution of the instrument is lower because gamma rays come from all directions onto the spacecraft. The resolution is therefore set by the field of view of the instrument, which depends on the spacecraft altitude and the geometry of the instrument. The full width half maximum of the instrumental response has been estimated to be 130 km at 1 MeV by the SELENE GRS team. We have tiled the data in agreement with the better resolution we could obtain depending on the intensity of a given line. The thorium line at 2614 keV was thus mapped at a resolution of 3° with the first method described above (sum over 2550-2640 keV). Then this map was smoothed with a 5° filter (152 km radius) to approximate the response function of the instrument. Finally the counting rate was converted into abundance (Fig. 3), using the compositions at landing sites and in the highlands as did Gillis et al. [5]. Statistical analysis We have also analysed the data with various multivariate techniques, one of them being the Independent Component Analysis (ICA) [6, 7]. ICA defines a generative model for the observed multivariate data, which is typically given as a large database of samples. In the model, the data variables are assumed to be linear mixtures of some unknown latent variables, and the mixing system is also unknown. The latent variables are assumed non- Gaussian and mutually independent and they are called the independent components of the observed data. These independent components, also called sources or factors, can be found by ICA. This is done by maximising a non-gaussianity criterion of the sources. As in [8], we have used the JADE algorithm developed and described in [9] for our analysis that we focused in the energy range from 750 to 3000 keV. We identify at least three meaningful components. The first one is correlated to the Thorium map (Fig. 4). The corresponding correlation coefficient spectrum exhibits the lines of Thorium, Potassium and Uranium (Fig. 5). The second component (Fig. 6) is clearly correlated with the Iron as shown on its corresponding spectrum (Fig. 5). A third component, identified at lower resolution, seems to be partly correlated with the altitude of the spacecraft (not shown). Further improvement in the data reduction, like corrections for altitude, cosmic ray, and neutron current variations should allow a better interpretation of the data. Acknowledgement. The SELENE GRS team members are: N. Hasebe, O. Okudaira, N. Yamashita, S. Kobayashi, Y. Karouji, M. Hareyama, S. Kodaira, S. Komatsu, K. Hayatsu, K. Iwabuchi, S. Nemoto, E. Shibamura, M.-N. Kobayashi, R.C. Reedy, K.J. Kim, C. d'Uston, S. Maurice, O. Gasnault, O. Forni, B. Diez. References. [1] Hasebe, N. et al. (2008) Earth, Planets and Space, 60, 299-312.. [2] Lawrence, D.J. et al. (1999) Geophys. Res. Lett., 26 (17), 2681-2684. [3] Evans, L.E. et al. (2006) J. Geophys. Res., 111, E03S04. [4] Prettyman, T.H. et al. (2006) J. Geophys. Res., 111, E12007. [5] Gillis, J.J. et al. (2004) Geo. et Cosmo. Acta, 68 (18), 3791-3805. [6] Comon P. (1994) Signal Processing, 36, 287-314. [7] Hyvärinen, A. and E. Oja (2000) Neural Networks, 13(4-5), 411-430. [8] Forni O. et al. (2005) LPSC, 36, 1623 [9] Cardoso, J.-F. (1997) IEEE Letters on Signal Processing, 4, 112-114.

Optical Spectroscopic Survey of a Sample of Unidentified Fermi Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paiano, Simona; Falomo, Renato; Franceschini, Alberto; Treves, Aldo; Scarpa, Riccardo

2017-12-01

We present optical spectroscopy secured at the 10 m Gran Telescopio Canarias of the counterparts of 20 extragalactic γ-ray sources detected by the Fermi satellite. The observations allow us to investigate the nature of these sources and to determine their redshift. We find that all optical counterparts have a spectrum that is consistent with a BL Lac object nature. We are able to determine the redshift for 11 objects and set spectroscopic redshift limits for five targets. The optical spectrum is found featureless for only four sources. In the latter cases, we can set lower limits on the redshift based on the assumption that they are hosted by a typical massive elliptical galaxy whose spectrum is diluted by the nonthermal continuum. The observations allow us to unveil the nature of these gamma-ray sources and provide a sanity check of a tool to discover the counterparts of γ-ray emitters/blazars based on their multiwavelength emission.

Compton suppression in BEGe detectors by digital pulse shape analysis.

PubMed

Mi, Yu-Hao; Ma, Hao; Zeng, Zhi; Cheng, Jian-Ping; Li, Jun-Li; Zhang, Hui

2017-03-01

A new method of pulse shape discrimination (PSD) for BEGe detectors is developed to suppress Compton-continuum by digital pulse shape analysis (PSA), which helps reduce the Compton background level in gamma ray spectrometry. A decision parameter related to the rise time of a pulse shape was presented. The method was verified by experiments using 60 Co and 137 Cs sources. The result indicated that the 60 Co Peak to Compton ratio and the Cs-Peak to Co-Compton ratio could be improved by more than two and three times, respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recent results from gammasphere

DOE PAGES

Lee, I. Y.; Clark, R. M.; Ward, D.; ...

2001-12-01

Three examples of recent nuclear structure studies using Gammasphere are discussed in this paper. (1) A rotational band has been identified in 108 Cd. Its moment of inertia and quadrupole moment indicate that this band has a shape with an axis ratio larger than 1.8:1. (2) Possible "Jacobi" shape transitions at high spin were investigated from studies of the continuum gamma rays on a number of nuclei. (3) Population of high-spin states in neutron-rich nuclei were studied in target fragmentation reactions. States with spin up to 6-12 were observed in a wide range of nuclei.

GRI: focusing on the evolving violent universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knödlseder, Jürgen; von Ballmoos, Peter; Frontera, Filippo; Bazzano, Angela; Christensen, Finn; Hernanz, Margarida; Wunderer, Cornelia

2009-03-01

The gamma-ray imager (GRI) is a novel mission concept that will provide an unprecedented sensitivity leap in the soft gamma-ray domain by using for the first time a focusing lens built of Laue diffracting crystals. The lens will cover an energy band from 200-1,300 keV with an effective area reaching 600 cm2. It will be complemented by a single reflection multilayer coated mirror, extending the GRI energy band into the hard X-ray regime, down to ˜10 keV. The concentrated photons will be collected by a position sensitive pixelised CZT stack detector. We estimate continuum sensitivities of better than 10 - 7 ph cm - 2s - 1keV - 1 for a 100 ks exposure; the narrow line sensitivity will be better than 3 × 10 - 6 ph cm - 2s - 1 for the same integration time. As focusing instrument, GRI will have an angular resolution of better than 30 arcsec within a field of view of roughly 5 arcmin—an unprecedented achievement in the gamma-ray domain. Owing to the large focal length of 100 m of the lens and the mirror, the optics and detector will be placed on two separate spacecrafts flying in formation in a high elliptical orbit. R&D work to enable the lens focusing technology and to develop the required focal plane detector is currently underway, financed by ASI, CNES, ESA, and the Spanish Ministery of Education and Science. The GRI mission has been proposed as class M mission for ESAs Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program. GRI will allow studies of particle acceleration processes and explosion physics in unprecedented detail, providing essential clues on the innermost nature of the most violent and most energetic processes in the universe.

GRI: focusing on the evolving violent universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knödlseder, Jürgen; von Ballmoos, Peter; Frontera, Filippo; Bazzano, Angela; Christensen, Finn; Hernanz, Margarida; Wunderer, Cornelia

2007-09-01

The Gamma-Ray Imager (GRI) is a novel mission concept that will provide an unprecedented sensitivity leap in the soft gamma-ray domain by using for the first time a focusing lens built of Laue diffracting crystals. The lens will cover an energy band from 200 - 1300 keV with an effective area reaching 600 cm2. It will be complemented by a single reflection multilayer coated mirror, extending the GRI energy band into the hard X-ray regime, down to ~10 keV. The concentrated photons will be collected by a position sensitive pixelised CZT stack detector. We estimate continuum sensitivities of better than 10 -7 ph cm -2s -1keV -1 for a 100 ks exposure; the narrow line sensitivity will be better than 3 x 10 -6 ph cm -2s -1 for the same integration time. As focusing instrument, GRI will have an angular resolution of better than 30 arcsec within a field of view of roughly 5 arcmin - an unprecedented achievement in the gamma-ray domain. Owing to the large focal length of 100 m of the lens and the mirror, the optics and detector will be placed on two separate spacecrafts flying in formation in a high elliptical orbit. R&D work to enable the lens focusing technology and to develop the required focal plane detector is currently underway, financed by ASI, CNES, ESA, and the Spanish Ministery of Education and Science. The GRI mission is proposed as class M mission for ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program. GRI will allow studies of particle acceleration processes and explosion physics in unprecedented detail, providing essential clues on the innermost nature of the most violent and most energetic processes in the Universe.

A radiation transfer model for the Milky Way: I. Radiation fields and application to high-energy astrophysics★

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popescu, C. C.; Yang, R.; Tuffs, R. J.; Natale, G.; Rushton, M.; Aharonian, F.

2017-09-01

We present a solution for the ultraviolet - submillimetre (submm) interstellar radiation fields (ISRFs) of the Milky Way (MW), derived from modelling COBE, IRAS and Planck maps of the all-sky emission in the near-, mid-, far-infrared and submm. The analysis uses the axisymmetric radiative transfer model that we have previously implemented to model the panchromatic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of star-forming galaxies in the nearby universe, but with a new methodology allowing for optimization of the radial and vertical geometry of stellar emissivity and dust opacity, as deduced from the highly resolved emission seen from the vantage point of the Sun. As such, this is the first self-consistent model of the broad-band continuum emission from the MW. In this paper, we present model predictions for the spatially integrated SED of the MW as seen from the Sun, showing good agreement with the data, and give a detailed description of the solutions for the distribution of ISRFs, as well as their physical origin, throughout the volume of the galaxy. We explore how the spatial and spectral distributions of our new predictions for the ISRF in the MW affects the amplitude and spectral distributions of the gamma rays produced via inverse Compton scattering for cosmic ray (CR) electrons situated at different positions in the galaxy, as well as the attenuation of the gamma rays due to interactions of the gamma-ray photons with photons of the ISRF. We also compare and contrast our solutions for the ISRF with those incorporated in the galprop package used for modelling the high-energy emission from CR in the MW.

Prompt acceleration of ions by oblique turbulent shocks in solar flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, R. B.; Vlahos, L.

1985-01-01

Solar flares often accelerate ions and electrons to relativistic energies. The details of the acceleration process are not well understood, but until recently the main trend was to divide the acceleration process into two phases. During the first phase elctrons and ions are heated and accelerated up to several hundreds of keV simultaneously with the energy release. These mildly relativistic electrons interact with the ambient plasma and magnetic fields and generate hard X-ray and radio radiation. The second phase, usually delayed from the first by several minutes, is responsible for accelerating ions and electrons to relativistic energies. Relativistic electrons and ions interact with the solar atmosphere or escape from the Sun and generate gamma ray continuum, gamma ray line emission, neutron emission or are detected in space by spacecraft. In several flares the second phase is coincident with the start of a type 2 radio burst that is believed to be the signature of a shock wave. Observations from the Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft have shown, for the first time, that several flares accelerate particles to all energies nearly simultaneously. These results posed a new theoretical problem: How fast are shocks and magnetohydrodynamic turbulence formed and how quickly can they accelerate ions to 50 MeV in the lower corona? This problem is discussed.

RXTE Observations of the Seyfert 2 Galaxy MrK 348

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, David A.; Georgantopoulos, Ioannis; Warwick, Robert S.

2000-01-01

We present RXTE monitoring observations of the Seyfert 2 galaxy Mrk 348 spanning a 6 month period. The time-averaged spectrum in the 3-20 keV band shows many features characteristic of a Compton-thin Seyfert 2 galaxy, namely a hard underlying power-law continuum (Gamma approximately equal 1.8) with heavy soft X-ray absorption (N(sub H) approximately 10(exp 23)/sq cm) plus measurable iron K.alpha emission (equivalent width approximately 100 eV) and, at high energy, evidence for a reflection component (R approximately < 1). During the first half of the monitoring period the X-ray continuum flux from Mrk 348 remained relatively steady. However this was followed by a significant brightening of the source (by roughly a factor of 4) with the fastest change corresponding to a doubling of its X-ray flux on a timescale of about 20 days. The flux increase was accompanied by a marked softening of X-ray spectrum most likely attributable to a factor approximately 3 decline in the intrinsic line-of-sight column density. In contrast the iron K.alpha line and the reflection components showed no evidence of variability. These observations suggest a scenario in which the central X-ray source is surrounded by a patchy distribution of absorbing material located within about a light-week of the nucleus of Mrk 348. The random movement of individual clouds within the absorbing screen, across our line of sight, produces substantial temporal variations in the measured column density on timescales of weeks to months and gives rise to the observed X-ray spectral variability. However, as viewed from the nucleus the global coverage and typical thickness of the cloud layer remains relatively constant.

The Properties and the Evolution of the Highly Ionized Gas in MR 2251-178

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaspi, Shai; Netzer, hagai; Chelouche, Doron; George, Ian M.; Nandra, Kirpal; Turner, T. J.

2004-01-01

We present the first XMM-Newton observations of the radio-quiet quasar MR 2251-178 obtained in 2000 and 2002. The EPIC-pn spectra show a power-law continuum with a slope of Gamma = 1.6 at high energies absorbed by at least two warm absorbers (WAs) intrinsic to the source. The underlying continuum in the earlier observation shows a soft excess at low X-ray energies which can be modeled as an additional power-law with Gamma = 2.9. The spectra also show a weak narrow iron K alpha emission line. The high-resolution grating spectrum obtained in 2002 shows emission lines from N VI, O VII, O VIII, Ne IX, and Ne X, as well as absorption lines from the low-ionization ions of O III, O IV, and O V, and other confirmed and suspected weaker absorption lines. The O III - O V lines are consistent with the properties of the emission line gas observed as extended optical (O III) emission in this source. The signal-to-noise of the 2000 grating data is too low to detect any lines. We suggest a model for the high-resolution spectrum which consist of two or three warm-absorber (WA) components. The two-components model has a high-ionization WA with a column density of 10(exp 21.5)-10 (exp 21.8) sq cm and a low-ionization absorber with a column density of 10(exp 20.3) sq cm. In the three-components model we add a lower ionization component that produces the observed iron M-shell absorption lines. We investigate the spectral variations in MR 2251-178 over a period of 8.5 years using data from ASCA, BeppoSAX, and XMM-Newton. All X-ray observations can be fitted with the above two power laws and the two absorbers. The observed luminosity variations seems to correlate with variations in the soft X-ray continuum. The 8.5 year history of the source suggests a changing X-ray absorber due to material that enters and disappears from the line-of-sight on timescales of several months. We also present, for the first time, the entire FUSE spectrum of MR 2251-178. We detect emission from N III, C III, and O VI and at least 4 absorption systems in C III, H I, and O VI, one at -580 km/s and at least 3 others which are blended together and form a wide trough covering the velocity range of 0 to -500 km/s. The general characteristics of the UV and X-ray absorbers are consistent with an origin in the same gas.

Gamma-gamma coincidence performance of LaBr 3:Ce scintillation detectors vs HPGe detectors in high count-rate scenarios

DOE PAGES

Drescher, A.; Yoho, M.; Landsberger, S.; ...

2017-01-15

In this study, a radiation detection system consisting of two cerium doped lanthanum bromide (LaBr 3:Ce) scintillation detectors in a gamma-gamma coincidence configuration has been used to demonstrate the advantages that coincident detection provides relative to a single detector, and the advantages that LaBr 3:Ce detectors provide relative to high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors. Signal to noise ratios of select photopeak pairs for these detectors have been compared to high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors in both single and coincident detector configurations in order to quantify the performance of each detector configuration. The efficiency and energy resolution of LaBr 3:Ce detectors havemore » been determined and compared to HPGe detectors. Coincident gamma-ray pairs from the radionuclides 152Eu and 133Ba have been identified in a sample that is dominated by 137Cs. Gamma-gamma coincidence successfully reduced the Compton continuum from the large 137Cs peak, revealed several coincident gamma energies characteristic of these nuclides, and improved the signal-to-noise ratio relative to single detector measurements. LaBr 3:Ce detectors performed at count rates multiple times higher than can be achieved with HPGe detectors. The standard background spectrum consisting of peaks associated with transitions within the LaBr 3:Ce crystal has also been significantly reduced. Finally, it is shown that LaBr 3:Ce detectors have the unique capability to perform gamma-gamma coincidence measurements in very high count rate scenarios, which can potentially benefit nuclear safeguards in situ measurements of spent nuclear fuel.« less

Gamma-gamma coincidence performance of LaBr 3:Ce scintillation detectors vs HPGe detectors in high count-rate scenarios

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Drescher, A.; Yoho, M.; Landsberger, S.

In this study, a radiation detection system consisting of two cerium doped lanthanum bromide (LaBr 3:Ce) scintillation detectors in a gamma-gamma coincidence configuration has been used to demonstrate the advantages that coincident detection provides relative to a single detector, and the advantages that LaBr 3:Ce detectors provide relative to high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors. Signal to noise ratios of select photopeak pairs for these detectors have been compared to high-purity germanium (HPGe) detectors in both single and coincident detector configurations in order to quantify the performance of each detector configuration. The efficiency and energy resolution of LaBr 3:Ce detectors havemore » been determined and compared to HPGe detectors. Coincident gamma-ray pairs from the radionuclides 152Eu and 133Ba have been identified in a sample that is dominated by 137Cs. Gamma-gamma coincidence successfully reduced the Compton continuum from the large 137Cs peak, revealed several coincident gamma energies characteristic of these nuclides, and improved the signal-to-noise ratio relative to single detector measurements. LaBr 3:Ce detectors performed at count rates multiple times higher than can be achieved with HPGe detectors. The standard background spectrum consisting of peaks associated with transitions within the LaBr 3:Ce crystal has also been significantly reduced. Finally, it is shown that LaBr 3:Ce detectors have the unique capability to perform gamma-gamma coincidence measurements in very high count rate scenarios, which can potentially benefit nuclear safeguards in situ measurements of spent nuclear fuel.« less

Multi-particle inspection using associated particle sources

DOEpatents

Bingham, Philip R.; Mihalczo, John T.; Mullens, James A.; McConchie, Seth M.; Hausladen, Paul A.

2016-02-16

Disclosed herein are representative embodiments of methods, apparatus, and systems for performing combined neutron and gamma ray radiography. For example, one exemplary system comprises: a neutron source; a set of alpha particle detectors configured to detect alpha particles associated with neutrons generated by the neutron source; neutron detectors positioned to detect at least some of the neutrons generated by the neutron source; a gamma ray source; a set of verification gamma ray detectors configured to detect verification gamma rays associated with gamma rays generated by the gamma ray source; a set of gamma ray detectors configured to detect gamma rays generated by the gamma ray source; and an interrogation region located between the neutron source, the gamma ray source, the neutron detectors, and the gamma ray detectors.

Discovery of an Extreme MeV Blazar with the Swift Burst Alert Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sambruna, R. M.; Markwardt, C. B.; Mushotzky, R. F.; Tueller, J.; Hartman, R.; Brandt, W. N.; Schneider, D> P.; Falcone, A.; Cucchiara, A.;

Effects of Correlated and Uncorrelated Gamma Rays on Neutron Multiplicity Counting

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cowles, Christian C.; Behling, Richard S.; Imel, George R.

Neutron multiplicity counting relies on time correlation between neutron events to assay the fissile mass, (α,n) to spontaneous fission neutron ratio, and neutron self-multiplication of samples. Gamma-ray sensitive neutron multiplicity counters may misidentify gamma rays as neutrons and therefore miscalculate sample characteristics. Time correlated and uncorrelated gamma-ray-like signals were added into gamma-ray free neutron multiplicity counter data to examine the effects of gamma ray signals being misidentified as neutron signals on assaying sample characteristics. Multiplicity counter measurements with and without gamma-ray-like signals were compared to determine the assay error associated with gamma-ray-like signals at various gamma-ray and neutron rates. Correlatedmore » and uncorrelated gamma-ray signals each produced consistent but different measurement errors. Correlated gamma-ray signals most strongly led to fissile mass overestimates, whereas uncorrelated gamma-ray signals most strongly lead to (α,n) neutron overestimates. Gamma-ray sensitive neutron multiplicity counters may be able to account for the effects of gamma-rays on measurements to mitigate measurement uncertainties.« less

A Snapshot of the Continuous Emission of the Active Galactic Nucleus in NGC 3783 from Gamma-Ray to Radio Wavelengths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alloin, D.; Santos-Lleo, M.; Peterson, B. M.; Wamsteker, W.; Altieri, B.; Brinkmann, W.; Clavel, J.; Crenshaw, D. M.; George, I. M.; Glass, I. S.;

Uses of continuum radiation in the AXAF calibration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolodziejczak, J. J.; Austin, R. A.; Elsner, R. F.; O'Dell, S. L.; Sulkanen, M. E.; Swartz, D. A.; Tennant, A. F.; Weisskopf, M. C.; Zirnstein, G.; McDermott, W. C.

1997-01-01

X-ray calibration of the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) observatory at the MSFC X-Ray Calibration Facility (XRCF) made novel use of the x-ray continuum from a conventional electron-impact source. Taking advantage of the good spectral resolution of solid-state detectors, continuum measurements proved advantageous in calibrating the effective area of AXAF's High-Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA) and in verifying its alignment to the XRCF's optical axis.

Sensitive X-ray detectors made of methylammonium lead tribromide perovskite single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Haotong; Fang, Yanjun; Mulligan, Padhraic; Chuirazzi, William; Fang, Hong-Hua; Wang, Congcong; Ecker, Benjamin R.; Gao, Yongli; Loi, Maria Antonietta; Cao, Lei; Huang, Jinsong

2016-05-01

The large mobilities and carrier lifetimes of hybrid perovskite single crystals and the high atomic numbers of Pb, I and Br make them ideal for X-ray and gamma-ray detection. Here, we report a sensitive X-ray detector made of methylammonium lead bromide perovskite single crystals. A record-high mobility-lifetime product of 1.2 × 10-2 cm2 V-1 and an extremely small surface charge recombination velocity of 64 cm s-1 are realized by reducing the bulk defects and passivating surface traps. Single-crystal devices with a thickness of 2-3 mm show 16.4% detection efficiency at near zero bias under irradiation with continuum X-ray energy up to 50 keV. The lowest detectable X-ray dose rate is 0.5 μGyair s-1 with a sensitivity of 80 μC Gy-1air cm-2, which is four times higher than the sensitivity achieved with α-Se X-ray detectors. This allows the radiation dose applied to a human body to be reduced for many medical and security check applications.

The Gamma-ray Sky with Fermi

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David

2012-01-01

Gamma rays reveal extreme, nonthermal conditions in the Universe. The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has been exploring the gamma-ray sky for more than four years, enabling a search for powerful transients like gamma-ray bursts, novae, solar flares, and flaring active galactic nuclei, as well as long-term studies including pulsars, binary systems, supernova remnants, and searches for predicted sources of gamma rays such as dark matter annihilation. Some results include a stringent limit on Lorentz invariance derived from a gamma-ray burst, unexpected gamma-ray variability from the Crab Nebula, a huge gamma-ray structure associated with the center of our galaxy, surprising behavior from some gamma-ray binary systems, and a possible constraint on some WIMP models for dark matter.

Understanding the connection between the energy released during solar flares and their emission in the lower atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

da Costa, F. Rubio

2017-10-01

While progress has been made on understanding how energy is released and deposited along the solar atmosphere during explosive events such as solar flares, the chromospheric and coronal heating through the sudden release of magnetic energy remain an open problem in solar physics. Recent hydrodynamic models allow to investigate the energy deposition along a flare loop and to study the response of the chromosphere. These results have been improved with the consideration of transport and acceleration of particles along the loop. RHESSI and Fermi/GBM X-ray and gamma-ray observations help to constrain the spectral properties of the injected electrons. The excellent spatial, spectral and temporal resolution of IRIS will also help us to constrain properties of explosive events, such as the continuum emission during flares or their emission in the chromosphere.

Radio Detection of the Fermi-LAT Blind Search Millisecond Pulsar J1311-3430

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ray, P. S.; Ransom, S. M.; Cheung, C. C.; Giroletti, M.; Cognard, I.; Camilo, F.; Bhattacharyya, B.; Roy, J.; Romani, R. W.; Ferrara, E. C.; Guillemot, L.; Johnston, S.; Keith, M.; Kerr, M.; Kramer, M.; Pletsch, H. J.; Saz Parkinson, P. M.; Wood, K. S.

2013-01-01

We report the detection of radio emission from PSR J1311-3430, the first millisecond pulsar (MSP) discovered in a blind search of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) gamma-ray data. We detected radio pulsations at 2 GHz, visible for <10% of ~4.5 hr of observations using the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Observations at 5 GHz with the GBT and at several lower frequencies with Parkes, Nançay, and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope resulted in non-detections. We also report the faint detection of a steep spectrum continuum radio source (0.1 mJy at 5 GHz) in interferometric imaging observations with the Jansky Very Large Array. These detections demonstrate that PSR J1311-3430 is not radio quiet and provide additional evidence that radio-quiet MSPs are rare. The radio dispersion measure of 37.8 pc cm-3 provides a distance estimate of 1.4 kpc for the system, yielding a gamma-ray efficiency of 30%, typical of LAT-detected MSPs. We see apparent excess delay in the radio pulses as the pulsar appears from eclipse and we speculate on possible mechanisms for the non-detections of the pulse at other orbital phases and observing frequencies.

Transitional millisecond pulsars in the low-level accretion state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaodard, Amruta D.; Hessels, Jason W. T.; Archibald, Anne; Bogdanov, Slavko; Deller, Adam; Hernandez Santisteban, Juan; Patruno, Alessandro; D'Angelo, Caroline; Bassa, Cees; Amruta Jaodand

2018-01-01

In the canonical pulsar recycling scenario, a slowly spinning neutron star can be rejuvenated to rapid spin rates by the transfer of angular momentum and mass from a binary companion star. Over the last decade, the discovery of three transitional millisecond pulsars (tMSPs) has allowed us to study recycling in detail. These systems transition between accretion-powered (X-ray) and rotation-powered (radio) pulsar states within just a few days, raising questions such as: what triggers the state transition, when does the recycling process truly end, and what will the radio pulsar’s final spin rate be? Systematic multi-wavelength campaigns over the last decade have provided critical insights: multi-year-long, low-level accretion states showing coherent X-ray pulsations; extremely stable, bi-modal X-ray light curves; outflows probed by radio continuum emission; a surprising gamma-ray brightening during accretion, etc. In my thesis I am trying to bring these clues together to understand the low-level accretion process that recycles a pulsar. For example, recently we timed PSR J1023+0038 in the accretion state and found it to be spinning down ~26% faster compared to the non-accreting radio pulsar state. We are currently conducting simultaneous multi-wavelength campaigns (XMM, HST, Kepler and VLA) to understand the global variability of the accretion flow, as well as high-energy Fermi-LAT observations to probe the gamma-ray emission mechanism. I will highlight these recent developments, while also presenting a broad overview of tMSPs as exciting new laboratories to test low-level accretion onto magnetized neutron stars.

Limits to the Cassiopeia A 44Ti Line Flux and Constraints on the Ejecta Energy and the Compact Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rothschild, R. E.; Lingenfelter, R. E.

2003-01-01

Two long observations of the Cas A supernova remnant were made by the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer in 1996 and 1997 to search for hard X-ray line emission at 67.9 and 78.4 keV from the decay of 44Ti formed during the supernova event. Continuum flux was detected up to 100 keV, but the 44Ti lines were not detected. The 90% confidence upper limit to the line flux is 3.6×10-5 photons cm-2 s-1. This is consistent with the recent BeppoSAX detection and with the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory/Imaging Compton Telescope (CGRO/COMPTEL) detection of the companion transition line flux for 44Sc decay. The mean BeppoSAX-COMPTEL flux indicates that 1.5+/-0.3×10-4 Msolar of 44Ti was produced in the supernova explosion. On the basis of recent theoretical calculations and optical observations suggesting a WN Wolf-Rayet progenitor with an initial mass of >=25 Msolar, the observed 44Ti yield implies that the Cas A supernova ejecta energy was ~2×1051 ergs, and as a result a neutron star was formed, rather than a black hole. We suggest that Cas A is possibly in the early stages of the anomalous X-ray pulsar/soft gamma-ray repeater (AXP/SGR) scenario in which the pushback disk has yet to form, and when the disk does form, the accretion will increase the luminosity to that of present-day AXP/SGRs, and pulsed emission will commence.

High-Energy Spectral and Temporal Characteristics of GRO J1008-57

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shrader, C. R.; Sutaria, F. K.; Singh, K. P.; Macomb, D. J.

1999-02-01

A transient X-ray source, GRO J1008-57, was discovered by the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on board the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) in 1993 July. It reached a maximum intensity of about 1.4 times that of the Crab, in the 20-60 keV energy band. Pulsations in the X-ray intensity were detected at a period of 93.5 s. It has subsequently been determined to be a member of the Be star subclass of X-ray transients. In addition to BATSE, GRO J1008-57 was observed during its outburst by several pointed high-energy experiments: ROSAT, ASCA, and CGRO/OSSE. These nonsimultaneous but contemporaneous observations took place near and shortly after the peak of the outburst light curve. We report for the first time on a combined analysis of the CGRO and ASCA data sets. We have attempted to model the broadband high-energy continuum distribution and phase-resolved spectra. The broadband, phase-averaged continuum is well approximated by a power law with an exponential cutoff. Evidence for 6.4 keV line emission due to Fe is presented based on our spectral analysis. The energy dependence of the pulse profiles is examined in order to determine the energy at which the low-energy double-peaked profile detected by ASCA evolves into single-peaked pulse profile detected by BATSE. We discuss the implications of this pulse profile for the magnetic field and beam distribution for GRO J1008-57. Analysis of the BATSE and Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer/ASM flux histories suggests that Porbital~135 days. We further suggest that a transient disk is likely to form during episodes of outbursts.

Signatures of particle acceleration at SN 1987A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gaisser, T. K.; Stanev, Todor; Harding, Alice K.

1989-01-01

At least eight experiments are currently monitoring SN 1987A for photons or neutrinos with energies in the TeV range or higher. Observation of such signals would indicate that the supernova is the site of acceleration of charged particles to even higher energies. The way that the acceleration might occur is discussed, and the prospects for detection of such signals in light of current limits on power in the supernova from sources other than the nickel-cobalt-iron decay chain are evaluated. It is pointed out that signals of particle acceleration may show up in continuum MeV gamma rays as well as in the 100 MeV range.

Physical conditions, dynamics, and mass distribution in the center of the Galaxy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Genzel, R.; Townes, C. H.

1987-01-01

Recent observations and theoretical models of the Galactic center (GC) are reviewed. An overview of phenomena seen in the GC is given, including the stellar cluster, radio continuum emission and interstellar clouds, the Sgr A complex, and X-ray and gamma emission. Also discussed are the energetics and physical conditions in the central 4 pc (star burst or central source?); the circumnuclear ring, ionized streamers, and relativistic and hot gas in the cavity; the mass distribution and the possibility of a massive black hole, and the central 0.1 pc (Sgr A and IRS 16). Diagrams, graphs, photographs, and tables of numerical data are provided.

Gamma-ray evidence for a stellar-mass black hole near the Galactic center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramaty, Reuven; Lingenfelter, Richard E.

1989-01-01

An analysis of the time variability of the observed 511-keV line emission from the direction of the Galactic center and the correlation of its variations in the continuum emission above 511 keV from the same direction suggest the existence of a compact object at or near the Galactic center. A possible mechanism of the observed positron annihilation is consistent with a compact interaction region of the order of 10 to the 8th cm. A black hole of several hundred solar masses is favored as a candidate for this compact object; arguments in support of this suggestion are presented.

Basics of Gamma Ray Detection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stinnett, Jacob; Venkataraman, Ram

The objective of this training is to explain the origin of x-rays and gamma rays, gamma ray interactions with matter, detectors and electronics used in gamma ray-spectrometry, and features of a gamma-ray spectrum for nuclear material that is safeguarded.

Performance Evaluation of Spectroscopic Detectors for LEU Hold-up Measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Venkataraman, Ramkumar; Nutter, Greg; McElroy, Robert Dennis

The hold-up measurement of low-enriched uranium materials may require use of alternate detector types relative to the measurement of highly enriched uranium. This is in part due to the difference in process scale (i.e., the components are generally larger for low-enriched uranium systems), but also because the characteristic gamma-ray lines from 235U used for assay of highly enriched uranium will be present at a much reduced intensity (on a per gram of uranium basis) at lower enrichments. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory examined the performance of several standard detector types, e.g., NaI(Tl), LaBr3(Ce), and HPGe, to select a suitablemore » candidate for measuring and quantifying low-enriched uranium hold-up in process pipes and equipment at the Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant. Detector characteristics, such as energy resolution (full width at half maximum) and net peak count rates at gamma ray energies spanning a range of 60–1332 keV, were measured for the above-mentioned detector types using the same sources and in the same geometry. Uranium enrichment standards (Certified Reference Material no. 969 and Certified Reference Material no. 146) were measured using each of the detector candidates in the same geometry. The net count rates recorded by each detector at 186 keV and 1,001 keV were plotted as a function of enrichment (atom percentage). Background measurements were made in unshielded and shielded configurations under both ambient and elevated conditions of 238U activity. The highly enriched uranium hold-up measurement campaign at the Portsmouth plant was performed on process equipment that had been cleaned out. Therefore, in most cases, the thickness of the uranium deposits was less than the “infinite thickness” for the 186 keV gamma rays to be completely self-attenuated. Because of this, in addition to measuring the 186 keV gamma, the 1,001 keV gamma ray from 234mPa—a daughter of 238U in secular equilibrium with its parent—will also need to be measured. Based on the performance criteria of detection efficiency, energy resolution, peak-to-continuum ratios, minimum detectable limits, and the weight of the shielded probe, a shielded (0.5 in. thick lead shield) 2 × 2 in. NaI(Tl) detector is recommended for use. The recommended approach is to carry out analysis using data from both 186 keV and 1,001 keV gamma rays, and select a best result based on propagated uncertainty estimates. It is also highly recommended that a two-point gain stabilization scheme based on an 241Am seed embedded in the probe be implemented. Shielding configurations to reduce the impact of background interference on the measurement of 1,001 keV gamma-ray are discussed.« less

Fermi/Large Area Telescope Discovery of Gamma-Ray Emission from a Relativistic Jet in the Narrow-Line Quasar PMN J0948+0022

DOE PAGES

Abdo, A. A.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; ...

2009-06-17

In this paper, we report the discovery by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope of high-energy γ-ray emission from the peculiar quasar PMN J0948+0022 (z = 0.5846). The optical spectrum of this object exhibits rather narrow Hβ (FWHM(Hβ) ~1500 km s –1), weak forbidden lines, and is therefore classified as a narrow-line type I quasar. This class of objects is thought to have relatively small black hole mass and to accrete at a high Eddington ratio. The radio loudness and variability of the compact radio core indicate the presence of a relativistic jet. Quasi-simultaneous radio/optical/X-raymore » and γ-ray observations are presented. Both radio and γ-ray emissions (observed over five months) are strongly variable. The simultaneous optical and X-ray data from Swift show a blue continuum attributed to the accretion disk and a hard X-ray spectrum attributed to the jet. The resulting broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) and, in particular, the γ-ray spectrum measured by Fermi are similar to those of more powerful Flat-Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs). A comparison of the radio and γ-ray characteristics of PMN J0948+0022 with the other blazars detected by LAT shows that this source has a relatively low radio and γ-ray power with respect to other FSRQs. The physical parameters obtained from modeling the SED also fall at the low power end of the FSRQ parameter region discussed in Celotti & Ghisellini. Finally, we suggest that the similarity of the SED of PMN J0948+0022 to that of more massive and more powerful quasars can be understood in a scenario in which the SED properties depend on the Eddington ratio rather than on the absolute power.« less

Design and Performance of the GAMMA-400 Gamma-Ray Telescope for Dark Matter Searches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galper, A.M.; Adriani, O.; Aptekar, R. L.; Arkhangelskaja, I. V.; Arkhangelskiy, A.I.; Boezio, M.; Bonvicini, V.; Boyarchuk, K. A.; Fradkin, M. I.; Gusakov, Yu. V.;

Design and Performance of the GAMMA-400 Gamma-Ray Telescope for Dark Matter Searches

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galper, A. M.; Adriani, O.; Aptekar, R. L.; Arkhangelskaja, I. V.; Arkhangelskiy, A. I.; Boezio, M.; Bonvicini, V.; Boyarchuk, K. A.; Fradkin, M. I.; Gusakov, Yu V.;

High energy gamma-ray astronomy; Proceedings of the International Conference, ANN Arbor, MI, Oct. 2-5, 1990

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, James

The present volume on high energy gamma-ray astronomy discusses the composition and properties of heavy cosmic rays greater than 10 exp 12 eV, implications of the IRAS Survey for galactic gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray emission from young neutron stars, and high-energy diffuse gamma rays. Attention is given to observations of TeV photons at the Whipple Observatory, TeV gamma rays from millisecond pulsars, recent data from the CYGNUS experiment, and recent results from the Woomera Telescope. Topics addressed include bounds on a possible He/VHE gamma-ray line signal of Galactic dark matter, albedo gamma rays from cosmic ray interactions on the solar surface, source studies, and the CANGAROO project. Also discussed are neural nets and other methods for maximizing the sensitivity of a low-threshold VHE gamma-ray telescope, a prototype water-Cerenkov air-shower detector, detection of point sources with spark chamber gamma-ray telescopes, and real-time image parameterization in high energy gamma-ray astronomy using transputers. (For individual items see A93-25002 to A93-25039)

An XMM-Newton Study of the Bright Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy Arakelian 564

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brandt, Niel

2004-01-01

We report on two XMM-Newton observations of the bright Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxy Ark 564 taken one year apart (2000 June and 2001 June). The 0.6-10 keV continuum is well described by a soft blackbody component (kT - 140-150 eV) plus a steep power law (Gamma - 2.50-2.55). No significant spectral changes are observed between the two observations, although the X-ray flux in the second observation is - 40-50 per cent lower. In both observations we detect a significant absorption edge at a rest-frame energy of - 0.73 keV, corresponding to 0 VII. The presence of the absorption feature is confirmed by a simultaneous Chandra grating observation in 2000 June, although the best-fitting edge threshold is at a slightly lower energy in the Chandra data, possibly because of a different parameterization of the underlying X-ray continuum. We find tentative evidence for a broad iron emission line in the 2000 June observation. The results from an analysis of the power spectral density (PSD) function are also presented. The present XMM-Newton data support the idea that the PSD shows two breaks, although the location of the high-frequency break requires further constraints.

Very high-energy gamma rays from gamma-ray bursts.

PubMed

Chadwick, Paula M

2007-05-15

Very high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray astronomy has undergone a transformation in the last few years, with telescopes of unprecedented sensitivity having greatly expanded the source catalogue. Such progress makes the detection of a gamma-ray burst at the highest energies much more likely than previously. This paper describes the facilities currently operating and their chances for detecting gamma-ray bursts, and reviews predictions for VHE gamma-ray emission from gamma-ray bursts. Results to date are summarized.

Thermal Neutron Capture onto the Stable Tungsten Isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurst, A. M.; Firestone, R. B.; Sleaford, B. W.; Summers, N. C.; Revay, Zs.; Szentmiklósi, L.; Belgya, T.; Basunia, M. S.; Capote, R.; Choi, H.; Dashdorj, D.; Escher, J.; Krticka, M.; Nichols, A.

2012-02-01

Thermal neutron-capture measurements of the stable tungsten isotopes have been carried out using the guided thermal-neutron beam at the Budapest Reactor. Prompt singles spectra were collected and analyzed using the HYPERMET γ-ray analysis software package for the compound tungsten systems 183W, 184W, and 187W, prepared from isotopically-enriched samples of 182W, 183W, and 186W, respectively. These new data provide both confirmation and new insights into the decay schemes and structure of the tungsten isotopes reported in the Evaluated Gamma-ray Activation File based upon previous elemental analysis. The experimental data have also been compared to Monte Carlo simulations of γ-ray emission following the thermal neutron-capture process using the statistical-decay code DICEBOX. Together, the experimental cross sections and modeledfeeding contribution from the quasi continuum, have been used to determine the total radiative thermal neutron-capture cross sections for the tungsten isotopes and provide improved decay-scheme information for the structural- and neutron-data libraries.

The Gamma-ray Universe through Fermi

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David J.

2012-01-01

Gamma rays, the most powerful form of light, reveal extreme conditions in the Universe. The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and its smaller cousin AGILE have been exploring the gamma-ray sky for several years, enabling a search for powerful transients like gamma-ray bursts, novae, solar flares, and flaring active galactic nuclei, as well as long-term studies including pulsars, binary systems, supernova remnants, and searches for predicted sources of gamma rays such as dark matter annihilation. Some results include a stringent limit on Lorentz invariance derived from a gamma-ray burst, unexpected gamma-ray variability from the Crab Nebula, a huge ga.nuna-ray structure associated with the center of our galaxy, surprising behavior from some gamma-ray binary systems, and a possible constraint on some WIMP models for dark matter.

Sneaky Gamma-Rays: Using Gravitational Lensing to Avoid Gamma-Gamma-Absorption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boettcher, Markus; Barnacka, Anna

2014-08-01

It has recently been suggested that gravitational lensing studies of gamma-ray blazars might be a promising avenue to probe the location of the gamma-ray emitting region in blazars. Motivated by these prospects, we have investigated potential gamma-gamma absorption signatures of intervening lenses in the very-high-energy gamma-ray emission from lensedblazars. We considered intervening galaxies and individual stars within these galaxies. We find that the collective radiation field of galaxies acting as sources of macrolensing are not expected to lead to significant gamma-gamma absorption. Individual stars within intervening galaxies could, in principle, cause a significant opacity to gamma-gamma absorption for VHE gamma-rays if the impact parameter (the distance of closest approach of the gamma-ray to the center of the star) is small enough. However, we find that the curvature of the photon path due to gravitational lensing will cause gamma-ray photons to maintain a sufficiently large distance from such stars to avoid significant gamma-gamma absorption. This re-inforces the prospect of gravitational-lensing studies of gamma-ray blazars without interference due to gamma-gamma absorption due to the lensing objects.

Ionized absorbers, ionized emitters, and the X-ray spectrum of active galactic nuclei

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Netzer, Hagai

1993-01-01

Broad absorption features are common in the X-ray spectrum of low-luminosity AGNs. The features have been modeled by leaky neutral absorbers or by highly ionized gas that completely occult the continuum source. Such models are incomplete since they do not take into account all the physical processes in the gas. In particular, no previous model included the X-ray emission by the ionized absorbing gas and the reflection of the continuum source radiation. The present work discusses the emission, absorption, and reflection properties of photoionized gases with emphasis on conditions thought to prevail in AGNs. It shows that such gas is likely to produce intense X-ray line and continuum radiation and to reflect a sizable fraction of the nonstellar continuum at all energies. If such gas is indeed responsible for the observed X-ray absorption, then absorption edges are much weaker than commonly assumed, and some residual X-ray continuum is likely to be observed even if the line of sight is completely blocked. Moreover, X-ray emission features may show up in sources not showing X-ray absorption. This has immense consequences for medium-resolution X-ray missions, such as BBXRT and Astro-D, and for the planned high-resolution experiments on board XMM and AXAF.

Design and performance of the GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope for dark matter searches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galper, A. M.; Adriani, O.; Aptekar, R. L.; Arkhangelskaja, I. V.; Arkhangelskiy, A. I.; Boezio, M.; Bonvicini, V.; Boyarchuk, K. A.; Fradkin, M. I.; Gusakov, Yu. V.; Kaplin, V. A.; Kachanov, V. A.; Kheymits, M. D.; Leonov, A. A.; Longo, F.; Mazets, E. P.; Maestro, P.; Marrocchesi, P.; Mereminskiy, I. A.; Mikhailov, V. V.; Moiseev, A. A.; Mocchiutti, E.; Mori, N.; Moskalenko, I. V.; Naumov, P. Yu.; Papini, P.; Picozza, P.; Rodin, V. G.; Runtso, M. F.; Sparvoli, R.; Spillantini, P.; Suchkov, S. I.; Tavani, M.; Topchiev, N. P.; Vacchi, A.; Vannuccini, E.; Yurkin, Yu. T.; Zampa, N.; Zverev, V. G.; Zirakashvili, V. N.

2013-02-01

The GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope is designed to measure the fluxes of gamma-rays and cosmic-ray electrons + positrons, which can be produced by annihilation or decay of the dark matter particles, as well as to survey the celestial sphere in order to study point and extended sources of gamma-rays, measure energy spectra of Galactic and extragalactic diffuse gamma-ray emission, gamma-ray bursts, and gamma-ray emission from the Sun. GAMMA-400 covers the energy range from 100 MeV to 3000 GeV. Its angular resolution is ~0.01° (Eγ > 100 GeV), the energy resolution ~1% (Eγ > 10 GeV), and the proton rejection factor ~106. GAMMA-400 will be installed on the Russian space platform Navigator. The beginning of observations is planned for 2018.

Imaging observations of SN1987A at gamma-ray energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, W. R.; Palmer, D. M.; Prince, T. A.; Schindler, S. M.; Starr, C. H.; Stone, E. C.

1988-09-01

The Caltech imaging γ-ray telescope was launched by balloon from Alice Springs, NT, Australia for observations of SN1987A during the period 18.60-18.87 November 1987 UT. The preliminary results presented here are derived from 8200 seconds of instrument livetime on the supernova and 2500 seconds on the Crab Nebula and pulsar at a float altitude of 37 km. We have obtained the first images of the SN1987A region at γ-ray energies confirming that the bulk of the γ-ray emission comes from the supernova and not from LMC X-1. A count excess is detected between 300 and 1300 keV from the direction of the supernova, one third of which comes from energy bands of width 80 and 92 keV centered on 847 and 1238 keV, respectively. The excess can be interpreted as a line photon flux plus scattered photon continuum from the radioactive decay of 56Co synthesized in the supernova explosion. We compare our data to recent predictions and find it to be consistent with models invoking moderate mixing of core material into the envelope.

Mirrored continuum and molecular scale simulations of the ignition of gamma phase RDX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, D. Scott; Chaudhuri, Santanu; Joshi, Kaushik; Lee, Kiabek

2015-06-01

We consider the ignition of a high-pressure gamma-phase of an explosive crystal of RDX which forms during overdriven shock initiation. Molecular dynamics (MD), with first-principles based or reactive force field based molecular potentials, provides a description of the chemistry as an extremely complex reaction network. The results of the molecular simulation is analyzed by sorting molecular product fragments into high and low molecular groups, to represent identifiable components that can be interpreted by a continuum model. A continuum model based on a Gibbs formulation, that has a single temperature and stress state for the mixture is used to represent the same RDX material and its chemistry. Each component in the continuum model has a corresponding Gibbs continuum potential, that are in turn inferred from molecular MD informed equation of state libraries such as CHEETAH, or are directly simulated by Monte Carlo MD simulations. Information about transport, kinetic rates and diffusion are derived from the MD simulation and the growth of a reactive hot spot in the RDX is studied with both simulations that mirror the other results to provide an essential, continuum/atomistic link. Supported by N000014-12-1-0555, subaward-36561937 (ONR).

The structure, logic of operation and distinctive features of the system of triggers and counting signals formation for gamma-telescope GAMMA-400

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Topchiev, N. P.; Galper, A. M.; Arkhangelskiy, A. I.; Arkhangelskaja, I. V.; Kheymits, M. D.; Suchkov, S. I.; Yurkin, Y. T.

2017-01-01

Scientific project GAMMA-400 (Gamma Astronomical Multifunctional Modular Apparatus) relates to the new generation of space observatories intended to perform an indirect search for signatures of dark matter in the cosmic-ray fluxes, measurements of characteristics of diffuse gamma-ray emission and gamma-rays from the Sun during periods of solar activity, gamma-ray bursts, extended and point gamma-ray sources, electron/positron and cosmic-ray nuclei fluxes up to TeV energy region by means of the GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope represents the core of the scientific complex. The system of triggers and counting signals formation of the GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope constitutes the pipelined processor structure which collects data from the gamma-ray telescope subsystems and produces summary information used in forming the trigger decision for each event. The system design is based on the use of state-of-the-art reconfigurable logic devices and fast data links. The basic structure, logic of operation and distinctive features of the system are presented.

Day-Scale Variability of 3C 279 and Searches for Correlations in Gamma-Ray, X-Ray and Optical Bands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartman, R. C.; Villata, M.; Balonek, T. J.; Bertsch, D. L.; Bock, H.; Boettcher, M.; Carini, M. T.; Collmar, W.; DeFrancesco, G.; Ferrera, E. C.;

Highlights of GeV Gamma-Ray Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David J.

2010-01-01

Because high-energy gamma rays are primarily produced by high-energy particle interactions, the gamma-ray survey of the sky by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope offers a view of sites of cosmic ray production and interactions. Gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, pulsar wind nebulae, binary sources, and Active Galactic Nuclei are all phenomena that reveal particle acceleration through their gamma-ray emission. Diffuse Galactic gamma radiation, Solar System gamma-ray sources, and energetic radiation from supernova remnants are likely tracers of high-energy particle interactions with matter and photon fields. This paper will present a broad overview of the constantly changing sky seen with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi spacecraft.

Unidentified Gamma-Ray Sources: Hunting Gamma-Ray Blazars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Massaro, F.; D'Abrusco, R.; Tosti, G.

2012-04-02

One of the main scientific objectives of the ongoing Fermi mission is unveiling the nature of the unidentified {gamma}-ray sources (UGSs). Despite the large improvements of Fermi in the localization of {gamma}-ray sources with respect to the past {gamma}-ray missions, about one third of the Fermi-detected objects are still not associated to low energy counterparts. Recently, using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) survey, we discovered that blazars, the rarest class of Active Galactic Nuclei and the largest population of {gamma}-ray sources, can be recognized and separated from other extragalactic sources on the basis of their infrared (IR) colors. Basedmore » on this result, we designed an association method for the {gamma}-ray sources to recognize if there is a blazar candidate within the positional uncertainty region of a generic {gamma}-ray source. With this new IR diagnostic tool, we searched for {gamma}-ray blazar candidates associated to the UGS sample of the second Fermi {gamma}-ray catalog (2FGL). We found that our method associates at least one {gamma}-ray blazar candidate as a counterpart each of 156 out of 313 UGSs analyzed. These new low-energy candidates have the same IR properties as the blazars associated to {gamma}-ray sources in the 2FGL catalog.« less

UNIDENTIFIED {gamma}-RAY SOURCES: HUNTING {gamma}-RAY BLAZARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Massaro, F.; Ajello, M.; D'Abrusco, R.

2012-06-10

One of the main scientific objectives of the ongoing Fermi mission is unveiling the nature of unidentified {gamma}-ray sources (UGSs). Despite the major improvements of Fermi in the localization of {gamma}-ray sources with respect to the past {gamma}-ray missions, about one-third of the Fermi-detected objects are still not associated with low-energy counterparts. Recently, using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer survey, we discovered that blazars, the rarest class of active galactic nuclei and the largest population of {gamma}-ray sources, can be recognized and separated from other extragalactic sources on the basis of their infrared (IR) colors. Based on this result, wemore » designed an association method for the {gamma}-ray sources to recognize if there is a blazar candidate within the positional uncertainty region of a generic {gamma}-ray source. With this new IR diagnostic tool, we searched for {gamma}-ray blazar candidates associated with the UGS sample of the second Fermi {gamma}-ray LAT catalog (2FGL). We found that our method associates at least one {gamma}-ray blazar candidate as a counterpart to each of 156 out of 313 UGSs analyzed. These new low-energy candidates have the same IR properties as the blazars associated with {gamma}-ray sources in the 2FGL catalog.« less

Implications of Gamma-Ray Transparency Constraints in Blazars: Minimum Distances and Gamma-Ray Collimation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Becker, Peter A.; Kafatos, Menas

1995-01-01

We develop a general expression for the gamma - gamma absorption coefficient, alpha(sub gamma(gamma)) for gamma-rays propagating in an arbitrary direction at an arbitrary point in space above an X-ray-emitting accretion disk. The X-ray intensity is assumed to vary as a power law in energy and radius between the outer disk radius, R(sub 0), and the inner radius, R(sub ms) which is the radius of marginal stability for a Schwarzschild black hole. We use our result for alpha(sub gamma(gamma)) to calculate the gamma - gamma optical depth, tau(sub gamma(gamma)) for gamma - rays created at height z and propagating at angle Phi relative to the disk axis, and we show that for Phi = 0 and z greater than or approx equal to R(sub 0), tau(sub gamma(gamma)) proportional to Epsilon(sup alpha)z(sup -2(alpha) - 3), where alpha is the X-ray spectral index and Epsilon is the gamma - ray energy. As an application, we use our formalism to compute the minimum distance between the central black hole and the site of production of the gamma-rays detected by EGRET during the 1991 June flare of 3C 279. In order to obtain an upper limit, we assume that all of the X-rays observed contemporaneously by Ginga were emitted by the disk. Our results suggest that the observed gamma - rays may have originated within less than or approx equal to 45 GM/sq c from a black hole of mass greater than or approx equal to 10(exp 9) solar mass, perhaps in active plasma located above the central funnel of the accretion disk. This raises the possibility of establishing a direct connection between the production of the observed gamma - rays and the accretion of material onto the black hole. We also consider the variation of the optical depth as a function of the angle of propagation Phi. Our results indicate that the "focusing" of the gamma - rays along the disk axis due to pair production is strong enough to explain the observed degree of alignment in blazar sources. If the gamma - rays are produced isotropically in gamma - ray blazars, then these objects should appear as bright MeV sources when viewed along off-axis lines of sight.

Discovery of an Unidentified Fermi Object as a Black Widow-Like Millisecond Pulsar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kong, A. K. H.; Huang, R. H. H.; Cheng, K. S.; Takata, J.; Yatsu, Y.; Cheung, C. C.; Donato, D.; Lin, L. C. C.; Kataoka, J.; Takahashi, Y.;

Conventional and Non-Conventional Nuclear Material Signatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gozani, Tsahi

2009-03-01

The detection and interdiction of concealed special nuclear material (SNM) in all modes of transport is one of the most critical security issues facing the United States and the rest of the world. In principle, detection of nuclear materials is relatively easy because of their unique properties: all of them are radioactive and all emit some characteristic gamma rays. A few emit neutrons as well. These signatures are the basis for passive non-intrusive detection of nuclear materials. The low energy of the radiations necessitates additional means of detection and validation. These are provided by high-energy x-ray radiography and by active inspection based on inducing nuclear reactions in the nuclear materials. Positive confirmation that a nuclear material is present or absent can be provided by interrogation of the inspected object with penetrating probing radiation, such as neutrons and photons. The radiation induces specific reactions in the nuclear material yielding, in turn, penetrating signatures which can be detected outside the inspected object. The "conventional" signatures are first and foremost fission signatures: prompt and delayed neutrons and gamma rays. Their intensity (number per fission) and the fact that they have broad energy (non-discrete, though unique) distributions and certain temporal behaviors are key to their use. The "non- conventional" signatures are not related to the fission process but to the unique nuclear structure of each element or isotope in nature. This can be accessed through the excitation of isotopic nuclear levels (discrete and continuum) by neutron inelastic scattering or gamma resonance fluorescence. Finally there is an atomic signature, namely the high atomic number (Z>74), which obviously includes all the nuclear materials and their possible shielding. The presence of such high-Z elements can be inferred by techniques using high-energy x rays. The conventional signatures have been addressed in another article. Non-conventional signatures and some of their current or potential uses will be discussed here.

SAS-2 gamma-ray observations of PSR 1747-46. [radio pulsar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D. J.; Fichtel, C. E.; Kniffen, D. A.; Ogelman, H. B.; Lamb, R. C.

1976-01-01

Evidence is reported for the observation of gamma-ray emission from the radio pulsar PSR 1747-46 by the gamma-ray telescope aboard SAS 2. The evidence is based on the presence of both an approximately 3-sigma enhancement of gamma rays at the pulsar's location and an approximately 4-sigma peak in the phase plot of 79 gamma-ray events whose phase was calculated from the pulsar's known period. The gamma-ray pulsation is found to appear at a phase lag of about 0.16 from that predicted by the radio observations. The pulsed gamma-ray fluxes above 35 MeV and 100 MeV are estimated, and it is shown that the gamma-ray pulse width is similar to the radio pulse width. It is concluded that PSR 1747-46 is a most likely candidate for pulsed gamma-ray emission.

Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope: Science Highlights for the First 8 Months

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moiseev, Alexander

2010-01-01

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope was launched on June 11, 2008 and since August 2008 has successfully been conducting routine science observations of high energy phenomena in the gamma-ray sky. A number of exciting discoveries have been made during its first year of operation, including blazar flares, high-energy gamma-ray bursts, and numerous new,gamma-ray sources of different types, among them pulsars and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). fermi-LAT also performed accurate mea.<;urement of the diffuse gamma-radiation which clarifies the Ge V excess reported by EGRET almost 10 years ago, high precision measurement of the high energy electron spectrum, and other observations. An overview of the observatory status and recent results as of April 30, 2009, are presented. Key words: gamma-ray astronomy, cosmic rays, gamma-ray burst, pulsar, blazar. diffuse gamma-radiation

A CR-HYDRO-NEI MODEL OF MULTI-WAVELENGTH EMISSION FROM THE VELA JR. SUPERNOVA REMNANT (SNR RX J0852.0-4622)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Shiu-Hang; Nagataki, Shigehiro; Slane, Patrick O.

Based largely on energy budget considerations and the observed cosmic-ray (CR) ionic composition, supernova remnant (SNR) blast waves are the most likely sources of CR ions with energies at least up to the 'knee' near 10{sup 15} eV. Shocks in young shell-type TeV-bright SNRs are surely producing TeV particles, but the emission could be dominated by ions producing {pi}{sup 0}-decay emission or electrons producing inverse Compton gamma rays. Unambiguously identifying the GeV-TeV emission process in a particular SNR will not only help pin down the origin of CRs, it will also add significantly to our understanding of the diffusive shockmore » acceleration (DSA) mechanism and improve our understanding of supernovae and the impact SNRs have on the circumstellar medium. In this study, we investigate the Vela Jr. SNR, an example of TeV-bright non-thermal SNRs. We perform hydrodynamic simulations coupled with nonlinear DSA and non-equilibrium ionization near the forward shock to confront currently available multi-wavelength data. We find, with an analysis similar to that used earlier for SNR RX J1713.7-3946, that self-consistently modeling the thermal X-ray line emission with the non-thermal continuum in our one-dimensional model strongly constrains the fitting parameters, and this leads convincingly to a leptonic origin for the GeV-TeV emission for Vela Jr. This conclusion is further supported by applying additional constraints from observation, including the radial brightness profiles of the SNR shell in TeV gamma rays, and the spatial variation of the X-ray synchrotron spectral index. We will discuss implications of our models on future observations by the next-generation telescopes.« less

Method of incident low-energy gamma-ray direction reconstruction in the GAMMA-400 gamma-ray space telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kheymits, M. D.; Leonov, A. A.; Zverev, V. G.; Galper, A. M.; Arkhangelskaya, I. V.; Arkhangelskiy, A. I.; Suchkov, S. I.; Topchiev, N. P.; Yurkin, Yu T.; Bakaldin, A. V.; Dalkarov, O. D.

2016-02-01

The GAMMA-400 gamma-ray space-based telescope has as its main goals to measure cosmic γ-ray fluxes and the electron-positron cosmic-ray component produced, theoretically, in dark-matter-particles decay or annihilation processes, to search for discrete γ-ray sources and study them in detail, to examine the energy spectra of diffuse γ-rays — both galactic and extragalactic — and to study gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and γ-rays from the active Sun. Scientific goals of GAMMA-400 telescope require fine angular resolution. The telescope is of a pair-production type. In the converter-tracker, the incident gamma-ray photon converts into electron-positron pair in the tungsten layer and then the tracks are detected by silicon- strip position-sensitive detectors. Multiple scattering processes become a significant obstacle in the incident-gamma direction reconstruction for energies below several gigaelectronvolts. The method of utilising this process to improve the resolution is proposed in the presented work.

Fermi Large Area Telescope Measurements of the Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emission at Intermediate Galactic Latitudes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdo, A.A.; /Naval Research Lab, Wash., D.C.; Ackermann, M.

The diffuse galactic {gamma}-ray emission is produced by cosmic rays (CRs) interacting with the interstellar gas and radiation field. Measurements by the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) instrument on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory indicated excess {gamma}-ray emission {ge}1 GeV relative to diffuse galactic {gamma}-ray emission models consistent with directly measured CR spectra (the so-called 'EGRET GeV excess'). The Large Area Telescope (LAT) instrument on the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has measured the diffuse {gamma}-ray emission with improved sensitivity and resolution compared to EGRET. We report on LAT measurements for energies 100 MeV to 10 GeV and galactic latitudes 10{sup o}more » {le} |b| {le} 20{sup o}. The LAT spectrum for this region of the sky is well reproduced by a diffuse galactic {gamma}-ray emission model that is consistent with local CR spectra and inconsistent with the EGRET GeV excess.« less

Fermi large area telescope measurements of the diffuse gamma-ray emission at intermediate galactic latitudes.

PubMed

Abdo, A A; Ackermann, M; Ajello, M; Anderson, B; Atwood, W B; Axelsson, M; Baldini, L; Ballet, J; Barbiellini, G; Bastieri, D; Baughman, B M; Bechtol, K; Bellazzini, R; Berenji, B; Blandford, R D; Bloom, E D; Bonamente, E; Borgland, A W; Bregeon, J; Brez, A; Brigida, M; Bruel, P; Burnett, T H; Caliandro, G A; Cameron, R A; Caraveo, P A; Casandjian, J M; Cecchi, C; Charles, E; Chekhtman, A; Cheung, C C; Chiang, J; Ciprini, S; Claus, R; Cohen-Tanugi, J; Conrad, J; Dereli, H; Dermer, C D; de Angelis, A; de Palma, F; Digel, S W; Di Bernardo, G; Dormody, M; do Couto e Silva, E; Drell, P S; Dubois, R; Dumora, D; Edmonds, Y; Farnier, C; Favuzzi, C; Fegan, S J; Focke, W B; Frailis, M; Fukazawa, Y; Funk, S; Fusco, P; Gaggero, D; Gargano, F; Gehrels, N; Germani, S; Giebels, B; Giglietto, N; Giordano, F; Glanzman, T; Godfrey, G; Grenier, I A; Grondin, M-H; Grove, J E; Guillemot, L; Guiriec, S; Hanabata, Y; Harding, A K; Hayashida, M; Hays, E; Hughes, R E; Jóhannesson, G; Johnson, A S; Johnson, R P; Johnson, T J; Johnson, W N; Kamae, T; Katagiri, H; Kataoka, J; Kawai, N; Kerr, M; Knödlseder, J; Kocian, M L; Kuehn, F; Kuss, M; Lande, J; Latronico, L; Longo, F; Loparco, F; Lott, B; Lovellette, M N; Lubrano, P; Madejski, G M; Makeev, A; Mazziotta, M N; McConville, W; McEnery, J E; Meurer, C; Michelson, P F; Mitthumsiri, W; Mizuno, T; Moiseev, A A; Monte, C; Monzani, M E; Morselli, A; Moskalenko, I V; Murgia, S; Nolan, P L; Nuss, E; Ohsugi, T; Okumura, A; Omodei, N; Orlando, E; Ormes, J F; Paneque, D; Panetta, J H; Parent, D; Pelassa, V; Pepe, M; Pesce-Rollins, M; Piron, F; Porter, T A; Rainò, S; Rando, R; Razzano, M; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Reposeur, T; Ritz, S; Rodriguez, A Y; Roth, M; Ryde, F; Sadrozinski, H F-W; Sanchez, D; Sander, A; Saz Parkinson, P M; Scargle, J D; Sellerholm, A; Sgrò, C; Smith, D A; Smith, P D; Spandre, G; Spinelli, P; Starck, J-L; Stecker, F W; Striani, E; Strickman, M S; Strong, A W; Suson, D J; Tajima, H; Takahashi, H; Tanaka, T; Thayer, J B; Thayer, J G; Thompson, D J; Tibaldo, L; Torres, D F; Tosti, G; Tramacere, A; Uchiyama, Y; Usher, T L; Vasileiou, V; Vilchez, N; Vitale, V; Waite, A P; Wang, P; Winer, B L; Wood, K S; Ylinen, T; Ziegler, M

2009-12-18

The diffuse galactic gamma-ray emission is produced by cosmic rays (CRs) interacting with the interstellar gas and radiation field. Measurements by the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) instrument on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory indicated excess gamma-ray emission greater, > or approximately equal to 1 GeV relative to diffuse galactic gamma-ray emission models consistent with directly measured CR spectra (the so-called "EGRET GeV excess"). The Large Area Telescope (LAT) instrument on the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has measured the diffuse gamma-ray emission with improved sensitivity and resolution compared to EGRET. We report on LAT measurements for energies 100 MeV to 10 GeV and galactic latitudes 10 degrees < or = |b| < or = 20 degrees. The LAT spectrum for this region of the sky is well reproduced by a diffuse galactic gamma-ray emission model that is consistent with local CR spectra and inconsistent with the EGRET GeV excess.

Mercuric iodine room temperature gamma-ray detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patt, Bradley E.; Markakis, Jeffrey M.; Gerrish, Vernon M.; Haymes, Robert C.; Trombka, Jacob I.

1990-01-01

high resolution mercuric iodide room temperature gamma-ray detectors have excellent potential as an essential component of space instruments to be used for high energy astrophysics. Mercuric iodide detectors are being developed both as photodetectors used in combination with scintillation crystals to detect gamma-rays, and as direct gamma-ray detectors. These detectors are highly radiation damage resistant. The list of applications includes gamma-ray burst detection, gamma-ray line astronomy, solar flare studies, and elemental analysis.

A possible line feature at 73 keV from the Crab Nebula

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ling, J. C.; Mahoney, W. A.; Willett, J. B.; Jacobson, A. S.

1979-01-01

Evidence is reported for a possible line feature at 73 keV from the Crab Nebula. The experiment was conducted with a balloon-borne high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometer on June 10, 1974, over Palestine, Texas. The intensity and the width of the line derived from the fitting of these data are approximately 0.0038 photon per (sq cm-sec) and less than 4.9 keV FWHM, respectively. The line is superposed on a power-law continuum of 11.2 E to the -2.16 photons per (sq cm-keV) in the energy range from 53 to 300 keV, which is consistent with other measurements of the Crab Nebula spectrum.

Observation of fluctuation of gamma-ray count rate accompanying thunderstorm activity and energy spectrum of gamma rays in the atmosphere up to several kilometers altitude from the ground

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torii, T.; Sanada, Y.; Watanabe, A.

2017-12-01

In the vicinity of the tops of high mountains and in the coastal areas of the Sea of Japan in winter, the generation of high energy photons that lasts more than 100 seconds at the occurrence of thunderclouds has been reported. At the same time, 511 keV gamma rays are also detected. On the other hand, we irradiated a radiosonde equipped with gamma-ray detectors at the time of thunderstorm and observed fluctuation in gamma-ray count-rate. As a result, we found that the gamma-ray count-rate increases significantly near the top of the thundercloud. Therefore, in order to investigate the fluctuation of the energy of the gamma rays, we developed a radiation detector for radiosonde to observe the fluctuation of the low energy gamma-ray spectrum and observed the fluctuation of the gamma-ray spectrum. We will describe the counting rate and spectral fluctuation of gamma-ray detectors for radiosonde observed in the sky in Fukushima prefecture, Japan.

Lunar occultations for gamma-ray source measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koch, David G.; Hughes, E. B.; Nolan, Patrick L.

1990-01-01

The unambiguous association of discrete gamma-ray sources with objects radiating at other wavelengths, the separation of discrete sources from the extended emission within the Galaxy, the mapping of gamma-ray emission from nearby galaxies and the measurement of structure within a discrete source cannot presently be accomplished at gamma-ray energies. In the past, the detection processes used in high-energy gamma-ray astronomy have not allowed for good angular resolution. This problem can be overcome by placing gamma-ray detectors on the moon and using the horizon as an occulting edge to achieve arcsec resolution. For purposes of discussion, this concept is examined for gamma rays above 100 MeV for which pair production dominates the detection process and locally-generated nuclear gamma rays do not contribute to the background.

The possibility of gamma-ray astronomy measurements on the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fradkin, M. I.; Gorchakov, E. V.; Kaplin, V. A.; Kaplin, D. V.; Kurnosova, L. V.; Labenskij, A. G.; Runtso, M. F.; Topchiev, N. P.

The conditions required for gamma-ray astronomy measurements at energies of 10 - 1000 GeV by a gamma-ray telescope on the International Space Station are discussed. It is shown that the properties of the detected gamma rays can be determined accurately at 30 - 1000 GeV, even if the space station solar arrays fall in the aperture of the gamma-ray telescope. Measurements of the secondary gamma-ray spectrum using a ground-based model of the gamma-ray telescope have been carried out, and the resulting spectrum at energies of 1 - 100 GeV is presented.

Gamma ray astrophysics to the year 2000. Report of the NASA Gamma Ray Program Working Group

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

Important developments in gamma-ray astrophysics up to energies of 100 GeV during the last decade are reviewed. Also, the report seeks to define the major current scientific goals of the field and proposes a vigorous program to pursue them, extending to the year 2000. The goals of gamma-ray astronomy include the study of gamma rays which provide the most direct means of studying many important problems in high energy astrophysics including explosive nucleosynthesis, accelerated particle interactions and sources, and high-energy processes around compact objects. The current research program in gamma-ray astronomy in the U.S. including the space program, balloon program and foreign programs in gamma-ray astronomy is described. The high priority recommendations for future study include an Explorer-class high resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy mission and a Get Away Special cannister (GAS-can) or Scout class multiwavelength experiment for the study of gamma-ray bursts. Continuing programs include an extended Gamma Ray Observatory mission, continuation of the vigorous program of balloon observations of the nearby Supernova 1987A, augmentation of the balloon program to provide for new instruments and rapid scientific results, and continuation of support for theoretical research. Long term recommendations include new space missions using advanced detectors to better study gamma-ray sources, the development of these detectors, continued study for the assembly of large detectors in space, collaboration with the gamma-ray astronomy missions initiated by other countries, and consideration of the Space Station attached payloads for gamma-ray experiments.

Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGFs)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fishman, Gerald J.

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the observation of Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes (TGFs) by Gamma-Ray Telescopes. These were: (1) BATSE /Compton Observatory, (2) Solar Spectroscopic Imager, (3) AGILE Gamma-ray Telescope, and (4) Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. It contains charts which display the counts over time, a map or the TGFs observed by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI). and a map showing the latitude and longitude of 85 of the TGFs observed by the Fermi GBM.

Space instrumentation for gamma-ray astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teegarden, B. J.

1999-02-01

The decade of the 1990s has witnessed a renaissance in the field of gamma-ray astronomy. The seminal event was the launch of the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) in April 1991. There have been a flood of major discoveries from CGRO including breakthroughs in gamma-ray bursts, annihilation radiation, and blazars. The Italian SAX satellite was launched in April 1996. Although not primarily a gamma-ray mission, it has added a new dimension to our understanding of gamma-ray bursts. Along with these new discoveries a firm groundwork has been laid for missions and new technology development that should maintain a healthy and vigorous field throughout most of the next decade. These include the ESA INTEGRAL mission (INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, to be launched in mid-2001) and the NASA GLAST mission (Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope) with a likely launch in the middle of the next decade. These two missions will extend the observational capabilities well beyond those of CGRO. New technologies (to gamma-ray astronomy), such as cooled germanium detectors, silicon strip detectors, and CdTe detectors are planned for these new missions. Additional promising new technologies such as CdZnTe strip detectors, scintillator fibers, and a gamma-ray lens for future gamma-ray astronomy missions are under development in laboratories around the world.

Gamma-ray Output Spectra from 239 Pu Fission

DOE PAGES

Ullmann, John

2015-05-25

The gamma-ray multiplicities, individual gamma-ray energy spectra, and total gamma energy spectra following neutron-induced fission of 239Pu were measured using the DANCE detector at Los Alamos. Corrections for detector response were made using a forward-modeling technique based on propagating sets of gamma rays generated from a paramaterized model through a GEANT model of the DANCE array and adjusting the parameters for best fit to the measured spectra. The results for the gamma-ray spectrum and multiplicity are in general agreement with previous results, but the measured total gamma-ray energy is about 10% higher. We found that a dependence of the gamma-raymore » spectrum on the gamma-ray multplicity was also observed. Finally, global model calculations of the multiplicity and gamma energy distributions are in good agreement with the data, but predict a slightly softer total-energy distribution.« less

The gamma-ray observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

An overview is given of the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) mission. Detection of gamma rays and gamma ray sources, operations using the Space Shuttle, and instruments aboard the GRO, including the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), the Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE), the Imaging Compton Telescope (COMPTEL), and the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) are among the topics surveyed.

Radio Detection of the Fermi-LAT Blind Search Millisecond Pulsar J1311-3430

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, P. S.; Ransom, S. M.; Cheung, C. C.; Giroletti, M.; Cognard, I.; Camilo, F.; Bhattacharyya, B.; Roy, J.; Romani, R. W.; Ferrara, E. C.;

Radio Detection of the FERMI-LAT Blind Search Millisecond Pulsar J1311–3430

DOE PAGES

Ray, P. S.; Ransom, S. M.; Cheung, C. C.; ...

2013-01-02

In this article, we report the detection of radio emission from PSR J1311–3430, the first millisecond pulsar (MSP) discovered in a blind search of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) gamma-ray data. We detected radio pulsations at 2 GHz, visible for <10% of ~4.5 hr of observations using the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Observations at 5 GHz with the GBT and at several lower frequencies with Parkes, Nançay, and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope resulted in non-detections. We also report the faint detection of a steep spectrum continuum radio source (0.1 mJy at 5 GHz) in interferometric imaging observations with themore » Jansky Very Large Array. These detections demonstrate that PSR J1311–3430 is not radio quiet and provide additional evidence that radio-quiet MSPs are rare. The radio dispersion measure of 37.8 pc cm –3 provides a distance estimate of 1.4 kpc for the system, yielding a gamma-ray efficiency of 30%, typical of LAT-detected MSPs. Lastly, we see apparent excess delay in the radio pulses as the pulsar appears from eclipse and we speculate on possible mechanisms for the non-detections of the pulse at other orbital phases and observing frequencies.« less

RADIO DETECTION OF THE FERMI-LAT BLIND SEARCH MILLISECOND PULSAR J1311-3430

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ray, P. S.; Wood, K. S.; Ransom, S. M.

2013-01-20

We report the detection of radio emission from PSR J1311-3430, the first millisecond pulsar (MSP) discovered in a blind search of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) gamma-ray data. We detected radio pulsations at 2 GHz, visible for <10% of {approx}4.5 hr of observations using the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). Observations at 5 GHz with the GBT and at several lower frequencies with Parkes, Nancay, and the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope resulted in non-detections. We also report the faint detection of a steep spectrum continuum radio source (0.1 mJy at 5 GHz) in interferometric imaging observations with the Jansky Very Largemore » Array. These detections demonstrate that PSR J1311-3430 is not radio quiet and provide additional evidence that radio-quiet MSPs are rare. The radio dispersion measure of 37.8 pc cm{sup -3} provides a distance estimate of 1.4 kpc for the system, yielding a gamma-ray efficiency of 30%, typical of LAT-detected MSPs. We see apparent excess delay in the radio pulses as the pulsar appears from eclipse and we speculate on possible mechanisms for the non-detections of the pulse at other orbital phases and observing frequencies.« less

Gamma Irradiation Upregulates B-cell Translocation Gene 2 to Attenuate Cell Proliferation of Lung Cancer Cells Through the JNK and NF-κB Pathways.

PubMed

Wang, Peihe; Cai, Yuanyuan; Lin, Dongju; Jiang, Yingxiao

2017-08-07

Gamma ray can promote cancer cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. It is often used in the clinical treatment of tumors, including lung cancer. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of gamma ray treatment and its correlation with BTG2 in cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest regulation in a lung cancer cell line. A549 cell viability, apoptosis rate, and cell cycle were investigated after gamma ray treatment. We then used siRNA for BTG2 to detect the effect of BTG2 knockdown on the progress of gamma ray-treated lung cancer cells. Finally, we investigated the signaling pathway by which gamma ray might regulate BTG2. We found that gamma ray inhibited A549 cell viability and promoted apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, while BTG2 knockdown could relieve the effect caused by gamma ray on A549 cells. Moreover, we confirmed that the effect of BTG2 partly depends on p53 expression and gamma ray-promoting BTG2 expression through the JNK/NF-κB signaling pathway. Our study assessed the possible mechanism of gamma ray in tumor treatment and also investigated the role of BTG2 in gamma ray therapy. All these findings might give a deep understanding of the effect of gamma ray on the progression of lung cancer involving BTG2.

Significance of medium energy gamma ray astronomy in the study of cosmic rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, C. E.; Kniffen, D. A.; Thompson, D. J.; Bignami, G. F.; Cheung, C. Y.

1975-01-01

Medium energy (about 10 to 30 MeV) gamma ray astronomy provides information on the product of the galactic electron cosmic ray intensity and the galactic matter to which the electrons are dynamically coupled by the magnetic field. Because high energy (greater than 100 MeV) gamma ray astronomy provides analogous information for the nucleonic cosmic rays and the relevant matter, a comparison between high energy and medium energy gamma ray intensities provides a direct ratio of the cosmic ray electrons and nucleons throughout the galaxy. A calculation of gamma ray production by electron bremsstrahlung shows that: bremsstrahlung energy loss is probably not negligible over the lifetime of the electrons in the galaxy; and the approximate bremsstrahlung calculation often used previously overestimates the gamma ray intensity by about a factor of two. As a specific example, expected medium energy gamma ray intensities are calculated for the speral arm model.

Gamma-Ray Astronomy Across 6 Decades of Energy: Synergy between Fermi, IACTs, and HAWC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hui, C. Michelle

2017-01-01

Gamma Ray Observatories, Gamma-Ray Astrophysics, GeV TeV Sky Survey, Galaxy, Galactic Plane, Source Distribution, The gamma-ray sky is currently well-monitored with good survey coverage. Many instruments from different waveband/messenger (X rays, gamma rays, neutrinos, gravitational waves) available for simultaneous observations. Both wide-field and pointing instruments in development and coming online in the next decade LIGO

Cosmic Gamma-Rays

Science.gov Websites

[Argonne Logo] [DOE Logo] Cosmic Gamma-Rays Home Publications Talks People Students Argonne > ; HEP > Cosmic Gamma-Rays Projects VERITAS Past Projects TrICE What's New CTA Cosmic Gamma-Rays The

Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope: Highlights of the GeV Sky

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomspon, D. J.

2011-01-01

Because high-energy gamma rays can be produced by processes that also produce neutrinos. the gamma-ray survey of the sky by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope offers a view of potenl ial targds for neutrino observations. Gamma-ray bursts. active galactic nuclei, and supernova remnants are all sites where hadronic, neutrino-producing interactions are plausible. Pulsars, pulsar wind nebulae, and binary sources are all phenomena that reveal leptonic particle acceleration through their gamma-ray emission. \\Vhile important to gamma-ray astrophysics. such sources are of less interest to neutrino studies. This talk will present a broad overview of the constantly changing sky seen with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi spacecraft.

A focal plane detector design for a wide band Laue-lens telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caroli, E.; Auricchio, N.; Bertuccio, G.; Budtz-Jørgensen, C.; Curado da Silva, R. M.; Del Sordo, S.; Frontera, F.; Quadrini, E.; Ubertini, P.; Ventura, G.

2006-06-01

The energy range above 50 keV is important for the study of many open problems in high energy astrophysics such as, non thermal mechanisms in SNR, the study of the high energy cut-offs in AGN spectra, and the detection of nuclear and annihilation lines. In the framework of the definition of a new mission concept for hard X and soft gamma ray (GRI- Gamma Ray Imager) for the next decade, the use of Laue lenses with broad energy band-passes from 100 to 1000 keV is under study. This kind of instruments will be used for deep study the hard X-ray continuum of celestial sources. This new telescope will require focal plane detectors with high detection efficiency over the entire operative range, an energy resolution of few keV at 500 keV and a sensitivity to linear polarization. We describe a possible configuration for the focal plane detector based on CdTe/CZT pixelated layers stacked together to achieve the required detection efficiency at high energy. Each layer can either operate as a separate position sensitive detector and a polarimeter or together with other layers in order to increase the overall full energy efficiency. We report on the current state of art in high Z spectrometers development and on some activities undergoing. Furthermore we describe the proposed focal plane option with the required resources and an analytical summary of the achievable performance in terms of efficiency and polarimetry.

The Andromeda galaxy in gamma-rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oezel, M. E.; Berkhuijsen, E. M.

1987-01-01

Implications of high-energy gamma-ray observations of the Andromeda galaxy with the next generation of satellites Gamma-1 and GRO are discussed in the context of the origin of cosmic rays and gamma-ray processes. The present estimate of the total gamma-ray flux of this galaxy at energies above 100 MeV is a factor of about three less than previous estimates.

Gamma ray spectroscopy in astrophysics. [conferences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cline, T. L. (Editor); Ramaty, R. (Editor)

1978-01-01

Experimental and theoretical aspects of gamma ray spectroscopy in high energy astrophysics are discussed. Line spectra from solar, stellar, planetary, and cosmic gamma rays are examined as well as HEAO investigations, the prospects of a gamma ray observatory, and follow-on X-ray experiments in space.

Gamma-400 Science Objectives Built on the Current HE Gamma-Ray and CR Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moiseev, Alexander; Mitchell, John; Thompson, David

2012-01-01

The main scientific interest of the Russian Gamma-400 team: Observe gamma-rays above approximately 50 GeV with excellent energy and angular resolution with the goals of: (1) Studying the fine spectral structure of the isotropic high-energy gamma-radiation, (2) Attempting to identify the many still-unidentified Fermi-LAT gamma-ray sources. Gamma-400 will likely be the only space-based gamma-ray observatory operating at the end of the decade. In our proposed Gamma-400-LE version, it will substantially improve upon the capabilities of Fermi LAT and AGILE in both LE and HE energy range. Measuring gamma-rays from approx 20 MeV to approx 1 TeV for at least 7 years, Gamma-400-LE will address the topics of dark matter, cosmic ray origin and propagation, neutron stars, flaring pulsars, black holes, AGNs, GRBs, and actively participate in multiwavelength campaigns.

Multiwavelength observations of a VHE gamma-ray flare from PKS 1510-089 in 2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahnen, M. L.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; Arcaro, C.; Babić, A.; Banerjee, B.; Bangale, P.; Barres de Almeida, U.; Barrio, J. A.; Bednarek, W.; Bernardini, E.; Berti, A.; Biasuzzi, B.; Biland, A.; Blanch, O.; Bonnefoy, S.; Bonnoli, G.; Borracci, F.; Bretz, T.; Carosi, R.; Carosi, A.; Chatterjee, A.; Colin, P.; Colombo, E.; Contreras, J. L.; Cortina, J.; Covino, S.; Cumani, P.; Da Vela, P.; Dazzi, F.; De Angelis, A.; De Lotto, B.; de Oña Wilhelmi, E.; Di Pierro, F.; Doert, M.; Domínguez, A.; Dominis Prester, D.; Dorner, D.; Doro, M.; Einecke, S.; Eisenacher Glawion, D.; Elsaesser, D.; Engelkemeier, M.; Fallah Ramazani, V.; Fernández-Barral, A.; Fidalgo, D.; Fonseca, M. V.; Font, L.; Fruck, C.; Galindo, D.; García López, R. J.; Garczarczyk, M.; Gaug, M.; Giammaria, P.; Godinović, N.; Gora, D.; Guberman, D.; Hadasch, D.; Hahn, A.; Hassan, T.; Hayashida, M.; Herrera, J.; Hose, J.; Hrupec, D.; Hughes, G.; Ishio, K.; Konno, Y.; Kubo, H.; Kushida, J.; Kuveždić, D.; Lelas, D.; Lindfors, E.; Lombardi, S.; Longo, F.; López, M.; Majumdar, P.; Makariev, M.; Maneva, G.; Manganaro, M.; Mannheim, K.; Maraschi, L.; Mariotti, M.; Martínez, M.; Mazin, D.; Menzel, U.; Mirzoyan, R.; Moralejo, A.; Moretti, E.; Nakajima, D.; Neustroev, V.; Niedzwiecki, A.; Nievas Rosillo, M.; Nilsson, K.; Nishijima, K.; Noda, K.; Nogués, L.; Paiano, S.; Palacio, J.; Palatiello, M.; Paneque, D.; Paoletti, R.; Paredes, J. M.; Paredes-Fortuny, X.; Pedaletti, G.; Peresano, M.; Perri, L.; Persic, M.; Poutanen, J.; Prada Moroni, P. G.; Prandini, E.; Puljak, I.; Garcia, J. R.; Reichardt, I.; Rhode, W.; Ribó, M.; Rico, J.; Saito, T.; Satalecka, K.; Schroeder, S.; Schweizer, T.; Shore, S. N.; Sillanpää, A.; Sitarek, J.; Šnidarić, I.; Sobczynska, D.; Stamerra, A.; Strzys, M.; Surić, T.; Takalo, L.; Tavecchio, F.; Temnikov, P.; Terzić, T.; Tescaro, D.; Teshima, M.; Torres, D. F.; Torres-Albà, N.; Toyama, T.; Treves, A.; Vanzo, G.; Vazquez Acosta, M.; Vovk, I.; Ward, J. E.; Will, M.; Wu, M. H.; Zarić, D.; Desiante, R.; Becerra González, J.; D'Ammando, F.; Larsson, S.; Raiteri, C. M.; Reinthal, R.; Lähteenmäki, A.; Järvelä, E.; Tornikoski, M.; Ramakrishnan, V.; Jorstad, S. G.; Marscher, A. P.; Bala, V.; MacDonald, N. R.; Kaur, N.; Sameer; Baliyan, K.; Acosta-Pulido, J. A.; Lazaro, C.; Martí-nez-Lombilla, C.; Grinon-Marin, A. B.; Pastor Yabar, A.; Protasio, C.; Carnerero, M. I.; Jermak, H.; Steele, I. A.; Larionov, V. M.; Borman, G. A.; Grishina, T. S.

2017-07-01

Context. PKS 1510-089 is one of only a few flat spectrum radio quasars detected in the very-high-energy (VHE, > 100 GeV) gamma-ray band. Aims: We study the broadband spectral and temporal properties of the PKS 1510-089 emission during a high gamma-ray state. Methods: We performed VHE gamma-ray observations of PKS 1510-089 with the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescopes during a long, high gamma-ray state in May 2015. In order to perform broadband modeling of the source, we have also gathered contemporaneous multiwavelength data in radio, IR, optical photometry and polarization, UV, X-ray, and GeV gamma-ray ranges. We construct a broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) in two periods, selected according to VHE gamma-ray state. Results: PKS 1510-089 was detected by MAGIC during a few day-long observations performed in the middle of a long, high optical and gamma-ray state, showing for the first time a significant VHE gamma-ray variability. Similarly to the optical and gamma-ray high state of the source detected in 2012, it was accompanied by a rotation of the optical polarization angle and the emission of a new jet component observed in radio. However, owing to large uncertainty on the knot separation time, the association with the VHE gamma-ray emission cannot be firmly established. The spectral shape in the VHE band during the flare is similar to those obtained during previous measurements of the source. The observed flux variability sets constraints for the first time on the size of the region from which VHE gamma rays are emitted. We model the broadband SED in the framework of the external Compton scenario and discuss the possible emission site in view of multiwavelength data and alternative emission models.

Observation of nuclear reactors on satellites with a balloon-borne gamma-ray telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Neill, Terrence J.; Kerrick, Alan D.; Ait-Ouamer, Farid; Tumer, O. Tumay; Zych, Allen D.

1989-01-01

Four Soviet nuclear-powered satellites flying over a double Compton gamma-ray telescope resulted in the detection of gamma rays with 0.3-8.0 MeV energies on April 15, 1988, as the balloonborne telescope searched, from a 35-km altitude, for celestial gamma-ray sources. The satellites included Cosmos 1900 and 1932. The USSR is the only nation currently employing moderated nuclear reactors for satellite power; reactors in space may cause significant problems for gamma-ray astronomy by increasing backgrounds, especially in the case of gamma-ray bursts.

Future Hard X-ray and Gamma-Ray Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krawczynski, Henric; Physics of the Cosmos (PCOS) Gamma Ray Science Interest Group (GammaSIG) Team

2017-01-01

With four major NASA and ESA hard X-ray and gamma-ray missions in orbit (Swift, NuSTAR, INTEGRAL, and Fermi) hard X-ray and gamma-ray astronomy is making major contributions to our understanding of the cosmos. In this talk, I will summarize the current and upcoming activities of the Physics of the Cosmos Gamma Ray Science Interest Group and highlight a few of the future hard X-ray and gamma-ray mission discussed by the community. HK thanks NASA for the support through the awards NNX14AD19G and NNX16AC42G and for PCOS travel support.

Probing Intrinsic Properties of Short Gamma-Ray Bursts with Gravitational Waves.

PubMed

Fan, Xilong; Messenger, Christopher; Heng, Ik Siong

2017-11-03

Progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts are thought to be neutron stars coalescing with their companion black hole or neutron star, which are one of the main gravitational wave sources. We have devised a Bayesian framework for combining gamma-ray burst and gravitational wave information that allows us to probe short gamma-ray burst luminosities. We show that combined short gamma-ray burst and gravitational wave observations not only improve progenitor distance and inclination angle estimates, they also allow the isotropic luminosities of short gamma-ray bursts to be determined without the need for host galaxy or light-curve information. We characterize our approach by simulating 1000 joint short gamma-ray burst and gravitational wave detections by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. We show that ∼90% of the simulations have uncertainties on short gamma-ray burst isotropic luminosity estimates that are within a factor of two of the ideal scenario, where the distance is known exactly. Therefore, isotropic luminosities can be confidently determined for short gamma-ray bursts observed jointly with gravitational waves detected by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. Planned enhancements to Advanced LIGO will extend its range and likely produce several joint detections of short gamma-ray bursts and gravitational waves. Third-generation gravitational wave detectors will allow for isotropic luminosity estimates for the majority of the short gamma-ray burst population within a redshift of z∼1.

Pulsed high-energy gamma rays from PSR 1055-52

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fierro, J. M.; Bertsch, D. L.; Brazier, K. T.; Chiang, J.; D'Amico, N.; Fichtel, C. E.; Hartman, R. C.; Hunter, S. D.; Johnston, S.; Kanbach, G.

1993-01-01

The Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) aboard the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory has detected a high-energy gamma-ray source at a position coincident with that of the radio pulsar PSR 1055-52. Analysis of the EGRET data at the radio pulsar period of 197 ms has revealed pulsed gamma-radiation at energies above 300 MeV, making PSR 1055-52 the fifth detected high-energy gamma-ray pulsar. The pulsed radiation from PSR 1055-52 has a very hard photon spectral index of -1.18 +/- 0.16 and a high efficiency for converting its rotational energy into gamma-rays. No unpulsed emission was observed.

Observation of gamma ray bursts and flares by the EGRET telescope on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneid, E. J.; Bertsch, D. L.; Fichtel, C. E.; Hartman, R. C.; Hunter, S. D.; Kwok, P. W.; Mattox, J. R.; Sreekumar, P.; Thompson, D. J.; Kanbach, G.

1992-01-01

The Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory has observed energetic gamma ray bursts and flares. On May 3, 1991, EGRET detected a gamma ray burst both in the energy measuring NaI (Tl) scintillator and independently in the spark chamber imaging assembly. The NaI spectra were accumulated by a special BURST mode of EGRET. The spectra were measured over a range from 1 to 200 MeV, in three sequential spectra of 1,2, and 4 seconds. During the peak of the burst, six individual gamma rays were detected in the spark chamber, allowing a determination of the burst arrival direction. The intense flares of June were also detected. A solar flare on June 4 was observed to last for several minutes and for a brief time, less than a minute, had significant emission of gamma rays exceeding 150 MeV.

INTEGRAL and RXTE Observations of Centaurus A

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rothschild, Richard E.; /San Diego, CASS; Wilms, Joern

2006-01-17

INTEGRAL and RXTE performed three simultaneous observations of the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A in 2003 March, 2004 January, and 2004 February with the goals of investigating the geometry and emission processes via the spectral/temporal variability of the X-ray/low energy gamma ray flux, and intercalibration of the INTEGRAL instruments with respect to those on RXTE. Cen A was detected by both sets of instruments from 3-240 keV. When combined with earlier archival RXTE results, we find the power law continuum flux and the line-of-sight column depth varied independently by 60% between 2000 January and 2003 March. Including the three archivalmore » RXTE observations, the iron line flux was essentially unchanging, and from this we conclude that the iron line emitting material is distant from the site of the continuum emission, and that the origin of the iron line flux is still an open question. Taking X-ray spectral measurements from satellite missions since 1970 into account, we discover a variability in the column depth between 1.0 x 10{sup 23} cm{sup -2} and 1.5 x 10{sup 23} cm{sup -2} separated by approximately 20 years, and suggest that variations in the edge of a warped accretion disk viewed nearly edge-on might be the cause. The INTEGRAL OSA 4.2 calibration of JEM-X, ISGRI, and SPI yields power law indices consistent with the RXTE PCA and HEXTE values, but the indices derived from ISGRI alone are about 0.2 greater. Significant systematics are the limiting factor for INTEGRAL spectral parameter determination.« less

New Worlds / New Horizons Science with an X-ray Astrophysics Probe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Randall K.; Bookbinder, Jay A.; Hornschemeier, Ann E.; Bandler, Simon; Brandt, W. N.; Hughes, John P.; McCammon, Dan; Matsumoto, Hironori; Mushotzky, Richard; Osten, Rachel A.;

Gamma-ray astronomy: From Fermi up to the HAWC high-energy {gamma}-ray observatory in Sierra Negra

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carraminana, Alberto; Collaboration: HAWC Collaboration

Gamma-rays represent the most energetic electromagnetic window for the study of the Universe. They are studied both from space at MeV and GeV energies, with instruments like the Fermi{gamma}-ray Space Telescope, and at TeV energies with ground based instruments profiting of particle cascades in the atmosphere and of the Cerenkov radiation of charged particles in the air or in water. The Milagro gamma-ray observatory represented the first instrument to successfully implement the water Cerenkov technique for {gamma}-ray astronomy, opening the ground for the more sensitive HAWC {gamma}-ray observatory, currently under development in the Sierra Negra site and already providing earlymore » science results.« less

Very High-Energy Gamma-Ray Sources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weekes, Trevor C.

1986-01-01

Discusses topics related to high-energy, gamma-ray astronomy (including cosmic radiation, gamma-ray detectors, high-energy gamma-ray sources, and others). Also considers motivation for the development of this field, the principal results to date, and future prospects. (JN)

Exploring the Extreme Universe with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D. J.

2010-01-01

Because high-energy gamma rays are produced by powerful sources, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope provides a window on extreme conditions in the Universe. Some key observations of the constantly changing gamma-ray sky include: (1) Gamma-rays from pulsars appear to come from a region well above the surface of the neutron star; (2) Multiwavelength studies of blazars show that simple models of jet emission are not always adequate to explain what is seen; (3) Gamma-ray bursts can constrain models of quantum gravity; (4) Cosmic-ray electrons at energies approaching 1 TeV suggest a local source for some of these particles.

The large area high resolution gamma ray astrophysics facility - HR-GRAF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fenyves, E. J.; Chaney, R. C.; Hoffman, J. H.; Cline, D. B.; Atac, M.; Park, J.; White, S. R.; Zych, A. D.; Tumer, Q. T.; Hughes, E. B.

1990-03-01

The long-term program is described in terms of its equipment, scientific objectives, and long-range scientific studies. A prototype of a space-based large-area high-resolution gamma-ray facility (HR-GRAF) is being developed to examine pointlike and diffuse gamma-ray sources in the range 1 MeV-100 GeV. The instrument for the facility is proposed to have high angular and energy resolution and very high sensitivity to permit the study of the proposed objects. The primary research targets include the mapping of galactic gamma radiation, observing the angular variations of diffuse gamma rays, and studying the Galactic center with particular emphasis on the hypothetical black hole. Also included in the research plans are obtaining data on gamma-ray bursters, investigating the transmission of gamma rays from cold dark matter, and studying nuclear gamma-ray lines.

Gamma ray astrophysics. [emphasizing processes and absorption

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stecker, F. W.

1974-01-01

Gamma ray production processes are reviewed, including Compton scattering, synchrotron radiation, bremsstrahlung interactions, meson decay, nucleon-antinucleon annihilations, and pion production. Gamma ray absorption mechanisms through interactions with radiation and with matter are discussed, along with redshifts and gamma ray fluxes.

Portable compton gamma-ray detection system

DOEpatents

Rowland, Mark S [Alamo, CA; Oldaker, Mark E [Pleasanton, CA

2008-03-04

A Compton scattered gamma-ray detector system. The system comprises a gamma-ray spectrometer and an annular array of individual scintillators. The scintillators are positioned so that they are arrayed around the gamma-ray spectrometer. The annular array of individual scintillators includes a first scintillator. A radiation shield is positioned around the first scintillator. A multi-channel analyzer is operatively connected to the gamma-ray spectrometer and the annular array of individual scintillators.

Simultaneous optical/gamma-ray observations of GRBs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greiner, J.; Wenzel, W.; Hudec, R.; Moskalenko, E. I.; Metlov, V.; Chernych, N. S.; Getman, V. S.; Ziener, Rainer; Birkle, K.; Bade, N.

1994-01-01

Details on the project to search for serendipitous time correlated optical photographic observations of Gamma Ray Bursters (GRB's) are presented. The ongoing photographic observations at nine observatories are used to look for plates which were exposed simultaneously with a gamma ray burst detected by the gamma ray instrument team (BATSE) and contain the burst position. The results for the first two years of the gamma ray instrument team operation are presented.

Topics in gamma ray astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramaty, R.; Lingenfelter, R. E.

1986-01-01

Observations of gamma rays from solar flares, gamma ray bursts, the Galactic center, galactic nucleosynthesis, SS433, and Cygnus X-3, and their effects on astrophysical problems are discussed. It is observed that gamma ray spectra from solar flares are applicable to the study of particle acceleration and confinement and the determination of chemical abundances in the solar atmosphere. The gamma ray lines from the compact galactic object SS433 are utilized to examine the acceleration of jets, and analysis of the gamma ray lines of Cygnus X-3 reveal that particles can be accelerated in compact sources to ultrahigh energies.

Future prospects for gamma-ray

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, C.

1980-01-01

Astrophysical phenomena discussed are: the very energetic and nuclear processes associated with compact objects; astrophysical nucleo-synthesis; solar particle acceleration; the chemical composition of the planets and other bodies of the solar system; the structure of our galaxy; the origin and dynamic pressure effects of the cosmic rays; the high energy particles and energetic processes in other galaxies, especially active ones; and the degree of matter antimater symmetry of the universe. The gamma ray results of GAMMA-I, the gamma ray observatory, the gamma ray burst network, solar polar, and very high energy gamma ray telescopes on the ground provide justification for more sophisticated telescopes.

Arcsec source location measurements in gamma-ray astronomy from a lunar observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koch, D. G.; Hughes, B. E.

1990-03-01

The physical processes typically used in the detection of high energy gamma-rays do not permit good angular resolution, which makes difficult the unambiguous association of discrete gamma-ray sources with objects emitting at other wavelengths. This problem can be overcome by placing gamma-ray detectors on the moon and using the horizon as an occulting edge to achieve arcsec resolution. For the purpose of discussion, this concept is examined for gamma rays above about 20 MeV for which pair production dominates the detection process and locally-generated nuclear gamma rays do not contribute to the background.

Detection of high-energy gamma-ray emission from the globular cluster 47 Tucanae with Fermi.

PubMed

Abdo, A A; Ackermann, M; Ajello, M; Atwood, W B; Axelsson, M; Baldini, L; Ballet, J; Barbiellini, G; Bastieri, D; Baughman, B M; Bechtol, K; Bellazzini, R; Berenji, B; Blandford, R D; Bloom, E D; Bonamente, E; Borgland, A W; Bregeon, J; Brez, A; Brigida, M; Bruel, P; Burnett, T H; Caliandro, G A; Cameron, R A; Caraveo, P A; Casandjian, J M; Cecchi, C; Celik, O; Charles, E; Chaty, S; Chekhtman, A; Cheung, C C; Chiang, J; Ciprini, S; Claus, R; Cohen-Tanugi, J; Conrad, J; Cutini, S; Dermer, C D; de Palma, F; Digel, S W; Dormody, M; do Couto e Silva, E; Drell, P S; Dubois, R; Dumora, D; Farnier, C; Favuzzi, C; Fegan, S J; Focke, W B; Frailis, M; Fukazawa, Y; Fusco, P; Gargano, F; Gasparrini, D; Gehrels, N; Germani, S; Giebels, B; Giglietto, N; Giordano, F; Glanzman, T; Godfrey, G; Grenier, I A; Grove, J E; Guillemot, L; Guiriec, S; Hanabata, Y; Harding, A K; Hayashida, M; Hays, E; Horan, D; Hughes, R E; Jóhannesson, G; Johnson, A S; Johnson, R P; Johnson, T J; Johnson, W N; Kamae, T; Katagiri, H; Kawai, N; Kerr, M; Knödlseder, J; Kuehn, F; Kuss, M; Lande, J; Latronico, L; Lemoine-Goumard, M; Longo, F; Loparco, F; Lott, B; Lovellette, M N; Lubrano, P; Makeev, A; Mazziotta, M N; McConville, W; McEnery, J E; Meurer, C; Michelson, P F; Mitthumsiri, W; Mizuno, T; Moiseev, A A; Monte, C; Monzani, M E; Morselli, A; Moskalenko, I V; Murgia, S; Nolan, P L; Norris, J P; Nuss, E; Ohsugi, T; Omodei, N; Orlando, E; Ormes, J F; Paneque, D; Panetta, J H; Parent, D; Pelassa, V; Pepe, M; Pierbattista, M; Piron, F; Porter, T A; Rainò, S; Rando, R; Razzano, M; Rea, N; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Reposeur, T; Ritz, S; Rochester, L S; Rodriguez, A Y; Romani, R W; Roth, M; Ryde, F; Sadrozinski, H F-W; Sanchez, D; Sander, A; Saz Parkinson, P M; Sgrò, C; Smith, D A; Smith, P D; Spandre, G; Spinelli, P; Starck, J-L; Strickman, M S; Suson, D J; Tajima, H; Takahashi, H; Tanaka, T; Thayer, J B; Thayer, J G; Thompson, D J; Tibaldo, L; Torres, D F; Tosti, G; Tramacere, A; Uchiyama, Y; Usher, T L; Vasileiou, V; Vilchez, N; Vitale, V; Wang, P; Webb, N; Winer, B L; Wood, K S; Ylinen, T; Ziegler, M

2009-08-14

We report the detection of gamma-ray emissions above 200 megaelectron volts at a significance level of 17sigma from the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, using data obtained with the Large Area Telescope onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Globular clusters are expected to emit gamma rays because of the large populations of millisecond pulsars that they contain. The spectral shape of 47 Tucanae is consistent with gamma-ray emission from a population of millisecond pulsars. The observed gamma-ray luminosity implies an upper limit of 60 millisecond pulsars present in 47 Tucanae.

Discoveries by the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gehrels, Neil

2011-01-01

Fermi is a large space gamma-ray mission developed by NASA and the DOE with major contributions from France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Sweden. It was launched in June 2008 and has been performing flawlessly since then. The main instrument is the Large Area Telescope (LAT) operating in the 20 MeV to 300 GeV range and a smaller monitor instrument is the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) operating in the 8 keV to 40 MeV range. New findings are occurring every week. Some of the key discoveries are: 1) Discovery of many new gamma-ray pulsars, including gamma-ray only and millisecond pulsars. 2) Detection of high energy gamma-ray emission from globular clusters, most likely due to summed emission from msec pulsars. 3) Discovery of delayed and extended high energy gamma-ray emission from short and long gamma-ray busts. 4) Detection of approximately 250 gamma-ray bursts per year with the GBM instrument. 5) Most accurate measurement of the cosmic ray electron spectrum between 30 GeV and 1 TeV, showing some excess above the conventional diffusion model. The talk will present the new discoveries and their implications.

Comparison of solar hard X-ray and UV line and continuum bursts with high time resolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Orwig, L. E.; Woodgate, B. E.

1986-01-01

A comparison of data sets from the UV Spectrometer and Polarimeter and Hard X-ray Burst Spectrometer instruments on SMM has established the close relationship of the impulsive phase hard X-ray and UV continuum and OV line emissions, lending support to the notion that they have a similar origin low in the solar atmosphere. These results severely constrain models that attempt to explain impulsive phase hard X-rays and UV emission; alternative processes of impulsive-phase UV continuum production should accordingly be considered. Attention is given to an electron beam 'hole boring' mechanism and a photoionization radiation transport mechanism.

Gamma-ray irradiation enhanced boron-10 compound accumulation in murine tumors.

PubMed

Liu, Yong; Nagata, Kenji; Masunaga, Shin-ichiro; Suzuki, Minoru; Kashino, Genro; Kinashi, Yuko; Tanaka, Hiroki; Sakurai, Yoshinori; Maruhashi, Akira; Ono, Koji

2009-11-01

Previous studies have demonstrated that X-ray irradiation affects angiogenesis in tumors. Here, we studied the effects of gamma-ray irradiation on boron-10 compound accumulation in a murine tumor model. The mouse squamous cell carcinoma was irradiated with gamma-ray before BSH ((10)B-enriched borocaptate sodium) administration. Then, the boron-10 concentrations in tumor and normal muscle tissues were measured by prompt gamma-ray spectrometry (PGA). A tumor blood flow assay was performed, and cell killing effects of neutron irradiation with various combinations of BSH and gamma-rays were also examined. BSH concentrations of tumor tissues were 16.1 +/- 0.6 microg/g, 16.7 +/- 0.5 microg/g and 17.8 +/- 0.5 microg/g at 72 hours after gamma-ray irradiation at doses of 5, 10, and 20 Gy, compared with 13.1 +/- 0.5 microg/g in unirradiated tumor tissues. The enhancing inhibition of colony formation by neutron irradiation with BSH was also found after gamma-ray irradiation. In addition, increasing Hoechst 33342 perfusion was also observed. In this study, we demonstrated that gamma-ray irradiation enhances BSH accumulation in tumors. The present results suggest that the enhancement of (10)B concentration that occurs after gamma-ray irradiation may be due to the changes in the extracellular microenvironment, including in tumor vessels, induced by gamma-ray irradiation.

Ninteenth International Cosmic Ray Conference. OG Sessions, Volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, F. C. (Compiler)

1985-01-01

Contributed papers addressing cosmic ray origin and galactic phenomena are compiled. The topic areas covered in this volume include gamma ray bursts, gamma rays from point sources, and diffuse gamma ray emission.

Gamma rays from Centaurus A

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gupta, Nayantara, E-mail: nayan@phy.iitb.ac.in

2008-06-15

Centaurus A, the cosmic ray accelerator a few Mpc away from us, is possibly one of the nearest sources of extremely high energy cosmic rays. We investigate whether the gamma ray data currently available from Centaurus A in the GeV-TeV energy band can be explained with only proton-proton interactions. We show that for a single power law proton spectrum, mechanisms of {gamma}-ray production other than proton-proton interactions are needed inside this radio-galaxy to explain the gamma ray flux observed by EGRET, upper limits from HESS/CANGAROO-III and the correlated extremely energetic cosmic ray events observed by the Pierre Auger experiment. Inmore » future, with better {gamma}-ray data, and simultaneous observation with {gamma}-ray and cosmic ray detectors, it will be possible to carry out such studies on different sources in more detail.« less

Fermi gamma-ray imaging of a radio galaxy.

PubMed

Abdo, A A; Ackermann, M; Ajello, M; Atwood, W B; Baldini, L; Ballet, J; Barbiellini, G; Bastieri, D; Baughman, B M; Bechtol, K; Bellazzini, R; Berenji, B; Blandford, R D; Bloom, E D; Bonamente, E; Borgland, A W; Bregeon, J; Brez, A; Brigida, M; Bruel, P; Burnett, T H; Buson, S; Caliandro, G A; Cameron, R A; Caraveo, P A; Casandjian, J M; Cavazzuti, E; Cecchi, C; Celik, O; Chekhtman, A; Cheung, C C; Chiang, J; Ciprini, S; Claus, R; Cohen-Tanugi, J; Colafrancesco, S; Cominsky, L R; Conrad, J; Costamante, L; Cutini, S; Davis, D S; Dermer, C D; de Angelis, A; de Palma, F; Digel, S W; do Couto e Silva, E; Drell, P S; Dubois, R; Dumora, D; Farnier, C; Favuzzi, C; Fegan, S J; Finke, J; Focke, W B; Fortin, P; Fukazawa, Y; Funk, S; Fusco, P; Gargano, F; Gasparrini, D; Gehrels, N; Georganopoulos, M; Germani, S; Giebels, B; Giglietto, N; Giordano, F; Giroletti, M; Glanzman, T; Godfrey, G; Grenier, I A; Grove, J E; Guillemot, L; Guiriec, S; Hanabata, Y; Harding, A K; Hayashida, M; Hays, E; Hughes, R E; Jackson, M S; Jóhannesson, G; Johnson, A S; Johnson, T J; Johnson, W N; Kamae, T; Katagiri, H; Kataoka, J; Kawai, N; Kerr, M; Knödlseder, J; Kocian, M L; Kuss, M; Lande, J; Latronico, L; Lemoine-Goumard, M; Longo, F; Loparco, F; Lott, B; Lovellette, M N; Lubrano, P; Madejski, G M; Makeev, A; Mazziotta, M N; McConville, W; McEnery, J E; Meurer, C; Michelson, P F; Mitthumsiri, W; Mizuno, T; Moiseev, A A; Monte, C; Monzani, M E; Morselli, A; Moskalenko, I V; Murgia, S; Nolan, P L; Norris, J P; Nuss, E; Ohsugi, T; Omodei, N; Orlando, E; Ormes, J F; Paneque, D; Parent, D; Pelassa, V; Pepe, M; Pesce-Rollins, M; Piron, F; Porter, T A; Rainò, S; Rando, R; Razzano, M; Razzaque, S; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Reposeur, T; Ritz, S; Rochester, L S; Rodriguez, A Y; Romani, R W; Roth, M; Ryde, F; Sadrozinski, H F-W; Sambruna, R; Sanchez, D; Sander, A; Saz Parkinson, P M; Scargle, J D; Sgrò, C; Siskind, E J; Smith, D A; Smith, P D; Spandre, G; Spinelli, P; Starck, J-L; Stawarz, Ł; Strickman, M S; Suson, D J; Tajima, H; Takahashi, H; Takahashi, T; Tanaka, T; Thayer, J B; Thayer, J G; Thompson, D J; Tibaldo, L; Torres, D F; Tosti, G; Tramacere, A; Uchiyama, Y; Usher, T L; Vasileiou, V; Vilchez, N; Vitale, V; Waite, A P; Wallace, E; Wang, P; Winer, B L; Wood, K S; Ylinen, T; Ziegler, M; Hardcastle, M J; Kazanas, D

2010-05-07

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has detected the gamma-ray glow emanating from the giant radio lobes of the radio galaxy Centaurus A. The resolved gamma-ray image shows the lobes clearly separated from the central active source. In contrast to all other active galaxies detected so far in high-energy gamma-rays, the lobe flux constitutes a considerable portion (greater than one-half) of the total source emission. The gamma-ray emission from the lobes is interpreted as inverse Compton-scattered relic radiation from the cosmic microwave background, with additional contribution at higher energies from the infrared-to-optical extragalactic background light. These measurements provide gamma-ray constraints on the magnetic field and particle energy content in radio galaxy lobes, as well as a promising method to probe the cosmic relic photon fields.

Characterizing near-surface elemental layering on Mars using gamma-ray spectroscopy: A proof-of-principle experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peplowski, Patrick N.; Wilson, Jack T.; Beck, Andrew W.; Burks, Morgan; Goldsten, John O.; Lawrence, David J.

2018-01-01

Gamma-ray spectroscopy investigations characterize the chemical composition of planetary surfaces by measuring element-characteristic gamma rays with energies of ∼100 keV to ∼9 MeV. Over this energy range, the mean free path of a gamma ray varies from about 1 to 25 cm, therefore gamma-ray measurements sample subsurface composition. Many elements emit gamma rays at multiple, often widely spaced energies, so gamma-ray measurements can in principle also be used to identify depth-dependent variations in subsurface composition. We report results from laboratory measurements and radiation transport modeling designed to demonstrate this capability. The laboratory measurements verified the presence of depth-dependent gamma-ray signatures, and were then used to benchmark radiation transport simulations that were used to model realistic Mars-like scenarios. The models indicate that compositionally distinct subsurface deposits, buried to depths of ∼80 cm (125 g/cm2), can be identified using gamma-ray measurements. Going beyond identification to characterization (burial depth, relative composition of the layers) of the deposits requires knowledge of the vertical and horizontal variability in the water content of the near-surface surface materials, the local Galactic Cosmic Ray environment (magnitude and energy distribution), the depth-dependent neutron flux, gamma-ray production cross sections, and knowledge of the composition and column density of the atmosphere. The results of our experiments and models provided a basis for examining the utility of using orbiter- and lander-based gamma-ray measurements to identify subsurface deposits on Mars.

Fermi LAT Search for Dark Matter in Gamma-Ray Lines and the Inclusive Photon Spectrum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Albert, A.; Baldini, L.; Barbiellini, G.; Bechtol, K.; Bellazzini, R.; Berenji, B.; Blandford, R. D.; Bloom, E. D.;

Fermi LAT search for dark matter in gamma-ray lines and the inclusive photon spectrum

DOE PAGES

Ackermann, M.

2012-07-05

Dark matter particle annihilation or decay can produce monochromatic gamma-ray lines and contribute to the diffuse gamma-ray background. Furthermore, we present the flux upper limits for gamma-ray spectral lines from 7 to 200 GeV and for the diffuse gamma-ray background from 4.8 GeV to 264 GeV obtained from two years of Fermi Large Area Telescope data integrated over most of the sky. Here, we give cross-section upper limits and decay lifetime lower limits for dark matter models that produce gamma-ray lines or contribute to the diffuse spectrum, including models proposed as explanations of the PAMELA and Fermi cosmic-ray data.

The Role of Beam Geometry in Population Statistics and Pulse Profiles of Radio and Gamma-ray Pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gonthier, Peter L.; VanGuilder, Robert; Harding, Alice K.

2004-01-01

We present results of a pulsar population synthesis study that incorporates a number of recent developments and some significant improvements over our previous study. We have included the results of the Parkes multi-beam pulsar survey in our select group of nine radio surveys, doubling our sample of radio pulsars. More realistic geometries for the radio and gamma-ray beams are included in our Monte Carlo computer code that simulates the characteristics of the Galactic population of radio and gamma-ray pulsars. We adopted with some modifications the radio beam geometry of Arzoumanian, Chernoff & Cordes (2002). For the gamma-ray beam, we have assumed the slot gap geometry described in the work of Muslimov & Harding (2003). To account for the shape of the distribution of radio pulsars in the P(dot) - P diagram, we continue to find that decay of the magnetic field on a timescale of 2.8 Myr is needed. With all nine surveys, our model predicts that EGRET should have seen 7 radio-quiet (below the sensitivity of these radio surveys) and 19 radio-loud gamma-ray pulsars. AGILE (nominal sensitivity map) is expected to detect 13 radio-quiet and 37 radio-loud gamma-ray pulsars, while GLAST, with greater sensitivity is expected to detect 276 radio-quiet and 344 radio-loud gamma-ray pulsars. When the Parkes multi-beam pulsar survey is excluded, the ratio of radio-loud to radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars decreases, especially for GLAST. The decrease for EGRET is 45%, implying that some fraction of EGRET unidentified sources are radio-loud gamma-ray pulsars. In the radio geometry adopted, short period pulsars are core dominated. Unlike the EGRET gamma-ray pulsars, our model predicts that when two gamma-ray peaks appear in the pulse profile, a dominant radio core peak appears in between the gamma-ray peaks. Our findings suggest that further improvements are required in describing both the radio and gamma-ray geometries.

Characteristics of Gamma-Ray Loud Blazars in the VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Linford, J. D.; Taylor, G. B.; Romani, R. W.; Healey, S. E.; Helmboldt, J. F.; Readhead, A. C.; Reeves, R.; Richards, J. L.; Cotter, G.

2010-01-01

The radio properties of blazars detected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have been observed as part of the VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey. This large, flux-limited sample of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) provides insights into the mechanism that produces strong gamma-ray emission. At lower flux levels, radio flux density does not directly correlate with gamma-ray flux. We find that the LAT-detected BL Lac objects tend to be similar to the non-LAT BL Lac objects, but that the LAT-detected FSRQs are often significantly different from the non-LAT FSRQs. The differences between the gamma-ray loud and quiet FSRQS can be explained by Doppler boosting; these objects appear to require larger Doppler factors than those of the BL Lac objects. It is possible that the gamma-ray loud FSRQs are fundamentally different from the gamma-ray quiet FSRQs. Strong polarization at the base of the jet appears to be a signature for gamma-ray loud AGNs.

Probe for contamination detection in recyclable materials

DOEpatents

Taleyarkhan, Rusi

2003-08-05

A neutron detection system for detection of contaminants contained within a bulk material during recycling includes at least one neutron generator for neutron bombardment of the bulk material, and at least one gamma ray detector for detection of gamma rays emitted by contaminants within the bulk material. A structure for analyzing gamma ray data is communicably connected to the gamma ray detector, the structure for analyzing gamma ray data adapted. The identity and concentration of contaminants in a bulk material can also be determined. By scanning the neutron beam, discrete locations within the bulk material having contaminants can be identified. A method for recycling bulk material having unknown levels of contaminants includes the steps of providing at least one neutron generator, at least one gamma ray detector, and structure for analyzing gamma ray data, irradiating the bulk material with neutrons, and then determining the presence of at least one contaminant in the bulk material from gamma rays emitted from the bulk material.

Photon-induced positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy using ultrashort laser-Compton-scattered gamma-ray pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taira, Y.; Toyokawa, H.; Kuroda, R.; Yamamoto, N.; Adachi, M.; Tanaka, S.; Katoh, M.

2013-05-01

High-energy ultrashort gamma-ray pulses can be generated via laser Compton scattering with 90° collisions at the UVSOR-II electron storage ring. As an applied study of ultrashort gamma-ray pulses, a new photon-induced positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy approach has been developed. Ultrashort gamma-ray pulses with a maximum energy of 6.6 MeV and pulse width of 2.2 ps created positrons throughout bulk lead via pair production. Annihilation gamma rays were detected by a BaF2 scintillator mounted on a photomultiplier tube. A positron lifetime spectrum was obtained by measuring the time difference between the RF frequency of the electron storage ring and the detection time of the annihilation gamma rays. We calculated the response of the BaF2 scintillator and the time jitter caused by the variation in the total path length of the ultrashort gamma-ray pulses, annihilation gamma rays, and scintillation light using a Monte Carlo simulation code. The positron lifetime for bulk lead was successfully measured.

Gamma-Ray Bursts: An Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fishman, Gerald J.

1995-01-01

A history and overview of the observed properties of gamma-ray bursts are presented. The phenomenon of gamma-ray bursts is without precedent in astronomy, having no observed property that would be a direct indicator of their distance and no counterpart object in another wavelength region. Their brief, random appearance only in the gamma-ray region has made their study difficult. The observed time profiles, spectral properties, and durations of gamma-ray bursts cover a wide range. All proposed models for their origin must be considered speculative. It is humbling to think that even after 25 years since their discovery, the distance scale of gamma-ray bursts is still very much debatable.

The Einstein@Home Gamma-ray Pulsar Survey. II. Source Selection, Spectral Analysis, and Multiwavelength Follow-up

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, J.; Clark, C. J.; Pletsch, H. J.; Guillemot, L.; Johnson, T. J.; Torne, P.; Champion, D. J.; Deneva, J.; Ray, P. S.; Salvetti, D.; Kramer, M.; Aulbert, C.; Beer, C.; Bhattacharyya, B.; Bock, O.; Camilo, F.; Cognard, I.; Cuéllar, A.; Eggenstein, H. B.; Fehrmann, H.; Ferrara, E. C.; Kerr, M.; Machenschalk, B.; Ransom, S. M.; Sanpa-Arsa, S.; Wood, K.

2018-02-01

We report on the analysis of 13 gamma-ray pulsars discovered in the Einstein@Home blind search survey using Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) Pass 8 data. The 13 new gamma-ray pulsars were discovered by searching 118 unassociated LAT sources from the third LAT source catalog (3FGL), selected using the Gaussian Mixture Model machine-learning algorithm on the basis of their gamma-ray emission properties being suggestive of pulsar magnetospheric emission. The new gamma-ray pulsars have pulse profiles and spectral properties similar to those of previously detected young gamma-ray pulsars. Follow-up radio observations have revealed faint radio pulsations from two of the newly discovered pulsars and enabled us to derive upper limits on the radio emission from the others, demonstrating that they are likely radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars. We also present results from modeling the gamma-ray pulse profiles and radio profiles, if available, using different geometric emission models of pulsars. The high discovery rate of this survey, despite the increasing difficulty of blind pulsar searches in gamma rays, suggests that new systematic surveys such as presented in this article should be continued when new LAT source catalogs become available.

Recommended Priorities for NASA's Gamma Ray Astronomy Program 1999-2013

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carol, Ladd

1999-01-01

The Gamma-Ray Astronomy Program Working Group (GRAPWG) recommends priorities for the NASA Gamma-Ray Astronomy Program. The highest priority science topic is nuclear astrophysics and sites of gamma ray line emission. Other high priority topics are gamma ray bursts, hard x-ray emission from accreting black holes and neutron stars, the Advanced Compton Telescope (ACT), the High-resolution Spectroscopic Imager (HSI), and the Energetic X-ray Imaging Survey Telescope (EXIST). The recommendations include special consideration for technology development, TeV astronomy, the ultra-long duration balloon (ULDB) program, the International Space Station, optical telescope support, and data analysis and theory.

Observational techniques for solar flare gamma-rays, hard X-rays, and neutrons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, Robert P.

1989-01-01

The development of new instrumentation and techniques for solar hard X-ray, gamma ray and neutron observations from spacecraft and/or balloon-borne platforms is examined. The principal accomplishments are: (1) the development of a two segment germanium detector which is near ideal for solar hard X-ray and gamma ray spectroscopy; (2) the development of long duration balloon flight techniques and associated instrumentation; and (3) the development of innovative new position sensitive detectors for hard X-ray and gamma rays.

Gamma-ray transfer and energy deposition in supernovae

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swartz, Douglas A.; Sutherland, Peter G.; Harkness, Robert P.

1995-01-01

Solutions to the energy-independent (gray) radiative transfer equations are compared to results of Monte Carlo simulations of the Ni-56 and Co-56 decay gamma-ray energy deposition in supernovae. The comparison shows that an effective, purely absorptive, gray opacity, kappa(sub gamma) approximately (0. 06 +/- 0.01)Y(sub e) sq cm/g, where Y is the total number of electrons per baryon, accurately describes the interaction of gamma-rays with the cool supernova gas and the local gamma-ray energy deposition within the gas. The nature of the gamma-ray interaction process (dominated by Compton scattering in the relativistic regime) creates a weak dependence of kappa(sub gamma) on the optical thickness of the (spherically symmetric) supernova atmosphere: The maximum value of kappa(sub gamma) applies during optically thick conditions when individual gamma-rays undergo multiple scattering encounters and the lower bound is reached at the phase characterized by a total Thomson optical depth to the center of the atmosphere tau(sub e) approximately less than 1. Gamma-ray deposition for Type Ia supernova models to within 10% for the epoch from maximum light to t = 1200 days. Our results quantitatively confirm that the quick and efficient solution to the gray transfer problem provides an accurate representation of gamma-ray energy deposition for a broad range of supernova conditions.

Characteristics of gamma-ray line flares

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bai, T.; Dennis, B.

1983-01-01

Observations of solar gamma rays by the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) demonstrate that energetic protons and ions are rapidly accelerated during the impulsive phase. To understand the acceleration mechanisms for these particles, the characteristics of the gamma ray line flares observed by SMM were studied. Some very intense hard X-ray flares without detectable gamma ray lines were also investigated. Gamma ray line flares are distinguished from other flares by: (1) intense hard X-ray and microwave emissions; (2) delay of high energy hard X-rays; (3) emission of type 2 and/or type 4 radio bursts; and (4) flat hard X-ray spectra (average power law index: 3.1). The majority of the gamma ray line flares shared all these characteristics, and the remainder shared at least three of them. Positive correlations were found between durations of spike bursts and spatial sizes of flare loops as well as between delay times and durations of spike bursts.

Measurements of Cyclotron Features and Pulse Periods in the High-Mass X-Ray Binaries 4U 1538-522 and 4U 1907+09 with the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hemphill, Paul B.; Rothschild, Richard E.; Caballero, Isabel; Pottschmidt, Katja; Kuhnel, Matthias; Furst, Felix; Wilms, Jorn

2013-01-01

We present a spectral and timing analysis of International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) observations of two high-mass X-ray binaries, 4U 1538-522 and 4U 1907+09. Our timing measurements for 4U 1538-522 find the pulse period to have exhibited a spin-up trend until approximately 2009, after which there is evidence for a torque reversal, with the source beginning to spin down to the most recently measured period of 525.407 plus or minus 0.001 seconds. The most recent INTEGRAL observations of 4U 1907+09 are not found to yield statistically significant pulse periods due to the significantly lower flux from the source compared with 4U 1538-522. A spectral model consisting of a power-law continuum with an exponential cutoff and modified by two cyclotron resonance scattering features is found to fit both sources well, with the cyclotron scattering features detected at approximately 22 and approximately 49 kiloelectronvolts for 4U 1538-522 and at approximately 18 and approximately 36 kiloelectronvolts for 4U 1907+09. The spectral parameters of 4U 1538-522 are generally not found to vary significantly with flux and there is little to no variation across the torque reversal. Examining our results in conjunction with previous work, we find no evidence for a correlation between cyclotron line energy and luminosity for 4U 1538-522. 4U 1907+09 shows evidence for a positive correlation between cyclotron line energy and luminosity, which would make it the fourth, and lowest luminosity, cyclotron line source to exhibit this relationship.

MEASUREMENTS OF CYCLOTRON FEATURES AND PULSE PERIODS IN THE HIGH-MASS X-RAY BINARIES 4U 1538–522 AND 4U 1907+09 WITH THE INTERNATIONAL GAMMA-RAY ASTROPHYSICS LABORATORY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hemphill, Paul B.; Rothschild, Richard E.; Caballero, Isabel

We present a spectral and timing analysis of International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) observations of two high-mass X-ray binaries, 4U 1538–522 and 4U 1907+09. Our timing measurements for 4U 1538–522 find the pulse period to have exhibited a spin-up trend until approximately 2009, after which there is evidence for a torque reversal, with the source beginning to spin down to the most recently measured period of 525.407 ± 0.001 s. The most recent INTEGRAL observations of 4U 1907+09 are not found to yield statistically significant pulse periods due to the significantly lower flux from the source compared with 4U 1538–522.more » A spectral model consisting of a power-law continuum with an exponential cutoff and modified by two cyclotron resonance scattering features is found to fit both sources well, with the cyclotron scattering features detected at ∼22 and ∼49 keV for 4U 1538–522 and at ∼18 and ∼36 keV for 4U 1907+09. The spectral parameters of 4U 1538–522 are generally not found to vary significantly with flux and there is little to no variation across the torque reversal. Examining our results in conjunction with previous work, we find no evidence for a correlation between cyclotron line energy and luminosity for 4U 1538–522. 4U 1907+09 shows evidence for a positive correlation between cyclotron line energy and luminosity, which would make it the fourth, and lowest luminosity, cyclotron line source to exhibit this relationship.« less

Surface chemistry of selected lunar regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bielefeld, M. J.; Reedy, R. C.; Metzger, A. E.; Trombka, J. I.; Arnold, J. R.

1976-01-01

A completely new analysis has been carried out on the data from the Apollo 15 and 16 gamma ray spectrometer experiments. The components of the continuum background have been estimated. The elements Th, K, Fe and Mg give useful results; results for Ti are significant only for a few high Ti regions. Errors are given, and the results are checked by other methods. Concentrations are reported for about sixty lunar regions; the ground track has been subdivided in various ways. The borders of the maria seem well-defined chemically, while the distribution of KREEP is broad. This wide distribution requires emplacement of KREEP before the era of mare formation. Its high concentration in western mare soils seems to require major vertical mixing.

The POPOP4 library and codes for preparing secondary gamma-ray production cross sections

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ford, W. E., III

1972-01-01

The POPOP4 code for converting secondary gamma ray yield data to multigroup secondary gamma ray production cross sections and the POPOP4 library of secondary gamma ray yield data are described. Recent results of the testing of uranium and iron data sets from the POPOP4 library are given. The data sets were tested by comparing calculated secondary gamma ray pulse height spectra measured at the ORNL TSR-II reactor.

Cross sections for production of the 15.10 MeV and other astrophysically significant gamma-ray lines through excitation and spallation of sup 12 C and sup 16 O with protons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lang, F. L.; Werntz, C. W.; Crannell, C. J.; Trombka, J. I.; Chang, C. C.

1986-01-01

The ratio of the flux of 15.10-MeV gamma rays to the flux of 4.438-MeV gamma rays resulting from excitation of the corresponding states in C-12 as a sensitive measure of the spectrum of the exciting particles produced in solar flares and other cosmic sources. These gamma rays are produced predominantly by interactions with C-12 and O-16, both of which are relatively abundant in the solar photosphere. Gamma ray production cross sections for proton interactions have been reported previously for all important channels except for the production of 15.10-MeV gamma rays from O-16. The first reported measurement of the 15.10-MeV gamma ray production cross section from p + O-16 is presented here. The University of Maryland cyclotron was employed to produce 40-, 65-, and 86-MeV protons which interacted with CH2 and BeO targets. The resultant gamma ray spectra were measured with a high-purity germanium semiconductor detector at 70, 90, 110, 125, and 140 degrees relative to the direction of the incident beam for each proton energy. Other gamma ray lines resulting from direct excitation and spallation reactions with C-12 and 0-16 were observed as well, and their gamma ray production cross sections described.

The self-absorption effect of gamma rays in /sup 239/Pu

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hsu, Hsiao-Hua

1989-01-01

Nuclear materials assay with gamma-ray spectrum measurement is a well-established method for safeguards. However, for a thick source, the self-absorption of characteristic low-energy gamma rays has been a handicap to accurate assay. I have carried out Monte Carlo simulations to study this effect using the /sup 239/Pu ..cap alpha..-decay gamma-ray spectrum as an example. The thickness of a plutonium metal source can be considered a function of gamma-ray intensity ratios. In a practical application, gamma-ray intensity ratios can be obtained from a measured spectrum. With the help of calculated curves, scientists can find the source thickness and make corrections tomore » gamma-ray intensities, which then lead to an accurate quantitative determination of radioactive isotopes in the material. 2 refs., 9 figs.« less

Using gamma-ray emission to measure areal density of inertial confinement fusion capsulesa)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffman, N. M.; Wilson, D. C.; Herrmann, H. W.; Young, C. S.

2010-10-01

Fusion neutrons streaming from a burning inertial confinement fusion capsule generate gamma rays via inelastic nuclear scattering in the ablator of the capsule. The intensity of gamma-ray emission is proportional to the product of the ablator areal density (ρR) and the yield of fusion neutrons, so by detecting the gamma rays we can infer the ablator areal density, provided we also have a measurement of the capsule's total neutron yield. In plastic-shell capsules, for example, C12 nuclei emit gamma rays at 4.44 MeV after excitation by 14.1 MeV neutrons from D+T fusion. These gamma rays can be measured by a new gamma-ray detector under development. Analysis of predicted signals is in progress, with results to date indicating that the method promises to be useful for diagnosing imploded capsules.

Characterization of gamma rays existing in the NMIJ standard neutron field.

PubMed

Harano, H; Matsumoto, T; Ito, Y; Uritani, A; Kudo, K

2004-01-01

Our laboratory provides national standards on fast neutron fluence. Neutron fields are always accompanied by gamma rays produced in neutron sources and surroundings. We have characterised these gamma rays in the 5.0 MeV standard neutron field. Gamma ray measurement was performed using an NE213 liquid scintillator. Pulse shape discrimination was incorporated to separate the events induced by gamma rays from those by neutrons. The measured gamma ray spectra were unfolded with the HEPRO program package to obtain the spectral fluences using the response matrix prepared with the EGS4 code. Corrections were made for the gamma rays produced by neutrons in the detector assembly using the MCNP4C code. The effective dose equivalents were estimated to be of the order of 25 microSv at the neutron fluence of 10(7) neutrons cm(-2).

A Search for Ultra--High-Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from Five Supernova Remnants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, G. E.; Berley, D.; Biller, S.; Burman, R. L.; Cavalli-Sforza, M.; Chang, C. Y.; Chen, M. L.; Chumney, P.; Coyne, D.; Dion, C. L.; Dorfan, D.; Ellsworth, R. W.; Goodman, J. A.; Haines, T. J.; Hoffman, C. M.; Kelley, L.; Klein, S.; Schmidt, D. M.; Schnee, R.; Shoup, A.; Sinnis, C.; Stark, M. J.; Williams, D. A.; Wu, J.-P.; Yang, T.; Yodh, G. B.

1995-07-01

The majority of the cosmic rays in our Galaxy with energies in the range of ~1010--1014 eV are thought to be accelerated in supernova remnants (SNRs). Measurements of SNR gamma-ray spectra in this energy region could support or contradict this concept. The Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) collaboration has reported six sources of gamma rays above 108 eV whose coordinates are coincident with SNRs. Five of these sources are within the field of view of the CYGNUS extensive air shower detector. A search of the CYGNUS data set reveals no evidence of gamma-ray emission at energies ~1014 eV for these five SNRs. The flux upper limits from the CYGNUS data are compared to the lower energy fluxes measured with the EGRET detector using Drury, Aharonian, & Volk's recent model of gamma-ray production in the shocks of SNRs. The results suggest one or more of the following: (1) the gamma-ray spectra for these five SNRs soften by about 1014 eV, (2) the integral gamma-ray spectra of the SNRs are steeper than about E-1.3, or (3) most of the gamma rays detected with the EGRET instrument for each SNR are not produced in the SNR's shock but are produced at some other site (such as a pulsar).

Gamma Ray Bursts-Afterglows and Counterparts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fishman, Gerald J

1998-01-01

Several breakthrough discoveries were made last year of x-ray, optical and radio afterglows and counterparts to gamma-ray bursts, and a redshift has been associated with at least one of these. These discoveries were made possible by the fast, accurate gamma-ray burst locations of the BeppoSAX satellite. It is now generally believed that the burst sources are at cosmological distances and that they represent the most powerful explosions in the Universe. These observations also open new possibilities for the study of early star formation, the physics of extreme conditions and perhaps even cosmology. This session will concentrate on recent x-ray, optical and radio afterglow observations of gamma-ray bursts, associated redshift measurements, and counterpart observations. Several review and theory talks will also be presented, along with a summary of the astrophysical implications of the observations. There will be additional poster contributions on observations of gamma-ray burst source locations at wavelengths other than gamma rays. Posters are also solicited that describe new observational capabilities for rapid follow-up observations of gamma-ray bursts.

GRI: The Gamma-Ray Imager mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knödlseder, J.; Gri Consortium

Observations of the gamma-ray sky reveal the most powerful sources and the most violent events in the Universe While at lower wavebands the observed emission is generally dominated by thermal processes the gamma-ray sky provides us with a view on the non-thermal Universe Here particles are accelerated to extreme relativistic energies by mechanisms which are still poorly understood and nuclear reactions are synthesizing the basic constituents of our world Cosmic accelerators and cosmic explosions are the major science themes that are addressed in the gamma-ray regime With the INTEGRAL observatory ESA has provided a unique tool to the astronomical community and has put Europe in the lead in the field of gamma-ray astronomy INTEGRAL provides an unprecedented survey of the soft gamma-ray sky revealing hundreds of sources new classes of objects extraordinary views of antimatter annihilation in our Galaxy and fingerprints of recent nucleosynthesis processes While INTEGRAL has provided the global overview over the soft gamma-ray sky there is a growing need to perform deeper more focused investigations of gamma-ray sources In soft X-rays a comparable step was taken going from the Einstein satellite to the XMM Newton observatory Technological advances in the past years in the domain of gamma-ray focusing using Laue diffraction and multilayer-coated mirror techniques have paved the way towards a gamma-ray mission providing major improvements compared to past missions regarding sensitivity and angular resolution Such a

Primary gamma-rays with E gamma or = to 10(15) eV: Evidence for ultrahigh energy particle acceleration in galactic sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aharonian, F. A.; Mamidjanian, E. A.; Nikolsky, S. I.; Tukish, E. I.

1985-01-01

The recently observed primary ultra high energy gamma-rays (UHEGR) testify to the cosmic ray (CR) acceleration in the Galaxy. The available data may be interpreted as gamma-ray production due to photomeson production in CR sources.

X-ray and gamma ray astronomy detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decher, Rudolf; Ramsey, Brian D.; Austin, Robert

1994-01-01

X-ray and gamma ray astronomy was made possible by the advent of space flight. Discovery and early observations of celestial x-rays and gamma rays, dating back almost 40 years, were first done with high altitude rockets, followed by Earth-orbiting satellites> once it became possible to carry detectors above the Earth's atmosphere, a new view of the universe in the high-energy part of the electromagnetic spectrum evolved. Many of the detector concepts used for x-ray and gamma ray astronomy were derived from radiation measuring instruments used in atomic physics, nuclear physics, and other fields. However, these instruments, when used in x-ray and gamma ray astronomy, have to meet unique and demanding requirements related to their operation in space and the need to detect and measure extremely weak radiation fluxes from celestial x-ray and gamma ray sources. Their design for x-ray and gamma ray astronomy has, therefore, become a rather specialized and rapidly advancing field in which improved sensitivity, higher energy and spatial resolution, wider spectral coverage, and enhanced imaging capabilities are all sought. This text is intended as an introduction to x-ray and gamma ray astronomy instruments. It provides an overview of detector design and technology and is aimed at scientists, engineers, and technical personnel and managers associated with this field. The discussion is limited to basic principles and design concepts and provides examples of applications in past, present, and future space flight missions.

Future Facilities for Gamma-Ray Pulsar Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D. J.

2003-01-01

Pulsars seen at gamma-ray energies offer insight into particle acceleration to very high energies, along with information about the geometry and interaction processes in the magnetospheres of these rotating neutron stars. During the next decade, a number of new gamma-ray facilities will become available for pulsar studies. This brief review describes the motivation for gamma-ray pulsar studies, the opportunities for such studies, and some specific discussion of the capabilities of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) Large Area Telescope (LAT) for pulsar measurements.

Gamma ray constraints on the Galactic supernova rate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartmann, D.; The, L.-S.; Clayton, Donald D.; Leising, M.; Mathews, G.; Woosley, S. E.

1991-01-01

We perform Monte Carlo simulations of the expected gamma ray signatures of Galactic supernovae of all types to estimate the significance of the lack of a gamma ray signal due to supernovae occurring during the last millenium. Using recent estimates of the nuclear yields, we determine mean Galactic supernova rates consistent with the historic supernova record and the gamma ray limits. Another objective of these calculations of Galactic supernova histories is their application to surveys of diffuse Galactic gamma ray line emission.

Gamma ray constraints on the galactic supernova rate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartmann, D.; The, L.-S.; Clayton, D. D.; Leising, M.; Mathews, G.; Woosley, S. E.

1992-01-01

Monte Carlo simulations of the expected gamma-ray signatures of galactic supernovae of all types are performed in order to estimate the significance of the lack of a gamma-ray signal due to supernovae occurring during the last millenium. Using recent estimates of nuclear yields, we determine galactic supernova rates consistent with the historic supernova record and the gamma-ray limits. Another objective of these calculations of galactic supernova histories is their application to surveys of diffuse galactic gamma-ray line emission.

Fission prompt gamma-ray multiplicity distribution measurements and simulations at DANCE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chyzh, A; Wu, C Y; Ullmann, J

2010-08-24

The nearly energy independence of the DANCE efficiency and multiplicity response to {gamma} rays makes it possible to measure the prompt {gamma}-ray multiplicity distribution in fission. We demonstrate this unique capability of DANCE through the comparison of {gamma}-ray energy and multiplicity distribution between the measurement and numerical simulation for three radioactive sources {sup 22}Na, {sup 60}Co, and {sup 88}Y. The prospect for measuring the {gamma}-ray multiplicity distribution for both spontaneous and neutron-induced fission is discussed.

The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fishman, Gerald J.

2004-01-01

Gamma-ray bursts remain one of the greatest mysteries in astrophysics. Observations of gamma-ray bursts made by the BATSE experiment on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory will be described. Most workers in the field now believe that they originate from cosmological distances. This view has been reinforced by observations this year of several optical afterglow counterparts to gamma-ray bursts. A summary of these recent discoveries will be presented, along with their implications for models of the burst emission mechanism and the energy source of the bursts.

The Goddard program of gamma ray transient astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cline, T. L.; Desai, U. D.; Teegarden, B. J.

1980-01-01

Gamma ray burst studies are reviewed. The past results, present status and future expectations are outlined regarding endeavors using experiments on balloons, IMP-6 and -7, OGO-3, ISEE-1 and -3, Helios-2, Solar Maximum Mission, the Einstein Observatory, Solar Polar and the Gamma Ray Observatory, and with the interplanetary gamma ray burst networks, to which some of these spacecraft sensors contribute. Additional emphasis is given to the recent discovery of a new type of gamma ray transient, detected on 1979 March 5.

The Origin of the UCSD X-ray Astronomy Program - A Personal Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Laurence E.

2013-01-01

I was a graduate student in the late 1950’s at the University of Minnesota in the Cosmic Ray Group under Prof. John R. Winckler. He had a project monitoring Cosmic ray time variations from an extensive series of balloon flights using simple detectors during the International Geophysical Year 1957-58. During the 20 March 1958 flight, a short 18 sec. burst of high energy radiation was observed simultaneously with a class II Solar flare. From the ratio of the Geiger counter rate to the energy loss in the ionization chamber, it was determined this radiation was likely hard X-rays or low-energy gamma rays and not energetic particles. Further analysis using information from other concurrent observations indicated the X-rays were likely due to Bremsstrahlung from energetic electrons accelerated in the solar flare magnetic field; these same electrons produced radio emissions. This first detection of extra-terrestrial X- or gamma rays showed the importance of non-thermal processes in Astrophysical phenomena. Winckler and I were interested by the possibility of non-solar hard X-rays. While completing my thesis on a Cosmic ray topic, I initiated a balloon program to develop more sensitive collimated low-background scintillation counters. This led to a proposal to the newly formed NASA to place an exploratory instrument on the 1st Orbiting Solar Observatory launched 7 March 1962. In August that year, I assumed a tenure-track position at UCSD; the data analysis of OSO-1 and the balloon program were transferred to UCSD to initiate the X-ray Astronomy program. The discovery of Cosmic X-ray sources in the 1-10 Kev range on a rocket flight in June 1962 by Giacconi and colleagues gave impetus to the UCSD activities. It seemed evident cosmic X-ray sources could be detected above 20 Kev using high-flying balloons. Early results included measurements of the 50 million K gas in SCO X-1, and the X-ray continuum from the Crab Nebula characterized by a power-law dN/dE ~ E-2.2. The instrument developments resulted in ever more sophisticated and sensitive counter systems. Follow-on instruments were flown on OSO-III and OSO-VII by the early 70’s, the HEAO-1 in 1976, and the RXTE in 1995. These provided many new results on Cosmic X-rays.

Space-Borne Observations of Intense Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGFs) Above Thunderstorms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fishman, Gerald J.

2011-01-01

Intense millisecond flashes of MeV photons have been observed with space-borne detectors. These terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) were discovered with the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) aboard the Compton Gamma- Ray Observatory (CGRO) in the early 1990s. They are now being observed with several other instruments, including the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) detectors on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Although Fermi-GBM was designed and optimized for the observation of cosmic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), it has unprecedented capabilities for these TGF observations. On several occasions, intense beams of high-energy electrons and positrons have been observed at the geomagnetic conjugate points of TGFs.

Low energy gamma ray emission from the Cygnus OB2 association

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Wan; White, Richard L.

1992-01-01

According to our newly developed model of gamma-ray emission from chaotic early-type stellar winds, we predict the combined gamma-ray flux from the circumstellar winds of many very luminous early-type stars in the Cyg OB2 association can be detectable by the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) (and maybe also by OSSE) on CGRO. Due to different radiation mechanisms, the gamma-ray spectrum from stellar winds can be quite different from that of CYG X-3; this spectral difference and the time-variation of Cyg X-3 flux will help to distinguish the gamma-ray components from different sources in this small region, which is spatially unresolvable by CGRO.

Production of gamma rays with energies greater than 30 MeV in the atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D.; Fichtel, C.; Kniffen, D.

1974-01-01

A three-dimensional study of atmospheric gamma rays with energy greater than 30 MeV has been carried out. Experimental results were obtained from four balloon flights from Palestine, Texas, with a 15 cm by 15 cm digitized wire grid spark chamber. The energy spectrum for downward-moving gamma rays steepens with increasing atmospheric depth. Near the top of the atmosphere, the spectrum steepens with increasing zenith angle. Experimental results compare reasonably well with a three-dimensional Monte Carlo calculation of atmospheric gamma ray production. Inclusion of upward-moving gamma rays makes possible the use of atmospheric secondaries for in-flight calibration of satellite gamma ray detectors.

Soft gamma rays from black holes versus neutron stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liang, Edison P.

1992-01-01

The recent launches of GRANAT and GRO provide unprecedented opportunities to study compact collapsed objects from their hard x ray and gamma ray emissions. The spectral range above 100 keV can now be explored with much higher sensitivity and time resolution than before. The soft gamma ray spectral data is reviewed of black holes and neutron stars, radiation, and particle energization mechanisms and potentially distinguishing gamma ray signatures. These may include soft x ray excesses versus deficiencies, thermal versus nonthermal processes, transient gamma ray bumps versus power law tails, lines, and periodicities. Some of the highest priority future observations are outlines which will shed much light on such systems.

Buildup factor and mechanical properties of high-density cement mixed with crumb rubber and prompt gamma ray study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aim-O, P.; Wongsawaeng, D.; Tancharakorn, S.; Sophon, M.

2017-09-01

High-density cement mixed with crumb rubber has been studied to be a gamma ray and neutron shielding material, especially for photonuclear reactions that may occur from accelerators where both types of radiation exist. The Buildup factors from gamma ray scattering, prompt and secondary gamma ray emissions from neutron capture and mechanical properties were evaluated. For buildup factor studies, two different geometries were used: narrow beam and broad beam. Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) was carried out to determine the prompt and secondary gamma ray emissions. The compressive strength of samples was evaluated by using compression testing machine which was central point loading crushing test. The results revealed that addition of crumb rubber increased the buildup factor. Gamma ray spectra following PGNAA revealed no prompt or secondary gamma ray emission. Mechanical testing indicated that the compressive strength of the shielding material decreased with increasing volume percentage of crumb rubber.

A model for the UHE gamma-rays from Hercules X-1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eichler, D.; Vestrand, W. T.

1985-01-01

An outburst of gamma rays with energies E gamma 10 to the 12th power eV was recently detected from the X-ray pulsar Hercules X-1. The outburst had a 3 minute duration and occurred at a time during the 35 day X-ray modulation that is associated with X-ray turnon. The gamma rays also have the same 1.24 second modulation that is observed at X-ray energies. Subsequently a 40 minute outburst was detected at E gamma 10 to the 14th power eV. The interaction of ultrahigh energy particles with a precessing accretion disk explain the observed gamma ray light curve. The constraints one can place on acceleration mechanisms and the possibility that the UHE particles are accelerated by shocks in an accretion flow are explained.

The gamma-ray light curves of SN 1987A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leising, Mark D.; Share, Gerald H.

1990-01-01

Observations of the SN 1987A ejecta in four Co-56-decay gamma-ray lines, obtained using the SMM gamma-ray spectrometer between February 1987 and May 1989, are reported and analyzed. The instrument characteristics and data-reduction procedures are described, and the results are presented in extensive tables and graphs and discussed with reference to theoretical models. Gamma-ray fluxes significantly above possible instrumental levels (as determined from analysis of pre-1987 data) were detected in the second half of 1987 and the first half of 1988. The data are found to favor a model with some Co-56 in regions of low gamma-ray optical depth by 200 d after the SN outburst over models with all Co-56 at one depth within a uniform expanding envelope. Also investigated are the gamma-ray contribution to the total bolometric luminosity and the escape (and potential observability) of Co-57 gamma rays.

Nineteenth International Cosmic Ray Conference. Conference Papers: Invited Rapporteur, Highlight, Miscellaneous, Volume 9

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, F. C. (Compiler)

1986-01-01

Invited talks, rapporteur talks, and highlight talks are included. Topics of the invited and highlight talks include astrophysical jets, gamma-ray line astronomy, cosmic rays and gamma rays in astrophysics, the early universe, elementary particle physics, solar flares and acceleration of energetic particles, cosmogenic nuclei, extragalactic astronomy, composition of solar flare particles, very high energy gamma ray sources, gamma-ray bursts, shock acceleration in the solar wind, cosmic rays in deep underground detectors, spectrum of cosmic rays at 10 to the 19th power eV, and nucleus-nucleus interactions.

Goddard Space Flight Center contributions to the University of California, Santa Cruz Summer Workshop on High Energy Transients

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

Topics addressing the characteristics and emission mechanisms of gamma ray bursts and neutron and gamma ray emission from solar flares are discussed. In addition, observational aspects of gamma ray astronomy are addressed with particular attention given to optical transients associated with gamma ray bursts.

Analysis of Data from the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kniffen, Donald A.; Elliott, William W.

1999-01-01

The final report consists of summaries of work proposed, work accomplished, papers and presentations published and continuing work regarding the cooperative agreement. The work under the agreement is based on high energy gamma ray source data analysis collected from the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET).

Fermi-LAT detection of ongoing gamma-ray activity from the new gamma-ray source Fermi J1654-1055 (PMN J1632-1052)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kocevski, D.; Ajello, M.; Buson, S.; Buehler, R.; Giomi, M.

2016-02-01

During the week between February 8 and 15, 2016, the Large Area Telescope (LAT), one of the two instruments on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, observed gamma-ray activity from a new transient source, Fermi J1654-1055.

High energy gamma-ray observations of SN 1987A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sood, R. K.; Thomas, J. A.; Waldron, L.; Manchanda, R. K.; Rochester, G. K.

1988-01-01

Results are presented from observations of SN 1987A made with a combined high energy gamma ray and hard X-ray payload carried on a balloon flight over Alice Springs, Australia on April 5, 1988. The payload instrumentation is described, emphasizing the characteristics of the gamma-ray detector. The gamma-ray emission profile is illustrated and the preliminary results of the observations are summarized.

GLAST and Ground-Based Gamma-Ray Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McEnery, Julie

2008-01-01

The launch of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope together with the advent of a new generation of ground-based gamma-ray detectors such as VERITAS, HESS, MAGIC and CANGAROO, will usher in a new era of high-energy gamma-ray astrophysics. GLAST and the ground based gamma-ray observatories will provide highly complementary capabilities for spectral, temporal and spatial studies of high energy gamma-ray sources. Joint observations will cover a huge energy range, from 20 MeV to over 20 TeV. The LAT will survey the entire sky every three hours, allowing it both to perform uniform, long-term monitoring of variable sources and to detect flaring sources promptly. Both functions complement the high-sensitivity pointed observations provided by ground-based detectors. Finally, the large field of view of GLAST will allow a study of gamma-ray emission on large angular scales and identify interesting regions of the sky for deeper studies at higher energies. In this poster, we will discuss the science returns that might result from joint GLAST/ground-based gamma-ray observations and illustrate them with detailed source simulations.

TEV GAMMA-RAY OBSERVATIONS OF THE GALACTIC CENTER RIDGE BY VERITAS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Archer, A.; Buckley, J. H.; Bugaev, V.

2016-04-20

The Galactic Center ridge has been observed extensively in the past by both GeV and TeV gamma-ray instruments revealing a wealth of structure, including a diffuse component and the point sources G0.9+0.1 (a composite supernova remnant) and Sgr A* (believed to be associated with the supermassive black hole located at the center of our Galaxy). Previous very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray observations with the H.E.S.S. experiment have also detected an extended TeV gamma-ray component along the Galactic plane in the >300 GeV gamma-ray regime. Here we report on observations of the Galactic Center ridge from 2010 to 2014 by themore » VERITAS telescope array in the >2 TeV energy range. From these observations we (1) provide improved measurements of the differential energy spectrum for Sgr A* in the >2 TeV gamma-ray regime, (2) provide a detection in the >2 TeV gamma-ray emission from the composite SNR G0.9+0.1 and an improved determination of its multi-TeV gamma-ray energy spectrum, and (3) report on the detection of VER J1746-289, a localized enhancement of >2 TeV gamma-ray emission along the Galactic plane.« less

A New View of the High Energy Gamma-Ray Sky with the Ferrni Gamma-Ray Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McEnery, Julie

2009-01-01

Following its launch in June 2008, high energy gamma-ray observations by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have opened a new and important window on a wide variety of phenomena, including pulsars, black holes and active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, supernova remnants and the origin of cosmic rays, and searches for hypothetical new phenomena such as super symmetric dark matter annihilations. In this talk I will describe the current status of the Fermi observatory and review the science highlights from the first year of observations.

Study of gamma spectrometry laboratory measurement in various sediment and vulcanic rocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurhandoko, Bagus Endar B.; Kurniadi, Rizal; Rizka Asmara Hadi, Muhammad; Rizal Komara, Insan

2017-01-01

Gamma-ray spectroscopy is the quantitative study of the energy spectra of gamma-ray sources. This method is powerful to characterize some minerals, especially to differentiate rocks which contains among Potassium, Uranium, dan Thorium. Rock contains radioactive material which produce gamma rays in various energies and intensities. When these emissions are detected and analyzed with a spectroscopy system, a gamma-ray energy spectrum can be used as indicator for mineral content of rock. Some sediment and vulcanic rock have been collected from East Java Basin. Samples are ranging from Andesite vulcanics, Tuff, Shale, various vulcanic clay and Alluvial clay. We present some unique characteristics of gamma spectrometry in various sedimentar and vulcanic rocks of East Java Basins. Details contents of gamma ray spectra give enrichments to characterize sample of sediment and vulcanic in East Java. Weathered vulcanic clay has lower counting rate of gamma ray than alluvial deltaic clay counting rate. Therefore, gamma spectrometrometry can be used as tool for characterizing the enviroment of clay whether vulcanic or alluvial-deltaic. This phenomena indicates that gamma ray spectrometry can be as tool for characterizing the clay whether it tends to Smectite or Illite

Repeated irradiations with gamma-rays at a Dose of 0.5 Gy may exacerbate asthma.

PubMed

Fang, Su-ping; Tago, Fumitoshi; Tanaka, Takashi; Simura, Noriko; Muto, Yasuko; Goto, Resuke; Kojima, Shuji

2005-06-01

We previously showed that 0.5 Gy whole-body gamma-ray irradiation with a single or small number of repeated exposures inhibits tumor growth in mice, via elevation of the IFN-gamma/IL-4 ratio concomitantly with a decrease in the percentage of B cells. Here we examined whether repeated 0.5 Gy gamma-rays irradiation can improve asthma in an OVA-induced asthmatic mouse model. We found that repeated irradiation (10 times) with 0.5 Gy of gamma-rays significantly increased total IgE in comparison with the disease-control group. The levels of IL-4 and IL-5 were also significantly higher in the gamma-ray-irradiated group, while that of IFN-gamma was significantly lower, resulting in a further decrease of the IFN-gamma/IL-4 ratio from the normal value. These results indicate that the repeated irradiation with gamma-rays may exacerbate asthma, and may have opposite effects on different immune reactions unlike the irradiation with a single or small number of repeated exposures.

Suppression of Hydrogen Emission in an X-Class White-Light Solar Flare

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prochazka, Ondrej; Milligan, Ryan O.; Allred, Joel C.; Kowalski, Adam F.; Kotrc, Pavel; Mathioudakis, Mihalis

2017-01-01

We present unique NUV observations of a well-observed X-class flare from NOAA 12087 obtained at the Ondrejov Observatory. The flare shows a strong white-light continuum but no detectable emission in the higher Balmer and Lyman lines. Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager and Fermi observations indicate an extremely hard X-ray spectrum and gamma-ray emission. We use the RADYN radiative hydrodynamic code to perform two types of simulations: one where an energy of 3 x 10(exp 11) erg/sq cm/s is deposited by an electron beam with a spectral index of approx. = 3, and a second where the same energy is applied directly to the photosphere. The combination of observations and simulations allows us to conclude that the white-light emission and the suppression or complete lack of hydrogen emission lines is best explained by a model where the dominant energy deposition layer is located in the lower layers of the solar atmosphere, rather than the chromosphere.

Lightning Initiation and Propagation

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-08-22

ray (gamma ray ) and multiple-station (>24) cosmic - ray - muon detection network (TERA) pl:esently in place. Upgrade TERA with LaBr3 detectors to...DATES COVERED 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Lightning Initistion and Propagation Including the Role of X- Rays , Gamma Rays , and Cosmic Rays 5a... rays , gamma rays , and cosmic rays in the initiation and propagation of lightning and in the phenomenology of thunderclouds. The experimental

GLAST: Exploring Nature's Highest Energy Processes with the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Digel, Seth; Myers, J. D.; White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) is an international and multi-agency space mission that will study the cosmos in the energy range 10 keV-300 GeV. Several successful exploratory missions in gamma-ray astronomy led to the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO). Launched in 1991, EGRET made the first complete survey of the sky in the 30 MeV-10 GeV range. EGRET showed the high-energy gamma-ray sky to be surprisingly dynamic and diverse, with sources ranging from the sun and moon to massive black holes at large redshifts. Most of the gamma-ray sources detected by EGRET remain unidentified. In light of the discoveries with EGRET, the great potential of the next generation gamma-ray telescope can be appreciated. GLAST will have an imaging gamma-ray telescope vastly more capable than instruments flown previously, as well as a secondary instrument to augment the study of gamma-ray bursts. The main instrument, the Large Area Telescope (LAT), will have superior area, angular resolution, field of view, and deadtime that together will provide a factor of 30 or more advance in sensitivity, as well as provide capability for study of transient phenomena. The GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM) will have a field of view several times larger than the LAT and will provide spectral coverage of gamma-ray bursts that extends from the lower limit of the LAT down to 10 keV. The basic parameters of the GBM are compared to those of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) instrument on CGRO in Table 1-2. With the LAT and GBM, GLAST will be a flexible observatory for investigating the great range of astrophysical phenomena best studied in high-energy gamma rays. NASA plans to launch GLAST in late 2005.

Gamma-Ray Observations of the Supernova Remnant RX J0852.0-4622 with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tanaka, T.; Allafort, A.; Ballet, J.; Funk, S.; Giordano, F.; Hewitt, J.; Lemoine-Goumard, M.; Tajima, H.; Tibolla, O.; Uchiyama, Y.

2011-01-01

We report on gamma-ray observations of the supernova remnant (SNR) RX J0852.04622 with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. In the Fermi-LAT data, we find a spatially extended source at the location of the SNR. The extension is consistent with the SNR size seen in other wavelengths such as X-rays and TeV gamma rays, leading to the identification of the gamma-ray source with the SNR. The spectrum is well described as a power law with a photon index of = 1.85 0.06 (stat)+0.18 0.19 (sys), which smoothly connects to the H.E.S.S. spectrum in the TeV energy band. We discuss the gamma-ray emission mechanism based on multiwavelength data. The broadband data can be fit well by a model in which the gamma rays are of hadronic origin. We also consider a scenario with inverse Compton scattering of electrons as the emission mechanism of the gamma rays. Although the leptonic model predicts a harder spectrum in the Fermi-LAT energy range, the model can fit the data considering the statistical and systematic errors.

Gamma-Ray Pulsar Candidates for GLAST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D. J.

2008-01-01

The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) will be launched this year, and its Large Area Telescope (LAT) is expected to discover scores to hundreds of gamma-ray pulsars. This poster discusses which of the over 1700 known pulsars, mostly visible only at radio frequencies, are likely to emit greater than 100 MeV gamma rays with intensities detectable by the LAT. The main figure of merit used to select gamma-ray pulsar candidates is sqrt(E-dot)/d2, where E-dot is the energy loss due to rotational spin-down, and d is the distance to the pulsar. The figure of merit incorporates spin-down flux at earth (proportional to E-dot/d2) times efficiency, assumed proportional to l/sqrt(E-dot). A few individual objects are cited to illustrate the issues. Since large E-dot pulsars also tend to have large timing noise and occasional glitches, their ephemerides can become inaccurate in weeks to months. To detect and study the gamma-ray emission the photons must be accurately tagged with the pulse phase. With hours to days between gamma-ray photon arrival times from a pulsar and months to years of LAT exposure needed for good detections, GLAST will rely on radio and X-ray timing measurements throughout the continuous gamma-ray observations. The poster will describe efforts to coordinate pulsar timing of the candidate gamma-ray pulsars.

Low energy prompt gamma-ray tests of a large volume BGO detector.

PubMed

Naqvi, A A; Kalakada, Zameer; Al-Anezi, M S; Raashid, M; Khateeb-ur-Rehman; Maslehuddin, M; Garwan, M A

2012-01-01

Tests of a large volume Bismuth Germinate (BGO) detector were carried out to detect low energy prompt gamma-rays from boron and cadmium-contaminated water samples using a portable neutron generator-based Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) setup. Inspite of strong interference between the sample- and the detector-associated prompt gamma-rays, an excellent agreement has been observed between the experimental and calculated yields of the prompt gamma-rays, indicating successful application of the large volume BGO detector in the PGNAA analysis of bulk samples using low energy prompt gamma-rays. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

THE KINEMATICS AND IONIZATION OF NUCLEAR GAS CLOUDS IN CENTAURUS A

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bicknell, Geoffrey V.; Sutherland, Ralph S.; Neumayer, Nadine, E-mail: Geoff.Bicknell@anu.edu.au, E-mail: Ralph.Sutherland@anu.edu.au, E-mail: nadine.neumayer@universe-cluster.de

2013-03-20

Neumayer et al. established the existence of a blueshifted cloud in the core of Centaurus A, within a few parsecs of the nucleus and close to the radio jet. We propose that the cloud has been impacted by the jet, and that it is in the foreground of the jet, accounting for its blueshifted emission on the southern side of the nucleus. We consider both shock excitation and photoionization models for the excitation of the cloud. Shock models do not account for the [Si VI] and [Ca VIII] emission line fluxes. However, X-ray observations indicate a source of ionizing photonsmore » in the core of Centaurus A; photoionization by the inferred flux incident on the cloud can account for the fluxes in these lines relative to Brackett-{gamma}. The power-law slope of the ionizing continuum matches that inferred from synchrotron models of the X-rays. The logarithm of the ionization parameter is -1.9, typical of that in Seyfert galaxies and consistent with the value proposed for dusty ionized plasmas. The model cloud density depends upon the Lorentz factor of the blazar and the inclination of our line of sight to the jet axis. For acute inclinations, the inferred density is consistent with expected cloud densities. However, for moderate inclinations of the jet to the line of sight, high Lorentz factors imply cloud densities in excess of 10{sup 5} cm{sup -3} and very low filling factors, suggesting that models of the gamma-ray emission should incorporate jet Lorentz factors {approx}< 5.« less

MEGA: the next generation Medium Energy Gamma-ray Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryan, James M.; Andritschke, Robert; Bloser, Peter F.; Cravens, James P.; Cherry, Michael L.; Di Cocco, Guido; Guzik, T. G.; Hartmann, Dieter H.; Hunter, Stanley H.; Kanbach, Gottfried; Kippen, R. M.; Kurfess, James; Macri, John R.; McConnell, Mark L.; Miller, Richard S.; Paciesas, William S.; Phlips, Bernard; Reglero, Victor; Stacy, J. G.; Strickman, Mark; Vestrand, W. Thomas; Wefel, John P.; Wulf, Eric; Zoglauer, Andreas; Zych, Allen D.

2004-10-01

The MEGA mission would enable a sensitive all-sky survey of the medium-energy ?-ray sky (0.3-50 MeV). This mission will bridge the huge sensitivity gap between the COMPTEL and OSSE experiments on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the SPI and IBIS instruments on INTEGRAL and the visionary ACT mission. It will, among other things, serve to compile a much larger catalog of sources in this energy range, perform far deeper searches for supernovae, better measure the galactic continuum emission as well as identify the components of the cosmic diffuse emission. The large field of view will allow MEGA to continuously monitor the sky for transient and variable sources. It will accomplish these goals with a stack of Si-strip detector (SSD) planes surrounded by a dense high-Z calorimeter. At lower photon energies (below ~30 MeV), the design is sensitive to Compton interactions, with the SSD system serving as a scattering medium that also detects and measures the Compton recoil energy deposit. If the energy of the recoil electron is sufficiently high (> 2 MeV), the track of the recoil electron can also be defined. At higher photon energies (above ~10 MeV), the design is sensitive to pair production events, with the SSD system measuring the tracks of the electron and positron. We will discuss the various types of event signatures in detail and describe the advantages of this design over previous Compton telescope designs. Effective area, sensitivity and resolving power estimates are also presented along with simulations of expected scientific results and beam calibration results from the prototype instrument.

A Chandra X-ray Study of Cygnus A. 2; The Nucleus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, Andrew J.; Wilson, Andrew; Terashima, Yuichi; Arnaud, Keith A.; Smith, David A.; White, Nicholas E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

We report Chandra Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer and quasi-simultaneous Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) observations of the nearby, powerful radio galaxy Cygnus A, with the present paper focusing on the properties of the active nucleus. In the Chandra observation, the hard (less than a few keV) X-ray emission is spatially unresolved with a size is approximately 1" (1.5 kpc, H(sub 0) = 50 km/s/Mpc) and coincides with the radio and near-infrared nuclei. In contrast, the soft (less than 2 keV) emission exhibits a bipolar nebulosity that aligns with the optical bipolar continuum and emission-line structures and approximately with the radio jet. In particular, the soft X-ray emission corresponds very well with the [O III] (lambda)5007 and H(alpha) + [N II] lambda(lambda)6548, 6583 nebulosity imaged with Hubble Space Telescope. At the location of the nucleus, there is only weak soft X-ray emission, an effect that may be intrinsic or result from a dust lane that crosses the nucleus perpendicular to the source axis. The spectra of the various X-ray components have been obtained by simultaneous fits to the six detectors. The compact nucleus is detected to 100 keV and is well described by a heavily absorbed power-law spectrum with Gamma(sub h) = 1.52(sup + 0.12, sub -0.12) (similar to other 0.12 narrow-line radio galaxies) and equivalent hydrogen column N(sub H)(nuc) = 2.0(sup +0.1, sub -0.1) x 10(exp 23)/sq cm. This 0.2 column is compatible with the dust obscuration to the near-infrared source for a normal gas-to-dust ratio. The soft (less than 2 keV) emission from the nucleus may be described by a power-law spectrum with the same index (i.e., Gamma(sub l) = Gamma(sub h), although direct fits suggest a slightly larger value for Gamma(sub l). Narrow emission lines from highly ionized neon and silicon, as well as a "neutral" Fe K(alpha) line, are detected in the nucleus and its vicinity (r approximately less than 2 kpc). The equivalent width (EW) of the Fe K(alpha) line (182(sup +40, sub -54) eV) is in good agreement with theoretical predictions for the EW versus N(sub H)(nuc) relationship in various geometries. An Fe K edge is also seen. The RXTE observations indicate a temperature of kT = 6.9(sup +0., sub -1.0) keV for the cluster gas (discussed in Paper III of this series) and cluster emission lines of Fe K(alpha) and Fe K(beta) and/or Ni K(alpha). We consider the possibility that the extended soft X-ray emission is electron-scattered nuclear radiation. Given that 1% of the unabsorbed 2 - 10 keV nuclear radiation would have to be scattered, the necessary gas column [N(sub H)(Scattering) approx. = 3.5 x 10(exp 22)/sq cm] would absorb the X-rays rather than scatter them if the gas is cold. Thus, the scattering plasma must be highly ionized. If this ionization is achieved through photoionization by the nucleus, the ionization parameter zeta greater than 1 ergs cm/s and the electron density n(sub e) approx. = 6 cc given the observed distance of the soft X-ray emission from the nucleus. The electron column density inferred from the X-ray observations is much too low to account for the extended optical scattered light, strongly suggesting that the polarized optical light is scattered by dust. The presence of highly ionized Ne lines in the soft X-ray spectrum requires 20 ergs cm/s approximately less than zeta approximately less than 300 ergs cm/s these lines may originate closer to the nucleus than the extended soft continuum or in a lower density gas. A collisionally ionized thermal model of the extended soft X-rays cannot be ruled out but is unattractive in view of the low metal abundance required (Z = 0.03 Z(mass)). The hard X-ray to far-infrared ratio for the nucleus of Cygnus A is similar to that seen in Seyfert 1 and unobscured radio galaxies. By means of the correlation between hard X-ray luminosity and nuclear optical absolute magnitude for these classes of object, we estimate M(sub B) = -22.4 for Cygnus A, near the .borderline between Seyfert galaxies and QSOs.

Gamma-Ray Astrophysics: New Insight Into the Universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, Carl E.; Trombka, Jacob I.

1997-01-01

During the 15 years that have passed since the first edition of this book was published, there has been a major increase in our knowledge of gamma-ray astronomy. Much of this advance arises from the extensive results that have been forthcoming from the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. There has been the discovery of a new class of gamma-ray objects, namely high-energy gamma- ray-emitting blazars, a special class of Active Galactic Nuclei, whose basic high-energy properties now seem to be understood. A much improved picture of our galaxy now exists in the frequency range of gamma rays. The question of whether cosmic rays are galactic or metagalactic now seems settled with certainty. Significant new information exists on the gamma-ray properties of neutron star pulsars, Seyfert galaxies, and gamma-ray bursts. Substantial new insight has been obtained on solar phenomena through gamma-ray observations. Hence, this seemed to be an appropriate time to write a new edition of this book to add the important scientific implications of these many new findings. The special importance of gamma-ray astrophysics had long been recognized by many physicists and astronomers, and theorists had pursued many aspects of the subject well before the experimental results began to become available. The slower development of the experimental side was not because of a lack of incentive, but due to the substantial experimental difficulties that had to be overcome. Thus, as the gamma-ray results became available in much greater number and detail, it was possible to build upon the theoretical work that already existed and to make substantial progress in the study of many of the phenomena involved. Consequently, a much better understanding of many of the astrophysical phenomena mentioned here and others is now possible. Our principal aims in writing this book are the same as they were for the first edition: to provide a text which describes the significance of gamma-ray astrophysics and to assemble in one place a treatment of gamma rays emitted from bodies in the solar i system, from objects in our galaxy, as well as from interactions between cosmic rays and the interstellar medium, and from beyond our galaxy. Thus, this book is intended for those in astrophysics who wish to have the opportunity to learn more about the evolving field of gamma-ray astronomy and its relationship to the high-energy, evolutionary processes occurring in the universe. The last three chapters of the book provide a general discussion of the experimental aspects of the field that seemed best treated together, separately from the astrophysical aspects of gamma-ray astronomy that are discussed in the first ten chapters.

Gamma-Ray Emission from Galaxy Clusters : DARK MATTER AND COSMIC-RAYS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinzke, Anders

The quest for the first detection of a galaxy cluster in the high energy gamma-ray regime is ongoing, and even though clusters are observed in several other wave-bands, there is still no firm detection in gamma-rays. To complement the observational efforts we estimate the gamma-ray contributions from both annihilating dark matter and cosmic-ray (CR) proton as well as CR electron induced emission. Using high-resolution simulations of galaxy clusters, we find a universal concave shaped CR proton spectrum independent of the simulated galaxy cluster. Specifically, the gamma-ray spectra from decaying neutral pions, which are produced by CR protons, dominate the cluster emission. Furthermore, based on our derived flux and luminosity functions, we identify the galaxy clusters with the brightest galaxy clusters in gamma-rays. While this emission is challenging to detect using the Fermi satellite, major observations with Cherenkov telescopes in the near future may put important constraints on the CR physics in clusters. To extend these predictions, we use a dark matter model that fits the recent electron and positron data from Fermi, PAMELA, and H.E.S.S. with remarkable precision, and make predictions about the expected gamma-ray flux from nearby clusters. In order to remain consistent with the EGRET upper limit on the gamma-ray emission from Virgo, we constrain the minimum mass of substructures for cold dark matter halos. In addition, we find comparable levels of gamma-ray emission from CR interactions and dark matter annihilations without Sommerfeld enhancement.

Gamma-Ray Astronomy Technology Needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gehrels, N.; Cannizzo, J. K.

2012-01-01

In recent decades gamma-ray observations have become a valuable tool for studying the universe. Progress made in diverse 8re1lS such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), nucleosynthesis, and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) has complimented and enriched our astrophysical understanding in many ways. We present an overview of current and future planned space y-ray missions and discussion technology needs for- the next generation of space gamma-ray instruments.

Gamma-Ray Telescopes: 400 Years of Astronomical Telescopes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gehrels, Neil; Cannizzo, John K.

2010-01-01

The last half-century has seen dramatic developments in gamma-ray telescopes, from their initial conception and development through to their blossoming into full maturity as a potent research tool in astronomy. Gamma-ray telescopes are leading research in diverse areas such as gamma-ray bursts, blazars, Galactic transients, and the Galactic distribution of Al-26.

Nuclear gamma rays from energetic particle interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramaty, R.; Kozlovsky, B.; Lingenfelter, R. E.

1978-01-01

Gamma ray line emission from nuclear deexcitation following energetic particle reactions is evaluated. The compiled nuclear data and the calculated gamma ray spectra and intensities can be used for the study of astrophysical sites which contain large fluxes of energetic protons and nuclei. A detailed evaluation of gamma ray line production in the interstellar medium is made.

Fermi Bubbles: an elephant in the gamma-ray sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malyshev, Dmitry

2017-03-01

The Fermi bubbles are one of the most remarkable features in the gamma-ray sky revealed by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The nature of the gamma-ray emission and the origin of the bubbles are still open questions. In this note, we will review some basic features of leptonic and hadronic modes of gamma-ray production. At the moment, gamma rays are our best method to study the bubbles, but in order to resolve the origin of the bubbles multi-wavelength and multi-messenger observations will be crucial.

Statistical properties of the time histories of cosmic gamma-ray bursts detected by the BATSE experiment of the Compton gamma-ray observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sagdeev, Roald

1995-01-01

The main scientific objectives of the project were: (1) Calculation of average time history for different subsets of BATSE gamma-ray bursts; (2) Comparison of averaged parameters and averaged time history for different Burst And Transient Source Experiments (BASTE) Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB's) sets; (3) Comparison of results obtained with BATSE data with those obtained with APEX experiment at PHOBOS mission; and (4) Use the results of (1)-(3) to compare current models of gamma-ray bursts sources.

The structure and content of the galaxy and galactic gamma rays. [conferences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, C. E.; Stecker, F. W.

1976-01-01

Papers are presented dealing with galactic structure drawing on all branches of galactic astronomy with emphasis on the implications of the new gamma ray observations. Topics discussed include: (1) results from the COS-B gamma ray satellite; (2) results from SAS-2 on gamma ray pulsar, Cygnus X-3, and maps of the galactic diffuse flux; (3) recent data from CO surveys of the galaxy; (4) high resolution radio surveys of external galaxies; (5) results on the galactic distribution of pulsars; and (6) theoretical work on galactic gamma ray emission.

Space Detectors for Gamma Rays (100 MeV-100 GeV): from Egret to Fermi LAT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David J.

2015-01-01

The design of spaceborne high-energy (E is greater than 100 MeV) gamma-ray detectors depends on two principal factors: (1) the basic physics of detecting and measuring the properties of the gamma rays; and (2) the constraints of operating such a detector in space for an extended period. Improvements in technology have enabled major advances in detector performance, as illustrated by two successful instruments, EGRET on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and LAT on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

A Monte Carlo modeling alternative for the API Gamma Ray Calibration Facility.

PubMed

Galford, J E

2017-04-01

The gamma ray pit at the API Calibration Facility, located on the University of Houston campus, defines the API unit for natural gamma ray logs used throughout the petroleum logging industry. Future use of the facility is uncertain. An alternative method is proposed to preserve the gamma ray API unit definition as an industry standard by using Monte Carlo modeling to obtain accurate counting rate-to-API unit conversion factors for gross-counting and spectral gamma ray tool designs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gamma Ray Pulsars: Multiwavelength Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David J.

2004-01-01

High-energy gamma rays are a valuable tool for studying particle acceleration and radiation in the magnetospheres of energetic pulsars. The seven or more pulsars seen by instruments on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) show that: the light curves usually have double-peak structures (suggesting a broad cone of emission); gamma rays are frequently the dominant component of the radiated power; and all the spectra show evidence of a high-energy turnover. For all the known gamma-ray pulsars, multiwavelength observations and theoretical models based on such observations offer the prospect of gaining a broad understanding of these rotating neutron stars. The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), now in planning for a launch in 2006, will provide a major advance in sensitivity, energy range, and sky coverage.

Fermi at Six Months

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hays, Elizabeth

2009-01-01

An overview of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope's first 6 months in operation is provided. The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly called GLAST, is a mission to measure the cosmic gamma-ray flux in the energy rage 20 MeV to more than 300 GeV, with supporting measurements for gamma-ray bursts from 8 keV to 30 MeV. It contains a Large Area Telescope capable of viewing the entire sky every 3 hours and a Gamma-ray Burst Monitor for viewing the entire unocculted sky. Since its launch on June 11, 2008 Fermi has provided information on pulsars, gamma ray bursts, relativistic jets, the active galactic nucleus, and a globular star cluster. This presentation describes Fermi's development, mission, instruments and recent findings.

Detection of 16 gamma-ray pulsars through blind frequency searches using the Fermi LAT.

PubMed

Abdo, A A; Ackermann, M; Ajello, M; Anderson, B; Atwood, W B; Axelsson, M; Baldini, L; Ballet, J; Barbiellini, G; Baring, M G; Bastieri, D; Baughman, B M; Bechtol, K; Bellazzini, R; Berenji, B; Bignami, G F; Blandford, R D; Bloom, E D; Bonamente, E; Borgland, A W; Bregeon, J; Brez, A; Brigida, M; Bruel, P; Burnett, T H; Caliandro, G A; Cameron, R A; Caraveo, P A; Casandjian, J M; Cecchi, C; Celik, O; Chekhtman, A; Cheung, C C; Chiang, J; Ciprini, S; Claus, R; Cohen-Tanugi, J; Conrad, J; Cutini, S; Dermer, C D; de Angelis, A; de Luca, A; de Palma, F; Digel, S W; Dormody, M; do Couto e Silva, E; Drell, P S; Dubois, R; Dumora, D; Farnier, C; Favuzzi, C; Fegan, S J; Fukazawa, Y; Funk, S; Fusco, P; Gargano, F; Gasparrini, D; Gehrels, N; Germani, S; Giebels, B; Giglietto, N; Giommi, P; Giordano, F; Glanzman, T; Godfrey, G; Grenier, I A; Grondin, M-H; Grove, J E; Guillemot, L; Guiriec, S; Gwon, C; Hanabata, Y; Harding, A K; Hayashida, M; Hays, E; Hughes, R E; Jóhannesson, G; Johnson, R P; Johnson, T J; Johnson, W N; Kamae, T; Katagiri, H; Kataoka, J; Kawai, N; Kerr, M; Knödlseder, J; Kocian, M L; Kuss, M; Lande, J; Latronico, L; Lemoine-Goumard, M; Longo, F; Loparco, F; Lott, B; Lovellette, M N; Lubrano, P; Madejski, G M; Makeev, A; Marelli, M; Mazziotta, M N; McConville, W; McEnery, J E; Meurer, C; Michelson, P F; Mitthumsiri, W; Mizuno, T; Monte, C; Monzani, M E; Morselli, A; Moskalenko, I V; Murgia, S; Nolan, P L; Norris, J P; Nuss, E; Ohsugi, T; Omodei, N; Orlando, E; Ormes, J F; Paneque, D; Parent, D; Pelassa, V; Pepe, M; Pesce-Rollins, M; Pierbattista, M; Piron, F; Porter, T A; Primack, J R; Rainò, S; Rando, R; Ray, P S; Razzano, M; Rea, N; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Reposeur, T; Ritz, S; Rochester, L S; Rodriguez, A Y; Romani, R W; Ryde, F; Sadrozinski, H F-W; Sanchez, D; Sander, A; Saz Parkinson, P M; Scargle, J D; Sgrò, C; Siskind, E J; Smith, D A; Smith, P D; Spandre, G; Spinelli, P; Starck, J-L; Strickman, M S; Suson, D J; Tajima, H; Takahashi, H; Takahashi, T; Tanaka, T; Thayer, J G; Thompson, D J; Tibaldo, L; Tibolla, O; Torres, D F; Tosti, G; Tramacere, A; Uchiyama, Y; Usher, T L; Van Etten, A; Vasileiou, V; Vilchez, N; Vitale, V; Waite, A P; Wang, P; Watters, K; Winer, B L; Wolff, M T; Wood, K S; Ylinen, T; Ziegler, M

2009-08-14

Pulsars are rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron stars emitting radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum. Although there are more than 1800 known radio pulsars, until recently only seven were observed to pulse in gamma rays, and these were all discovered at other wavelengths. The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) makes it possible to pinpoint neutron stars through their gamma-ray pulsations. We report the detection of 16 gamma-ray pulsars in blind frequency searches using the LAT. Most of these pulsars are coincident with previously unidentified gamma-ray sources, and many are associated with supernova remnants. Direct detection of gamma-ray pulsars enables studies of emission mechanisms, population statistics, and the energetics of pulsar wind nebulae and supernova remnants.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, on Behalf of the Fermi Large Area Telescope Collaboration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David J.

2010-01-01

Because high-energy gamma rays can be produced by processes that also produce neutrinos, the gamma-ray survey of the sky by the Fermi (Gamma-ray Space Telescope offers a view of potential targets for neutrino observations. Gamma-ray bursts. Active Galactic Nuclei, and supernova remnants are all sites where hadronic, neutrino-producing interactions are plausible. Pulsars, pulsar wind nebulae, and binary sources are all phenomena that reveal leptonic particle acceleration through their gamma-ray emission. While important to gamma-ray astrophysics, such sources are of less interest to neutrino studies. This talk will present a broad overview of the constantly changing sky seen with the Large Area Telescope (LAT)on the Fermi spacecraft.

Cosmic rays, gamma rays and synchrotron radiation from the Galaxy

DOE PAGES

Orlando, Elena

2012-07-30

Galactic cosmic rays (CR), interstellar gamma-ray emission and synchrotron radiation are related topics. CR electrons propagate in the Galaxy and interact with the interstellar medium, producing inverse-Compton emission measured in gamma rays and synchrotron emission measured in radio. I present an overview of the latest results with Fermi/LAT on the gamma-ray diffuse emission induced by CR nuclei and electrons. Then I focus on the recent complementary studies of the synchrotron emission in the light of the latest gamma-ray results. Relevant observables include spectral indices and their variations, using surveys over a wide range of radio frequencies. As a result, thismore » paper emphasizes the importance of using the parallel study of gamma rays and synchrotron radiation in order to constrain the low-energy interstellar CR electron spectrum, models of propagation of CRs, and magnetic fields.« less

The 3C 279 Campaign of Winter 1999: A Gamma-Optical Correlation?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartman, R. C.; Villata, M.; Raiteri, C. M.; Sobrito, M.; DeFrancesco, G.; Ostorero, L.; Tosti, G.; Kurtanidze, O.; Nikolashvili, M.; Takalo, L.

2000-01-01

Preliminary results are presented from the gamma-optical campaign of January-February 1999 on 3C 279. During this period we obtained good optical sampling of the source, the best ever for a gamma-bright OVV quasar. Its large and fast variations have been compared with the gamma-ray fluxes obtained simultaneously by Energy Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET), on Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO). Despite rather poor counting statistics in the gamma-ray data, a fair correlation is found, with the gamma variations following those in the optical by 3-4 days. This is the first time such a significant day-scale correlation has been observed between the optical and gamma emissions from a OVV quasar. Its implications are currently under study.

Periodic Emission from the Gamma-ray Binary 1FGL J1018.6-5856

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Celic, O.; Corbet, R. H. D.; Donato, D.; Ferrara, E. C.; Gehrels, N.; Harding, A. K.; Hays, E.; McEnery, J. E.; Thompson, D. J.; Troja, E.

2012-01-01

Gamma-ray binaries are stellar systems containing a neutron star or black hole with gamma-ray emission produced by an interaction between the components. These systems are rare, even though binary evolution models predict dozens in our Galaxy. A search for gamma-ray binaries with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows that IFGL JI018.6-5856 exhibits intensity and spectral modulation with a 16.6 day period. We identified a variable X-ray counterpart, which shows a sharp maximum coinciding with maximum gamma-ray emission, as well as an 06V f) star optical counterpart and a radio counterpart that is also apparently modulated on the orbital period. IFGL J1018.6-5856 is thus a gamma-ray binary, and its detection suggests the presence of other fainter binaries in the Galaxy.

A Study of Spatially-Coincident IceCube Neutrinos and Fermi Gamma-Ray Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seymour, Hannah; Mukherjee, Reshmi; Shaevitz, Michael; Santander, Marcos

2016-03-01

The IceCube neutrino telescope has detected very-high-energy neutrino events with energies between several hundred TeV to a few PeV beginning inside the detector. These events are unlikely to have originated in the atmosphere, and are suspected to come from astrophysical sources, the likes of which can also be observed in gamma rays by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. We present an analysis of archival GeV gamma-ray data collected with the Large Area Telescope onboard the Fermi satellite to search for gamma-ray sources spatially coincident with the locations of high-enery muon neutrinos detected by IceCube. The combined detection of gamma rays and neutrinos from an astrophysical source will allow us to identify cosmic-ray acceleration sites. With gratitude to the Nevis Laboratories REU program.

A Unified Model for GRB Prompt Emission from Optical to Gamma-Rays; Exploring GRBs as Standard Candles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guiriec, S.; Kouveliotou, C.; Hartmann, D. H.; Granot, J.; Asano, K.; Meszaros, P.; Gill, R.; Gehrels, N.; McEnery, J.

2016-01-01

The origin of prompt emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) remains to be an open question. Correlated prompt optical and gamma-ray emission observed in a handful of GRBs strongly suggests a common emission region, but failure to adequately fit the broadband GRB spectrum prompted the hypothesis of different emission mechanisms for the low- and high-energy radiations. We demonstrate that our multi-component model for GRB -ray prompt emission provides an excellent fit to GRB 110205A from optical to gamma-ray energies. Our results show that the optical and highest gamma-ray emissions have the same spatial and spectral origin, which is different from the bulk of the X- and softest gamma-ray radiation. Finally, our accurate redshift estimate for GRB 110205A demonstrates promise for using GRBs as cosmological standard candles.

Blazar 3C 66A: Another extragalactic source of ultra-high-energy gamma-ray photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neshpor, Yu. I.; Stepanyan, A. A.; Kalekin, O. P.; Fomin, V. P.; Chalenko, N. N.; Shitov, V. G.

1998-03-01

he observations of the object 3C 66A which were carried out with the GT-48 gamma-ray telescope at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in November-December 1996 revealed a flux of ultra-high-energy (>10^12 eV) gamma-ray photons from this blazar. According to preliminary estimates, the photon flux is (31) 10^11 photons cm^-2 s^-1. The blazar 3C 66A is the third extragalactic object from which a flux of ultra- high-energy gamma-ray photons was detected. Fluxes of gamma-ray photons were previously detected from the galaxies Mk 421 and Mk 501 at the Whipple observatory. This result provides further evidence that active processes proceed in blazars which are accompanied by the generation of cosmic rays responsible for the emission of gamma-ray photons.

Periodic emission from the gamma-ray binary 1FGL J1018.6-5856.

PubMed

Fermi LAT Collaboration; Ackermann, M; Ajello, M; Ballet, J; Barbiellini, G; Bastieri, D; Belfiore, A; Bellazzini, R; Berenji, B; Blandford, R D; Bloom, E D; Bonamente, E; Borgland, A W; Bregeon, J; Brigida, M; Bruel, P; Buehler, R; Buson, S; Caliandro, G A; Cameron, R A; Caraveo, P A; Cavazzuti, E; Cecchi, C; Çelik, Ö; Charles, E; Chaty, S; Chekhtman, A; Cheung, C C; Chiang, J; Ciprini, S; Claus, R; Cohen-Tanugi, J; Corbel, S; Corbet, R H D; Cutini, S; de Luca, A; den Hartog, P R; de Palma, F; Dermer, C D; Digel, S W; do Couto e Silva, E; Donato, D; Drell, P S; Drlica-Wagner, A; Dubois, R; Dubus, G; Favuzzi, C; Fegan, S J; Ferrara, E C; Focke, W B; Fortin, P; Fukazawa, Y; Funk, S; Fusco, P; Gargano, F; Gasparrini, D; Gehrels, N; Germani, S; Giglietto, N; Giordano, F; Giroletti, M; Glanzman, T; Godfrey, G; Grenier, I A; Grove, J E; Guiriec, S; Hadasch, D; Hanabata, Y; Harding, A K; Hayashida, M; Hays, E; Hill, A B; Hughes, R E; Jóhannesson, G; Johnson, A S; Johnson, T J; Kamae, T; Katagiri, H; Kataoka, J; Kerr, M; Knödlseder, J; Kuss, M; Lande, J; Longo, F; Loparco, F; Lovellette, M N; Lubrano, P; Mazziotta, M N; McEnery, J E; Michelson, P F; Mitthumsiri, W; Mizuno, T; Monte, C; Monzani, M E; Morselli, A; Moskalenko, I V; Murgia, S; Nakamori, T; Naumann-Godo, M; Norris, J P; Nuss, E; Ohno, M; Ohsugi, T; Okumura, A; Omodei, N; Orlando, E; Ozaki, M; Paneque, D; Parent, D; Pesce-Rollins, M; Pierbattista, M; Piron, F; Pivato, G; Porter, T A; Rainò, S; Rando, R; Razzano, M; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Ritz, S; Romani, R W; Roth, M; Saz Parkinson, P M; Sgrò, C; Siskind, E J; Spandre, G; Spinelli, P; Suson, D J; Takahashi, H; Tanaka, T; Thayer, J G; Thayer, J B; Thompson, D J; Tibaldo, L; Tinivella, M; Torres, D F; Tosti, G; Troja, E; Uchiyama, Y; Usher, T L; Vandenbroucke, J; Vianello, G; Vitale, V; Waite, A P; Winer, B L; Wood, K S; Wood, M; Yang, Z; Zimmer, S; Coe, M J; Di Mille, F; Edwards, P G; Filipović, M D; Payne, J L; Stevens, J; Torres, M A P

2012-01-13

Gamma-ray binaries are stellar systems containing a neutron star or black hole, with gamma-ray emission produced by an interaction between the components. These systems are rare, even though binary evolution models predict dozens in our Galaxy. A search for gamma-ray binaries with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows that 1FGL J1018.6-5856 exhibits intensity and spectral modulation with a 16.6-day period. We identified a variable x-ray counterpart, which shows a sharp maximum coinciding with maximum gamma-ray emission, as well as an O6V((f)) star optical counterpart and a radio counterpart that is also apparently modulated on the orbital period. 1FGL J1018.6-5856 is thus a gamma-ray binary, and its detection suggests the presence of other fainter binaries in the Galaxy.

Periodic Emission from the Gamma-Ray Binary 1FGL J1018.6-5856

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2012-01-01

Gamma-ray binaries are stellar systems containing a neutron star or black hole, with gamma-ray emission produced by an interaction between the components. These systems are rare, even though binary evolution models predict dozens in our Galaxy, A search for gamma-ray binaries with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows that 1FGL ]1018.6-5856 exhibits intensity and spectral modulation with a 16.6 day period. We identified a variable x-ray counterpart, which shows a sharp maximum coinciding with maximum gamma-ray emission, as well as an O6V((f)) star optical counterpart and a radio counterpart that is also apparently modulated on the orbital period. 1FGL ]1018.6-5856 is thus a gamma-ray binary, and its detection suggests the presence of other fainter binaries in the Galaxy.

The X-Ray Weakness of GPS Radio Galaxies: A Volume-Limited Complete Sample

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mushotzky, Richard F. (Technical Monitor); Siemiginowska, Aneta (Principal Investigator)

2004-01-01

The XMM observations of Mkn 668 have been analyzed. We found soft X-ray signatures of a hot plasma (kT approximately 10^7 approximately K) and a hard X-ray emission from the nucleus. The X-ray spectrum above 2.5 approximately keV is characterized by a very flat (observed photon index, Gamma approximately 0.5) power-law continuum, alongside with a strong Fe-K-alpha neutral iron fluorescent line (EW approximately 600 approximately eV). The best explanation for the origin of this high energy X-ray emission is in terms of the Compton-reflection of the nuclear emission. The primary X-ray emission is obscured by a Compton-thick (N_H approximately 10^24 approximately cm-2) matter which becomes transparent at higher energies. The observed above 2.5-keV X-rays are mostly due to reflection which is indicated by a strong Fe-K-alpha line. This represents the second hard X-ray detection of the GPS galaxy ever (the first one being 1345+125; O Dea et al. 2000). Interestingly, the both such trend is confirmed by our on going XMM-Newton observations of a larger GPS sample, it would lead us to looking into the question on how the dense nuclear environment impacts the nature and evolution of a GPS source, and more generally, on the history of radio power in the universe. The paper summarizing the results has been submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysics in December 2003.

Two Active States of the Narrow-Line Gamma-Ray-Loud AGN GB 1310 + 487

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sokolovsky, K. V.; Schinzel, F. K.; Tanaka, Y. T.; Abolmasov, P. K.; Angelakis, E.; Bulgarelli, A.; Carrasco, L.; Cenko, S. B.; Cheung, C. C.; Clubb, K. I.;

Pulsed Gamma Rays from the Millisecond Pulsar J0030+0451 with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

DOE PAGES

Abdo, A. A.; Ackermann, M.; Atwood, W. B.; ...

2009-06-19

In this paper, we report the discovery of gamma-ray pulsations from the nearby isolated millisecond pulsar (MSP) PSR J0030+0451 with the Large Area Telescope on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST). This discovery makes PSR J0030+0451 the second MSP to be detected in gamma rays after PSR J0218+4232, observed by the EGRET instrument on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. The spin-down power E(dotabove) = 3.5 x 10 33 erg s -1 is an order of magnitude lower than the empirical lower bound of previously known gamma-ray pulsars. The emission profile is characterized by two narrow peaks, 0.07 ± 0.01 andmore » 0.08 ± 0.02 wide, respectively, separated by 0.44 ± 0.02 in phase. The first gamma-ray peak falls 0.15 ± 0.01 after the main radio peak. The pulse shape is similar to that of the "normal" gamma-ray pulsars. An exponentially cutoff power-law fit of the emission spectrum leads to an integral photon flux above 100 MeV of (6.76 ± 1.05 ± 1.35) × 10 –8 cm –2 s –1 with cutoff energy (1.7 ± 0.4 ± 0.5) GeV. Finally, based on its parallax distance of (300 ± 90) pc, we obtain a gamma-ray efficiency L γ/E(dotabove) ≃ 15% for the conversion of spin-down energy rate into gamma-ray radiation, assuming isotropic emission.« less

Gamma-sky.net: Portal to the gamma-ray sky

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voruganti, Arjun; Deil, Christoph; Donath, Axel; King, Johannes

2017-01-01

http://gamma-sky.net is a novel interactive website designed for exploring the gamma-ray sky. The Map View portion of the site is powered by the Aladin Lite sky atlas, providing a scalable survey image tesselated onto a three-dimensional sphere. The map allows for interactive pan and zoom navigation as well as search queries by sky position or object name. The default image overlay shows the gamma-ray sky observed by the Fermi-LAT gamma-ray space telescope. Other survey images (e.g. Planck microwave images in low/high frequency bands, ROSAT X-ray image) are available for comparison with the gamma-ray data. Sources from major gamma-ray source catalogs of interest (Fermi-LAT 2FHL, 3FGL and a TeV source catalog) are overlaid over the sky map as markers. Clicking on a given source shows basic information in a popup, and detailed pages for every source are available via the Catalog View component of the website, including information such as source classification, spectrum and light-curve plots, and literature references. We intend for gamma-sky.net to be applicable for both professional astronomers as well as the general public. The website started in early June 2016 and is being developed as an open-source, open data project on GitHub (https://github.com/gammapy/gamma-sky). We plan to extend it to display more gamma-ray and multi-wavelength data. Feedback and contributions are very welcome!

Gamma-Ray Pulsar Candidates for GLAST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, David J.; Smith, D. A.; Dumora, D.; Guillemot, L.; Parent, D.; Reposeur, T.; Grove, E.; Romani, R. W.; Thorsett, S. E.

2007-01-01

The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) will be launched less than a year from now, and its Large Area Telescope (LAT) is expected to discover scores to hundreds of gamma-ray pulsars. This poster discusses which of the over 1700 known pulsars, mostly visible only at radio Erequencies, are likely to emit greater than l00 MeV gamma rays with intensities detectable by the LAT. The main figure of merit used to select gamma-ray pulsar candidates is sqrt(E-dot)/d^2, where E-dot is the energy loss due to rotational spindown, and d is the distance to the pulsar. The figure of merit incorporates spin-down flux at earth (proportional to E-dot/d^2) times efficiency, assumed proportional to 1/sqrt(E-dot). A few individual objects are cited to illustrate the issues. Since large E-dot pulsars also tend to have large timing noise and occasional glitches, their ephemerides can become inaccurate in weeks to months. To detect and study the gamma-ray emission the photons must be accurately tagged with the pulse phase. With hours to days between gamma-ray photon arrival times from a pulsar and months to years of LAT exposure needed for good detections, GLAST will need timing measurements throughout the continuous gamma-ray observations. The poster will describe efforts to coordinate pulsar timing of the candidate gamma-ray pulsars.

High energy gamma ray astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, Carl E.

1987-01-01

High energy gamma ray astronomy has evolved with the space age. Nonexistent twenty-five years ago, there is now a general sketch of the gamma ray sky which should develop into a detailed picture with the results expected to be forthcoming over the next decade. The galactic plane is the dominant feature of the gamma ray sky, the longitude and latitude distribution being generally correlated with galactic structural features including the spiral arms. Two molecular clouds were already seen. Two of the three strongest gamma ray sources are pulsars. The highly variable X-ray source Cygnus X-3 was seen at one time, but not another in the 100 MeV region, and it was also observed at very high energies. Beyond the Milky Way Galaxy, there is seen a diffuse radiation, whose origin remains uncertain, as well as at least one quasar, 3C 273. Looking to the future, the satellite opportunities for high energy gamma ray astronomy in the near term are the GAMMA-I planned to be launched in late 1987 and the Gamma Ray Observatory, scheduled for launch in 1990. The Gamma Ray Observatory will carry a total of four instruments covering the entire energy range from 30,000 eV to 3 x 10 to the 10th eV with over an order of magnitude increase in sensitivity relative to previous satellite instruments.

Discovery of localized TeV gamma-ray sources and diffuse TeV gamma-ray emission from the galactic plane with Milagro using a new background rejection technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdo, Aws Ahmad

2007-08-01

Very high energy gamma-rays can be used to probe some of the most powerful astrophysical objects in the universe, such as active galactic nuclei, supernova remnants and pulsar-powered nebulae. The diffuse gamma radiation arising from the interaction of cosmic-ray particles with matter and radiation in the Galaxy is one of the few probes available to study the origin of cosmic- rays. Milagro is a water Cherenkov detector that continuously views the entire overhead sky. The large field-of-view combined with the long observation time makes Milagro the most sensitive instrument available for the study of large, low surface brightness sources such as the diffuse gamma radiation arising from interactions of cosmic radiation with interstellar matter. In this thesis I present a new background rejection technique for the Milagro detector through the development of a new gamma hadron separation variable. The Abdo variable, A 4 , coupled with the weighting analysis technique significantly improves the sensitivity of the Milagro detector. This new analysis technique resulted in the first discoveries in Milagro. Four localized sources of TeV gamma-ray emission have been discovered, three of which are in the Cygnus region of the Galaxy and one closer to the Galactic center. In addition to these localized sources, a diffuse emission of TeV gamma-rays has been discovered from the Cygnus region of the Galaxy as well. However, the TeV gamma-ray flux as measured at ~12 TeV from the Cygnus region exceeds that predicted from a conventional model of cosmic-ray production and propagation. This observation indicates the existence of either hard-spectrum cosmic-ray sources and/or other sources of TeV gamma rays in the region. Other TeV gamma-ray source candidates with post-trial statistical significances of > 4s have also been observed in the Galactic plane.

Gamma ray transients

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cline, Thomas L.

1987-01-01

The discovery of cosmic gamma ray bursts was made with systems designed at Los Alamos Laboratory for the detection of nuclear explosions beyond the atmosphere. HELIOS-2 was the first gamma ray burst instrument launched; its initial results in 1976, seemed to deepen the mystery around gamma ray transients. Interplanetary spacecraft data were reviewed in terms of explaining the behavior and source of the transients.

Gamma-Ray background spectrum and annihilation rate in the baryon-symmetric big-bang cosmology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Puget, J. L.

1973-01-01

An attempt was made to extract experimental data on baryon symmetry by observing annihilation products. Specifically, gamma rays and neutrons with long mean free paths were analyzed. Data cover absorption cross sections and radiation background of the 0.511 MeV gamma rays from positron annihilations and the 70 MeV gamma rays from neutral pion decay.

REVIEWS OF TOPICAL PROBLEMS: On the nature of cosmic gamma-ray bursts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luchkov, B. I.; Mitrofanov, I. G.; Rozental', I. L.

1996-07-01

Current hypotheses of gamma-ray burst origin are analysed. About 30 years after their discovery, it is still unclear where gamma-ray bursts are created (Solar system, Galaxy or Metagalaxy). Nor is the mechanism of their production known. This paper reviews on-going gamma-ray experiments and suggests possible lines of further studies on their origin.

A Giant Radio Flare from Cygnus X-3 with Associated Gamma-Ray Emission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Corbel, S.; Dubus, G.; Tomsick, J. A.; Szostek, A.; Corbet, R. H. D.; Miller-Jones, J. C. A.; Richards, J. L.; Pooley, G.; Trushkin, S.; Dubois, R.;

Dissecting the Gamma-Ray Background in Search of Dark Matter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cholis, Ilias; Hooper, Dan; McDermott, Samuel D.

2014-02-01

Several classes of astrophysical sources contribute to the approximately isotropic gamma-ray background measured by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. In this paper, we use Fermi's catalog of gamma-ray sources (along with corresponding source catalogs at infrared and radio wavelengths) to build and constrain a model for the contributions to the extragalactic gamma-ray background from astrophysical sources, including radio galaxies, star-forming galaxies, and blazars. We then combine our model with Fermi's measurement of the gamma-ray background to derive constraints on the dark matter annihilation cross section, including contributions from both extragalactic and galactic halos and subhalos. The resulting constraints are competitivemore » with the strongest current constraints from the Galactic Center and dwarf spheroidal galaxies. As Fermi continues to measure the gamma-ray emission from a greater number of astrophysical sources, it will become possible to more tightly constrain the astrophysical contributions to the extragalactic gamma-ray background. We project that with 10 years of data, Fermi's measurement of this background combined with the improved constraints on the astrophysical source contributions will yield a sensitivity to dark matter annihilations that exceeds the strongest current constraints by a factor of ~ 5 - 10.« less

Search of the energetic gamma-ray experiment telescope (EGRET) data for high-energy gamma-ray microsecond bursts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, C. E.; Bertsch, D. L.; Dingus, B. L.; Esposito, J. A.; Hartman, R. C.; Hunter, S. D.; Kanbach, G.; Kniffen, D. A.; Lin, Y. C.; Mattox, J. R.

1994-01-01

Hawking (1974) and Page & Hawking (1976) investigated theoretically the possibility of detecting high-energy gamma rays produced by the quantum-mechanical decay of a small black hole created in the early universe. They concluded that, at the very end of the life of the small black hole, it would radiate a burst of gamma rays peaked near 250 MeV with a total energy of about 10(exp 34) ergs in the order of a microsecond or less. The characteristics of a black hole are determined by laws of physics beyond the range of current particle accelerators; hence, the search for these short bursts of high-energy gamma rays provides at least the possibility of being the first test of this region of physics. The Compton Observatory Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) has the capability of detecting directly the gamma rays from such bursts at a much fainter level than SAS 2, and a search of the EGRET data has led to an upper limit of 5 x 10(exp -2) black hole decays per cu pc per yr, placing constraints on this and other theories predicting microsecond high-energy gamma-ray bursts.

Prompt gamma-ray emission from biological tissues during proton irradiation: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Polf, J C; Peterson, S; Ciangaru, G; Gillin, M; Beddar, S

2009-02-07

In this paper, we present the results of a preliminary study of secondary 'prompt' gamma-ray emission produced by proton-nuclear interactions within tissue during proton radiotherapy. Monte Carlo simulations were performed for mono-energetic proton beams, ranging from 2.5 MeV to 250 MeV, irradiating elemental and tissue targets. Calculations of the emission spectra from different biological tissues and their elemental components were made. Also, prompt gamma rays emitted during delivery of a clinical proton spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) in a homogeneous water phantom and a water phantom containing heterogeneous tissue inserts were calculated to study the correlation between prompt gamma-ray production and proton dose delivery. The results show that the prompt gamma-ray spectra differ significantly for each type of tissue studied. The relative intensity of the characteristic gamma rays emitted from a given tissue was shown to be proportional to the concentration of each element in that tissue. A strong correlation was found between the delivered SOBP dose distribution and the characteristic prompt gamma-ray production. Based on these results, we discuss the potential use of prompt gamma-ray emission as a method to verify the accuracy and efficacy of doses delivered with proton radiotherapy.

The locations of cosmic explosions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fruchter, A. S.; Levan, A. J.; Strolger, L.; Vreeswijk, P. M.; Bersier, D.; Burud, I.; Castro-Ceron, J. M.; Consclice, C.; Dahlen, T.; Strolger, L.

2005-01-01

When massive stars exhaust their fuel they collapse and often produce the extraordinarily bright explosions known as core-collapse supernovae. Recently, it has become apparent that stellar collapse can power the even more brilliant relativistic explosions known as long-duration gamma-ray bursts. In some cases, a gamma-ray burst and a supernova have been observed from the same event. One would thus expect that gamma-ray bursts and supernovae should be found in similar environments. Here we show that this expectation is wrong. Using Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the host galaxies of long-duration gamma-ray bursts and core-collapse supernovae, we demonstrate that while the distribution of the supernovae in their hosts traces the blue light of young stars, the gamma-ray bursts are much more concentrated on the very brightest regions of their hosts. Furthermore, the host galaxies of the gamma-ray bursts are significantly fainter and more irregular than the hosts of the supernovae. Together these results suggest that long-duration gamma-ray bursts are associated with the very most massive stars and may be restricted to galaxies of limited chemical evolution. Our results directly imply that long-duration gamma-ray bursts are relatively rare in galaxies such as our own Milky Way.

Gamma ray detector shield

DOEpatents

Ohlinger, R.D.; Humphrey, H.W.

1985-08-26

A gamma ray detector shield comprised of a rigid, lead, cylindrical-shaped vessel having upper and lower portions with an pneumatically driven, sliding top assembly. Disposed inside the lead shield is a gamma ray scintillation crystal detector. Access to the gamma detector is through the sliding top assembly.

Detecting pin diversion from pressurized water reactors spent fuel assemblies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ham, Young S.; Sitaraman, Shivakumar

Detecting diversion of spent fuel from Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) by determining possible diversion including the steps of providing a detector cluster containing gamma ray and neutron detectors, inserting the detector cluster containing the gamma ray and neutron detectors into the spent fuel assembly through the guide tube holes in the spent fuel assembly, measuring gamma ray and neutron radiation responses of the gamma ray and neutron detectors in the guide tube holes, processing the gamma ray and neutron radiation responses at the guide tube locations by normalizing them to the maximum value among each set of responses and takingmore » the ratio of the gamma ray and neutron responses at the guide tube locations and normalizing the ratios to the maximum value among them and producing three signatures, gamma, neutron, and gamma-neutron ratio, based on these normalized values, and producing an output that consists of these signatures that can indicate possible diversion of the pins from the spent fuel assembly.« less

Long gamma-ray bursts and core-collapse supernovae have different environments.

PubMed

Fruchter, A S; Levan, A J; Strolger, L; Vreeswijk, P M; Thorsett, S E; Bersier, D; Burud, I; Castro Cerón, J M; Castro-Tirado, A J; Conselice, C; Dahlen, T; Ferguson, H C; Fynbo, J P U; Garnavich, P M; Gibbons, R A; Gorosabel, J; Gull, T R; Hjorth, J; Holland, S T; Kouveliotou, C; Levay, Z; Livio, M; Metzger, M R; Nugent, P E; Petro, L; Pian, E; Rhoads, J E; Riess, A G; Sahu, K C; Smette, A; Tanvir, N R; Wijers, R A M J; Woosley, S E

2006-05-25

When massive stars exhaust their fuel, they collapse and often produce the extraordinarily bright explosions known as core-collapse supernovae. On occasion, this stellar collapse also powers an even more brilliant relativistic explosion known as a long-duration gamma-ray burst. One would then expect that these long gamma-ray bursts and core-collapse supernovae should be found in similar galactic environments. Here we show that this expectation is wrong. We find that the gamma-ray bursts are far more concentrated in the very brightest regions of their host galaxies than are the core-collapse supernovae. Furthermore, the host galaxies of the long gamma-ray bursts are significantly fainter and more irregular than the hosts of the core-collapse supernovae. Together these results suggest that long-duration gamma-ray bursts are associated with the most extremely massive stars and may be restricted to galaxies of limited chemical evolution. Our results directly imply that long gamma-ray bursts are relatively rare in galaxies such as our own Milky Way.

Detecting the Attenuation of Blazar Gamma-ray Emission by Extragalactic Background Light with GLAST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Andrew; Ritz, Steven

1999-01-01

Gamma rays with energy above 10 GeV interact with optical-UV photons resulting in pair production. Therefore, a large sample of high redshift sources of these gamma rays can be used to probe the extragalactic background starlight (EBL) by examining the redshift dependence of the attenuation of the flux above 10 GeV. GLAST, the next generation high-energy gamma-ray telescope, will for the first time have the unique capability to detect thousands of gamma-ray blazars up to redshifts of at least z = 4, with enough angular resolution to allow identification of a large fraction of their optical counterparts. By combining recent determinations of the gamma-ray blazar luminosity function, recent calculations of the high energy gamma-ray opacity due to EBL absorption, and the expected GLAST instrument performance to produce simulated samples of blazars that GLAST would detect, including their redshifts and fluxes, we demonstrate that these blazars have the potential to be a highly effective probe of the EBL.

The Gamma-Ray Imager GRI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wunderer, Cornelia B.; GRI Collaboration

2006-09-01

Observations of the gamma-ray sky reveal the most powerful sources and the most violent events in the Universe. While at lower wavebands the observed emission is generally dominated by thermal processes, the gamma-ray sky provides us with a view on the non-thermal Universe. Here particles are accelerated to extreme relativistic energies by mechanisms which are still poorly understood, and nuclear reactions are synthesizing the basic constituents of our world. Cosmic accelerators and cosmic explosions are the major science themes that are addressed in the gamma-ray regime. With the INTEGRAL observatory, ESA has provided a unique tool to the astronomical community revealing hundreds of sources, new classes of objects, extraordinary views of antimatter annihilation in our Galaxy, and fingerprints of recent nucleosynthesis processes. While INTEGRAL provides the global overview over the soft gamma-ray sky, there is a growing need to perform deeper, more focused investigations of gamma-ray sources. In soft X-rays a comparable step was taken going from the Einstein and the EXOSAT satellites to the Chandra and XMM/Newton observatories. Technological advances in the past years in the domain of gamma-ray focusing using Laue diffraction and multilayer coated mirror techniques have paved the way towards a gamma-ray mission, providing major improvements compared to past missions regarding sensitivity and angular resolution. Such a future Gamma-Ray Imager will allow to study particle acceleration processes and explosion physics in unprecedented detail, providing essential clues on the innermost nature of the most violent and most energetic processes in the Universe.

GRI: the gamma-ray imager mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knödlseder, Jürgen

2006-06-01

Observations of the gamma-ray sky reveal the most powerful sources and the most violent events in the Universe. While at lower wavebands the observed emission is generally dominated by thermal processes, the gamma-ray sky provides us with a view on the non-thermal Universe. Here particles are accelerated to extreme relativistic energies by mechanisms which are still poorly understood, and nuclear reactions are synthesizing the basic constituents of our world. Cosmic accelerators and cosmic explosions are the major science themes that are addressed in the gamma-ray regime. With the INTEGRAL observatory, ESA has provided a unique tool to the astronomical community revealing hundreds of sources, new classes of objects, extraordinary views of antimatter annihilation in our Galaxy, and fingerprints of recent nucleosynthesis processes. While INTEGRAL provides the global overview over the soft gamma-ray sky, there is a growing need to perform deeper, more focused investigations of gamma-ray sources. In soft X-rays a comparable step was taken going from the Einstein and the EXOSAT satellites to the Chandra and XMM/Newton observatories. Technological advances in the past years in the domain of gamma-ray focusing using Laue diffraction and multilayer-coated mirror techniques hav paved the way towards a gamma-ray mission, providing major improvements compared to past missions regarding sensitivity and angular resolution. Such a future Gamma-Ray Imager will allow to study particle acceleration processes and explosion physics in unprecedented detail, providing essential clues on the innermost nature of the most violent and most energetic processes in the Universe.

A Search for the X-ray Counterpart of the Unidentified Gamma-ray Source 3EG J2020+4017 (2CG078+2)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weisskopf, Martin; Swartz, Douglas A.; Carraminana, Alberto; Carrasco, Luis; Kaplan, David L.; Becker, Werner; Elsner, Ronald F.; Kanbach, Gottfried; ODell, Stephen L.; Tennant, Allyn F.

2006-01-01

We report observations with the Chandra X-ray Observatory of a field in the gamma-Cygni supernova remnant (SNR78.2+2.1) centered on the cataloged location of the unidentified, bright gamma-ray source 3EG J2020+4017. In this search for an X-ray counterpart to the gamma-ray source, we detected 30 X-ray sources. Of these, we found 17 strong-candidate counterparts in optical (visible through near-infrared) cataloged and an additional 3 through our optical observations. Based upon colors and (for several objects) optical spectra, nearly all the optically identified objects appear to be reddened main-sequence stars: None of the X-ray sources with an optical counterpart is a plausible X-ray counterpart to 3EG J2020+4017-if that gamma-ray source is a spin-powered pulsar. Many of the 10 X-ray sources lacking optical counterparts are likely (extragalactic) active galactic nuclei, based upon the sky density of such sources. Although one of the 10 optically unidentified X-ray sources could be the gamma-ray source, there is no auxiliary evidence supporting such an identification

Development of ultrashort x-ray/gamma-ray sources using ultrahigh power lasers (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyung Taek; Nakajima, Kazuhisa; Hojbota, Calin; Jeon, Jong Ho; Rhee, Yong-Joo; Lee, Kyung Hwan; Lee, Seong Ku; Sung, Jae Hee; Lee, Hwang Woon; Pathak, Vishwa B.; Pae, Ki Hong; Sebban, Stéphane; Tissandier, Fabien; Gautier, Julien; Ta Phuoc, Kim; Malka, Victor; Nam, Chang Hee

2017-05-01

Short-pulse x-ray/gamma-ray sources have become indispensable light sources for investigating material science, bio technology, and photo-nuclear physics. In past decades, rapid advancement of high intensity laser technology led extensive progresses in the field of radiation sources based on laser-plasma interactions - x-ray lasers, betatron radiation and Compton gamma-rays. Ever since the installation of a 100-TW laser in 2006, we have pursued the development of ultrashort x-ray/gamma-ray radiations, such as x-ray lasers, relativistic high-order harmonics, betatron radiation and all-optical Compton gamma-rays. With the construction of two PW Ti:Sapphire laser beamlines having peak powers of 1.0 PW and 1.5 PW in 2010 and 2012, respectively [1], we have investigated the generation of multi-GeV electron beams [2] and MeV betatron radiations. We plan to carry out the Compton backscattering to generate MeV gamma-rays from the interaction of a GeV electron beam and a PW laser beam. Here, we present the recent progress in the development of ultrashort x-ray/gamma-ray radiation sources based on laser plasma interactions and the plan for developing Compton gamma-ray sources driven by the PW lasers. In addition, we will present the applications of laser-plasma x-ray lasers to x-ray holography and coherent diffraction imaging. [references] 1. J. H. Sung, S. K. Lee, T. J. Yu, T. M. Jeong, and J. Lee, Opt. Lett. 35, 3021 (2010). 2. H. T. Kim, K. H. Pae, H. J. Cha, I J. Kim, T. J. Yu, J. H. Sung, S. K. Lee, T. M. Jeong, J. Lee, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 165002 (2013).

Hard gamma radiation background from coding collimator of gamma telescope under space experiment conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleksandrov, A. P.; Berezovoy, A. N.; Galper, A. M.; Grachev, V. M.; Dmitrenko, V. V.; Kirillov-Ugryumov, V. G.; Lebedev, V. V.; Lyakhov, V. A.; Moiseyev, A. A.; Ulin, S. Y.

1985-09-01

Coding collimators are used to improve the angular resolution of gamma-ray telescopes at energies above 50 MeV. However, the interaction of cosmic rays with the collimation material can lead to the appearance of a gamma-ray background flux which can have a deleterious effect on measurement efficiency. An experiment was performed on the Salyut-6-Soyuz spacecraft system with the Elena-F small-scale gamma-ray telescope in order to measure the magnitude of this background. It is shown that, even at a zenith angle of approximately zero degrees (the angle at which the gamma-ray observations are made), the coding collimator has only an insignificant effect on the background conditions.

An Unusual Supernova in the Error Box of the Gamma-Ray Burst of 25 April 1998

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galama , T. J.; Vreeswijk, P. M.; vanParadijs, J.; Kouveliotou, C.; Augusteijn, T.; Boehnhardt, H.; Brewer, J. P.; Doublier, V.; Gonzalez, J.-F.; Leibundgut, B.;

Prospects for future very high-energy gamma-ray sky survey: Impact of secondary gamma rays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Inoue, Yoshiyuki; Kalashev, Oleg E.; Kusenko, Alexander

2014-02-01

Very high-energy gamma-ray measurements of distant blazars can be well explained by secondary gamma rays emitted by cascades induced by ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. The secondary gamma rays will enable one to detect a large number of blazars with future ground based gamma-ray telescopes such as Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). We show that the secondary emission process will allow CTA to detect 100, 130, 150, 87, and 8 blazars above 30 GeV, 100 GeV, 300 GeV, 1 TeV, and 10 TeV, respectively, up to z~8 assuming the intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF) strength B=10-17 G and an unbiased all sky survey withmore » 0.5 h exposure at each field of view, where total observing time is ~540 h. These numbers will be 79, 96, 110, 63, and 6 up to z~5 in the case of B=10-15 G. This large statistics of sources will be a clear evidence of the secondary gamma-ray scenarios and a new key to studying the IGMF statistically. We also find that a wider and shallower survey is favored to detect more and higher redshift sources even if we take into account secondary gamma rays.« less

Studying the High Energy Gamma Ray Sky with Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kamae, T.; Ohsugi, T.; Thompson, D. J.; Watanabe, K.

1998-01-01

Building on the success of the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) will make a major step in the study of such subjects as blazars, gamma Ray bursts, the search for dark matter, supernova remnants, pulsars, diffuse radiation, and unidentified high energy sources. The instrument will be built on new and mature detector technologies such as silicon strip detectors, low-power low-noise LSI, and a multilevel data acquisition system. GLAST is in the research and development phase, and one full tower (of 25 total) is now being built in collaborating institutes. The prototype tower will be tested thoroughly at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in the fall of 1999.

Monitoring the Low-Energy Gamma-Ray Sky Using Earth Occultation with GLAST GBM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Case, G.; Wilson-Hodge, C.; Cherry, M.; Kippen, M.; Ling, J.; Radocinski, R.; Wheaton, W.

2007-01-01

Long term all-sky monitoring of the 20 keV - 2 MeV gamma-ray sky using the Earth occultation technique was demonstrated by the BATSE instrument on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. The principles and techniques used for the development of an end-to-end earth occultation data analysis system for BATSE can be extended to the GLAST Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM), resulting in multiband light curves and time-resolved spectra in the energy range 8 keV to above 1 MeV for known gamma-ray sources and transient outbursts, as well as the discovery of new sources of gamma-ray emission. In this paper we describe the application of the technique to the GBM. We also present the expected sensitivity for the GBM.

Separation of gamma-ray and neutron events with CsI(Tl) pulse shape analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashida, Y.; Nagata, H.; Koshio, Y.; Nakaya, T.; Wendell, R.

2018-04-01

Fast neutrons are a large background to measurements of gamma-rays emitted from excited nuclei, such that detectors that can efficiently distinguish between the two are essential. In this paper we describe the separation of gamma-rays from neutrons with the pulse shape information of the CsI(Tl) scintillator, using a fast neutron beam and several gamma-ray sources. We find that a figure of merit optimized for this separation takes on large and stable values (nearly 4) between 5 and 10 MeV of electron equivalent deposited energy, the region of most interest to the study of nuclear de-excitation gamma-rays. Accordingly, this work demonstrates the ability of CsI(Tl) scintillators to reject neutron backgrounds to gamma-ray measurements at these energies.

Fermi Establishes Classical Novae as a Distinct Class of Gamma-ray Sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Albert, A.; Baldini, L.; Ballet, J.; Bastieri, D.; Bellazzini, R.; Bissaldi, E.; Blandford, R. D.; Bloom, E. D.;

The Fermi All-Sky Variability Analysis: A List of Flaring Gamma-Ray Sources and the Search for Transients in our Galaxy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Albert, A.; Allafort, A.; Antolini, E.; Baldini, L.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G; Bastieri, D.; Bechtol, K.;

The GeV Gamma-Ray Emission Detected by Fermi-LAT Adjacent to SNR Kesteven 41

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Bing; Chen, Yang; Zhang, Xiao; Zhang, Gao-Yuan; Xing, Yi; Pannuti, Thomas G.

2017-02-01

Gamma-ray observations for Supernova remnant (SNR)-molecular cloud (MC) association systems play an important role in the research on the acceleration and propagation of cosmic-ray protons. Through the analysis of 5.6 years of Fermi-Large Area Telescope observation data, here we report on the detection of a gamma-ray emission source near the SNR Kesteven 41 with a significance of 24σ in 0.2-300 GeV. The best-fit location of the gamma-ray source is consistent with the MC with which the SNR interacts. Several hypotheses including both leptonic and hadronic scenarios are considered to investigate the origin of these gamma-rays. The gamma-ray emission can be naturally explained by the decay of neutral pions produced via the collision between high energy protons accelerated by the shock of Kesteven 41 and the adjacent MC. The electron energy budget would be too high for the SNR if the gamma-rays were produced via inverse Compton (IC) scattering off the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) photons.

Fermi: The Gamma-Ray Large Area Telescope Mission Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McEnery, Julie

2014-01-01

Following its launch in June 2008, high-energy gamma-ray observations by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have unveiled over 1000 new sources and opened an important and previously unexplored window on a wide variety of phenomena. These have included the discovery of an population of pulsars pulsing only in gamma rays; the detection of photons up to 10s of GeV from gamma-ray bursts, enhancing our understanding of the astrophysics of these powerful explosions; the detection of hundreds of active galaxies; a measurement of the high energy cosmic-ray electron spectrum which may imply the presence of nearby astrophysical particle accelerators; the determination of the diffuse gamma-ray emission with unprecedented accuracy and the constraints on phenomena such as supersymmetric dark-matter annihilations and exotic relics from the Big Bang. Continuous monitoring of the high-energy gamma-ray sky has uncovered numerous outbursts from active galaxies and the discovery of transient sources in our galaxy. In this talk I will describe the current status of the Fermi observatory and review the science highlights from Fermi.

Fermi: The Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope Mission Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McEnery, Julie E

2014-01-01

Following its launch in June 2008, high-energy gamma-ray observations by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have unveiled over 1000 new sources and opened an important and previously unexplored window on a wide variety of phenomena. These have included the discovery of a population of pulsars pulsing only in gamma rays; the detection of photons up to 10s of gigaelectronvolts from gamma-ray bursts, enhancing our understanding of the astrophysics of these powerful explosions; the detection of hundreds of active galaxies; a measurement of the high energy cosmic-ray electron spectrum which may imply the presence of nearby astrophysical particle accelerators; the determination of the diffuse gamma-ray emission with unprecedented accuracy and the constraints on phenomena such as super-symmetric dark-matter annihilations and exotic relics from the Big Bang. Continuous monitoring of the high-energy gamma-ray sky has uncovered numerous outbursts from active galaxies and the discovery of transient sources in our galaxy. In this talk I will describe the current status of the Fermi observatory and review the science highlights from Fermi.

Fermi: The Gamma-Ray Large Area Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McEnery, Julie

2015-01-01

Following its launch in June 2008, high-energy gamma-ray observations by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have unveiled over 1000 new sources and opened an important and previously unexplored window on a wide variety of phenomena. These have included the discovery of an population of pulsars pulsing only in gamma rays; the detection of photons up to 10s of GeV from gamma-ray bursts, enhancing our understanding of the astrophysics of these powerful explosions; the detection of hundreds of active galaxies; a measurement of the high energy cosmic-ray electron spectrum which may imply the presence of nearby astrophysical particle accelerators; the determination of the diffuse gamma-ray emission with unprecedented accuracy and the constraints on phenomena such as supersymmetric dark-matter annihilations and exotic relics from the Big Bang. Continuous monitoring of the high-energy gamma-ray sky has uncovered numerous outbursts from active galaxies and the discovery of transient sources in our galaxy. In this talk I will describe the current status of the Fermi observatory and review the science highlights from Fermi.

Fermi: The Gamma-Ray Large Area Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McEnery, Julie

2014-01-01

Following its launch in June 2008, high-energy gamma-ray observations by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have unveiled over 1000 new sources and opened an important and previously unexplored window on a wide variety of phenomena. These have included the discovery of an population of pulsars pulsing only in gamma rays; the detection of photons up to 10 seconds of gigaelectronvolts from gamma-ray bursts, enhancing our understanding of the astrophysics of these powerful explosions; the detection of hundreds of active galaxies; a measurement of the high energy cosmic-ray electron spectrum which may imply the presence of nearby astrophysical particle accelerators; the determination of the diffuse gamma-ray emission with unprecedented accuracy and the constraints on phenomena such as super-symmetric dark-matter annihilations and exotic relics from the Big Bang. Continuous monitoring of the high-energy gamma-ray sky has uncovered numerous outbursts from active galaxies and the discovery of transient sources in our galaxy. In this talk I will describe the current status of the Fermi observatory and review the science highlights from Fermi.

Fermi: The Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McEnery, Julie

2014-01-01

Following its launch in June 2008, high-energy gamma-ray observations by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have unveiled over 1000 new sources and opened an important and previously unexplored window on a wide variety of phenomena. These have included the discovery of an population of pulsars pulsing only in gamma rays; the detection of photons up to 10s of GeV from gamma-ray bursts, enhancing our understanding of the astrophysics of these powerful explosions; the detection of hundreds of active galaxies; a measurement of the high energy cosmic-ray electron spectrum which may imply the presence of nearby astrophysical particle accelerators; the determination of the diffuse gamma-ray emission with unprecedented accuracy and the constraints on phenomena such as supersymmetric dark-matter annihilations and exotic relics from the Big Bang. Continuous monitoring of the high-energy gamma-ray sky has uncovered numerous outbursts from active galaxies and the discovery of transient sources in our galaxy. In this talk I will describe the current status of the Fermi observatory and review the science highlights from Fermi.

Millisecond Pulsars at Gamma-Ray Energies: Fermi Detections and Implications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, Alice K.

2011-01-01

The Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope has revolutionized the study of pulsar physics with the discovery of new populations of radio quiet and millisecond gamma-ray pulsars. The Fermi Large Area Telescope has so far discovered approx.20 new gamma-ray millisecond pulsars (MSPs) by both folding at periods of known radio MSPs or by detecting them as gamma-ray sources that are followed up by radio pulsar searches. The second method has resulted in a phenomenally successful synergy, with -30 new radio MSPs (to date) having been discovered at Fermi unidentified source locations and the gamma-ray pulsations having then been detected in a number of these using the radio timing solutions. Many of the newly discovered MSPs may be suitable for addition to the collection of very stable MSPs used for gravitational wave detection. Detection of such a large number of MSPs was surprising, given that most have relatively low spin-down luminosity and surface field strength. I will discuss their properties and the implications for pulsar particle acceleration and emission, as well as their potential contribution to gamma-ray backgrounds and Galactic cosmic rays.

Search for gamma-ray emission from AE Aquarii with seven year of Fermi LAT observations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Jian; Torres, Diego F.; Rea, Nanda

2016-11-14

AE Aquarii (AE Aqr) is a cataclysmic binary hosting one of the fastest rotating (more » $${P}_{\\mathrm{spin}}$$ = 33.08 s) white dwarfs (WDs) known. Based on seven years of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) Pass 8 data, we report on a deep search for gamma-ray emission from AE Aqr. When using X-ray observations from ASCA, XMM-Newton, Chandra, Swift, Suzaku, and NuSTAR, spanning 20 years, we substantially extend and improve the spin ephemeris of AE Aqr. Using this ephemeris, we searched for gamma-ray pulsations at the spin period of the WD. We detected no gamma-ray pulsations above 3σ significance. Neither phase-averaged gamma-ray emission nor gamma-ray variability of AE Aqr is detected by Fermi LAT. We also impose the most restrictive upper limit to the gamma-ray flux from AE Aqr to date: $$1.3\\times {10}^{-12}$$ erg cm -2 s -1 in the 100 MeV–300 GeV energy range, providing constraints on models.« less

Hard gamma-ray background from the coding collimator of a gamma-ray telescope during in conditions of a space experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleksandrov, A. P.; Berezovoj, A. N.; Gal'Per, A. M.; Grachev, V. M.; Dmitrenko, V. V.; Kirillov-Ugryumov, V. G.; Lebedev, V. V.; Lyakhov, V. A.; Moiseev, A. A.; Ulin, S. E.; Shchvets, N. I.

1984-11-01

Coding collimators are used to improve the angular resolution of gamma-ray telescopes at energies above 50 MeV. However, the interaction of cosmic rays with the collimator material can lead to the appearance of a gramma-ray background flux which can have a deleterious effect on measurement efficiency. An experiment was performed on the Salyut-6-Soyuz spacecraft system with the Elena-F small-scale gamma-ray telescope in order to measure the magnitude of this background. It is shown that, even at a zenith angle of approximately zero degrees (the angle at which the gamma-ray observations are made), the coding collimator has only an insignificant effect on the background conditions.

The First Fermi Large Area Telescope Catalog of Gamma-ray Pulsars

DOE PAGES

Abdo, A. A.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; ...

2010-03-25

The dramatic increase in the number of known gamma-ray pulsars since the launch of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST) offers the first opportunity to study a sizable population of these high-energy objects. This catalog summarizes 46 high-confidence pulsed detections using the first six months of data taken by the Large Area Telescope (LAT), Fermi's main instrument. Sixteen previously unknown pulsars were discovered by searching for pulsed signals at the positions of bright gamma-ray sources seen with the LAT, or at the positions of objects suspected to be neutron stars based on observations at other wavelengths. The dimmest observed flux among these gamma-ray-selected pulsars is 6.0 × 10 –8 ph cm –2 s –1 (for E>100 MeV). Pulsed gamma-ray emission was discovered from 24 known pulsars by using ephemerides (timing solutions) derived from monitoring radio pulsars. Eight of these new gamma-ray pulsars are millisecond pulsars. The dimmest observed flux among the radio-selected pulsars is 1.4 × 10 –8 ph cm –2 s –1 (for E>100 MeV). The remaining six gamma-ray pulsars were known since the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory mission, or before. The limiting flux for pulse detection is non-uniform over the sky owing to different background levels, especially near the Galactic plane. The pulsed energy spectra can be described by a power law with an exponential cutoff, with cutoff energies in the range ~1-5 GeV. The rotational energy-loss rate (more » $$\\dot{E}$$) of these neutron stars spans five decades, from ~3 × 10 33 erg s –1 to 5 × 10 38 erg s –1, and the apparent efficiencies for conversion to gamma-ray emission range from ~0.1% to ~ unity, although distance uncertainties complicate efficiency estimates. The pulse shapes show substantial diversity, but roughly 75% of the gamma-ray pulse profiles have two peaks, separated by ≳0.2 of rotational phase. For most of the pulsars, gamma-ray emission appears to come mainly from the outer magnetosphere, while polar-cap emission remains plausible for a remaining few. Spatial associations imply that many of these pulsars power pulsar wind nebulae. In conclusion, these discoveries suggest that gamma-ray-selected young pulsars are born at a rate comparable to that of their radio-selected cousins and that the birthrate of all young gamma-ray-detected pulsars is a substantial fraction of the expected Galactic supernova rate.« less

Fermi GBM: Highlights from the First Year

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson-Hodge, Colleen A.

2009-01-01

The Fermi Gamma ray Burst Monitor is an all-sky instrument sensitive to photons from about 8 keV to 40 MeV. I will summarize highlights from the first year, including triggered observations of gamma ray bursts, soft gamma ray repeaters, and terrestrial gamma flashes, and observations in the continuous data of X-ray binaries and accreting X-ray pulsars. GBM provides complementary observations to Swift/BAT, observing many of the same sources, but over a wider energy range.

Recombining plasma in the gamma-ray-emitting mixed-morphology supernova remnant 3C 391

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ergin, T.; Sezer, A.; Saha, L.

2014-07-20

A group of middle-aged mixed-morphology (MM) supernova remnants (SNRs) interacting with molecular clouds (MCs) has been discovered to be strong GeV gamma-ray emitters by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope (Fermi-LAT). The recent observations of the Suzaku X-ray satellite have revealed that some of these interacting gamma-ray-emitting SNRs, such as IC443, W49B, W44, and G359.1-0.5, have overionized plasmas. 3C 391 (G31.9+0.0) is another Galactic MM SNR interacting with MCs. It was observed in GeV gamma rays by Fermi-LAT as well as in the 0.3-10.0 keV X-ray band by Suzaku. In this work, 3C 391more » was detected in GeV gamma rays with a significance of ∼18σ and we showed that the GeV emission is point-like in nature. The GeV gamma-ray spectrum was shown to be best explained by the decay of neutral pions assuming that the protons follow a broken power-law distribution. We revealed radiative recombination structures of silicon and sulfur from 3C 391 using Suzaku data. In this paper, we discuss the possible origin of this type of radiative plasma and hadronic gamma rays.« less

GRI: The Gamma-Ray Imager mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knödlseder, Jürgen; GRI Consortium

With the INTEGRAL observatory ESA has provided a unique tool to the astronomical community revealing hundreds of sources, new classes of objects, extraordinary views of antimatter annihilation in our Galaxy, and fingerprints of recent nucleosynthesis processes. While INTEGRAL provides the global overview over the soft gamma-ray sky, there is a growing need to perform deeper, more focused investigations of gamma-ray sources. In soft X-rays a comparable step was taken going from the Einstein and the EXOSAT satellites to the Chandra and XMM/Newton observatories. Technological advances in the past years in the domain of gamma-ray focusing using Laue diffraction have paved the way towards a new gamma-ray mission, providing major improvements regarding sensitivity and angular resolution. Such a future Gamma-Ray Imager will allow studies of particle acceleration processes and explosion physics in unprecedented detail, providing essential clues on the innermost nature of the most violent and most energetic processes in the Universe.

GRI: The Gamma-Ray Imager mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knödlseder, Jürgen; GRI Consortium

2006-06-01

With the INTEGRAL observatory, ESA has provided a unique tool to the astronomical community revealing hundreds of sources, new classes of objects, extraordinary views of antimatter annihilation in our Galaxy, and fingerprints of recent nucleosynthesis processes. While INTEGRAL provides the global overview over the soft gamma-ray sky, there is a growing need to perform deeper, more focused investigations of gamma-ray sources. In soft X-rays a comparable step was taken going from the Einstein and the EXOSAT satellites to the Chandra and XMM/Newton observatories. Technological advances in the past years in the domain of gamma-ray focusing using Laue diffraction have paved the way towards a new gamma-ray mission, providing major improvements regarding sensitivity and angular resolution. Such a future Gamma-Ray Imager will allow the study of particle acceleration processes and explosion physics in unprecedented detail, providing essential clues on the innermost nature of the most violent and most energetic processes in the Universe.

Periodic Emission from the Gamma-Ray Binary 1FGL J1018.6-5856

DOE PAGES

Ackermann, M.

2012-01-12

Gamma-ray binaries are stellar systems containing a neutron star or black hole with gamma-ray emission produced by an interaction between the components. These systems are rare, even though binary evolution models predict dozens in our Galaxy. A search for gamma-ray binaries with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) shows that 1FGL J1018.6-5856 exhibits intensity and spectral modulation with a 16.6 day period. We identified a variable X-ray counterpart, which shows a sharp maximum coinciding with maximum gamma-ray emission, as well as an O6V((f)) star optical counterpart and a radio counterpart that is also apparently modulated on the orbital period. 1FGLmore » J1018.6-5856 is thus a gamma-ray binary, and its detection suggests the presence of other fainter binaries in the Galaxy.« less

Status of the GAMMA-400 Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galper, A. M.; Adriani, O.; Aptekar, R. L.; Arkhangelskaja, I. V.; Arkhangelskiy, A. I.; Boezio, M.; Bonvicini, V.; Boyarchuk, K. A.; Gusakov, Yu. V.; Farber, M. O.;

Continuous Shape Estimation of Continuum Robots Using X-ray Images

PubMed Central

Lobaton, Edgar J.; Fu, Jinghua; Torres, Luis G.; Alterovitz, Ron

2015-01-01

We present a new method for continuously and accurately estimating the shape of a continuum robot during a medical procedure using a small number of X-ray projection images (e.g., radiographs or fluoroscopy images). Continuum robots have curvilinear structure, enabling them to maneuver through constrained spaces by bending around obstacles. Accurately estimating the robot’s shape continuously over time is crucial for the success of procedures that require avoidance of anatomical obstacles and sensitive tissues. Online shape estimation of a continuum robot is complicated by uncertainty in its kinematic model, movement of the robot during the procedure, noise in X-ray images, and the clinical need to minimize the number of X-ray images acquired. Our new method integrates kinematics models of the robot with data extracted from an optimally selected set of X-ray projection images. Our method represents the shape of the continuum robot over time as a deformable surface which can be described as a linear combination of time and space basis functions. We take advantage of probabilistic priors and numeric optimization to select optimal camera configurations, thus minimizing the expected shape estimation error. We evaluate our method using simulated concentric tube robot procedures and demonstrate that obtaining between 3 and 10 images from viewpoints selected by our method enables online shape estimation with errors significantly lower than using the kinematic model alone or using randomly spaced viewpoints. PMID:26279960

Continuous Shape Estimation of Continuum Robots Using X-ray Images.

PubMed

Lobaton, Edgar J; Fu, Jinghua; Torres, Luis G; Alterovitz, Ron

2013-05-06

We present a new method for continuously and accurately estimating the shape of a continuum robot during a medical procedure using a small number of X-ray projection images (e.g., radiographs or fluoroscopy images). Continuum robots have curvilinear structure, enabling them to maneuver through constrained spaces by bending around obstacles. Accurately estimating the robot's shape continuously over time is crucial for the success of procedures that require avoidance of anatomical obstacles and sensitive tissues. Online shape estimation of a continuum robot is complicated by uncertainty in its kinematic model, movement of the robot during the procedure, noise in X-ray images, and the clinical need to minimize the number of X-ray images acquired. Our new method integrates kinematics models of the robot with data extracted from an optimally selected set of X-ray projection images. Our method represents the shape of the continuum robot over time as a deformable surface which can be described as a linear combination of time and space basis functions. We take advantage of probabilistic priors and numeric optimization to select optimal camera configurations, thus minimizing the expected shape estimation error. We evaluate our method using simulated concentric tube robot procedures and demonstrate that obtaining between 3 and 10 images from viewpoints selected by our method enables online shape estimation with errors significantly lower than using the kinematic model alone or using randomly spaced viewpoints.

Modulated method for efficient, narrow-bandwidth, laser Compton X-ray and gamma-ray sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barty, Christopher P. J.

A method of x-ray and gamma-ray generation via laser Compton scattering uses the interaction of a specially-formatted, highly modulated, long duration, laser pulse with a high-frequency train of high-brightness electron bunches to both create narrow bandwidth x-ray and gamma-ray sources and significantly increase the laser to Compton photon conversion efficiency.

Method for efficient, narrow-bandwidth, laser compton x-ray and gamma-ray sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barty, Christopher P. J.

A method of x-ray and gamma-ray generation via laser Compton scattering uses the interaction of a specially-formatted, highly modulated, long duration, laser pulse with a high-frequency train of high-brightness electron bunches to both create narrow bandwidth x-ray and gamma-ray sources and significantly increase the laser to Compton photon conversion efficiency.

Use of a solar panel as a directionally sensitive large-area radiation monitor for direct and scattered x-rays and gamma-rays.

PubMed

Abdul-Majid, S

1987-01-01

The characteristics of a 25.4 X 91 cm solar cell panel used as an x-ray and gamma-ray radiation monitor are presented. Applications for monitoring the primary x-ray beam are described at different values of operating currents and voltages as well as for directional dependence of scattered radiation. Other applications in gamma-ray radiography are also given. The detector showed linear response to both x-ray and gamma-ray exposures. The equipment is rigid, easy to use, relatively inexpensive and requires no power supply or any complex electronic equipment.

Fermi GBM Observations of Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson-Hodge, Colleen A.; Briggs, M. S.; Connaughton, V.; Fishman, G. J.; Bhat, P. N.; Paciesas, W. S.; Preece, R.; Kippen, R. M.; vonKienlin, A.; Dwyer, J. R.;

Gamma-ray Albedo of the Moon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moskalenko, Igor V.; Porter, Troy A.

2007-06-14

We use the GEANT4 Monte Carlo framework to calculate the gamma-ray albedo of the Moon due to interactions of cosmic ray (CR) nuclei with moon rock. Our calculation of the albedo spectrum agrees with the EGRET data. We show that the spectrum of gamma-rays from the Moon is very steep with an effective cutoff around 3 GeV (600 MeV for the inner part of the Moon disc). Since it is the only (almost) black spot in the gamma-ray sky, it provides a unique opportunity for calibration of gamma-ray telescopes, such as the forthcoming Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST).more » The albedo flux depends on the incident CR spectrum which changes over the solar cycle. Therefore, it is possible to monitor the CR spectrum using the albedo gamma-ray flux. Simultaneous measurements of CR proton and helium spectra by the Payload for Antimatter Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics (PAMELA), and observations of the albedo -rays by the GLAST Large Area Telescope (LAT), can be used to test the model predictions and will enable the GLAST LAT to monitor the CR spectrum near the Earth beyond the lifetime of PAMELA.« less

NEAR Gamma Ray Spectrometer Characterization and Repair

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Groves, Joel Lee; Vajda, Stefan

1998-01-01

This report covers the work completed in the third year of the contract. The principle activities during this period were (1) the characterization of the NEAR 2 Gamma Ray Spectrometer using a neutron generator to generate complex gamma ray spectra and a large Ge Detecter to identify all the major peaks in the spectra; (2) the evaluation and repair of the Engineering Model Unit of the Gamma Ray Spectrometer for the NEAR mission; (3) the investigation of polycapillary x-ray optics for x-ray detection; and (4) technology transfer from NASA to forensic science.

Multiwavelength Study of Gamma-Ray Bright Blazars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morozova, Daria; Larionov, V. M.; Hagen-Thorn, V. A.; Jorstad, S. G.; Marscher, A. P.; Troitskii, I. S.

2011-01-01

We investigate total intensity radio images of 6 gamma-ray bright blazars (BL Lac, 3C 279, 3C 273, W Com, PKS 1510-089, and 3C 66A) and their optical and gamma-ray light curves to study connections between gamma-ray and optical brightness variations and changes in the parsec-scale radio structure. We use high-resolution maps obtained by the BU group at 43 GHz with the VLBA, optical light curves constructed by the St.Petersburg State U. (Russia) team using measurements with the 0.4 m telescope of St.Petersburg State U. (LX200) and the 0.7 m telescope of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (AZT-8), and gamma-ray light curves, which we have constructed with data provided by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. Over the period from August 2008 to November 2009, superluminal motion is found in all 6 objects with apparent speed ranging from 2c to 40c. The blazars with faster apparent speeds, 3C 273, 3C 279, PKS 1510-089, and 3C 66A, exhibit stronger variability of the gamma-ray emission. There is a tendency for sources with sharply peaked gamma-ray flares to have faster jet speed than sources with gamma-ray light curves with no sharp peaks. Gamma-ray light curves with sharply peaked gamma-ray flares possess a stronger gamma-ray/optical correlations. The research at St.Petersburg State U. was funded by the Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (state contract N#P123). The research at BU was funded in part by NASA Fermi Guest Investigator grant NNX08AV65G and by NSF grant AST-0907893. The VLBA is an instrument of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Sizing up the population of gamma-ray binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubus, Guillaume; Guillard, Nicolas; Petrucci, Pierre-Olivier; Martin, Pierrick

2017-12-01

Context. Gamma-ray binaries are thought to be composed of a young pulsar in orbit around a massive O or Be star with their gamma-ray emission powered by pulsar spin-down. The number of such systems in our Galaxy is not known. Aims: We aim to estimate the total number of gamma-ray binaries in our Galaxy and to evaluate the prospects for new detections in the GeV and TeV energy range, taking into account that their gamma-ray emission is modulated on the orbital period. Methods: We modelled the population of gamma-ray binaries and evaluated the fraction of detected systems in surveys with the Fermi-LAT (GeV), H.E.S.S., HAWC and CTA (TeV) using observation-based and synthetic template light curves. Results: The detected fraction depends more on the orbit-average flux than on the light-curve shape. Our best estimate for the number of gamma-ray binaries is 101-52+89 systems. A handful of discoveries are expected by pursuing the Fermi-LAT survey. Discoveries in TeV surveys are less likely. However, this depends on the relative amounts of power emitted in GeV and TeV domains. There could be as many as ≈ 200 HESS J0632+057-like systems with a high ratio of TeV to GeV emission compared to other gamma-ray binaries. Statistics allow for as many as three discoveries in five years of HAWC observations and five discoveries in the first two years of the CTA Galactic Plane survey. Conclusions: We favour continued Fermi-LAT observations over ground-based TeV surveys to find new gamma-ray binaries. Gamma-ray observations are most sensitive to short orbital period systems with a high spin-down pulsar power. Radio pulsar surveys (SKA) are likely to be more efficient in detecting long orbital period systems, providing a complementary probe into the gamma-ray binary population.

Cosmic gamma-rays and cosmic nuclei above 1 TeV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, A. A.

1986-01-01

Work on cosmic gamma rays and cosmic nuclei above I TeV is described and evaluated. The prospect that gamma ray astronomy above I TeV will give new insights into high energy cosmic ray origin within our galaxy is particularly bright.

Sources of GeV Photons and the Fermi Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dermer, Charles D.

This chapter presents the elaborated lecture notes on Sources of GeV Photons and the Fermi Results given by Charles D. Dermer at the 40th Saas-Fee Advanced Course on "Astrophysics at Very High Energies". The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope made important discoveries and established new results in various areas of astrophysics: from our solar system to remote gamma-ray bursts, from pulsar physics to limits on dark matter and Lorentz invariance violations. The author gives a broad overview of these results by discussing GeV instrumentation and the GeV sky as seen by Fermi, the Fermi catalogs on gamma-ray sources, pulsars and active galactic nuclei, relativistic jet physics and blazars, gamma-rays from cosmic rays in the Galaxy, from star-forming galaxies and from clusters of galaxies, the diffuse extra-galactic gamma-ray background, micro-quasars, radio galaxies, the extragalactic background light, gamma-ray bursts, Fermi acceleration, ultra-high energy cosmic rays, and black holes.

Ground-based very high energy gamma ray astronomy: Observational highlights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turver, K. E.

1986-01-01

It is now more than 20 years since the first ground based gamma ray experiments involving atmospheric Cerenkov radiation were undertaken. The present highlights in observational ground-based very high energy (VHE) gamma ray astronomy and the optimism about an interesting future for the field follow progress in these areas: (1) the detection at increased levels of confidence of an enlarged number of sources so that at present claims were made for the detection, at the 4 to 5 sd level of significance, of 8 point sources; (2) the replication of the claimed detections with, for the first time, confirmation of the nature and detail of the emission; and (3) the extension of gamma ray astronomy to the ultra high energy (UHE) domain. The pattern, if any, to emerge from the list of sources claimed so far is that X-ray binary sources appear to be copious emitters of gamma rays over at least 4 decades of energy. These X-ray sources which behave as VHE and UHE gamma ray emitters are examined.

[Exploration of relationship between the expression level of DNA polymerase beta and 60Co gamma-ray radiosensitivity].

PubMed

Cui, Jie; Xu, Xin; Yang, Mo; Chen, Chen; Zhao, Wei; Wu, Mei; Zhang, Zun-zhen

2011-11-01

To explore the relationship between the expression level of DNA polymerase beta (pol beta) and 60Co gamma-ray radiosensitivity and provide a basis on improving the efficiency of radiotherapy theoretically. pol beta wild-type cells (pol beta +/+), pol beta null cells (pol beta -/-) and pol beta overexpressed cells (polp beta oe) were applied as a model system. The radiosensitivity of 60Co gamma-ray on the cell was detected by MTT assay and clone formation assay. The DCFH-DA fluorescent probe was used to examine the cellular ROS after 60Co gamma-rays radiation. MTT assay showed that after radiation by 60Co gamma-rays followed with 72 h incubation, the cell viabilities in the three kinds of cells decreased significantly with a dose-response relationship (r-/+ = -0.976, r-/- = -0.977, r(oe) = -0.982, P<0.05). In addition, the viability of pol beta -/- cell was lower than those of other two kinds of cells at the same dose (P<0.05). Likewise, the colony number and colony formation rate in all tested cells also decreased after exposure to 60Co gamma-rays. The ROS level in the three kinds of cells was enhanced after treatment with 60Co gamma-ray, and the ROS level in pol beta -/- cells was much higher than that in the other two kinds of cells (P<0.05). Cell death caused by 60Co gamma-ray may associated with the DNA oxidative damage mediated by ROS; Overexpression of pol beta could protect against oxidative DNA damage, thus the cell apoptosis/death, thereby leading to reducing the radiosensitivity of 60Co gamma-rays, while null of DNA pol beta could increase radiosensitivity of 60Co gamma-rays by compromising the DNA repair.

Discovery of very-high-energy gamma-rays from the Galactic Centre ridge.

PubMed

Aharonian, F; Akhperjanian, A G; Bazer-Bachi, A R; Beilicke, M; Benbow, W; Berge, D; Bernlöhr, K; Boisson, C; Bolz, O; Borrel, V; Braun, I; Breitling, F; Brown, A M; Chadwick, P M; Chounet, L-M; Cornils, R; Costamante, L; Degrange, B; Dickinson, H J; Djannati-Ataï, A; Drury, L O'C; Dubus, G; Emmanoulopoulos, D; Espigat, P; Feinstein, F; Fontaine, G; Fuchs, Y; Funk, S; Gallant, Y A; Giebels, B; Gillessen, S; Glicenstein, J F; Goret, P; Hadjichristidis, C; Hauser, D; Hauser, M; Heinzelmann, G; Henri, G; Hermann, G; Hinton, J A; Hofmann, W; Holleran, M; Horns, D; Jacholkowska, A; de Jager, O C; Khélifi, B; Klages, S; Komin, Nu; Konopelko, A; Latham, I J; Le Gallou, R; Lemière, A; Lemoine-Goumard, M; Leroy, N; Lohse, T; Marcowith, A; Martin, J M; Martineau-Huynh, O; Masterson, C; McComb, T J L; de Naurois, M; Nolan, S J; Noutsos, A; Orford, K J; Osborne, J L; Ouchrif, M; Panter, M; Pelletier, G; Pita, S; Pühlhofer, G; Punch, M; Raubenheimer, B C; Raue, M; Raux, J; Rayner, S M; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Ripken, J; Rob, L; Rolland, L; Rowell, G; Sahakian, V; Saugé, L; Schlenker, S; Schlickeiser, R; Schuster, C; Schwanke, U; Siewert, M; Sol, H; Spangler, D; Steenkamp, R; Stegmann, C; Tavernet, J-P; Terrier, R; Théoret, C G; Tluczykont, M; van Eldik, C; Vasileiadis, G; Venter, C; Vincent, P; Völk, H J; Wagner, S J

2006-02-09

The source of Galactic cosmic rays (with energies up to 10(15) eV) remains unclear, although it is widely believed that they originate in the shock waves of expanding supernova remnants. At present the best way to investigate their acceleration and propagation is by observing the gamma-rays produced when cosmic rays interact with interstellar gas. Here we report observations of an extended region of very-high-energy (> 10(11) eV) gamma-ray emission correlated spatially with a complex of giant molecular clouds in the central 200 parsecs of the Milky Way. The hardness of the gamma-ray spectrum and the conditions in those molecular clouds indicate that the cosmic rays giving rise to the gamma-rays are likely to be protons and nuclei rather than electrons. The energy associated with the cosmic rays could have come from a single supernova explosion around 10(4) years ago.

Helios-2 Vela-Ariel-5 gamma-ray burst source position

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cline, T. L.; Trainor, J. H.; Desai, U. D.; Klebesadel, R. W.; Ricketts, M.; Heluken, H.

1979-01-01

The gamma-ray burst of 28 January 1976, one of 18 events thus far detected in interplanetary space with Helios-2, was also observed with the Vela-5A, -6A and the Ariel-5 satellites. A small source field is obtained from the intersection of the region derived from the observed time delays between Helios-2 and Vela-5A and -6A with the source region independently found with the Ariel-5 X-ray detector. This area contains neither any steady X-ray source as scanned by HEAO-A nor any previously catalogued X-ray, radio or infrared sources, X-ray transients, quasars, seyferts, globular clusters, flare stars, pulsars, white dwarfs or high energy gamma-ray sources. The region is however, within the source field of a gamma-ray transient observed in 1974, which exhibited nuclear gamma-ray line structure.

Cosmic ray albedo gamma rays from the quiet sun

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seckel, D.; Stanev, T.; Gaisser, T. K.

1992-01-01

We estimate the flux of gamma-rays that result from collisions of high energy galactic cosmic rays with the solar atmosphere. An important aspect of our model is the propagation of cosmic rays through the magnetic fields of the inner solar systems. We use diffusion to model propagation down to the bottom of the corona. Below the corona we trace particle orbits through the photospheric fields to determine the location of cosmic ray interactions in the solar atmosphere and evolve the resultant cascades. For our nominal choice of parameters, we predict an integrated flux of gamma rays (at 1 AU) of F(E(sub gamma) greater than 100 MeV) approximately = 5 x 10(exp -8)/sq cm sec. This can be an order of magnitude above the galactic background and should be observable by the Energetic Gamma Ray experiment telescope (EGRET).

Workshop on Cosmic Ray and High Energy Gamma Ray Experiments for the Space Station Era, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, October 17-20, 1984, Proceedings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, W. V. (Editor); Wefel, J. P. (Editor)

1985-01-01

The potential of the Space Station as a platform for cosmic-ray and high-energy gamma-ray astronomy is discussed in reviews, reports, and specific proposals. Topics examined include antiparticles and electrons, science facilities and new technology, high-energy nuclear interactions, nuclear composition and energy spectra, Space Shuttle experiments, Space Station facilities and detectors, high-energy gamma rays, and gamma-ray facilities and techniques. Consideration is given to universal-baryon-symmetry testing on the scale of galactic clusters, particle studies in a high-inclination orbit, balloon-borne emulsion-chamber results on ultrarelativistic nucleus-nucleus interactions, ionization states of low-energy cosmic rays, a large gamma-ray telescope for point-source studies above 1 GeV, and the possible existence of stable quark matter.

The supernova-gamma-ray burst-jet connection.

PubMed

Hjorth, Jens

2013-06-13

The observed association between supernovae and gamma-ray bursts represents a cornerstone in our understanding of the nature of gamma-ray bursts. The collapsar model provides a theoretical framework for this connection. A key element is the launch of a bipolar jet (seen as a gamma-ray burst). The resulting hot cocoon disrupts the star, whereas the (56)Ni produced gives rise to radioactive heating of the ejecta, seen as a supernova. In this discussion paper, I summarize the observational status of the supernova-gamma-ray burst connection in the context of the 'engine' picture of jet-driven supernovae and highlight SN 2012bz/GRB 120422A--with its luminous supernova but intermediate high-energy luminosity--as a possible transition object between low-luminosity and jet gamma-ray bursts. The jet channel for supernova explosions may provide new insights into supernova explosions in general.

THE FERMI ALL-SKY VARIABILITY ANALYSIS: A LIST OF FLARING GAMMA-RAY SOURCES AND THE SEARCH FOR TRANSIENTS IN OUR GALAXY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Albert, A.

2013-07-01

In this paper, we present the Fermi All-sky Variability Analysis (FAVA), a tool to systematically study the variability of the gamma-ray sky measured by the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. For each direction on the sky, FAVA compares the number of gamma-rays observed in a given time window to the number of gamma-rays expected for the average emission detected from that direction. This method is used in weekly time intervals to derive a list of 215 flaring gamma-ray sources. We proceed to discuss the 27 sources found at Galactic latitudes smaller than 10 Degree-Sign andmore » show that, despite their low latitudes, most of them are likely of extragalactic origin.« less

The FERMI All-Sky Variability Analysis: A List of Flaring Gamma-Ray Sources and the Search for Transients in Our Galaxy

DOE PAGES

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Albert, A.; ...

2013-06-17

In this paper, we present the Fermi All-sky Variability Analysis (FAVA), a tool to systematically study the variability of the gamma-ray sky measured by the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. In addition, for each direction on the sky, FAVA compares the number of gamma-rays observed in a given time window to the number of gamma-rays expected for the average emission detected from that direction. This method is used in weekly time intervals to derive a list of 215 flaring gamma-ray sources. Finally, we proceed to discuss the 27 sources found at Galactic latitudes smaller thanmore » 10° and show that, despite their low latitudes, most of them are likely of extragalactic origin.« less

The goals of gamma-ray spectroscopy in high energy astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lingenfelter, Richard E.; Higdon, James C.; Leventhal, Marvin; Ramaty, Reuven; Woosley, Stanford E.

1990-01-01

The use of high resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy in astrophysics is discussed with specific attention given to the application of the Nuclear Astrophysics Explorer (NAE). The gamma-ray lines from nuclear transitions in radionucleic decay and positron annihilation permits the study of current sites, rates and models of nucleosynthesis, and galactic structure. Diffuse galactic emission is discussed, and the high-resolution observations of gamma-ray lines from discrete sites are also described. Interstellar mixing and elemental abundances can also be inferred from high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy of nucleosynthetic products. Compact objects can also be examined by means of gamma-ray emissions, allowing better understanding of neutron stars and the accreting black hole near the galactic center. Solar physics can also be investigated by examining such features as solar-flare particle acceleration and atmospheric abundances.

The 2010 May Flaring Episode of Cygnus X-3 in Radio, X-Rays, and gamma-Rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Peter K. G.; Tomsick, John A.; Bodaghee, Arash; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Pooley, Guy G.; Pottschmidt, Katja; Rodriguez, Jerome; Wilms, Joern; Migliari, Simone; Trushkin, Sergei A.

2011-01-01

In 2009, Cygnus X-3 (Cyg X-3) became the first microquasar to be detected in the GeV gamma-ray regime, via the satellites Fermi and AGILE. The addition of this new band to the observational toolbox holds promise for building a more detailed understanding of the relativistic jets of this and other systems. We present a rich dataset of radio, hard and soft X-ray, and gamma-ray observations of Cyg X-3 made during a flaring episode in 2010 May. We detect a approx.3-d softening and recovery of the X-ray emission, followed almost immediately by a approx.1-Jy radio flare at 15 GHz, followed by a 4.3sigma gamma-ray flare (E > 100 MeV) approx.1.5 d later. The radio sampling is sparse, but we use archival data to argue that it is unlikely the gamma-ray flare was followed by any significant unobserved radio flares. In this case, the sequencing of the observed events is difficult to explain in a model in which the gamma-ray emission is due to inverse Compton scattering of the companion star's radiation field. Our observations suggest that other mechanisms may also be responsible for gamma-ray emission from Cyg X-3.

Neutron induced background in the COMPTEL detector on the Gamma Ray Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, D. J.; Aarts, H.; Bennett, K.; Busetta, M.; Byrd, R.; Collmar, W.; Connors, A.; Diehl, R.; Eymann, G.; Foster, C.

1992-01-01

Interactions of neutrons in a prototype of the Compton imaging telescope (COMPTEL) gamma ray detector for the Gamma Ray Observatory were studied to determine COMPTEL's sensitivity as a neutron telescope and to estimate the gamma ray background resulting from neutron interactions. The IUCF provided a pulsed neutron beam at five different energies between 18 and 120 MeV. These measurements showed that the gamma ray background from neutron interactions is greater than previously expected. It was thought that most such events would be due to interactions in the upper detector modules of COMPTEL and could be distinguished by pulse shape discrimination. Rather, the bulk of the gamma ray background appears to be due to interactions in passive material, primarily aluminum, surrounding the D1 modules. In a considerable fraction of these interactions, two or more gamma rays are produced simultaneously, with one interacting in the D1 module and the other interacting in the module of the lower (D2) detector. If the neutron interacts near the D1 module, the D1 D2 time of flight cannot distinguish such an event from a true gamma ray event. In order to assess the significance of this background, the flux of neutrons in orbit has been estimated based on observed events with neutron pulse shape signature in D1. The strength of this neutron induced background is estimated. This is compared with the rate expected from the isotropic cosmic gamma ray flux.

Very-high-energy gamma rays from a distant quasar: how transparent is the universe?

PubMed

Albert, J; Aliu, E; Anderhub, H; Antonelli, L A; Antoranz, P; Backes, M; Baixeras, C; Barrio, J A; Bartko, H; Bastieri, D; Becker, J K; Bednarek, W; Berger, K; Bernardini, E; Bigongiari, C; Biland, A; Bock, R K; Bonnoli, G; Bordas, P; Bosch-Ramon, V; Bretz, T; Britvitch, I; Camara, M; Carmona, E; Chilingarian, A; Commichau, S; Contreras, J L; Cortina, J; Costado, M T; Covino, S; Curtef, V; Dazzi, F; De Angelis, A; De Cea Del Pozo, E; de Los Reyes, R; De Lotto, B; De Maria, M; De Sabata, F; Mendez, C Delgado; Dominguez, A; Dorner, D; Doro, M; Errando, M; Fagiolini, M; Ferenc, D; Fernández, E; Firpo, R; Fonseca, M V; Font, L; Galante, N; López, R J García; Garczarczyk, M; Gaug, M; Goebel, F; Hayashida, M; Herrero, A; Höhne, D; Hose, J; Hsu, C C; Huber, S; Jogler, T; Kneiske, T M; Kranich, D; La Barbera, A; Laille, A; Leonardo, E; Lindfors, E; Lombardi, S; Longo, F; López, M; Lorenz, E; Majumdar, P; Maneva, G; Mankuzhiyil, N; Mannheim, K; Maraschi, L; Mariotti, M; Martínez, M; Mazin, D; Meucci, M; Meyer, M; Miranda, J M; Mirzoyan, R; Mizobuchi, S; Moles, M; Moralejo, A; Nieto, D; Nilsson, K; Ninkovic, J; Otte, N; Oya, I; Panniello, M; Paoletti, R; Paredes, J M; Pasanen, M; Pascoli, D; Pauss, F; Pegna, R G; Perez-Torres, M A; Persic, M; Peruzzo, L; Piccioli, A; Prada, F; Prandini, E; Puchades, N; Raymers, A; Rhode, W; Ribó, M; Rico, J; Rissi, M; Robert, A; Rügamer, S; Saggion, A; Saito, T Y; Salvati, M; Sanchez-Conde, M; Sartori, P; Satalecka, K; Scalzotto, V; Scapin, V; Schmitt, R; Schweizer, T; Shayduk, M; Shinozaki, K; Shore, S N; Sidro, N; Sierpowska-Bartosik, A; Sillanpää, A; Sobczynska, D; Spanier, F; Stamerra, A; Stark, L S; Takalo, L; Tavecchio, F; Temnikov, P; Tescaro, D; Teshima, M; Tluczykont, M; Torres, D F; Turini, N; Vankov, H; Venturini, A; Vitale, V; Wagner, R M; Wittek, W; Zabalza, V; Zandanel, F; Zanin, R; Zapatero, J

2008-06-27

The atmospheric Cherenkov gamma-ray telescope MAGIC, designed for a low-energy threshold, has detected very-high-energy gamma rays from a giant flare of the distant Quasi-Stellar Radio Source (in short: radio quasar) 3C 279, at a distance of more than 5 billion light-years (a redshift of 0.536). No quasar has been observed previously in very-high-energy gamma radiation, and this is also the most distant object detected emitting gamma rays above 50 gigaelectron volts. Because high-energy gamma rays may be stopped by interacting with the diffuse background light in the universe, the observations by MAGIC imply a low amount for such light, consistent with that known from galaxy counts.

Gamma-ray burster recurrence timescales

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaefer, B. E.; Cline, T. L.

1984-01-01

Three optical transients have been found which are associated with gamma-ray bursters (GRBs). The deduced recurrence timescale for these optical transients (tau sub opt) will depend on the minimum brightness for which a flash would be detected. A detailed analysis using all available data of tau sub opt as a function of E(gamma)/E(opt) is given. For flashes similar to those found in the Harvard archives, the best estimate of tau sub opt is 0.74 years, with a 99% confidence interval from 0.23 years to 4.7 years. It is currently unclear whether the optical transients from GRBs also give rise to gamma-ray events. One way to test this association is to measure the recurrence timescale of gamma-ray events tau sub gamma. A total of 210 gamma-ray error boxes were examined and it was found that the number of observed overlaps is not significantly different from the number expected from chance coincidence. This observation can be used to place limits on tau sub gamma for an assumed luminosity function. It was found that tau sub gamma is approx. 10 yr if bursts are monoenergetic. However, if GRBs have a power law luminosity function with a wide dynamic range, then the limit is tau sub gamma 0.5 yr. Hence, the gamma-ray data do not require tau sub gamma and tau sub opt to be different.

INTERACTING COSMIC RAYS WITH MOLECULAR CLOUDS: A BREMSSTRAHLUNG ORIGIN OF DIFFUSE HIGH-ENERGY EMISSION FROM THE INNER 2 Degree-Sign Multiplication-Sign 1 Degree-Sign OF THE GALACTIC CENTER

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yusef-Zadeh, F.; Roberts, D. A.; Royster, M.

2013-01-01

The high-energy activity in the inner few degrees of the Galactic center is traced by diffuse radio, X-ray, and {gamma}-ray emission. The physical relationship between different components of diffuse gas emitting at multiple wavelengths is a focus of this work. We first present radio continuum observations using the Green Bank Telescope and model the nonthermal spectrum in terms of a broken power-law distribution of {approx}GeV electrons emitting synchrotron radiation. We show that the emission detected by Fermi is primarily due to nonthermal bremsstrahlung produced by the population of synchrotron emitting electrons in the GeV energy range interacting with neutral gas.more » The extrapolation of the electron population measured from radio data to low and high energies can also explain the origin of Fe I 6.4 keV line and diffuse TeV emission, as observed with Suzaku, XMM-Newton, Chandra, and the H.E.S.S. observatories. The inferred physical quantities from modeling multiwavelength emission in the context of bremsstrahlung emission from the inner {approx}300 Multiplication-Sign 120 pc of the Galactic center are constrained to have the cosmic-ray ionization rate {approx}1-10 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -15} s{sup -1}, molecular gas heating rate elevating the gas temperature to 75-200 K, fractional ionization of molecular gas 10{sup -6}-10{sup -5}, large-scale magnetic field 10-20 {mu}G, the density of diffuse and dense molecular gas {approx}100 and {approx}10{sup 3} cm{sup -3} over 300 pc and 50 pc path lengths, and the variability of Fe I K{alpha} 6.4 keV line emission on yearly timescales. Important implications of our study are that GeV electrons emitting in radio can explain the GeV {gamma}-rays detected by Fermi and that the cosmic-ray irradiation model, like the model of the X-ray irradiation triggered by past activity of Sgr A*, can also explain the origin of the variable 6.4 keV emission from Galactic center molecular clouds.« less

Fermi/LAT study of gamma-ray emission in the direction of the monceros loop supernova remnant

DOE PAGES

Katagiri, H.; Sugiyama, S.; Ackermann, M.; ...

2016-10-31

Here, we present an analysis of the gamma-ray measurements by the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in the region of the supernova remnant (SNR) Monoceros Loop (G205.5+0.5). The brightest gamma-ray peak is spatially correlated with the Rosette Nebula, which is a molecular cloud complex adjacent to the southeast edge of the SNR. After subtraction of this emission by spatial modeling, the gamma-ray emission from the SNR emerges, which is extended and fit by a Gaussian spatial template. The gamma-ray spectra are significantly better reproduced by a curved shape than a simple power law. The luminosities between 0.2 and 300 GeV aremore » $$\\sim 4\\times {10}^{34}$$ erg s -1 for the SNR and $$\\sim 3\\times {10}^{34}$$ erg s -1 for the Rosette Nebula, respectively. We also argue that the gamma-rays likely originate from the interactions of particles accelerated in the SNR. Furthermore, the decay of neutral pions produced in nucleon–nucleon interactions of accelerated hadrons with interstellar gas provides a reasonable explanation for the gamma-ray emission of both the Rosette Nebula and the Monoceros SNR.« less

Detection of Heating Processes in Coronal Loops by Soft X-ray Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawate, Tomoko; Narukage, Noriyuki; Ishikawa, Shin-nosuke; Imada, Shinsuke

2017-08-01

Imaging and Spectroscopic observations in the soft X-ray band will open a new window of the heating/acceleration/transport processes in the solar corona. The soft X-ray spectrum between 0.5 and 10 keV consists of the electron thermal free-free continuum and hot coronal lines such as O VIII, Fe XVII, Mg XI, Si XVII. Intensity of free-free continuum emission is not affected by the population of ions, whereas line intensities especially from highly ionized species have a sensitivity of the timescale of ionization/recombination processes. Thus, spectroscopic observations of both continuum and line intensities have a capability of diagnostics of heating/cooling timescales. We perform a 1D hydrodynamic simulation coupled with the time-dependent ionization, and calculate continuum and line intensities under different heat input conditions in a coronal loop. We also examine the differential emission measure of the coronal loop from the time-integrated soft x-ray spectra. As a result, line intensity shows a departure from the ionization equilibrium and shows different responses depending on the frequency of the heat input. Solar soft X-ray spectroscopic imager will be mounted in the sounding rocket experiment of the Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI). This observation will deepen our understanding of heating processes to solve the “coronal heating problem”.

Moisture effect in prompt gamma measurements from soil samples.

PubMed

Naqvi, A A; Khiari, F Z; Liadi, F A; Khateeb-Ur-Rehman; Raashid, M A; Isab, A H

2016-09-01

The variation in intensity of 1.78MeV silicon, 6.13MeV oxygen, and 2.22MeV hydrogen prompt gamma rays from soil samples due to the addition of 5.1, 7.4, 9.7, 11.9 and 14.0wt% water was studied for 14MeV incident neutron beams utilizing a LaBr3:Ce gamma ray detector. The intensities of 1.78MeV and 6.13MeV gamma rays from silicon and oxygen, respectively, decreased with increasing sample moisture. The intensity of 2.22MeV hydrogen gamma rays increases with moisture. The decrease in intensity of silicon and oxygen gamma rays with moisture concentration indicates a loss of 14MeV neutron flux, while the increase in intensity of 2.22MeV gamma rays with moisture indicates an increase in thermal neutron flux due to increasing concentration of moisture. The experimental intensities of silicon, oxygen and hydrogen prompt gamma rays, measured as a function of moisture concentration in the soil samples, are in good agreement with the theoretical results obtained through Monte Carlo calculations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Constraints on the gamma-ray emission from the cluster-scale AGN outburst in the Hydra A galaxy cluster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

HESS Collaboration; Abramowski, A.; Acero, F.; Aharonian, F.; Akhperjanian, A. G.; Anton, G.; Balenderan, S.; Balzer, A.; Barnacka, A.; Becherini, Y.; Becker, J.; Bernlöhr, K.; Birsin, E.; Biteau, J.; Bochow, A.; Boisson, C.; Bolmont, J.; Bordas, P.; Brucker, J.; Brun, F.; Brun, P.; Bulik, T.; Büsching, I.; Carrigan, S.; Casanova, S.; Cerruti, M.; Chadwick, P. M.; Charbonnier, A.; Chaves, R. C. G.; Cheesebrough, A.; Cologna, G.; Conrad, J.; Couturier, C.; Daniel, M. K.; Davids, I. D.; Degrange, B.; Deil, C.; Dickinson, H. J.; Djannati-Ataï, A.; Domainko, W.; O'C. Drury, L.; Dubus, G.; Dutson, K.; Dyks, J.; Dyrda, M.; Egberts, K.; Eger, P.; Espigat, P.; Fallon, L.; Fegan, S.; Feinstein, F.; Fernandes, M. V.; Fiasson, A.; Fontaine, G.; Förster, A.; Füßling, M.; Gajdus, M.; Gallant, Y. A.; Garrigoux, T.; Gast, H.; Gérard, L.; Giebels, B.; Glicenstein, J. F.; Glück, B.; Göring, D.; Grondin, M.-H.; Häffner, S.; Hague, J. D.; Hahn, J.; Hampf, D.; Harris, J.; Hauser, M.; Heinz, S.; Heinzelmann, G.; Henri, G.; Hermann, G.; Hillert, A.; Hinton, J. A.; Hofmann, W.; Hofverberg, P.; Holler, M.; Horns, D.; Jacholkowska, A.; Jahn, C.; Jamrozy, M.; Jung, I.; Kastendieck, M. A.; Katarzyński, K.; Katz, U.; Kaufmann, S.; Khélifi, B.; Klochkov, D.; Kluźniak, W.; Kneiske, T.; Komin, Nu.; Kosack, K.; Kossakowski, R.; Krayzel, F.; Laffon, H.; Lamanna, G.; Lenain, J.-P.; Lennarz, D.; Lohse, T.; Lopatin, A.; Lu, C.-C.; Marandon, V.; Marcowith, A.; Masbou, J.; Maurin, G.; Maxted, N.; Mayer, M.; McComb, T. J. L.; Medina, M. C.; Méhault, J.; Moderski, R.; Mohamed, M.; Moulin, E.; Naumann, C. L.; Naumann-Godo, M.; de Naurois, M.; Nedbal, D.; Nekrassov, D.; Nguyen, N.; Nicholas, B.; Niemiec, J.; Nolan, S. J.; Ohm, S.; de Oña Wilhelmi, E.; Opitz, B.; Ostrowski, M.; Oya, I.; Panter, M.; Paz Arribas, M.; Pekeur, N. W.; Pelletier, G.; Perez, J.; Petrucci, P.-O.; Peyaud, B.; Pita, S.; Pühlhofer, G.; Punch, M.; Quirrenbach, A.; Raue, M.; Reimer, A.; Reimer, O.; Renaud, M.; de los Reyes, R.; Rieger, F.; Ripken, J.; Rob, L.; Rosier-Lees, S.; Rowell, G.; Rudak, B.; Rulten, C. B.; Sahakian, V.; Sanchez, D. A.; Santangelo, A.; Schlickeiser, R.; Schulz, A.; Schwanke, U.; Schwarzburg, S.; Schwemmer, S.; Sheidaei, F.; Skilton, J. L.; Sol, H.; Spengler, G.; Stawarz, Ł.; Steenkamp, R.; Stegmann, C.; Stinzing, F.; Stycz, K.; Sushch, I.; Szostek, A.; Tavernet, J.-P.; Terrier, R.; Tluczykont, M.; Valerius, K.; van Eldik, C.; Vasileiadis, G.; Venter, C.; Viana, A.; Vincent, P.; Völk, H. J.; Volpe, F.; Vorobiov, S.; Vorster, M.; Wagner, S. J.; Ward, M.; White, R.; Wierzcholska, A.; Zacharias, M.; Zajczyk, A.; Zdziarski, A. A.; Zech, A.; Zechlin, H.-S.; Ali, M. O.

2012-09-01

Context. In some galaxy clusters, powerful active galactic nuclei (AGN) have blown bubbles with cluster scale extent into the ambient medium. The main pressure support of these bubbles is not known to date, but cosmic rays are a viable possibility. For such a scenario copious gamma-ray emission is expected as a tracer of cosmic rays from these systems. Aims: Hydra A, the closest galaxy cluster hosting a cluster scale AGN outburst, located at a redshift of 0.0538, is investigated for being a gamma-ray emitter with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) array and the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT). Methods: Data obtained in 20.2 h of dedicated H.E.S.S. observations and 38 months of Fermi-LAT data, gathered by its usual all-sky scanning mode, have been analyzed to search for a gamma-ray signal. Results: No signal has been found in either data set. Upper limits on the gamma-ray flux are derived and are compared to models. These are the first limits on gamma-ray emission ever presented for galaxy clusters hosting cluster scale AGN outbursts. Conclusions: The non-detection of Hydra A in gamma-rays has important implications on the particle populations and physical conditions inside the bubbles in this system. For the case of bubbles mainly supported by hadronic cosmic rays, the most favorable scenario, which involves full mixing between cosmic rays and embedding medium, can be excluded. However, hadronic cosmic rays still remain a viable pressure support agent to sustain the bubbles against the thermal pressure of the ambient medium. The largest population of highly-energetic electrons, which are relevant for inverse-Compton gamma-ray production is found in the youngest inner lobes of Hydra A. The limit on the inverse-Compton gamma-ray flux excludes a magnetic field below half of the equipartition value of 16 μG in the inner lobes.

Measurements of neutron distribution in neutrons-gamma-rays mixed field using imaging plate for neutron capture therapy.

PubMed

Tanaka, Kenichi; Endo, Satoru; Hoshi, Masaharu

2010-01-01

The imaging plate (IP) technique is tried to be used as a handy method to measure the spatial neutron distribution via the (157)Gd(n,gamma)(158)Gd reaction for neutron capture therapy (NCT). For this purpose, IP is set in a water phantom and irradiated in a mixed field of neutrons and gamma-rays. The Hiroshima University Radiobiological Research Accelerator is utilized for this experiment. The neutrons are moderated with 20-cm-thick D(2)O to obtain suitable neutron field for NCT. The signal for IP doped with Gd as a neutron-response enhancer is subtracted with its contribution by gamma-rays, which was estimated using IP without Gd. The gamma-ray response of Gd-doped IP to non-Gd IP is set at 1.34, the value measured for (60)Co gamma-rays, in estimating the gamma-ray contribution to Gd-doped IP signal. Then measured distribution of the (157)Gd(n,gamma)(158)Gd reaction rate agrees within 10% with the calculated value based on the method that has already been validated for its reproducibility of Au activation. However, the evaluated distribution of the (157)Gd(n,gamma)(158)Gd reaction rate is so sensitive to gamma-ray energy, e.g. the discrepancy of the (157)Gd(n,gamma)(158)Gd reaction rate between measurement and calculation becomes 30% for the photon energy change from 33keV to 1.253MeV.

Discovery of Pulsations from the Pulsar J0205 6449 in SNR 3C 58 with the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdo, Aous A.; /Naval Research Lab, Wash., D.C.; Ackermann, M.

2011-12-01

We report the discovery of {gamma}-ray pulsations ({ge}0.1 GeV) from the young radio and X-ray pulsar PSR J0205 + 6449 located in the Galactic supernova remnant 3C 58. Data in the {gamma}-ray band were acquired by the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST), while the radio rotational ephemeris used to fold {gamma}-rays was obtained using both the Green Bank Telescope and the Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank. The light curve consists of two peaks separated by 0.49 {+-} 0.01 {+-} 0.01 cycles which are aligned with the X-ray peaks. The first {gamma}-ray peak trails themore » radio pulse by 0.08 {+-} 0.01 {+-} 0.01, while its amplitude decreases with increasing energy as for the other {gamma}-ray pulsars. Spectral analysis of the pulsed {gamma}-ray emission suggests a simple power law of index -2.1 {+-} 0.1 {+-} 0.2 with an exponential cutoff at 3.0{sub -0.7}{sup +1.1} {+-} 0.4 GeV. The first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The integral {gamma}-ray photon flux above 0.1 GeV is (13.7 {+-} 1.4 {+-} 3.0) x 10{sup -8} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}, which implies for a distance of 3.2 kpc and assuming a broad fan-like beam a luminosity of 8.3 x 10{sup 34} erg s{sup -1} and an efficiency {eta} of 0.3%. Finally, we report a 95% upper limit on the flux of 1.7 x 10{sup -8} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} for off-pulse emission from the object.« less

DISCOVERY OF PULSATIONS FROM THE PULSAR J0205+6449 IN SNR 3C 58 WITH THE FERMI GAMMA-RAY SPACE TELESCOPE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdo, A. A.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.

2009-07-10

We report the discovery of {gamma}-ray pulsations ({>=}0.1 GeV) from the young radio and X-ray pulsar PSR J0205 + 6449 located in the Galactic supernova remnant 3C 58. Data in the {gamma}-ray band were acquired by the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST), while the radio rotational ephemeris used to fold {gamma}-rays was obtained using both the Green Bank Telescope and the Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank. The light curve consists of two peaks separated by 0.49 {+-} 0.01 {+-} 0.01 cycles which are aligned with the X-ray peaks. The first {gamma}-ray peak trails themore » radio pulse by 0.08 {+-} 0.01 {+-} 0.01, while its amplitude decreases with increasing energy as for the other {gamma}-ray pulsars. Spectral analysis of the pulsed {gamma}-ray emission suggests a simple power law of index -2.1 {+-} 0.1 {+-} 0.2 with an exponential cutoff at 3.0{sup +1.1} {sub -0.7} {+-} 0.4 GeV. The first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The integral {gamma}-ray photon flux above 0.1 GeV is (13.7 {+-} 1.4 {+-} 3.0) x 10{sup -8} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}, which implies for a distance of 3.2 kpc and assuming a broad fan-like beam a luminosity of 8.3 x 10{sup 34} erg s{sup -1} and an efficiency {eta} of 0.3%. Finally, we report a 95% upper limit on the flux of 1.7 x 10{sup -8} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} for off-pulse emission from the object.« less

An improved time of flight gamma-ray telescope to monitor diffuse gamma-ray in the energy range 5 MeV - 50 MeV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dacostafereiraneri, A.; Bui-Van, A.; Lavigne, J. M.; Sabaud, C.; Vedrenne, G.; Agrinier, B.; Gouiffes, C.

1985-01-01

A time of flight measuring device is the basic triggering system of most of medium and high energy gamma-ray telescopes. A simple gamma-ray telescope has been built in order to check in flight conditions the functioning of an advanced time of flight system. The technical ratings of the system are described. This telescope has been flown twice with stratospheric balloons, its axis being oriented at various Zenital directions. Flight results are presented for diffuse gamma-rays, atmospheric secondaries, and various causes of noise in the 5 MeV-50 MeV energy range.

Multiwavelength Challenges in the Fermi Era

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D. J.

2010-01-01

The gamma-ray surveys of the sky by AGILE and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope offer both opportunities and challenges for multiwavelength and multi-messenger studies. Gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, binary sources, flaring Active Galactic Nuclei, and Galactic transient sources are all phenomena that can best be studied with a wide variety of instruments simultaneously or contemporaneously. From the gamma-ray side, a principal challenge is the latency from the time of an astrophysical event to the recognition of this event in the data. Obtaining quick and complete multiwavelength coverage of gamma-ray sources of interest can be difficult both in terms of logistics and in terms of generating scientific interest.

Interpretation of detailed aerial gamma-ray survey, Jabal Ashirah area, southeastern Arabian Shield, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Duval, J.S.

1987-01-01

A detailed aerial gamma-ray spectrometric survey of the Jabal Ashirah area in the southeastern Arabian Shield has been analyzed using computer-classification algorithms. The analysis resulted in maps that show radiometric map units and gamma-ray anomalies indicating the presence of possible concentrations of potassium and uranium. The radiometric-unit map was interpreted to 'produce a simplified radiolithic map that was correlated with the mapped geology. The gamma-ray data show uranium anomalies that coincide with a tin-bearing granite, but known gold and nickel mineralization do not have any associated gamma-ray signatures.

A 3D simulation look-up library for real-time airborne gamma-ray spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulisek, Jonathan A.; Wittman, Richard S.; Miller, Erin A.; Kernan, Warnick J.; McCall, Jonathon D.; McConn, Ron J.; Schweppe, John E.; Seifert, Carolyn E.; Stave, Sean C.; Stewart, Trevor N.

2018-01-01

A three-dimensional look-up library consisting of simulated gamma-ray spectra was developed to leverage, in real-time, the abundance of data provided by a helicopter-mounted gamma-ray detection system consisting of 92 CsI-based radiation sensors and exhibiting a highly angular-dependent response. We have demonstrated how this library can be used to help effectively estimate the terrestrial gamma-ray background, develop simulated flight scenarios, and to localize radiological sources. Source localization accuracy was significantly improved, particularly for weak sources, by estimating the entire gamma-ray spectra while accounting for scattering in the air, and especially off the ground.

New Fermi-LAT event reconstruction reveals more high-energy gamma rays from gamma-ray bursts

DOE PAGES

Atwood, W. B.; Baldini, L.; Bregeon, J.; ...

2013-08-19

Here, based on the experience gained during the four and a half years of the mission, the Fermi-LAT Collaboration has undertaken a comprehensive revision of the event-level analysis going under the name of Pass 8. Although it is not yet finalized, we can test the improvements in the new event reconstruction with the special case of the prompt phase of bright gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), where the signal-to-noise ratio is large enough that loose selection cuts are sufficient to identify gamma rays associated with the source. Using the new event reconstruction, we have re-analyzed 10 GRBs previously detected by the Largemore » Area Telescope (LAT) for which an X-ray/optical follow-up was possible and found four new gamma rays with energies greater than 10 GeV in addition to the seven previously known. Among these four is a 27.4 GeV gamma ray from GRB 080916C, which has a redshift of 4.35, thus making it the gamma ray with the highest intrinsic energy (~147 GeV) detected from a GRB. We present here the salient aspects of the new event reconstruction and discuss the scientific implications of these new high-energy gamma rays, such as constraining extragalactic background light models, Lorentz invariance violation tests, the prompt emission mechanism, and the bulk Lorentz factor of the emitting region.« less

Precision imaging of 4.4 MeV gamma rays using a 3-D position sensitive Compton camera.

PubMed

Koide, Ayako; Kataoka, Jun; Masuda, Takamitsu; Mochizuki, Saku; Taya, Takanori; Sueoka, Koki; Tagawa, Leo; Fujieda, Kazuya; Maruhashi, Takuya; Kurihara, Takuya; Inaniwa, Taku

2018-05-25

Imaging of nuclear gamma-ray lines in the 1-10 MeV range is far from being established in both medical and physical applications. In proton therapy, 4.4 MeV gamma rays are emitted from the excited nucleus of either 12 C* or 11 B* and are considered good indicators of dose delivery and/or range verification. Further, in gamma-ray astronomy, 4.4 MeV gamma rays are produced by cosmic ray interactions in the interstellar medium, and can thus be used to probe nucleothynthesis in the universe. In this paper, we present a high-precision image of 4.4 MeV gamma rays taken by newly developed 3-D position sensitive Compton camera (3D-PSCC). To mimic the situation in proton therapy, we first irradiated water, PMMA and Ca(OH)2 with a 70 MeV proton beam, then we identified various nuclear lines with the HPGe detector. The 4.4 MeV gamma rays constitute a broad peak, including single and double escape peaks. Thus, by setting an energy window of 3D-PSCC from 3 to 5 MeV, we show that a gamma ray image sharply concentrates near the Bragg peak, as expected from the minimum energy threshold and sharp peak profile in the cross section of 12 C(p,p) 12 C*.

A link between prompt optical and prompt gamma-ray emission in gamma-ray bursts.

PubMed

Vestrand, W T; Wozniak, P R; Wren, J A; Fenimore, E E; Sakamoto, T; White, R R; Casperson, D; Davis, H; Evans, S; Galassi, M; McGowan, K E; Schier, J A; Asa, J W; Barthelmy, S D; Cummings, J R; Gehrels, N; Hullinger, D; Krimm, H A; Markwardt, C B; McLean, K; Palmer, D; Parsons, A; Tueller, J

2005-05-12

The prompt optical emission that arrives with the gamma-rays from a cosmic gamma-ray burst (GRB) is a signature of the engine powering the burst, the properties of the ultra-relativistic ejecta of the explosion, and the ejecta's interactions with the surroundings. Until now, only GRB 990123 had been detected at optical wavelengths during the burst phase. Its prompt optical emission was variable and uncorrelated with the prompt gamma-ray emission, suggesting that the optical emission was generated by a reverse shock arising from the ejecta's collision with surrounding material. Here we report prompt optical emission from GRB 041219a. It is variable and correlated with the prompt gamma-rays, indicating a common origin for the optical light and the gamma-rays. Within the context of the standard fireball model of GRBs, we attribute this new optical component to internal shocks driven into the burst ejecta by variations of the inner engine. The correlated optical emission is a direct probe of the jet isolated from the medium. The timing of the uncorrelated optical emission is strongly dependent on the nature of the medium.

The second FERMI large area telescope catalog of gamma-ray pulsars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdo, A. A.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.

2013-09-19

This catalog summarizes 117 high-confidence ≥0.1 GeV gamma-ray pulsar detections using three years of data acquired by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi satellite. Half are neutron stars discovered using LAT data through periodicity searches in gamma-ray and radio data around LAT unassociated source positions. The 117 pulsars are evenly divided into three groups: millisecond pulsars, young radio-loud pulsars, and young radio-quiet pulsars. We characterize the pulse profiles and energy spectra and derive luminosities when distance information exists. Spectral analysis of the off-peak phase intervals indicates probable pulsar wind nebula emission for four pulsars, and off-peak magnetospheric emissionmore » for several young and millisecond pulsars. We compare the gamma-ray properties with those in the radio, optical, and X-ray bands. We provide flux limits for pulsars with no observed gamma-ray emission, highlighting a small number of gamma-faint, radio-loud pulsars. The large, varied gamma-ray pulsar sample constrains emission models. Fermi's selection biases complement those of radio surveys, enhancing comparisons with predicted population distributions.« less

The second fermi large area telescope catalog of gamma-ray pulsars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdo, A. A.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.

2013-09-19

This catalog summarizes 117 high-confidence ≥0.1 GeV gamma-ray pulsar detections using three years of data acquired by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi satellite. Half are neutron stars discovered using LAT data through periodicity searches in gamma-ray and radio data around LAT unassociated source positions. The 117 pulsars are evenly divided into three groups: millisecond pulsars, young radio-loud pulsars, and young radio-quiet pulsars. We characterize the pulse profiles and energy spectra and derive luminosities when distance information exists. Spectral analysis of the off-peak phase intervals indicates probable pulsar wind nebula emission for four pulsars, and off-peak magnetospheric emissionmore » for several young and millisecond pulsars. We compare the gamma-ray properties with those in the radio, optical, and X-ray bands. We provide flux limits for pulsars with no observed gamma-ray emission, highlighting a small number of gamma-faint, radio-loud pulsars. The large, varied gamma-ray pulsar sample constrains emission models. Fermi's selection biases complement those of radio surveys, enhancing comparisons with predicted population distributions.« less

Gamma-rays attenuation of zircons from Cambodia and South Africa at different energies: A new technique for identifying the origin of gemstone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Limkitjaroenporn, P.; Kaewkhao, J.

2014-10-01

In this work, the gamma-rays interaction properties of zircons from Cambodia and South Africa have been studied. The densities of Cambodian and South African's zircons are 4.6716±0.0040 g/cm3 and 4.5505±0.0018 g/cm3, respectively. The mass attenuation coefficient and the effective atomic number of gemstones were measured with the gamma-ray in energies range 223-662 keV using the Compton scattering technique. The mass attenuation coefficients of both zircons decreased with the increasing of gamma-rays energies. The different mass attenuation coefficients between the two zircons observed at gamma-ray energies below 400 keV are attributed to the differences in the photoelectric interaction. The effective atomic number of zircons was decreased with the increasing of gamma-ray energies and showed totally different values between the Cambodia and South Africa sources. The origins of the two zircons could be successfully identified by the method based on gamma-rays interaction with matter with advantage of being a non-destructive testing.

A celestial gamma-ray foreground due to the albedo of small solar system bodies and a remote probe of the interstellar cosmic ray spectrum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moskalenko, Igor V.; Porter, Troy A.; Digel, Seth W.

2007-12-17

We calculate the {gamma}-ray albedo flux from cosmic-ray (CR) interactions with the solid rock and ice in Main Belt asteroids and Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) using the Moon as a template. We show that the {gamma}-ray albedo for the Main Belt and Kuiper Belt strongly depends on the small-body mass spectrum of each system and may be detectable by the forthcoming Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST). The orbits of the Main Belt asteroids and KBOs are distributed near the ecliptic, which passes through the Galactic center and high Galactic latitudes. If detected, the {gamma}-ray emission by the Mainmore » Belt and Kuiper Belt has to be taken into account when analyzing weak {gamma}-ray sources close to the ecliptic, especially near the Galactic center and for signals at high Galactic latitudes, such as the extragalactic {gamma}-ray emission. Additionally, it can be used to probe the spectrum of CR nuclei at close-to-interstellar conditions, and the mass spectrum of small bodies in the Main Belt and Kuiper Belt. The asteroid albedo spectrum also exhibits a 511 keV line due to secondary positrons annihilating in the rock. This may be an important and previously unrecognized celestial foreground for the INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) observations of the Galactic 511 keV line emission including the direction of the Galactic center.« less

High-energy Emission from Nonrelativistic Radiative Shocks: Application to Gamma-Ray Novae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vurm, Indrek; Metzger, Brian D.

2018-01-01

The observation of GeV gamma-rays from novae by Fermi/LAT demonstrates that the nonrelativistic radiative shocks in these systems can accelerate particles to energies of at least ∼10 GeV. The low-energy extension of the same nonthermal particle distribution inevitably gives rise to emission in the hard X-ray band. Above ≳ 10 {keV}, this radiation can escape the system without significant absorption/attenuation, and can potentially be detected by NuSTAR. We present theoretical models for hard X-ray and gamma-ray emission from radiative shocks in both leptonic and hadronic scenarios, accounting for the rapid evolution of the downstream properties due to the fast cooling of thermal plasma. We find that due to strong Coulomb losses, only a fraction of {10}-4{--}{10}-3 of the gamma-ray luminosity is radiated in the NuSTAR band; nevertheless, this emission could be detectable simultaneously with the LAT emission in bright gamma-ray novae with a ∼50 ks exposure. The spectral slope in hard X-rays is α ≈ 0 for typical nova parameters, thus serving as a testable prediction of the model. Our work demonstrates how combined hard X-ray and gamma-ray observations can be used to constrain properties of the nova outflow (velocity, density, and mass outflow rate) and particle acceleration at the shock. A very low X-ray to gamma-ray luminosity ratio ({L}{{X}}/{L}γ ≲ 5× {10}-4) would disfavor leptonic models for the gamma-ray emission. Our model can also be applied to other astrophysical environments with radiative shocks, including SNe IIn and colliding winds in massive star binaries.

Global Properties of X-Ray Flashes and X-Ray-Rich Gamma-Ray Bursts Observed by Swift

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakamoto, Takanori; Yamazaki, Ryo; Barthelmy, Scott; Gehrels, Neil; Osborne, Julian; Hullinger, Derek; Sato, Goro; Barbier, Louis; Cummings, Jay; Fenimore, Ed; Krimm, Hans; Lamb, Don; Markwardt, Craig; Palmer, David; Parsons, Ann; Stamatikos, Michael; Tueller, Jack

Takanori Sakamoto, Taka.Sakamoto@nasa.gov NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States Ryo Yamazaki, ryo@theo.phys.sci.hiroshima-u.ac.jp Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan Scott Barthelmy, scott@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States Neil Gehrels, gehrels@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States Julian Osborne, julo@star.le.ac.uk University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom Derek Hullinger, derek.hullinger@gmail.com Moxtek, Inc, Orem, Utah, United States Goro Sato, Goro.Sato@nasa.gov Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States Louis Barbier, lmb@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States Jay Cummings, jayc@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States Ed Fenimore, efenimore@lanl.gov Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, California, United States Hans Krimm, hans.krimm@nasa.gov Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States Don Lamb, d-lamb@uchicago.edu University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States Craig Markwardt, Craig.Markwardt@nasa.gov Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States David Palmer, palmer@lanl.gov Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, California, United States Ann Parsons, Ann.M.Parsons@nasa.gov Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States Michael Stamatikos, michael@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States Jack Tueller, jack.tueller@nasa.gov Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States We present the spectral and temporal characteristics of the prompt emission and X-ray afterglow emission of X-ray flashes (XRFs) and X-ray-rich gamma-ray bursts (XRRs) detected and observed by Swift between December 2004 and September 2006. We compare these characteristics to a sample of conventional classical gamma-ray bursts (C-GRBs) observed during the same period. We confirm the correlation between Epeak and fluence noted by others and find further evidence that XRFs, XRRs and C-GRBs form a continuum. We also confirm that our known redshift sample is consistent with the correlation between the peak energy in the GRB rest frame (Epeak) and the isotropic radiated energy (Eiso), so called the Epeak-Eiso relation. The spectral properties of X-ray afterglows of XRFs and C-GRBs are similar, but the temporal properties of XRFs and C-GRBs are quite different. We found that the light curves of C-GRB afterglows show a break to steeper indices (shallow-to-steep break) at much earlier times than do XRF afterglows. Moreover, the overall luminosity of XRF X-ray afterglows is systematically smaller by a factor of two or more compared to that of C-GRBs. These distinct differences between the X-ray afterglows of XRFs and C-GRBs may be the key to understanding not only the mysterious shallow-to-steep break in X-ray afterglow light curves, but also the unique nature of XRFs.

Novel methods for estimating 3D distributions of radioactive isotopes in materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwamoto, Y.; Kataoka, J.; Kishimoto, A.; Nishiyama, T.; Taya, T.; Okochi, H.; Ogata, H.; Yamamoto, S.

2016-09-01

In recent years, various gamma-ray visualization techniques, or gamma cameras, have been proposed. These techniques are extremely effective for identifying "hot spots" or regions where radioactive isotopes are accumulated. Examples of such would be nuclear-disaster-affected areas such as Fukushima or the vicinity of nuclear reactors. However, the images acquired with a gamma camera do not include distance information between radioactive isotopes and the camera, and hence are "degenerated" in the direction of the isotopes. Moreover, depth information in the images is lost when the isotopes are embedded in materials, such as water, sand, and concrete. Here, we propose two methods of obtaining depth information of radioactive isotopes embedded in materials by comparing (1) their spectra and (2) images of incident gamma rays scattered by the materials and direct gamma rays. In the first method, the spectra of radioactive isotopes and the ratios of scattered to direct gamma rays are obtained. We verify experimentally that the ratio increases with increasing depth, as predicted by simulations. Although the method using energy spectra has been studied for a long time, an advantage of our method is the use of low-energy (50-150 keV) photons as scattered gamma rays. In the second method, the spatial extent of images obtained for direct and scattered gamma rays is compared. By performing detailed Monte Carlo simulations using Geant4, we verify that the spatial extent of the position where gamma rays are scattered increases with increasing depth. To demonstrate this, we are developing various gamma cameras to compare low-energy (scattered) gamma-ray images with fully photo-absorbed gamma-ray images. We also demonstrate that the 3D reconstruction of isotopes/hotspots is possible with our proposed methods. These methods have potential applications in the medical fields, and in severe environments such as the nuclear-disaster-affected areas in Fukushima.

A Novel Study Connecting Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays, Neutrinos, and Gamma-Rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coenders, Stefan; Resconi, Elisa; Padovani, Paolo; Giommi, Paolo; Caccianiga, Lorenzo

We present a novel study connecting ultra-high energy cosmic rays, neutrinos, and gamma-rays with the objective to identify common counterparts of the three astrophysical messengers. In the test presented here, we first identify potential hadronic sources by filtering gamma-ray emitters that are in spatial coincidence with IceCube neutrinos. Subsequently, these objects are correlated against ultra-high energy cosmic rays detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory and the Telescope Array, scanning in gamma-ray flux and angular separation between sources and cosmic rays. A maximal excess of 80 cosmic rays (41.9 expected) is observed for the second catalog of hard Fermi-LAT objects of blazars of the high synchrotron peak type. This corresponds to a deviation from the null-hypothesis of 2.94σ . No excess is observed for objects not in spatial connection with neutrinos. The gamma-ray sources that make up the excess are blazars of the high synchrotron peak type.

Ultralow-dose, feedback imaging with laser-Compton X-ray and laser-Compton gamma ray sources

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barty, Christopher P. J.

Ultralow-dose, x-ray or gamma-ray imaging is based on fast, electronic control of the output of a laser-Compton x-ray or gamma-ray source (LCXS or LCGS). X-ray or gamma-ray shadowgraphs are constructed one (or a few) pixel(s) at a time by monitoring the LCXS or LCGS beam energy required at each pixel of the object to achieve a threshold level of detectability at the detector. An example provides that once the threshold for detection is reached, an electronic or optical signal is sent to the LCXS/LCGS that enables a fast optical switch that diverts, either in space or time the laser pulsesmore » used to create Compton photons. In this way, one prevents the object from being exposed to any further Compton x-rays or gamma-rays until either the laser-Compton beam or the object are moved so that a new pixel location may be illumination.« less

Coded-aperture imaging of the Galactic center region at gamma-ray energies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, Walter R.; Grunsfeld, John M.; Heindl, William A.; Palmer, David M.; Prince, Thomas A.

1991-01-01

The first coded-aperture images of the Galactic center region at energies above 30 keV have revealed two strong gamma-ray sources. One source has been identified with the X-ray source IE 1740.7 - 2942, located 0.8 deg away from the nucleus. If this source is at the distance of the Galactic center, it is one of the most luminous objects in the galaxy at energies from 35 to 200 keV. The second source is consistent in location with the X-ray source GX 354 + 0 (MXB 1728-34). In addition, gamma-ray flux from the location of GX 1 + 4 was marginally detected at a level consistent with other post-1980 measurements. No significant hard X-ray or gamma-ray flux was detected from the direction of the Galactic nucleus or from the direction of the recently discovered gamma-ray source GRS 1758-258.

Hard X-ray and low-energy gamma-ray spectrometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gehrels, N.; Crannell, C. J.; Orwig, L. E.; Forrest, D. J.; Lin, R. P.; Starr, R.

1988-01-01

Basic principles of operation and characteristics of scintillation and semi-conductor detectors used for solar hard X-ray and gamma-ray spectrometers are presented. Scintillation materials such as NaI offer high stopping power for incident gamma rays, modest energy resolution, and relatively simple operation. They are, to date, the most often used detector in solar gamma-ray spectroscopy. The scintillator BGO has higher stopping power than NaI, but poorer energy resolution. The primary advantage of semi-conductor materials such as Ge is their high-energy resolution. Monte-Carlo simulations of the response of NaI and Ge detectors to model solar flare inputs show the benefit of high resoluton for studying spectral lines. No semi-conductor material besides Ge is currently available with adequate combined size and purity to make general-use hard X-ray and gamma-ray detectors for solar studies.

Gamma-ray astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stecker, F. W. (Editor); Trombka, J. I. (Editor)

1973-01-01

Conference papers on gamma ray astrophysics are summarized. Data cover the energy region from about 0.3 MeV to a few hundred GeV and theoretical models of production mechanisms that give rise to both galactic and extragalactic gamma rays.

Gamma-ray line astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lingenfelter, R. E.; Ramaty, R.

1986-01-01

Recent observations of gamma-ray line emission from solar flares, gamma-ray bursts, the galactic center, the interstellar medium and the jets of SS433 are reviewed. The implications of these observations on high energy processes in these sources are discussed.

Investigation of gamma rays from the galactic center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helmken, H. F.

1973-01-01

Data from Argentine balloon flights made to investigate gamma ray emission from the galactic center are summarized. Data are also summarized from a Palestine, Texas balloon flight to measure gamma rays from NP 0532 and Crab Nebulae.

An Ordinary Gamma-Ray Burst with Extraordinary Consequences

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-10-18

On Aug. 17, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor on NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope caught a short burst of gamma rays from the spectacular smashup of two neutron stars, setting off a chain of events that marks the first-ever detection of a cosmic event in gravitational waves and different kinds of light. NASA scientists Colleen Wilson-Hodge and Tyson Littenberg explain what happened and what it means for science and discovery.

New Mexico Play Fairway Analysis: Gamma Ray Logs and Heat Generation Calculations for SW New Mexico

DOE Data Explorer

Shari Kelley

2015-10-23

For the New Mexico Play fairway Analysis project, gamma ray geophysical well logs from oil wells penetrating the Proterozoic basement in southwestern New Mexico were digitized. Only the portion of the log in the basement was digitized. The gamma ray logs are converted to heat production using the equation (Bucker and Rybach, 1996) : A[µW/m3] = 0.0158 (Gamma Ray [API] – 0.8).

Unsteady Plasma Ejections from Hollow Accretion Columns of Galactic Neutron Stars as a Trigger for Gamma-Ray Bursts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gvaramadze, V. V.

1995-09-01

We propose a model of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) based on close Galactic neutron stars with accretion disks. We outline a simple mechanism of unsteady plasma ejections during episodic accretion events. The relative kinetic energy of ejected blobs can be converted into gamma-rays by internal shocks. The beaming of gamma-ray emission can be responsible for the observed isotropic angular distribution of GRBs.

Finding Sub-threshold Short Gamma-ray Bursts in Fermi GBM Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burns, Eric; Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor Team

2018-01-01

The all-sky monitoring capability of Fermi GBM makes it ideal for finding transients, and the most prolific detector of short gamma-ray bursts with about 40 on-board triggers per year. Because the observed brightness of short gamma-ray bursts has no correlation with redshift, weak short gamma-ray bursts are important during the gravitational wave era. With this in mind, we discuss two searches of GBM data to find short gamma-ray which were below the on-board trigger threshold. The untargeted search looks for significant background-subtracted signals in two or more detectors at various timescales in the continuous data, detecting ~80 additional short GRB candidates per year. The targeted search is the most sensitive search for weak gamma-ray signals in GBM data and is run over limited time intervals around sources of interest like gravitational waves.

Chlorine signal attenuation in concrete.

PubMed

Naqvi, A A; Maslehuddin, M; Ur-Rehman, Khateeb; Al-Amoudi, O S B

2015-11-01

The intensity of prompt gamma-ray was measured at various depths from chlorine-contaminated silica fume (SF) concrete slab concrete specimens using portable neutron generator-based prompt gamma-ray setup. The intensity of 6.11MeV chloride gamma-rays was measured from the chloride contaminated slab at distance of 15.25, 20.25, 25.25, 30.25 and 35.25cm from neutron target in a SF cement concrete slab specimens. Due to attenuation of thermal neutron flux and emitted gamma-ray intensity in SF cement concrete at various depths, the measured intensity of chlorine gamma-rays decreases non-linearly with increasing depth in concrete. A good agreement was noted between the experimental results and the results of Monte Carlo simulation. This study has provided useful experimental data for evaluating the chloride contamination in the SF concrete utilizing gamma-ray attenuation method. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gamma-ray detection efficiency of the microchannel plate installed as an ion detector in the low energy particle instrument onboard the GEOTAIL satellite.

PubMed

Tanaka, Y T; Yoshikawa, I; Yoshioka, K; Terasawa, T; Saito, Y; Mukai, T

2007-03-01

A microchannel plate (MCP) assembly has been used as an ion detector in the low energy particle (LEP) instrument onboard the magnetospheric satellite GEOTAIL. Recently the MCP assembly has detected gamma rays emitted from an astronomical object and has been shown to provide unique information of gamma rays if they are intense enough. However, the detection efficiency for gamma rays was not measured before launch, and therefore we could not analyze the LEP data quantitatively. In this article, we report the gamma-ray detection efficiency of the MCP assembly. The measured efficiencies are 1.29%+/-0.71% and 0.21%+/-0.14% for normal incidence 60 and 662 keV gamma rays, respectively. The incident angle dependence is also presented. Our calibration is crucial to study high energy astrophysical phenomena by using the LEP.

Development of the instruments for the Gamma Ray Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Madden, J. J.; Kniffen, D. A.

1986-01-01

The Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) is to be launched in 1988 by the STS. The GRO will feature four very large instruments: the Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (OSSE), the Imaging Compton Telescope (COMPTEL), the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) and the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE). The instruments weigh from 900-1200 kg each, and required the development of specialized lifting and dolly devices to permit their assembly, manipulation and testing. The GRO is intended a{s a tool for studying discrete celestial objects such as black holes, neutron stars and other gamma-ray emitting objects, scanning for nucleosynthesis processes, mapping the Galaxy and other, high energy galaxies in terms of gamma rays, searching for cosmological effects and observing gamma ray bursts. The instruments will be sensitive from the upper end mof X-rya wavelengths to the highest energies possible. Details of the hardware and performance specifications of each of the instruments are discussed.

Leptonic v.s. Hadronic Origin of the Gamma-ray Emission of the Fermi bubbles: Updates from Fermi-LAT and Forecast for Future Gamma-ray Telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Meng

2014-06-01

Data from the Fermi-LAT revealed two large gamma-ray bubbles, extending 50 degrees above and below the Galactic center, with a width of about 40 degrees in longitude. Such structure has been confirmed with multi-wavelength observations. With the most up to date Fermi-LAT data analysis, I will show that the Fermi bubbles have a spectral cutoff at both low energy < 1 GeV and high energy > 150 GeV. Detailed analysis of the spectral features will help us to distinguish the leptonic origin from hadronic origin of the gamma-ray emission from the bubbles. I will also describe what we expect to learn about the bubbles from future gamma-ray telescopes after Fermi, with an emphasis on Dark Matter Particle Explorer and Pair Production Gamma-ray Unit.

Search for medium-energy gamma-ray pulsars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sweeney, W.E. Jr.

1987-01-01

Results are presented from a search for pulsed gamma rays from four radio pulsars, chosen for their interest to gamma-ray astronomers in previous studies. The data set used for the search consists of gamma-ray events at energies of 1-30 MeV, detected during a 40-hour balloon flight of the UCR double Compton scatter telescope launched at the National Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas, USA on September 30, 1978. No statistically significant signals were detected from any of the pulsars. Three sigma upper limits to pulsed 1-30 MeV gamma ray flux from PSR 0950+08, PSR 1822+09, PSR 1929+10, and PSR 1953+29more » are presented. Two complete exposures to PSR 0950+08 were obtained. The reported tentative detection of 1-20 MeV gamma rays from PSR 0950+08 is not confirmed.« less

A three-dimensional study of 30- to 300-MeV atmospheric gamma rays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D. J.

1974-01-01

A three-dimensional study of atmospheric gamma rays with energy greater than 30 MeV has been carried out. A knowledge of these atmospheric secondaries has significant applications to the study of cosmic gamma rays. For detectors carried on balloons, atmospherically produced gamma rays are the major source of background. For satellite detectors, atmospheric secondaries provide a calibration source. Experimental results were obtained from four balloon flights from Palestine, Texas, with a 15 cm by 15 cm digitized wire grid spark chamber. The energy spectrum for downward-moving gamma rays steepens with increasing atmospheric depth. Near the top of the atmosphere, the spectrum steepens with increasing zenith angle. A new model of atmospheric secondary production has calculated the depth, the energy, and the zenith angle dependence of gamma rays above 30 MeV, using a comprehensive three-dimensional Monte Carlo model of the nucleon-meson-electromagnetic cascade.

A Radio Continuum and Polarization Study of SNR G57.2+0.8 Associated with Magnetar SGR 1935+2154

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kothes, R.; Sun, X.; Gaensler, B.; Reich, W.

2018-01-01

We present a radio continuum and linear polarization study of the Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) G57.2+0.8, which may host the recently discovered magnetar SGR 1935+2154. The radio SNR shows the typical radio continuum spectrum of a mature supernova remnant with a spectral index of α =-0.55+/- 0.02 and moderate polarized intensity. Magnetic field vectors indicate a tangential magnetic field, expected for an evolved SNR, in one part of the SNR, and a radial magnetic field in the other. The latter can be explained by an overlapping arc-like feature, perhaps a pulsar wind nebula, emanating from the magnetar. The presence of a pulsar wind nebula is supported by the low average braking index of 1.2, which we extrapolated for the magnetar, and the detection of diffuse X-ray emission around it. We found a distance of 12.5 kpc for the SNR, which identifies G57.2+0.8 as a resident of the Outer spiral arm of the Milky Way. The SNR has a radius of about 20 pc and could be as old as 41,000 yr. The SNR has already entered the radiative or pressure-driven snowplow phase of its evolution. We compare independently determined characteristics like age and distance for both the SNR and the soft gamma repeater SGR 1935+2154, and conclude that they are physically related.

Observations of the Large Magellanic Cloud with Fermi

DOE PAGES

Abdo, A. A.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; ...

2010-03-18

Context. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is to date the only normal external galaxy that has been detected in high-energy gamma rays. High-energy gamma rays trace particle acceleration processes and gamma-ray observations allow the nature and sites of acceleration to be studied. Aims. We characterise the distribution and sources of cosmic rays in the LMC from analysis of gamma-ray observations. Methods. We analyse 11 months of continuous sky-survey observations obtained with the Large Area Telescope aboard the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope and compare it to tracers of the interstellar medium and models of the gamma-ray sources in the LMC. Results.more » The LMC is detected at 33σ significance. The integrated >100 MeV photon flux of the LMC amounts to (2.6 ± 0.2) × 10 -7 ph cm -2 s -1 which corresponds to an energy flux of (1.6 ± 0.1) × 10 -10 erg cm -2 s -1, with additional systematic uncertainties of 16%. The analysis reveals the massive star forming region 30 Doradus as a bright source of gamma-ray emission in the LMC in addition to fainter emission regions found in the northern part of the galaxy. The gamma-ray emission from the LMC shows very little correlation with gas density and is rather correlated to tracers of massive star forming regions. The close confinement of gamma-ray emission to star forming regions suggests a relatively short GeV cosmic-ray proton diffusion length. In conclusion, the close correlation between cosmic-ray density and massive star tracers supports the idea that cosmic rays are accelerated in massive star forming regions as a result of the large amounts of kinetic energy that are input by the stellar winds and supernova explosions of massive stars into the interstellar medium.« less

Supernova remnants and pulsar wind nebulae with Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eger, Peter

2015-08-01

The observation of very-high-energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gamma rays is an excellent tool to study the most energetic and violent environments in the Galaxy. This energy range is only accessible with ground-based instruments such as Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) that reconstruct the energy and direction of the primary gamma ray by observing the Cherenkov light from the induced extended air showers in Earths atmosphere. The main goals of Galactic VHE gamma-ray science are the identification of individual sources of cosmic rays (CRs), such as supernova remnants (SNRs), and the study of other extreme astrophysical objects at the highest energies, such as gamma-ray binaries and pulsar wind nebulae (PWNe). One of the main challenges is the discrimination between leptonic and hadronic gamma-ray production channels. To that end, the gamma-ray signal from each individual source needs to be brought into context with the multi-wavelength environment of the astrophysical object in question, particularly with observations tracing the density of the surrounding interstellar medium, or synchrotron radiation from relativistic electrons. In this review presented at the European Cosmic Ray Symposium 2014 (ECRS2014), the most recent developments in the field of Galactic VHE gamma-ray science are highlighted, with particular emphasis on SNRs and PWNe.

Detection of 16 Gamma-Ray Pulsars Through Blind Frequency Searches Using the Fermi LAT

DOE PAGES

Abdo, A. A.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; ...

2009-07-02

Pulsars are rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron stars emitting radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum. Although there are more than 1800 known radio pulsars, until recently only seven were observed to pulse in gamma rays, and these were all discovered at other wavelengths. The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) makes it possible to pinpoint neutron stars through their gamma-ray pulsations. In this paper, we report the detection of 16 gamma-ray pulsars in blind frequency searches using the LAT. Most of these pulsars are coincident with previously unidentified gamma-ray sources, and many are associated with supernova remnants. Finally, direct detection of gamma-raymore » pulsars enables studies of emission mechanisms, population statistics, and the energetics of pulsar wind nebulae and supernova remnants.« less

MODELING THE GAMMA-RAY EMISSION IN THE GALACTIC CENTER WITH A FADING COSMIC-RAY ACCELERATOR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Ruo-Yu; Wang, Xiang-Yu; Prosekin, Anton

2016-12-20

Recent HESS observations of the ∼200 pc scale diffuse gamma-ray emission from the central molecular zone (CMZ) suggest the presence of a PeV cosmic-ray accelerator (PeVatron) located in the inner 10 pc region of the Galactic center. Interestingly, the gamma-ray spectrum of the point-like source (HESS J1745-290) in the Galactic center shows a cutoff at ∼10 TeV, implying a cutoff around 100 TeV in the cosmic-ray proton spectrum. Here we propose that the gamma-ray emission from the inner and the outer regions may be explained self-consistently by run-away protons from a single yet fading accelerator. In this model, gamma-rays frommore » the CMZ region are produced by protons injected in the past, while gamma-rays from the inner region are produced by protons injected more recently. We suggest that the blast wave formed in a tidal disruption event (TDE) caused by the supermassive black hole (Sgr A*) could serve as such a fading accelerator. With typical parameters of the TDE blast wave, gamma-ray spectra of both the CMZ region and HESS J1745-290 can be reproduced simultaneously. Meanwhile, we find that the cosmic-ray energy density profile in the CMZ region may also be reproduced in the fading accelerator model when appropriate combinations of the particle injection history and the diffusion coefficient of cosmic rays are adopted.« less

Galactic X-ray emission from pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, A. K.

1981-01-01

The contribution of pulsars to the gamma-ray flux from the galactic plane is examined using data from the most recent pulsar surveys. It is assumed that pulsar gamma-rays are produced by curvature radiation from relativistic particles above the polar cap and attenuated by pair production in the strong magnetic and electric fields. Assuming that all pulsars produce gamma-rays in this way, their luminosities can be predicted as a function of period and magnetic field strength. Using the distribution of pulsars in the galaxy as determined from data on 328 pulsars detected in three surveys, the local gamma-ray production spectrum, the longitude profile, and the latitude profile of pulsar gamma-ray flux are calculated. The largest sources of uncertainty in the size of the pulsar contribution are the value of the mean interstellar electron density, the turnover in the pulsar radio luminosity function, and the average pulsar magnetic field strength. A present estimate is that pulsars contribute from 15 to 20 % of the total flux of gamma-rays from the galactic plane.

FERMI LAT discovery of extended gamma-ray emissions in the vicinity of the HB 3 supernova remnant

DOE PAGES

Katagiri, H.; Yoshida, K.; Ballet, J.; ...

2016-02-11

We report the discovery of extended gamma-ray emission measured by the Large Area Tele- scope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in the region of the supernova rem- nant (SNR) HB 3 (G132.7+1.3) and the W3 HII complex adjacent to the southeast of the remnant. W3 is spatially associated with bright 12CO (J=1-0) emission. The gamma-ray emission is spatially correlated with this gas and the SNR. We discuss the possibility that gamma rays originate in inter- actions between particles accelerated in the SNR and interstellar gas or radiation fields. The decay of neutral pions produced in nucleon-nucleon interactions betweenmore » accelerated hadrons and interstellar gas provides a reasonable explanation for the gamma-ray emission. The emission fromW3 is consistent with irradiation of the CO clouds by the cosmic rays accelerated in HB 3.« less

Gamma Ray Astronomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, S. T.

2000-01-01

The project has progressed successfully during this period of performance. The highlights of the Gamma Ray Astronomy teams efforts are: (1) Support daily BATSE data operations, including receipt, archival and dissemination of data, quick-look science analysis, rapid gamma-ray burst and transient monitoring and response efforts, instrument state-of-health monitoring, and instrument commanding and configuration; (2) On-going scientific analysis, including production and maintenance of gamma-ray burst, pulsed source and occultation source catalogs, gamma-ray burst spectroscopy, studies of the properties of pulsars and black holes, and long-term monitoring of hard x-ray sources; (3) Maintenance and continuous improvement of BATSE instrument response and calibration data bases; (4) Investigation of the use of solid state detectors for eventual application and instrument to perform all sky monitoring of X-Ray and Gamma sources with high sensitivity; and (5) Support of BATSE outreach activities, including seminars, colloquia and World Wide Web pages. The highlights of this efforts can be summarized in the publications and presentation list.

Design and construction of the Mini-Calorimeter of the AGILE satellite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Labanti, C.; Marisaldi, M.; Fuschino, F.; Galli, M.; Argan, A.; Bulgarelli, A.; Di Cocco, G.; Gianotti, F.; Tavani, M.; Trifoglio, M.

2009-01-01

AGILE is a small space mission of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) devoted to gamma-ray and hard-X astrophysics, successfully launched on April 23, 2007. The AGILE Payload is composed of three instruments: a gamma-ray imager based on a tungsten-silicon tracker (ST), for observations in the gamma ray energy range 30 MeV-50 GeV, a Silicon based X-ray detector, SuperAGILE (SA), for imaging in the range 18-60 keV and a CsI(Tl) Mini-Calorimeter (MCAL) that detects gamma rays or charged particles energy loss in the range 300 keV-100 MeV. MCAL is composed of 30 CsI(Tl) scintillator bars with photodiode readout at both ends, arranged in two orthogonal layers. MCAL can work both as a slave of the ST and as an independent gamma-ray detector for transients and gamma-ray bursts detection. In this paper a detailed description of MCAL is presented together with its performance.

FERMI LAT DISCOVERY OF EXTENDED GAMMA-RAY EMISSIONS IN THE VICINITY OF THE HB 3 SUPERNOVA REMNANT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Katagiri, H.; Yoshida, K.; Ballet, J.

2016-02-20

We report the discovery of extended gamma-ray emission measured by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in the region of the supernova remnant (SNR) HB 3 (G132.7+1.3) and the W3 II complex adjacent to the southeast of the remnant. W3 is spatially associated with bright {sup 12}CO (J = 1–0) emission. The gamma-ray emission is spatially correlated with this gas and the SNR. We discuss the possibility that gamma rays originate in interactions between particles accelerated in the SNR and interstellar gas or radiation fields. The decay of neutral pions produced in nucleon–nucleon interactions between accelerated hadrons and interstellar gas provides amore » reasonable explanation for the gamma-ray emission. The emission from W3 is consistent with irradiation of the CO clouds by the cosmic rays accelerated in HB 3.« less

KSC-04pd1855

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-09-19

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A closeup of one of the solar cells that will be removed and replaced on the Swift spacecraft’s solar array. Swift is a first-of-its-kind, multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. The main mission objectives for Swift are to determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts, classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types, determine how the blast wave evolves and interacts with the surroundings, use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe and perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky. Swift is scheduled to launch Oct. 26 from Launch Pad 17-A, CCAFS, on a Boeing Delta 7320 rocket.

KSC-04pd1856

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-09-19

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - A closeup of one of the solar cells that will be removed and replaced on the Swift spacecraft’s solar array. Swift is a first-of-its-kind, multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. The main mission objectives for Swift are to determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts, classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types, determine how the blast wave evolves and interacts with the surroundings, use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe and perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky. Swift is scheduled to launch Oct. 26 from Launch Pad 17-A, CCAFS, on a Boeing Delta 7320 rocket.

Low-mass X-ray binaries and gamma-ray bursts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lasota, J. P.; Frank, J.; King, A. R.

1992-01-01

More than twenty years after their discovery, the nature of gamma-ray burst sources (GRBs) remains mysterious. The results from BATSE experiment aboard the Compton Observatory show however that most of the sources of gamma-ray bursts cannot be distributed in the galactic disc. The possibility that a small fraction of sites of gamma-ray bursts is of galactic disc origin cannot however be excluded. We point out that large numbers of neutron-star binaries with orbital periods of 10 hr and M dwarf companions of mass 0.2-0.3 solar mass are a natural result of the evolution of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). The numbers and physical properties of these systems suggest that some gamma-ray burst sources may be identified with this endpoint of LMXB evolution. We suggest an observational test of this hypothesis.

Results from the solar maximum mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dennis, B. R.

1986-01-01

The major results from SMM (Solar Max Mission) are presented as they relate to the understanding of the energy release and particle transportation processes that led to the high energy X-ray aspects of solar flares. Evidence is reviewed for a 152- to 158-day periodicity in various aspects of solar activity including the rate of occurrence of hard X-ray and gamma-ray flares. The statistical properties of over 7000 hard X-ray flares detected with the Hard X-Ray Burst Spectrometer are presented including the spectrum of peak rates and the distribution of the photo number spectrum. A flare classification scheme is used to divide flares into three different types. Type A flares have purely thermal, compact sources with very steep hard X-ray spectra. Type B flares are impulsive bursts which show double footpoints in hard X-rays, and soft-hard-soft spectral evolution. Type C flares have gradually varying hard X-ray and microwave fluxes from high altitudes and show hardening of the X-ray spectrum through the peak and on the decay. SSM data are presented for examples of Type B and Type C events. New results are presented showing coincident hard X rays, O V, and UV continuum observations in Type B events with a time resolution of 128 ms. The subsecond variations in the hard X-ray flux during 10% of the stronger events are discussed and the fastest observed variation in a time of 20 ms is presented. The properties of Type C flares are presented as determined primarily from the non-imaged hard X-ray and microwave spectral data. A model based on the association of Type C flares and coronal mass ejections is presented to explain many of the characteristics of these gradual flares.

Precision investigations of nuclei and nucleons with the (e, e'. gamma. ) reaction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Papanicolas, C.N.; Ammons, E.A.; Cardman, L.S.

1988-11-20

Recent theoretical and experimental investigations of the (e, e'..gamma..) reaction show that it provides a probe of unparalleled precision and selectivity. Experiments aimed towards the isolation of multipole form factors in mixed transitions, the study of continuum excitations in nuclei, and the measurement of the response of the proton are underway at several laboratories.

Electron-positron pair production by gamma-rays in an anisotropic flux of soft photons, and application to pulsar polar caps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voisin, Guillaume; Mottez, Fabrice; Bonazzola, Silvano

2018-02-01

Electron-positron pair production by collision of photons is investigated in view of application to pulsar physics. We compute the absorption rate of individual gamma-ray photons by an arbitrary anisotropic distribution of softer photons, and the energy and angular spectrum of the outgoing leptons. We work analytically within the approximation that 1 ≫ mc2/E > ɛ/E, with E and ɛ the gamma-ray and soft-photon maximum energy and mc2 the electron mass energy. We give results at leading order in these small parameters. For practical purposes, we provide expressions in the form of Laurent series which give correct reaction rates in the isotropic case within an average error of ˜ 7 per cent. We apply this formalism to gamma-rays flying downward or upward from a hot neutron star thermally radiating at a uniform temperature of 106 K. Other temperatures can be easily deduced using the relevant scaling laws. We find differences in absorption between these two extreme directions of almost two orders of magnitude, much larger than our error estimate. The magnetosphere appears completely opaque to downward gamma-rays while there are up to ˜ 10 per cent chances of absorbing an upward gamma-ray. We provide energy and angular spectra for both upward and downward gamma-rays. Energy spectra show a typical double peak, with larger separation at larger gamma-ray energies. Angular spectra are very narrow, with an opening angle ranging from 10-3 to 10-7 radians with increasing gamma-ray energies.

Multiwavelength observations of unidentified high energy gamma ray sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halpern, Jules P.

1993-01-01

As was the case for COS B, the majority of high-energy (greater than 100 MeV) gamma-ray sources detected by the EGRET instrument on GRO are not immediately identifiable with cataloged objects at other wavelengths. These persistent gamma-ray sources are, next to the gamma-ray bursts, the least understood objects in the universe. Even a rudimentary understanding of their nature awaits identifications and follow-up work at other wavelengths to tell us what they are. The as yet unidentified sources are potentially the most interesting, since they may represent unrecognized new classes of astronomical objects, such as radio-quiet pulsars or new types of active galactic nuclei (AGN's). This two-year investigation is intended to support the analysis, correlation, and theoretical interpretation of data that we are obtaining at x ray, optical, and radio wavelengths in order to render the gamma-ray data interpretable. According to plan, in the first year concentration was on the identification and study of Geminga. The second year will be devoted to studies of similar unidentified gamma-ray sources which will become available in the first EGRET catalogs. The results obtained so far are presented in the two papers which are reproduced in the Appendix. In these papers, we discuss the pulse profiles of Geminga, the geometry and efficiency of the magnetospheric accelerator, the distance to Geminga, the implications for theories of polar cap heating, the effect of the magnetic field on the surface emission and environment of the neutron star, and possible interpretations of a radio-quiet Geminga. The implications of the other gamma-ray pulsars which were discovered to have high gamma-ray efficiency are also discussed, and the remaining unidentified COS B sources are attributed to a population of efficient gamma-ray sources, some of which may be radio quiet.

DISCOVERY OF HIGH-ENERGY AND VERY HIGH ENERGY {gamma}-RAY EMISSION FROM THE BLAZAR RBS 0413

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aliu, E.; Archambault, S.; Arlen, T.

2012-05-10

We report on the discovery of high-energy (HE; E > 0.1 GeV) and very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) {gamma}-ray emission from the high-frequency-peaked BL Lac object RBS 0413. VERITAS, a ground-based {gamma}-ray observatory, detected VHE {gamma} rays from RBS 0413 with a statistical significance of 5.5 standard deviations ({sigma}) and a {gamma}-ray flux of (1.5 {+-} 0.6{sub stat} {+-} 0.7{sub syst}) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -8} photons m{sup -2} s{sup -1} ({approx}1% of the Crab Nebula flux) above 250 GeV. The observed spectrum can be described by a power law with a photon index of 3.18 {+-} 0.68{sub stat}more » {+-} 0.30{sub syst}. Contemporaneous observations with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected HE {gamma} rays from RBS 0413 with a statistical significance of more than 9{sigma}, a power-law photon index of 1.57 {+-} 0.12{sub stat}+{sup 0.11}{sub -0.12sys}, and a {gamma}-ray flux between 300 MeV and 300 GeV of (1.64 {+-} 0.43{sub stat}{sup +0.31}{sub -0.22sys}) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -5} photons m{sup -2} s{sup -1}. We present the results from Fermi-LAT and VERITAS, including a spectral energy distribution modeling of the {gamma}-ray, quasi-simultaneous X-ray (Swift-XRT), ultraviolet (Swift-UVOT), and R-band optical (MDM) data. We find that, if conditions close to equipartition are required, both the combined synchrotron self-Compton/external-Compton and the lepto-hadronic models are preferred over a pure synchrotron self-Compton model.« less

Fermi Gamma-Ray Observatory-Science Highlights for the First 8 Months

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moiseev, Alexander

2009-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the science highlights for the first 8 months of the Fermi Gamma-Ray Observatory. Results from pulsars, flaring AGN, gamma ray bursts, diffuse radiation, LMC and electron spectrum are also presented.

Exploring the High Energy Universe: GLAST Mission and Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McEnery, Julie

2007-01-01

GLAST, the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope, is NASA's next-generation high-energy gamma-ray satellite scheduled for launch in Autumn 2007. GLAST will allow measurements of cosmic gamma-ray sources in the 10 MeV to 100 GeV energy band to be made with unprecedented sensitivity. Amongst its key scientific objectives are to understand particle acceleration in Active Galactic Nuclei, Pulsars and Supernovae Remnants, to provide high resolution measurements of unidentified gamma-ray sources, to study transient high energy emission from objects such as gamma-ray bursts, and to probe Dark Matter and the early Universe. Dr. McEnery will present an overview of the GLAST mission and its scientific goals.

Study on Effects of Gamma-Ray Irradiation on TlBr Semiconductor Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumura, Motohiro; Watanabe, Kenichi; Yamazaki, Atsushi; Uritani, Akira; Kimura, Norihisa; Nagano, Nobumichi; Hitomi, Keitaro

Radiation hardness of thallium bromide (TlBr) semiconductor detectors to 60Co gamma-ray irradiation was evaluated. The energy spectra and μτ products of electrons were measured to evaluate the irradiation effects. No significant degradation of spectroscopic performance of the TlBr detector for 137Cs gamma-rays was observed up to 45 kGy irradiation. Although the μτ products of electrons in the TlBr detector slightly decreased, position of the photo-peak was stable without significant degradation after the gamma-ray irradiation. We confirmed that the TlBr semiconductor detector has a high tolerance for gamma-ray irradiation at least up to 45 kGy.

Gamma-ray emission from Cataclysmic variables. 1: The Compton EGRET survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schlegel, Eric M.; Barrett, Paul E.; De Jager, O. C.; Chanmugam, G.; Hunter, S.; Mattox, J.

1995-01-01

We report the results of the first gamma-ray survey of cataclysmic variables (CVs) using observations obtained with the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) instrument on the Compton Observatory. We briefly describe the theoretical models that are applicable to gamma-ray emission from CVs. These models are particularly relevant to magnetic CVs containing asynchronously rotating white dwarfs. No magnetic CV was detected with an upper limit on the flux at 1 GeV of approximately 2 x 10(exp -8)/sq cm/sec, which corresponds to an upper limit on the gamma-ray luminosity of approximately 10(exp 31) ergs/sec, assuming a typical CV distance of 100 pc.

Gamma Rays at Very High Energies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aharonian, Felix

This chapter presents the elaborated lecture notes on Gamma Rays at Very High Energies given by Felix Aharonian at the 40th Saas-Fee Advanced Course on "Astrophysics at Very High Energies". Any coherent description and interpretation of phenomena related to gammarays requires deep knowledge of many disciplines of physics like nuclear and particle physics, quantum and classical electrodynamics, special and general relativity, plasma physics, magnetohydrodynamics, etc. After giving an introduction to gamma-ray astronomy the author discusses the astrophysical potential of ground-based detectors, radiation mechanisms, supernova remnants and origin of the galactic cosmic rays, TeV emission of young supernova remnants, gamma-emission from the Galactic center, pulsars, pulsar winds, pulsar wind nebulae, and gamma-ray loud binaries.

Very high energy gamma ray extension of GRO observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weekes, Trevor C.

1992-01-01

This has been an exiciting year for high energy gamma-ray astronomy, both from space and from ground-based observatories. It has been a particularly active period for the Whipple Observatory gamma-ray group. In phase 1 of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO), there has not been too much opportunity for overlapping observations with the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) and the other GRO telescopes; however, significant progress was made in the development of data analysis techniques and in improving the sensitivity of the technique which will have direct application in correlative observations in phase 2. Progress made during the period 1 Jul. 1991 - 31 Dec. 1991 is presented.

Method and system for detecting explosives

DOEpatents

Reber, Edward L [Idaho Falls, ID; Jewell, James K [Idaho Falls, ID; Rohde, Kenneth W [Idaho Falls, ID; Seabury, Edward H [Idaho Falls, ID; Blackwood, Larry G [Idaho Falls, ID; Edwards, Andrew J [Idaho Falls, ID; Derr, Kurt W [Idaho Falls, ID

2009-03-10

A method of detecting explosives in a vehicle includes providing a first rack on one side of the vehicle, the rack including a neutron generator and a plurality of gamma ray detectors; providing a second rack on another side of the vehicle, the second rack including a neutron generator and a plurality of gamma ray detectors; providing a control system, remote from the first and second racks, coupled to the neutron generators and gamma ray detectors; using the control system, causing the neutron generators to generate neutrons; and performing gamma ray spectroscopy on spectra read by the gamma ray detectors to look for a signature indicative of presence of an explosive. Various apparatus and other methods are also provided.

Explosives detection system and method

DOEpatents

Reber, Edward L.; Jewell, James K.; Rohde, Kenneth W.; Seabury, Edward H.; Blackwood, Larry G.; Edwards, Andrew J.; Derr, Kurt W.

2007-12-11

A method of detecting explosives in a vehicle includes providing a first rack on one side of the vehicle, the rack including a neutron generator and a plurality of gamma ray detectors; providing a second rack on another side of the vehicle, the second rack including a neutron generator and a plurality of gamma ray detectors; providing a control system, remote from the first and second racks, coupled to the neutron generators and gamma ray detectors; using the control system, causing the neutron generators to generate neutrons; and performing gamma ray spectroscopy on spectra read by the gamma ray detectors to look for a signature indicative of presence of an explosive. Various apparatus and other methods are also provided.

Galactic gamma-ray sources, SNOBs, and giant H2 regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montmerle, T.

1985-01-01

Progress towards understanding the nature of the COS-B galactic gamma-ray sources was made by two recent developments. The developments are: (1) the existence of extensive wide-latitude CO surveys, from the Northern Hemisphere, and from the Southern Hemisphere which give more precise information on molecular cloud population of the Perseus, Sagittarius, and Carina spiral arms; (2) the study of the time variability of gamma-ray sources in gamma-rays but also at other wavelengths, leading to the discovery of four new variable sources in addition to the already known Crab and Vela pulsars. Three classes of gamma-ray sources are found; invariable sources, active sources, and passive sources.

Method and an apparatus for non-invasively determining the quantity of an element in a body organ

DOEpatents

Vartsky, D.; Ellis, K.J.; Cohn, S.H.

1980-06-27

An apparatus and a method for determining in a body organ the amount of an element with the aid of a gaseous gamma ray source, where the element and the source are paired in predetermined pairs, and with the aid of at least one detector selected from the group consisting of Ge(Li) and NaI(Tl). Gamma rays are directed towards the organ, thereby resonantly scattering the gamma rays from nuclei of the element in the organ; the intensity of the gamma rays is detected by the detector; and the amount of the element in the organ is then substantially proportional to the detected intensity of the gamma rays.

Integral -tracking extreme radiation across the Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2002-10-01

Gamma rays are released by the most violent events in the Universe. Unlike the serene beauty of the stars that we can see with our own eyes, the gamma-ray Universe is a place of wild explosions, cosmic collisions, and matter being sucked into black holes or trapped in super-strong magnetic fields. So far, astronomers have only had glimpses of this violence; Integral will bring it into sharp focus. Exploring the turbulent Universe Gamma rays carry large quantities of energy away from the violent events where they are created, such as supernova explosions, black holes, and the mysterious gamma-ray bursts. Integral will find a lot more out about these powerful gamma-ray sources. Very massive stars end their lives in big explosions called supernovae. These outbursts liberate more energy than the combined light of millions upon millions of stars, much of it in the form of gamma rays. New chemical elements are created as results of such explosions. In fact, all atoms heavier than iron are created due to such explosions. For this reason, we call supernovae the chemical factories” of the Universe. However, we do not know completely how new atoms are created when a star explodes. Integral will look into it as one of its first scientific objectives. After the explosion, each supernova leaves behind a dead 'heart'. This heart is incredibly dense and can be either a neutron star or a black hole. Both can generate gamma rays because they possess incredibly strong gravitational fields that can capture passing dust, gas and, possibly, larger celestial objects. When matter falls through a gravitational field, it heats up and releases energy. In the case of neutron stars and black holes, the energy released is very intense and is given off in the form of x-rays and gamma rays. As well as black holes from supernovae, called stellar black holes, the Universe contains a variety of far more massive black holes that are found at the core of some galaxies, the galactic black holes. Galactic black holes also give off gamma rays, and with such awesome power that you can detect them almost halfway across the known Universe. As well as making the most accurate studies of these objects to date, Integral will also investigate the mysterious blasts of gamma rays that explode across the Universe about once a day, the gamma-ray bursts. They can last just a few seconds and can come from any direction in space. The origin of gamma-ray bursts has remained unexplained for years, from their first observation in the late 1960s. Today, many scientists think that gamma ray bursts could be linked to the death throes of the very first stars. Alternatively, they could be generated by colliding neutron stars, or could be caused by the explosion of supermassive stars at the end of their lives, the hypernovae. Integral's instruments will study gamma-ray bursts with the highest accuracy ever and may discover something about their origins. Integral’s instruments Integral has four instruments to give the spacecraft maximum versatility in its task of studying the gamma-ray Universe. Designed to complement each other, their combined observations will allow scientists to get a very complete and accurate picture of each celestial target at different wavelengths. The first two are dedicated gamma-ray instruments. Imager on Board the Integral Satellite (IBIS) is the sharpest-resolution gamma-ray camera ever built. Spectrometer on Integral (SPI) will measure the energy of gamma rays with exceptional accuracy. In particular, it will be more sensitive to fainter radiation than any previous gamma-ray spectrometer. The other two instruments are designed to provide complementary scientific data about Integral’s targets. The Joint European X-Ray Monitor (JEM-X) will make observations simultaneously with the main gamma-ray instruments and will provide images at X-ray wavelengths. The Optical Monitoring Camera (OMC) will do the same but at visible-light wavelengths. The total weight of the four instruments is about 2 tonnes, roughly half the launch weight of Integral. Integral's orbit and operations After launch, Integral will follow an elliptical orbit that is inclined by 51.6° to the Earth’s equator. In this orbit, it will cycle between 9000 kilometres and 153 000 kilometres above Earth, completing one revolution of the Earth every 72 hours. This eccentric orbit is necessary because there are ‘radiation belts’ that surround the Earth and these would interfere with Integral’s ability to see gamma rays. It is important for Integral to be outside these belts. Its elliptical orbit is designed to keep it outside the radiation belts for 90% of its trajectory around Earth. Once Integral is in orbit, it must communicate with Earth to download its scientific data and to receive commands. Communicating with and controlling Integral is a task spread over a number of different sites. Firstly, astronomers submit proposals for observations to the Integral Science Operations Centre (ISOC) at Noordwijk, The Netherlands. Experts at ISOC evaluate the proposals and draw up a list of targets and detailed observation schedules for Integral. The schedules are sent to the Mission Operations Centre (MOC) at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany. There everything is transformed into commands that Integral will understand. Signals to and from Integral go through two tracking stations, one at Redu in Belgium, the second at Goldstone in California, United States. The MOC also ensures the correct performance of the spacecraft. After Integral has collected observations, the raw science data is forwarded to the Integral Science Data Centre (ISDC) in Versoix near Geneva, Switzerland. There it is converted into usable data files, archived, and distributed to the astronomical community. A worldwide network of space science institutes and observatories will receive the data very quickly. This is essential especially when sudden and short-lasting phenomena such as gamma-ray bursts occur. In this case, all observatories need to receive the information within one minute to be able to point their telescopes immediately at the area of the sky where the gamma-ray burst has been detected. Building Integral Integral was selected as a mission by ESA in June 1993. The prime contractor for the spacecraft was Alenia Aerospazio, Turin, Italy. Alenia involved 26 subcontracting companies from 12 European countries to build the spacecraft’s service module. This provides the essentials for the spacecraft such as power (via solar panels), satellite control, and the communications link to the ground. Alenia was also responsible for integrating the four science instruments on-board the spacecraft, known collectively as the payload module. Four consortia of academic and industrial partners, variously located throughout Europe, built the instruments. Integral has faced many technological challenges. However, the greatest was finding a way to focus gamma rays, which are so powerful they pass through ordinary mirrors. To overcome this, Integral’s gamma-ray instruments and its X-ray monitor use a technique called coded-mask imaging. Instead of focusing, the coded mask blocks some gamma rays, creating a recognisable shadow on the detector beneath. Ground computer systems process the data coming from the gamma-ray detector looking for this shadow. Once it finds the shadow pattern, it groups the gamma rays together, forming an image. Gamma rays from different astronomical objects enter the instruments at different angles and so cast different shadows, allowing gamma rays from multiple sources to be separated. Integral has been developed and built at a cost of 330 million Euros. This price does not include the cost of launch, which Russia is providing free in exchange for observing time on Integral. Neither does the cost include the price of the science instruments, which have been provided by academic and industrial consortia. To reduce costs, the design for the service module was reused from ESA’s XMM-Newton satellite. Note to editors: historical perspective on gamma-ray astronomy Scientists have placed small gamma-ray detectors on satellites since the early 1960s. However, the most extraordinary discovery came in the late 1960s from a series of military satellites designed to monitor the ban on nuclear bombs being tested on Earth. These satellites detected the appropriately named gamma-ray bursts, which explode without warning about once a day, from random directions in the sky. In 1972, the NASA probe SAS-2 confirmed that the Universe is bathed in a perpetual shower of gamma rays. In 1975, ESA launched the gamma-ray satellite COS-B, that worked until being switched off in 1982. COS-B produced the first map of the gamma-ray sky and identified a number of bright gamma ray sources. It was followed by the Russian-French mission GRANAT, in 1989-1998, and NASA’s Compton Gamma-ray Observatory (CGRO), in 1991-2000. The CGRO satellite greatly increased our understanding of gamma-ray astronomy. Soon we can expect Integral to dazzle the world with the next leap in technology.

Gamma ray spectroscopy in astrophysics: Solar gamma ray astronomy on solar maximum mission. [experimental design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Forrest, D. J.

1978-01-01

The SMM gamma ray experiment and the important scientific capabilities of the instrument are discussed. The flare size detectable as a function of spectrum integration time was studied. A preliminary estimate indicates that a solar gamma ray line at 4.4 MeV one-fifth the intensity of that believed to have been emitted on 4 August 1972 can be detected in approximately 1000 sec with a confidence level of 99%.

MCNP modelling of scintillation-detector gamma-ray spectra from natural radionuclides.

PubMed

Hendriks, P H G M; Maucec, M; de Meijer, R J

2002-09-01

gamma-ray spectra of natural radionuclides are simulated for a BGO detector in a borehole geometry using the Monte Carlo code MCNP. All gamma-ray emissions of the decay of 40K and the series of 232Th and 238U are used to describe the source. A procedure is proposed which excludes the time-consuming electron tracking in less relevant areas of the geometry. The simulated gamma-ray spectra are benchmarked against laboratory data.

Nucleosynthesis, neutrino bursts and gamma-rays from coalescing neutron stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eichler, David; Livio, Mario; Piran, Tsvi; Schramm, David N.

1989-01-01

It is pointed out here that neutron-star collisions should synthesize neutron-rich heavy elements, thought to be formed by rapid neutron capture (the r-process). Furthermore, these collisions should produce neutrino bursts and resultant bursts of gamma rays; the latter should comprise a subclass of observable gamma-ray bursts. It is argued that observed r-process abundances and gamma-ray burst rates predict rates for these collisions that are both significant and consistent with other estimates.

Method of photon spectral analysis

DOEpatents

Gehrke, Robert J.; Putnam, Marie H.; Killian, E. Wayne; Helmer, Richard G.; Kynaston, Ronnie L.; Goodwin, Scott G.; Johnson, Larry O.

1993-01-01

A spectroscopic method to rapidly measure the presence of plutonium in soils, filters, smears, and glass waste forms by measuring the uranium L-shell x-ray emissions associated with the decay of plutonium. In addition, the technique can simultaneously acquire spectra of samples and automatically analyze them for the amount of americium and .gamma.-ray emitting activation and fission products present. The samples are counted with a large area, thin-window, n-type germanium spectrometer which is equally efficient for the detection of low-energy x-rays (10-2000 keV), as well as high-energy .gamma. rays (>1 MeV). A 8192- or 16,384 channel analyzer is used to acquire the entire photon spectrum at one time. A dual-energy, time-tagged pulser, that is injected into the test input of the preamplifier to monitor the energy scale, and detector resolution. The L x-ray portion of each spectrum is analyzed by a linear-least-squares spectral fitting technique. The .gamma.-ray portion of each spectrum is analyzed by a standard Ge .gamma.-ray analysis program. This method can be applied to any analysis involving x- and .gamma.-ray analysis in one spectrum and is especially useful when interferences in the x-ray region can be identified from the .gamma.-ray analysis and accommodated during the x-ray analysis.

Method of photon spectral analysis

DOEpatents

Gehrke, R.J.; Putnam, M.H.; Killian, E.W.; Helmer, R.G.; Kynaston, R.L.; Goodwin, S.G.; Johnson, L.O.

1993-04-27

A spectroscopic method to rapidly measure the presence of plutonium in soils, filters, smears, and glass waste forms by measuring the uranium L-shell x-ray emissions associated with the decay of plutonium. In addition, the technique can simultaneously acquire spectra of samples and automatically analyze them for the amount of americium and [gamma]-ray emitting activation and fission products present. The samples are counted with a large area, thin-window, n-type germanium spectrometer which is equally efficient for the detection of low-energy x-rays (10-2,000 keV), as well as high-energy [gamma] rays (>1 MeV). A 8,192- or 16,384 channel analyzer is used to acquire the entire photon spectrum at one time. A dual-energy, time-tagged pulser, that is injected into the test input of the preamplifier to monitor the energy scale, and detector resolution. The L x-ray portion of each spectrum is analyzed by a linear-least-squares spectral fitting technique. The [gamma]-ray portion of each spectrum is analyzed by a standard Ge [gamma]-ray analysis program. This method can be applied to any analysis involving x- and [gamma]-ray analysis in one spectrum and is especially useful when interferences in the x-ray region can be identified from the [gamma]-ray analysis and accommodated during the x-ray analysis.

Astrophysical gamma-ray production by inverse Compton interactions of relativistic electrons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schlickeiser, R.

1979-01-01

The inverse Compton scattering of background photon gases by relativistic electrons is a good candidate for the production of high-energy gamma rays in the diffuse interstellar medium as well as in discrete sources. By discussing the special case of the scattering of the diffuse starlight in the interstellar medium by cosmic ray electrons, we demonstrate that previous derivations of the gamma ray source function for this process on the basis of the Thomson limit of the Klein-Nishina cross section lead to incorrect values for gamma-ray energies above 100 MeV. It is shown that the Thomson limit is not applicable for the calculation of gamma-ray source functions in astrophysical circumstances in which target photons with energies greater than 1 eV are scattered by relativistic electrons.

The Gamma-Ray Albedo of the Moon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moskalenko, I.V.; /Stanford U., HEPL /KIPAC, Menlo Park; Porter, T.A.

2008-03-25

We use the GEANT4 Monte Carlo framework to calculate the {gamma}-ray albedo of the Moon due to interactions of cosmic ray (CR) nuclei with moon rock. Our calculation of the albedo spectrum agrees with the EGRET data. We show that the spectrum of {gamma}-rays from the Moon is very steep with an effective cutoff around 3-4 GeV (600 MeV for the inner part of the Moon disk) and exhibits a narrow pion-decay line at 67.5 MeV, perhaps unique in astrophysics. Apart from other astrophysical sources, the albedo spectrum of the Moon is well understood, including its absolute normalization; this makesmore » it a useful 'standard candle' for {gamma}-ray telescopes. The steep albedo spectrum also provides a unique opportunity for energy calibration of {gamma}-ray telescopes, such as the forthcoming Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST). Since the albedo flux depends on the incident CR spectrum which changes over the solar cycle, it is possible to monitor the CR spectrum using the albedo {gamma}-ray flux. Simultaneous measurements of CR proton and helium spectra by the Payload for Antimatter-Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics (PAMELA), and observations of the albedo {gamma}-rays by the GLAST Large Area Telescope (LAT), can be used to test the model predictions and will enable the LAT to monitor the CR spectrum near the Earth beyond the lifetime of the PAMELA.« less

The Gamma-ray Albedo of the Moon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moskalenko, Igor V.; /Stanford U., HEPL; Porter, Troy A.

2007-09-28

We use the GEANT4 Monte Carlo framework to calculate the {gamma}-ray albedo of the Moon due to interactions of cosmic ray (CR) nuclei with moon rock. Our calculation of the albedo spectrum agrees with the EGRET data. We show that the spectrum of {gamma}-rays from the Moon is very steep with an effective cutoff around 3-4 GeV (600 MeV for the inner part of the Moon disk) and exhibits a narrow pion-decay line at 67.5 MeV, perhaps unique in astrophysics. Apart from other astrophysical sources, the albedo spectrum of the Moon is well understood, including its absolute normalization; this makesmore » it a useful 'standard candle' for {gamma}-ray telescopes. The steep albedo spectrum also provides a unique opportunity for energy calibration of {gamma}-ray telescopes, such as the forthcoming Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST). Since the albedo flux depends on the incident CR spectrum which changes over the solar cycle, it is possible to monitor the CR spectrum using the albedo {gamma}-ray flux. Simultaneous measurements of CR proton and helium spectra by the Payload for Antimatter-Matter Exploration and Light-nuclei Astrophysics (PAMELA), and observations of the albedo {gamma}-rays by the GLAST Large Area Telescope (LAT), can be used to test the model predictions and will enable the LAT to monitor the CR spectrum near the Earth beyond the lifetime of the PAMELA.« less

Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This photograph shows the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory being released from the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis during the STS-35 mission in April 1991. The GRO reentered the Earth's atmosphere and ended its successful mission in June 2000. For nearly 9 years, GRO's Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), designed and built by the Marshall Space Flight Center, kept an unblinking watch on the universe to alert scientist to the invisible, mysterious gamma-ray bursts that had puzzled them for decades. By studying gamma-rays from objects like black holes, pulsars, quasars, neutron stars, and other exotic objects, scientists could discover clues to the birth, evolution, and death of star, galaxies, and the universe. The gamma-ray instrument was one of four major science instruments aboard the Compton. It consisted of eight detectors, or modules, located at each corner of the rectangular satellite to simultaneously scan the entire universe for bursts of gamma-rays ranging in duration from fractions of a second to minutes. In January 1999, the instrument, via the Internet, cued a computer-controlled telescope at Las Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, within 20 seconds of registering a burst. With this capability, the gamma-ray experiment came to serve as a gamma-ray burst alert for the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and major gound-based observatories around the world. Thirty-seven universities, observatories, and NASA centers in 19 states, and 11 more institutions in Europe and Russia, participated in BATSE's science program.

Research in cosmic and gamma ray astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, E. C.; Davis, L., Jr.; Mewaldt, R. A.; Prince, T. A.

1989-01-01

Research activities in cosmic rays, gamma rays, and astrophysical plasmas are covered. The activities are divided into sections and described, followed by a bibliography. The astrophysical aspects of cosmic rays, gamma rays, and of the radiation and electromagnetic field environment of the Earth and other planets are investigated. These investigations are performed by means of energetic particle and photon detector systems flown on spacecraft and balloons.

Discovery of gamma-ray pulsations from the transitional redback PSR J1227-4853

DOE PAGES

Johnson, Tyrel J.; Ray, Paul S.; Roy, Jayanta; ...

2015-06-10

Here, the 1.69 ms spin period of PSR J1227–4853 was recently discovered in radio observations of the low-mass X-ray binary XSS J12270–4859 following the announcement of a possible transition to a rotation-powered millisecond pulsar state, inferred from decreases in optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray flux from the source. We report the detection of significant (5σ) gamma-ray pulsations after the transition, at the known spin period, using ~1 year of data from the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The gamma-ray light curve of PSR J1227–4853 can be fit by one broad peak, which occurs at nearlymore » the same phase as the main peak in the 1.4 GHz radio profile. The partial alignment of light-curve peaks in different wavebands suggests that at least some of the radio emission may originate at high altitude in the pulsar magnetosphere, in extended regions co-located with the gamma-ray emission site. We folded the LAT data at the orbital period, both pre- and post-transition, but find no evidence for significant modulation of the gamma-ray flux. Analysis of the gamma-ray flux over the mission suggests an approximate transition time of 2012 November 30. Continued study of the pulsed emission and monitoring of PSR J1227–4853, and other known redback systems, for subsequent flux changes will increase our knowledge of the pulsar emission mechanism and transitioning systems.« less

Gamma-ray emission from globular clusters. Shock high energy emission from the Be-Star/Pulsar System PSR 1259-63. Echoes in x-ray novae

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaaret, Philip

1995-01-01

This grant covers work on the Compton phase 3 investigation, 'Shock High Energy Emission from the Be- Star/Pulsar System PSR 1259-63' and cycle 4 investigations 'Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emission at High Latitudes' and 'Echoes in X-Ray Novae'. Work under the investigation 'Diffuse Gamma-Ray Emission at High Latitudes' has lead to the publication of a paper (attached), describing gamma-ray emissivity variations in the northern galactic hemisphere. Using archival EGRET data, we have found a large irregular region of enhanced gamma-ray emissivity at energies greater 100 MeV. This is the first observation of local structure in the gamma-ray emissivity. Work under the investigation 'Echoes in X-Ray Novae' is proceeding with analysis of data from OSSE from the transient source GRO J1655-40. The outburst of this source last fall triggered this Target of Opportunity investigation. Preliminary spectral analysis shows emission out to 600 keV and a pure power low spectrum with no evidence of an exponential cutoff. Work is complete on the analysis of BATSE data from the Be-Star/Pulsar Sustem PSR 1259-63.

A KPC-Scale X-Ray Jet in the BL Lac Source S5 2007+777

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sambruna, Rita M.; Donato, Davide; Cheung, C.C.; Tavecchio, F.; Maraschi, L.

2008-01-01

X-ray jets in AGN are commonly observed in FRII and FRI radiogalaxies, but rarely in BL Lacs, most probably due to their orientation close to the line of sight and the ensuing foreshortening effects. Only three BL Lacs are known so far to contain a kpc-scale X-ray jet. In this paper, we present the evidence for the existence of a fourth extended X-ray jet in the classical radio-selected source S5 2007+777, which for its hybrid FRI/II radio morphology has been classified as a HYMOR (HYbrid MOrphology Radio source). Our Chandra ACISS observations of this source revealed an X-ray counterpart to the 19"-long radio jet. Interestingly, the X-ray properties of the kpc-scale jet in S5 2007+777 are very similar to those observed in FRII jets. First, the X-ray morphology closely mirrors the radio one, with the X-rays being concentrated in the discrete radio knots. Second, the X-ray continuum of the jet/brightest knot is described by a very hard power law, with photon index gamma(sub x) approximately 1. Third, the optical upper limit from archival HST data implies a concave radio-to-X-ray SED. If the X-ray emission is attributed to IC/CMB with equipartition, strong beaming (delta= 13) is required, implying a very large scale (Mpc) jet. The beaming requirement can be somewhat relaxed assuming a magnetic field lower than equipartition. Alternatively, synchrotron emission from a second population of very high-energy electrons is viable. Comparison to other HYMOR jets detected with Chandra is discussed, as well as general implications for the origin of the FRI/II division.

Pulsed Gamma-Rays From PSR J2021 3651 with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdo, Aous A.; /Naval Research Lab, Wash., D.C.; Ackermann, M.

2011-11-30

We report the detection of pulsed gamma-rays from the young, spin-powered radio pulsar PSR J2021+3651 using data acquired with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (formerly GLAST). The light curve consists of two narrow peaks of similar amplitude separated by 0.468 {+-} 0.002 in phase. The first peak lags the maximum of the 2 GHz radio pulse by 0.162 {+-} 0.004 {+-} 0.01 in phase. The integral gamma-ray photon flux above 100 MeV is (56 {+-} 3 {+-} 11) x 10{sup -8} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}. The photon spectrum is well-described by an exponentially cut-offmore » power law of the form dF/dE = kE{sup -{Gamma}}e{sup (-E/E{sub c})} where the energy E is expressed in GeV. The photon index is {Gamma} = 1.5 {+-} 0.1 {+-} 0.1 and the exponential cut-off is E{sub c} = 2.4 {+-} 0.3 {+-} 0.5 GeV. The first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The integral photon flux of the bridge is approximately 10% of the pulsed emission, and the upper limit on off-pulse gamma-ray emission from a putative pulsar wind nebula is < 10% of the pulsed emission at the 95% confidence level. Radio polarization measurements yield a rotation measure of RM = 524 {+-} 4 rad m{sup -2} but a poorly constrained magnetic geometry. Re-analysis of Chandra data enhanced the significance of the weak X-ray pulsations, and the first peak is roughly phase-aligned with the first gamma-ray peak. We discuss the emission region and beaming geometry based on the shape and spectrum of the gamma-ray light curve combined with radio and X-ray measurements, and the implications for the pulsar distance. Gamma-ray emission from the polar cap region seems unlikely for this pulsar.« less

Multimode imaging device

DOEpatents

Mihailescu, Lucian; Vetter, Kai M

2013-08-27

Apparatus for detecting and locating a source of gamma rays of energies ranging from 10-20 keV to several MeV's includes plural gamma ray detectors arranged in a generally closed extended array so as to provide Compton scattering imaging and coded aperture imaging simultaneously. First detectors are arranged in a spaced manner about a surface defining the closed extended array which may be in the form a circle, a sphere, a square, a pentagon or higher order polygon. Some of the gamma rays are absorbed by the first detectors closest to the gamma source in Compton scattering, while the photons that go unabsorbed by passing through gaps disposed between adjacent first detectors are incident upon second detectors disposed on the side farthest from the gamma ray source, where the first spaced detectors form a coded aperture array for two or three dimensional gamma ray source detection.

Energy dependence of polarization across broad deexcitation gamma-ray line profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Werntz, Carl; Lang, F. L.

1998-04-01

The energy profiles of deexcitation gamma-ray lines from recoiling inelastically scattered nuclei exhibit detailed structure. MeV-wide gamma-ray lines from the direction of the Orion nebula have been detected (H. Bloemen, et al., Astr. and Astrophys. L5, 281 (1994).) by COMPTEL whose source is postulated to be cosmic ray carbon and oxygen nuclei shock accelerated near supernova remnants colliding with ambient hydrogen and helium. Even when the heavy ion velocity distributions are isotropic, structure characteristic of the multipolarity of the gamma transition remains (A. M. Bykov et al, Astr. and Astrophys. 607, L37 (1996); B. Kozlovsky et al, Astrophys. J. 484, (1997).). In experiments in which the energy dependent structure of the deexcitation gamma-ray profiles is not resolved, the gammas display a high degree of linear polarization that rapidly changes with gamma-beam angle. We calculate the polarization, both linear and circular, as a function of gamma-ray energy across the laboratory line profiles of C12*(4.44) and O16*(6.13) inelastically excited by protons and alphas. We then investigate the polarization in the surviving structures for isotropic energetic ions colliding with ^1H and ^4He.

Tunka Advanced Instrument for cosmic rays and Gamma Astronomy (TAIGA): Status, results and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuzmichev, L.; Astapov, I.; Bezyazeekov, P.; Boreyko, V.; Borodin, A.; Brückner, M.; Budnev, N.; Chiavassa, A.; Gress, O.; Gress, T.; Grishin, O.; Dyachok, A.; Epimakhov, S.; Fedorov, O.; Gafarov, A.; Grebenyuk, V.; Grinyuk, A.; Haungs, A.; Horns, D.; Huege, T.; Ivanova, A.; Jurov, D.; Kalmykov, N.; Kazarina, Y.; Kindin, V.; Kiryuhin, V.; Kokoulin, R.; Kompaniets, K.; Korosteleva, E.; Kostunin, D.; Kozhin, V.; Kravchenko, E.; Kunnas, M.; Lenok, V.; Lubsandorzhiev, B.; Lubsandorzhiev, N.; Mirgazov, R.; Mirzoyan, R.; Monkhoev, R.; Nachtigal, R.; Osipova, E.; Pakharukov, A.; Panasyuk, M.; Pankov, L.; Petrukhin, A.; Poleschuk, V.; Popesku, M.; Popova, E.; Porelli, A.; Postnikov, E.; Prosin, V.; Ptuskin, V.; Pushnin, A.; Rubtsov, G.; Ryabov, E.; Sagan, Y.; Samoliga, V.; Schröder, F. G.; Semeney, Yu.; Silaev, A.; Silaev, A.; Sidorenko, A.; Skurikhin, A.; Slunecka, V.; Sokolov, A.; Spiering, C.; Sveshnikova, L.; Sulakov, V.; Tabolenko, V.; Tarashansky, B.; Tkachenko, A.; Tkachev, L.; Tluczykont, M.; Wischnewski, R.; Zagorodnikov, A.; Zurbanov, V.; Yashin, I.

2017-06-01

We present the current status of high-energy cosmic-ray physics and gamma-ray astronomy at the Tunka Astrophysical Center (AC). This complex is located in the Tunka Valley, about 50 km from Lake Baikal. Present efforts are focused on the construction of the first stage of the gamma-ray observatory TAIGA - the TAIGA prototype. TAIGA (Tunka Advanced Instrument for cosmic ray physics and Gamma Astronomy) is designed for the study of gamma rays and charged cosmic rays in the energy range 1013 eV-1018 eV. The array includes a network of wide angle timing Cherenkov stations (TAIGA-HiSCORE), each with a FOV = 0.6 sr, plus up to 16 IACTs (FOV - 10∘× 10∘). This part covers an area of 5 km2. Additional muon detectors (TAIGA-Muon), with a total coverage of 2000 m2, are distributed over an area of 1 km2.

KSC-04pd1860

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-09-19

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the clean room at NASA’s Hangar AE on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), a Spectrolab technician, Anna Herrera, points to the two new solar cells removed and replaced on the Swift spacecraft’s solar array. Swift is a first-of-its-kind, multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. The main mission objectives for Swift are to determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts, classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types, determine how the blast wave evolves and interacts with the surroundings, use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe and perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky. Swift is scheduled to launch Oct. 26 from Launch Pad 17-A, CCAFS, on a Boeing Delta 7320 rocket.

KSC-04pd1859

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-09-19

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the clean room at NASA’s Hangar AE on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), a Spectrolab technician, Anna Herrera, places a new solar cell on the Swift spacecraft’s solar array. Swift is a first-of-its-kind, multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. The main mission objectives for Swift are to determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts, classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types, determine how the blast wave evolves and interacts with the surroundings, use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe and perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky. Swift is scheduled to launch Oct. 26 from Launch Pad 17-A, CCAFS, on a Boeing Delta 7320 rocket.

KSC-04pd1858

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-09-19

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the clean room at NASA’s Hangar AE on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), a Spectrolab technician, Anna Herrera, places a new solar cell on the Swift spacecraft’s solar array. Swift is a first-of-its-kind, multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. The main mission objectives for Swift are to determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts, classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types, determine how the blast wave evolves and interacts with the surroundings, use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe and perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky. Swift is scheduled to launch Oct. 26 from Launch Pad 17-A, CCAFS, on a Boeing Delta 7320 rocket.

KSC-04pd1853

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-09-19

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the clean room at NASA’s Hangar AE on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), Spectrolab technicians begin lifting the protective cover from the Swift spacecraft. Two of Swift’s solar cells on the solar array will be removed and replaced. Swift is a first-of-its-kind, multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. The main mission objectives for Swift are to determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts, classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types, determine how the blast wave evolves and interacts with the surroundings, use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe and perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky. Swift is scheduled to launch Oct. 26 from Launch Pad 17-A, CCAFS, on a Boeing Delta 7320 rocket.

KSC-04pd1854

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-09-19

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the clean room at NASA’s Hangar AE on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), a Spectrolab technician, Anna Herrera, points to an area on the Swift spacecraft’s solar array where cells will be removed and replaced. Swift is a first-of-its-kind, multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. The main mission objectives for Swift are to determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts, classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types, determine how the blast wave evolves and interacts with the surroundings, use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe and perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky. Swift is scheduled to launch Oct. 26 from Launch Pad 17-A, CCAFS, on a Boeing Delta 7320 rocket.

KSC-04pd1857

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-09-19

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the clean room at NASA’s Hangar AE on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), a Spectrolab technician, Anna Herrera, removes one of the solar cells that will be replaced on the Swift spacecraft’s solar array. Swift is a first-of-its-kind, multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments will work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and optical wavebands. The main mission objectives for Swift are to determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts, classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types, determine how the blast wave evolves and interacts with the surroundings, use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe and perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky. Swift is scheduled to launch Oct. 26 from Launch Pad 17-A, CCAFS, on a Boeing Delta 7320 rocket.

Local normal galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtel, Carl E.

1990-01-01

In the near future, high energy (E greater than 20 MeV) gamma ray astronomy offers the promise of a new means of examining the closest galaxies. Two and possibly three local galaxies, the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds and M31, should be visible to the high energy gamma ray telescope on the Gamma Ray Observatory, and the first should be seen by GAMMA-1. With the assumptions of adequate cosmic ray production and reasonable magnetic field strengths, both of which should likely be satisfied, specific predictions of the gamma ray emission can be made separating the concepts of the galactic and universal nature of cosmic rays. A study of the synchrotron radiation from the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) suggests that the cosmic ray density is similar to that in the local region of our galaxy, but not uniform. It is hoped the measurements will be able to verify this independent of assumptions about the magnetic fields in the LMC.

Gamma-ray Astrophysics: a New Look at the Universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trombka, J. I.; Fichtel, C. E.; Grindlay, J.; Hofstadter, R.

1978-01-01

Gamma-ray astronomy which includes the spectral region from above approximately 100 keV to greater than or equal to 1000 GeV permits investigation of the most energetic photons originating in our galaxy and beyond and provides the most direct means of studying the largest transfers of energy occurring in astrophysical processes. Of all the electromagnetic spectrum, high-energy gamma-ray astronomy measures most directly the presence and dynamic effects of the energetic charged cosmic ray particles, element synthesis, and particle acceleration. Further, gamma rays suffer negligible absorption or scatterings as they travel in straight paths; hence, they may survive billions of years and still reveal their source. The high energy processes in stellar objects (including our Sun), the dynamics of the cosmic-ray gas, the formation of clouds and nebulae, galactic evolution and even certain aspects of cosmology and the origin of the universe may be explored by gamma-ray observations.

The solar gamma ray and neutron capabilities of COMPTEL on the Gamma Ray Observatory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ryan, James M.; Lockwood, John A.

1989-01-01

The imaging Compton telescope COMPTEL on the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) has unusual spectroscopic capabilities for measuring solar gamma-ray and neutron emission. The launch of the GRO is scheduled for June 1990 near the peak of the sunspot cycle. With a 30 to 40 percent probability for the Sun being in the COMPTEL field-of-view during the sunlit part of an orbit, a large number of flares will be observed above the 800 keV gamma-ray threshold of the telescope. The telescope energy range extends to 30 MeV with high time resolution burst spectra available from 0.1 to 10 MeV. Strong Compton tail suppression of instrumental gamma-ray interactions will facilitate improved spectral analysis of solar flare emissions. In addition, the high signal to noise ratio for neutron detection and measurement will provide new neutron spectroscopic capabilities. Specifically, a flare similar to that of 3 June 1982 will provide spectroscopic data on greater than 1500 individual neutrons, enough to construct an unambiguous spectrum in the energy range of 20 to 200 MeV. Details of the instrument and its response to solar gamma-rays and neutrons will be presented.

SEARCHING FOR OVERIONIZED PLASMA IN THE GAMMA-RAY-EMITTING SUPERNOVA REMNANT G349.7+0.2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ergin, T.; Sezer, A.; Saha, L.

2015-05-10

G349.7+0.2 is a supernova remnant (SNR) expanding in a dense medium of molecular clouds and interacting with clumps of molecular material emitting gamma-rays. We analyzed the gamma-ray data of the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope and detected G349.7+0.2 in the energy range of 0.2–300 GeV with a significance of ∼13σ, showing no extended morphology. Modeling of the gamma-ray spectrum revealed that the GeV gamma-ray emission dominantly originates from the decay of neutral pions, where the protons follow a broken power-law distribution with a spectral break at ∼12 GeV. To search for features of radiative recombinationmore » continua in the eastern and western regions of the remnant, we analyzed the Suzaku data of G349.7+0.2 and found no evidence for overionized plasma. In this paper, we discuss possible scenarios to explain the hadronic gamma-ray emission in G349.7+0.2 and the mixed morphology nature of this SNR.« less

Associating Long-term Gamma-ray Variability with the Superorbital Period of LS I + 61 Deg. 303

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Ballet, J.; Barbiellini, G.; Bastieri, D.; Bellazzini, R.; Bonamente, E.; Brandt, T. J.; Bregeon, J.; Brigida, M.;

Discovery of Giant Gamma-ray Bubbles in the Milky Way

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Meng

Based on data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, we have discovered two gigantic gamma-ray emitting bubble structures in our Milky Way (known as the Fermi bubbles), extending ˜50 degrees above and below the Galactic center with a width of ˜40 degrees in longitude. The gamma-ray emission associated with these bubbles has a significantly harder spectrum (dN/dE ˜ E-2) than the inverse Compton emission from known cosmic ray electrons in the Galactic disk, or the gamma-rays produced by decay of pions from proton-ISM collisions. There is no significant difference in the spectrum or gamma-ray luminosity between the north and south bubbles. The bubbles are spatially correlated with the hard-spectrum microwave excess known as the WMAP haze; we also found features in the ROSAT soft X-ray maps at 1.5 -- 2 keV which line up with the edges of the bubbles. The Fermi bubbles are most likely created by some large episode of energy injection in the Galactic center, such as past accretion events onto the central massive black hole, or a nuclear starburst in the last ˜ 10 Myr. Study of the origin and evolution of the bubbles also has the potential to improve our understanding of recent energetic events in the inner Galaxy and the high-latitude cosmic ray population. Furthermore, we have recently identified a gamma-ray cocoon feature within the southern bubble, with a jet-like feature along the cocoon's axis of symmetry, and another directly opposite the Galactic center in the north. If confirmed, these jets are the first resolved gamma-ray jets ever seen.

Multi-Epoch Multiwavelength Spectra and Models for Blazar 3C 279

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartman, R. C.; Boettcher, M.; Aldering, G.; Aller, H.; Aller, M.; Backman, D. E.; Balonek, T. J.; Bertsch, D. L.; Bloom, S. D.; Bock, H.;

A Detailed Observational Analysis of V1324 Sco, the Most Gamma-Ray-luminous Classical Nova to Date

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Finzell, Thomas; Chomiuk, Laura; Metzger, Brian D.; Walter, Frederick M.; Linford, Justin D.; Mukai, Koji; Nelson, Thomas; Weston, Jennifer H. S.; Zheng, Yong; Sokoloski, Jennifer L.; Mioduszewski, Amy; Rupen, Michael P.; Dong, Subo; Starrfield, Sumner; Cheung, C. C.; Woodward, Charles E.; Taylor, Gregory B.; Bohlsen, Terry; Buil, Christian; Prieto, Jose; Wagner, R. Mark; Bensby, Thomas; Bond, I. A.; Sumi, T.; Bennett, D. P.; Abe, F.; Koshimoto, N.; Suzuki, D.; Tristram, P. J.; Christie, Grant W.; Natusch, Tim; McCormick, Jennie; Yee, Jennifer; Gould, Andy

2018-01-01

It has recently been discovered that some, if not all, classical novae emit GeV gamma-rays during outburst, but the mechanisms involved in the production ofgamma-rays are still not well understood. We present here a comprehensive multiwavelength data set—from radio to X-rays—for the most gamma-ray-luminous classical nova to date, V1324 Sco. Using this data set, we show that V1324 Sco is a canonical dusty Fe II-type nova, with a maximum ejecta velocity of 2600 km s‑1 and an ejecta mass of a few × {10}-5 {M}ȯ . There is also evidence for complex shock interactions, including a double-peaked radio light curve which shows high brightness temperatures at early times. To explore why V1324 Sco was so gamma-ray luminous, we present a model of the nova ejecta featuring strong internal shocks and find that higher gamma-ray luminosities result from higher ejecta velocities and/or mass-loss rates. Comparison of V1324 Sco with other gamma-ray-detected novae does not show clear signatures of either, and we conclude that a larger sample of similarly well-observed novae is needed to understand the origin and variation of gamma-rays in novae.

Swift and GLAST Cooperative Efforts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D. J.

2007-01-01

Because gamma-ray astrophysics depends in many ways on multiwavelength studies, the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) instrument teams are eagerly anticipating coordinated observations with the Swift observatory. Swift and GLAST combined cover most of twelve orders of magnitude in the electromagnetic spectrum, offering numerous opportunities for cooperation. Three of the high-priority interests are: (1) gamma-ray burst studies; (2) broad-spectrum studies of blazars in both quiescent and flaring states; and (3) identification and detailed study of unidentified gamma-ray sources.

Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McEnery, Julie E.; Michelson, Peter F.; Paclesas, William S.; Ritz, Steven

2012-01-01

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, launched in June 2008, is an observatory designed to survey the high-energy gamma-ray sky. The primary instrument, the Large Area Telescope (LAT), provides observations from 20 MeV to greater than 300 GeV. A second instrument, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM), provides observations of transients from less than 10 keV to 40 MeV. We describe the design and performance of the instruments and their subsystems, the spacecraft and the ground system.

All Sky Observations with BATSE and GBM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson-Hodge, Colleen A.

2008-01-01

The Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on board the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) monitored the entire sky from 1991-2000. I will review highlights of BATSE observations including gamma ray bursts, black hole candidates, accreting pulsars, and active galaxies. On 2008 June 11, the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope was launched. The Gamma ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on board Fermi continues the all-sky monitoring legacy started with BATSE. I will review early results and planned observations with GBM.

Large-scale anisotropy in the extragalactic gamma-ray background as a probe for cosmological antimatter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gao, Yi-Tian; Stecker, Floyd W.; Gleiser, Marcelo; Cline, David B.

1990-01-01

Intrinsic anisotropies in the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGB), which should be detectable with the forthcoming Gamma Ray Observatory, can be used to examine some of the mechanisms proposed to explain its origin, one of which, the baryon-symmetric big bang (BSBB) model, is investigated here. In this simulation, large domains containing matter and antimatter galaxies produce gamma rays by annihilation at the domain boundaries. This mechanism can produce mountain-chain-shaped angular fluctuations in the EGB flux.

Proof of the Feasibility of Coherent and Incoherent Schemes for Pumping a Gamma-Ray Laser

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-07-01

DIP!; ilLE-CWPj AD-A 799 638 The University of Texas at DallasCenter for Quantlin, Electronics The Gamma-Ray Laser Project Quarterly Report April...AND INCOHERENT SCHEMES FOR PUMPING A GAMMA-RAY LASER Principal Investigator: Carl B. Collins The University of Texas at Dallas Center for Quantum...FEASIBILITY OF Quarterly Technical Progress COHERENT AND INCOHERENT SCHEMES /I/RR - 61WARA FOR PUMPING A GAMMA-RAY LASER 6.PERFORMINO ORG. REPORT NUMBER

ESA's Integral solves thirty-year old gamma-ray mystery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Integral solves mystery hi-res Size hi-res: 60 kb Credits: Credit: ESA, F. Lebrun (CEA-Saclay). ESA's Integral solves thirty-year old gamma-ray mystery The central regions of our galaxy, the Milky Way, as seen by Integral in gamma rays. With its superior ability to see faint details, Integral correctly reveals the individual sources that comprised the foggy, gamma-ray background seen by previous observatories. The brightest 91 objects seen in this image were classified by Integral as individual sources, while the others appear too faint to be properly characterized at this stage. During the spring and autumn of 2003, Integral observed the central regions of our Galaxy, collecting some of the perpetual glow of diffuse low-energy gamma rays that bathe the entire Galaxy. These gamma rays were first discovered in the mid-1970s by high-flying balloon-borne experiments. Astronomers refer to them as the 'soft' Galactic gamma-ray background, with energies similar to those used in medical X-ray equipment. Initially, astronomers believed that the glow was caused by interactions involving the atoms of the gas that pervades the Galaxy. Whilst this theory could explain the diffuse nature of the emission, since the gas is ubiquitous, it failed to match the observed power of the gamma rays. The gamma rays produced by the proposed mechanisms would be much weaker than those observed. The mystery has remained unanswered for decades. Now Integral's superb gamma-ray telescope IBIS, built for ESA by an international consortium led by Principal Investigator Pietro Ubertini (IAS/CNR, Rome, Italy), has seen clearly that, instead of a fog produced by the interstellar medium, most of the gamma-rays are coming from individual celestial objects. In the view of previous, less sensitive instruments, these objects appeared to merge together. In a paper published today in "Nature", Francois Lebrun (CEA Saclay, Gif sur Yvette, France) and his collaborators report the discovery of 91 gamma-ray sources towards the direction of the Galactic centre. Lebrun's team includes Ubertini and seventeen other European scientists with long-standing experience in high-energy astrophysics. Much to the team's surprise, almost half of these sources do not fall in any class of known gamma-ray objects. They probably represent a new population of gamma-ray emitters. The first clues about a new class of gamma-ray objects came last October, when Integral discovered an intriguing gamma-ray source, known as IGRJ16318-4848. The data from Integral and ESA's other high-energy observatory XMM-Newton suggested that this object is a binary system, probably including a black hole or neutron star, embedded in a thick cocoon of cold gas and dust. When gas from the companion star is accelerated and swallowed by the black hole, energy is released at all wavelengths, mostly in the gamma rays. However, Lebrun is cautious to draw premature conclusions about the sources detected in the Galactic centre. Other interpretations are also possible that do not involve black holes. For instance, these objects could be the remains of exploded stars that are being energised by rapidly rotating celestial 'powerhouses', known as pulsars. Observations with another Integral instrument (SPI, the Spectrometer on Integral) could provide Lebrun and his team with more information on the nature of these sources. SPI measures the energy of incoming gamma rays with extraordinary accuracy and allows scientist to gain a better understanding of the physical mechanisms that generate them. However, regardless of the precise nature of these gamma-ray sources, Integral's observations have convincingly shown that the energy output from these new objects accounts for almost ninety per cent of the soft gamma-ray background coming from the centre of the Galaxy. This result raises the tantalising possibility that objects of this type hide everywhere in the Galaxy, not just in its centre. Again, Lebrun is cautious, saying, "It is tempting to think that we can simply extrapolate our results to the entire Galaxy. However, we have only looked towards its centre and that is a peculiar place compared to the rest." Next on Integral's list of things to do is to extend this work to the rest of the Galaxy. Christoph Winkler, ESA's Integral Project Scientist, says, "We now have to work on the whole disc region of the Galaxy. This will be a tough and long job for Integral. But at the end, the reward will be an exhaustive inventory of the most energetic celestial objects in the Galaxy." Note to editors The paper explaining these results will appear on the 18 March 2004 issue of "Nature". The author list includes F. Lebrun, R. Terrier, A. Bazzano, G. Belanger, A. Bird, L. Bouchet, A. Dean, M. Del Santo, A. Goldwurm, N. Lund, H. Morand, A. Parmar, J. Paul, J.-P. Roques, V. Schoenfelder, A. Strong, P. Ubertini, R. Walter and C. Winkler. For information about the related INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton discovery of IGRJ16318-4848, see: http://www.esa.int/esaSC/Pr_21_2003_s_en.html Integral The International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (Integral) is the first space observatory that can simultaneously observe celestial objects in gamma rays, X-rays and visible light. Integral was launched on a Russian Proton rocket on 17 October 2002 into a highly elliptical orbit around Earth. Its principal targets include regions of the galaxy where chemical elements are being produced and compact objects, such as black holes. IBIS, Imager on Board the Integral Satellite - IBIS provides sharper gamma-ray images than any previous gamma-ray instrument. It can locate sources to a precision of 30 arcseconds, the equivalent of measuring the height of a person standing in a crowd, 1.3 kilometres away. The Principal Investigators that built the instrument are P. Ubertini (IAS/CNR, Rome, Italy), F. Lebrun (CEA Saclay, Gif sur Yvette, France), G. Di Cocco (ITESRE, Bologna, Italy). IBIS is equipped with the first un-cooled semiconductor gamma-ray camera, called ISGRI, which is responsible for its outstanding sensitivity. ISGRI was developed and built for ESA by CEA Saclay, France. SPI, Spectrometer on Integral - SPI measures the energy of incoming gamma rays with extraordinary accuracy. It is more sensitive to faint radiation than any previous gamma ray instrument and allows the precise nature of gamma ray sources to be determined. The Principal Investigators that developed SPI are J.-P. Roques, (CESR, Toulouse, France) and V. Schoenfelder (MPE, Garching, Germany). XMM-Newton XMM-Newton can detect more X-ray sources than any previous observatory and is helping to solve many cosmic mysteries of the violent Universe, from black holes to the formation of galaxies. It was launched on 10 December 1999, using an Ariane-5 rocket from French Guiana. Its orbit takes it almost a third of the way to the Moon, so that astronomers can enjoy long, uninterrupted views of celestial objects.

High-energy gamma-ray and neutrino production in star-forming galaxies across cosmic time: Difficulties in explaining the IceCube data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudoh, Takahiro; Totani, Tomonori; Kawanaka, Norita

2018-06-01

We present new theoretical modeling to predict the luminosity and spectrum of gamma-ray and neutrino emission of a star-forming galaxy, from the star formation rate (ψ), gas mass (Mgas), stellar mass, and disk size, taking into account production, propagation, and interactions of cosmic rays. The model reproduces the observed gamma-ray luminosities of nearby galaxies detected by Fermi better than the simple power-law models as a function of ψ or ψMgas. This model is then used to predict the cosmic background flux of gamma-rays and neutrinos from star-forming galaxies, by using a semi-analytical model of cosmological galaxy formation that reproduces many observed quantities of local and high-redshift galaxies. Calibration of the model using gamma-ray luminosities of nearby galaxies allows us to make a more reliable prediction than previous studies. In our baseline model, star-forming galaxies produce about 20% of the isotropic gamma-ray background unresolved by Fermi, and only 0.5% of IceCube neutrinos. Even with an extreme model assuming a hard injection cosmic-ray spectral index of 2.0 for all galaxies, at most 22% of IceCube neutrinos can be accounted for. These results indicate that it is difficult to explain most of the IceCube neutrinos by star-forming galaxies, without violating the gamma-ray constraints from nearby galaxies.

High-energy gamma-ray and neutrino production in star-forming galaxies across cosmic time: Difficulties in explaining the IceCube data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudoh, Takahiro; Totani, Tomonori; Kawanaka, Norita

2018-04-01

We present new theoretical modeling to predict the luminosity and spectrum of gamma-ray and neutrino emission of a star-forming galaxy, from the star formation rate (ψ), gas mass (Mgas), stellar mass, and disk size, taking into account production, propagation, and interactions of cosmic rays. The model reproduces the observed gamma-ray luminosities of nearby galaxies detected by Fermi better than the simple power-law models as a function of ψ or ψMgas. This model is then used to predict the cosmic background flux of gamma-rays and neutrinos from star-forming galaxies, by using a semi-analytical model of cosmological galaxy formation that reproduces many observed quantities of local and high-redshift galaxies. Calibration of the model using gamma-ray luminosities of nearby galaxies allows us to make a more reliable prediction than previous studies. In our baseline model, star-forming galaxies produce about 20% of the isotropic gamma-ray background unresolved by Fermi, and only 0.5% of IceCube neutrinos. Even with an extreme model assuming a hard injection cosmic-ray spectral index of 2.0 for all galaxies, at most 22% of IceCube neutrinos can be accounted for. These results indicate that it is difficult to explain most of the IceCube neutrinos by star-forming galaxies, without violating the gamma-ray constraints from nearby galaxies.

LOCATION OF {gamma}-RAY FLARE EMISSION IN THE JET OF THE BL LACERTAE OBJECT OJ287 MORE THAN 14 pc FROM THE CENTRAL ENGINE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Agudo, Ivan; Jorstad, Svetlana G.; Marscher, Alan P.

We combine time-dependent multi-waveband flux and linear polarization observations with submilliarcsecond-scale polarimetric images at {lambda} = 7 mm of the BL Lacertae type blazar OJ287 to locate the {gamma}-ray emission in prominent flares in the jet of the source >14 pc from the central engine. We demonstrate a highly significant correlation between the strongest {gamma}-ray and millimeter-wave flares through Monte Carlo simulations. The two reported {gamma}-ray peaks occurred near the beginning of two major millimeter-wave outbursts, each of which is associated with a linear polarization maximum at millimeter wavelengths. Our very long baseline array observations indicate that the two millimeter-wavemore » flares originated in the second of two features in the jet that are separated by >14 pc. The simultaneity of the peak of the higher-amplitude {gamma}-ray flare and the maximum in polarization of the second jet feature implies that the {gamma}-ray and millimeter-wave flares are cospatial and occur >14 pc from the central engine. We also associate two optical flares, accompanied by sharp polarization peaks, with the two {gamma}-ray events. The multi-waveband behavior is most easily explained if the {gamma}-rays arise from synchrotron self-Compton scattering of optical photons from the flares. We propose that flares are triggered by interaction of moving plasma blobs with a standing shock. The {gamma}-ray and optical emission is quenched by inverse Compton losses as synchrotron photons from the newly shocked plasma cross the emission region. The millimeter-wave polarization is high at the onset of a flare, but decreases as the electrons emitting at these wavelengths penetrate less polarized regions.« less

Six faint gamma-ray pulsars seen with the Fermi Large Area Telescope: Towards a sample blending into the background

DOE PAGES

Hou, X.; Smith, D. A.; Guillemot, L.; ...

2014-10-14

Context. Here, GeV gamma-ray pulsations from over 140 pulsars have been characterized using the Fermi Large Area Telescope, enabling improved understanding of the emission regions within the neutron star magnetospheres, and the contributions of pulsars to high energy electrons and diffuse gamma rays in the Milky Way. The first gamma-ray pulsars to be detected were the most intense and/or those with narrow pulses. Aims. As the Fermi mission progresses, progressively fainter objects can be studied. In addition to more distant pulsars (thus probing a larger volume of the Galaxy), or ones in high background regions (thus improving the sampling uniformitymore » across the Galactic plane), we detect pulsars with broader pulses or lower luminosity. Adding pulsars to our catalog with inclination angles that are rare in the observed sample, and/or with lower spindown power, will reduce the bias in the currently known gamma-ray pulsar population. Methods. We use rotation ephemerides derived from radio observations to phase-fold gamma rays recorded by the Fermi Large Area Telescope, to then determine the pulse profile properties. Spectral analysis provides the luminosities and, when the signal-to-noise ratio allows, the cutoff energies. We constrain the pulsar distances by different means in order to minimize the luminosity uncertainties. Results. We present six new gamma-ray pulsars with an eclectic mix of properties. Three are young, and three are recycled. They include the farthest, the lowest power, two of the highest duty-cycle pulsars seen, and only the fourth young gamma-ray pulsar with a radio interpulse. Finally, we discuss the biases existing in the current gamma-ray pulsar catalog, and steps to be taken to mitigate the bias.« less

About cosmic gamma ray lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diehl, Roland

2017-06-01

Gamma ray lines from cosmic sources convey the action of nuclear reactions in cosmic sites and their impacts on astrophysical objects. Gamma rays at characteristic energies result from nuclear transitions following radioactive decays or high-energy collisions with excitation of nuclei. The gamma-ray line from the annihilation of positrons at 511 keV falls into the same energy window, although of different origin. We present here the concepts of cosmic gamma ray spectrometry and the corresponding instruments and missions, followed by a discussion of recent results and the challenges and open issues for the future. Among the lessons learned are the diffuse radioactive afterglow of massive-star nucleosynthesis in 26Al and 60Fe gamma rays, which is now being exploited towards the cycle of matter driven by massive stars and their supernovae; large interstellar cavities and superbubbles have been recognised to be of key importance here. Also, constraints on the complex processes making stars explode as either thermonuclear or core-collapse supernovae are being illuminated by gamma-ray lines, in this case from shortlived radioactivities from 56Ni and 44Ti decays. In particular, the three-dimensionality and asphericities that have recently been recognised as important are enlightened in different ways through such gamma-ray line spectroscopy. Finally, the distribution of positron annihilation gamma ray emission with its puzzling bulge-dominated intensity disctribution is measured through spatially-resolved spectra, which indicate that annihilation conditions may differ in different parts of our Galaxy. But it is now understood that a variety of sources may feed positrons into the interstellar medium, and their characteristics largely get lost during slowing down and propagation of positrons before annihilation; a recent microquasar flare was caught as an opportunity to see positrons annihilate at a source.

Population Studies of Radio and Gamma-Ray Pulsars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, Alice K; Gonthier, Peter; Coltisor, Stefan

2004-01-01

Rotation-powered pulsars are one of the most promising candidates for at least some of the 40-50 EGRET unidentified gamma-ray sources that lie near the Galactic plane. Since the end of the EGRO mission, the more sensitive Parkes Multibeam radio survey has detected mere than two dozen new radio pulsars in or near unidentified EGRET sources, many of which are young and energetic. These results raise an important question about the nature of radio quiescence in gamma-ray pulsars: is the non-detection of radio emission a matter of beaming or of sensitivity? The answer is very dependent on the geometry of the radio and gamma-ray beams. We present results of a population synthesis of pulsars in the Galaxy, including for the first time the full geometry of the radio and gamma-ray beams. We use a recent empirically derived model of the radio emission and luminosity, and a gamma-ray emission geometry and luminosity derived theoretically from pair cascades in the polar slot gap. The simulation includes characteristics of eight radio surveys of the Princeton catalog plus the Parkes MB survey. Our results indicate that EGRET was capable of detecting several dozen pulsars as point sources, with the ratio of radio-loud to radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars increasing significantly to about ten to one when the Parkes Survey is included. Polar cap models thus predict that many of the unidentified EGRET sources could be radio-loud gamma- ray pulsars, previously undetected as radio pulsars due to distance, large dispersion and lack of sensitivity. If true, this would make gamma-ray telescopes a potentially more sensitive tool for detecting distant young neutron stars in the Galactic plane.

Search for gamma-ray emission from Galactic novae with the Fermi -LAT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franckowiak, A.; Jean, P.; Wood, M.; Cheung, C. C.; Buson, S.

2018-02-01

Context. A number of novae have been found to emit high-energy gamma rays (>100 MeV). However, the origin of this emission is not yet understood. We report on the search for gamma-ray emission from 75 optically detected Galactic novae in the first 7.4 years of operation of the Fermi Large Area Telescope using the Pass 8 data set. Aims: We compile an optical nova catalog including light curves from various resources and estimate the optical peak time and optical peak magnitude in order to search for gamma-ray emission to determine whether all novae are gamma-ray emitters. Methods: We repeated the analysis of the six novae previously identified as gamma-ray sources and developed a unified analysis strategy that we then applied to all novae in our catalog. We searched for emission in a 15 day time window in two-day steps ranging from 20 days before to 20 days after the optical peak time. We performed a population study with Monte Carlo simulations to set constraints on the properties of the gamma-ray emission of novae. Results: Two new novae candidates have been found at 2σ global significance. Although these two novae candidates were not detected at a significant level individually, taking them together with the other non-detected novae, we found a sub-threshold nova population with a cumulative 3σ significance. We report the measured gamma-ray flux for detected sources and flux upper limits for novae without significant detection. Our results can be reproduced by several gamma-ray emissivity models (e.g., a power-law distribution with a slope of 2), while a constant emissivity model (i.e., assuming novae are standard candles) can be rejected.

Search for gamma-ray emission from Galactic novae with the Fermi-LAT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Franckowiak, A.; Jean, P.; Wood, M.

Context. A number of novae have been found to emit high-energy gamma rays (>100 MeV). However, the origin of this emission is not yet understood. We report on the search for gamma-ray emission from 75 optically detected Galactic novae in the first 7.4 years of operation of the Fermi Large Area Telescope using the Pass 8 data set. Aims. We compile an optical nova catalog including light curves from various resources and estimate the optical peak time and optical peak magnitude in order to search for gamma-ray emission to determine whether all novae are gamma-ray emitters. Methods. We repeated themore » analysis of the six novae previously identified as gamma-ray sources and developed a unified analysis strategy that we then applied to all novae in our catalog. We searched for emission in a 15 day time window in two-day steps ranging from 20 days before to 20 days after the optical peak time. We performed a population study with Monte Carlo simulations to set constraints on the properties of the gamma-ray emission of novae. Results. Two new novae candidates have been found at ~ 2σ global significance. Although these two novae candidates were not detected at a significant level individually, taking them together with the other non-detected novae, we found a sub-threshold nova population with a cumulative 3σ significance. We report the measured gamma-ray flux for detected sources and flux upper limits for novae without significant detection. Lastly, our results can be reproduced by several gamma-ray emissivity models (e.g., a power-law distribution with a slope of 2), while a constant emissivity model (i.e., assuming novae are standard candles) can be rejected.« less

Search for gamma-ray emission from Galactic novae with the Fermi-LAT

DOE PAGES

Franckowiak, A.; Jean, P.; Wood, M.; ...

2018-02-05

Context. A number of novae have been found to emit high-energy gamma rays (>100 MeV). However, the origin of this emission is not yet understood. We report on the search for gamma-ray emission from 75 optically detected Galactic novae in the first 7.4 years of operation of the Fermi Large Area Telescope using the Pass 8 data set. Aims. We compile an optical nova catalog including light curves from various resources and estimate the optical peak time and optical peak magnitude in order to search for gamma-ray emission to determine whether all novae are gamma-ray emitters. Methods. We repeated themore » analysis of the six novae previously identified as gamma-ray sources and developed a unified analysis strategy that we then applied to all novae in our catalog. We searched for emission in a 15 day time window in two-day steps ranging from 20 days before to 20 days after the optical peak time. We performed a population study with Monte Carlo simulations to set constraints on the properties of the gamma-ray emission of novae. Results. Two new novae candidates have been found at ~ 2σ global significance. Although these two novae candidates were not detected at a significant level individually, taking them together with the other non-detected novae, we found a sub-threshold nova population with a cumulative 3σ significance. We report the measured gamma-ray flux for detected sources and flux upper limits for novae without significant detection. Lastly, our results can be reproduced by several gamma-ray emissivity models (e.g., a power-law distribution with a slope of 2), while a constant emissivity model (i.e., assuming novae are standard candles) can be rejected.« less

Research in particle and gamma-ray astrophysics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, E. C.; Davis, L., Jr.; Mewaldt, R. A.; Prince, T. A.

1988-01-01

Research activities in cosmic rays, gamma rays, and astrophysical plasmas are covered. Each activity is described, followed by a bibliography. The research program is directed toward the investigation of the astrophysical aspects of cosmic rays and gamma rays and of the radiation and electromagnetic field environment of the earth and other planets. These investigations were performed by means of energetic particle and photon detector systems flown on spacecraft and balloons.

Long-Term Multiwavelength Studies of High-Redshift Blazar 0836+710

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D. J.; Akyuz, A.; Donato, D.; Perkins, J. S.; Larsson, S.; Sokolovsky, K.; Fuhrmann, L.; Kurtanidze, O.

2012-01-01

Following gamma-ray flaring activity of high-redshift (z=2.218) blazar 0836+710 in 2011, we have assembled a long-term multiwavelength study of this object. Although this source is monitored regularly by radio telescopes and the Fermi Large Area Telescope, its coverage at other wavelengths is limited. The optical flux appears generally correlated with the gamma-ray flux, while little variability has been seen at X-ray energies. The gamma-ray/radio correlation is complex compared to some other blazars. As for many blazars, the largest variability is seen at gamma-ray wavelengths.

FIREFLY: A cubesat mission to study terrestrial gamma-ray flashes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klenzing, J. H.; Rowland, D. E.; Hill, J.; Weatherwax, A. T.

2009-12-01

FIREFLY is small satellite mission to investigate the link between atmospheric lightning and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes scheduled to launch in late 2010. The instrumentation includes a Gamma-Ray Detector (GRD), VLF receiver, and photometer. GRD will measure the energy and arrival time of x-ray and gamma-ray photons, as well as the energetic electron flux by using a phoswitch-style layered scintillator. The current status of the instrumentation will be discussed, including laboratory tests and simulations of the GRD. FIREFLY is the second in a series of NSF-funded cubesats designed to study the upper atmosphere.

Gamma-ray burst theory: Back to the drawing board

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harding, Alice K.

1994-01-01

Gamma-ray bursts have always been intriguing sources to study in terms of particle acceleration, but not since their discovery two decades ago has the theory of these objects been in such turmoil. Prior to the launch of Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory and observations by Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), there was strong evidence pointing to magnetized Galactic neutron stars as the sources of gamma-ray bursts. However, since BATSE the observational picture has changed dramatically, requiring much more distant and possibly cosmological sources. I review the history of gamma-ray burst theory from the era of growing consensus for nearby neutron stars to the recent explosion of halo and cosmological models and the impact of the present confusion on the particle acceleration problem.

Albedo gamma-rays observation at energies above 30 MeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galper, A. M.; Grachev, V. M.; Dmitrenko, V. V.; Kirillov-Ugriumov, V. G.; Liakhov, V. A.; Prokhorova, L. A.; Riumin, V. V.; Ulin, S. E.

Albedo gamma-ray observations are presented, which were carried out with the small gamma-ray telescope Elena-F on Salyut-6 at the 30-410 MeV and 50-420 MeV energy ranges. For the equatorial region from 15.0-17.5 GV, the albedo gamma-ray fluxes are 40 plus or minus 20 ph/sq m-s-sr, and the measured power law index of the differential energy spectrum is 1.6 plus or minus 0.5. The orbital station data are compared with simultaneous observations performed on a balloon, and the power law index of the differential energy spectrum of albedo gamma-rays measured by the balloon amounts to 2.1 plus or minus 0.4.

System to quantify gamma-ray radial energy deposition in semiconductor detectors

DOEpatents

Kammeraad, Judith E.; Blair, Jerome J.

2001-01-01

A system for measuring gamma-ray radial energy deposition is provided for use in conjunction with a semiconductor detector. The detector comprises two electrodes and a detector material, and defines a plurality of zones within the detecting material in parallel with the two electrodes. The detector produces a charge signal E(t) when a gamma-ray interacts with the detector. Digitizing means are provided for converting the charge signal E(t) into a digitized signal. A computational means receives the digitized signal and calculates in which of the plurality of zones the gamma-ray deposited energy when interacting with the detector. The computational means produces an output indicating the amount of energy deposited by the gamma-ray in each of the plurality of zones.

Wavelet-based techniques for the gamma-ray sky

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McDermott, Samuel D.; Fox, Patrick J.; Cholis, Ilias

2016-07-01

Here, we demonstrate how the image analysis technique of wavelet decomposition can be applied to the gamma-ray sky to separate emission on different angular scales. New structures on scales that differ from the scales of the conventional astrophysical foreground and background uncertainties can be robustly extracted, allowing a model-independent characterization with no presumption of exact signal morphology. As a test case, we generate mock gamma-ray data to demonstrate our ability to extract extended signals without assuming a fixed spatial template. For some point source luminosity functions, our technique also allows us to differentiate a diffuse signal in gamma-rays from darkmore » matter annihilation and extended gamma-ray point source populations in a data-driven way.« less

Dense gamma-ray and pair creation using ultra-intense lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Edison; Lo, Willie; Hasson, Hannah; Dyer, Gilliss; Clarke, Taylor; Fasanelli, Fabio; Yao, Kelly; Marchenka, Ilija; Henderson, Alexander; Dashko, Andriy; Zhang, Yuling; Ditmire, Todd

2016-10-01

We report recent results of gamma-ray and e +e- pair creation experiments using the Texas Petawatt laser (TPW) in Austin and the Trident laser at LANL irradiating solid high-Z targets. In addition to achieving record high densities of emerging gamma-rays and pairs at TPW, we measured in detail the spectra of hot electrons, positrons, and gamma-rays, and studied their spectral variation with laser and target parameters. A new type of gamma-ray spectrometer, called the scintillator attenuation spectrometer (SAS), was successfully demonstrated in Trident experiments in 2015. We will discuss the design and results of the SAS. Preliminary results of new experiments at TPW carried out in the summer of 2016 will also be presented.

Gamma-ray astronomy with muons: Sensitivity of IceCube to PeVatrons in the Southern sky

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Halzen, Francis; O'Murchadha, Aongus; Kappes, Alexander

2009-10-15

Northern hemisphere TeV gamma-ray observatories such as Milagro and Tibet AS{gamma} have demonstrated the importance of all-sky instruments by discovering previously unidentified sources that may be the PeVatrons producing cosmic rays up to the knee in the cosmic ray spectrum. We evaluate the potential of IceCube to identify similar sources in the southern sky by detailing an analytic approach to determine fluxes of muons from TeV gamma-ray showers. We apply this approach to known gamma-ray sources such as supernova remnants. We find that, similar to Milagro, detection is possible in 10 years for pointlike PeVatrons with fluxes stronger than severalmore » 10{sup -11} particles TeV{sup -1} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}.« less

Fermi large area telescope observations of the cosmic-ray induced {gamma}-ray emission of the Earth's atmosphere

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abdo, A. A.; National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. 20001; Ackermann, M.

We report on measurements of the cosmic-ray induced {gamma}-ray emission of Earth's atmosphere by the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The Large Area Telescope has observed the Earth during its commissioning phase and with a dedicated Earth limb following observation in September 2008. These measurements yielded {approx}6.4x10{sup 6} photons with energies >100 MeV and {approx}250 hours total live time for the highest quality data selection. This allows the study of the spatial and spectral distributions of these photons with unprecedented detail. The spectrum of the emission--often referred to as Earth albedo gamma-ray emission--has a power-lawmore » shape up to 500 GeV with spectral index {gamma}=2.79{+-}0.06.« less

Computed radiography as a gamma ray detector—dose response and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Keeffe, D. S.; McLeod, R. W.

2004-08-01

Computed radiography (CR) can be used for imaging the spatial distribution of photon emissions from radionuclides. Its wide dynamic range and good response to medium energy gamma rays reduces the need for long exposure times. Measurements of small doses can be performed without having to pre-sensitize the computed radiography plates via an x-ray exposure, as required with screen-film systems. Cassette-based Agfa MD30 and Kodak GP25 CR plates were used in applications involving the detection of gamma ray emissions from technetium-99m and iodine-131. Cassette entrance doses as small as 1 µGy (140 keV gamma rays) produce noisy images, but the images are suitable for applications such as the detection of breaks in radiation protection barriers. A consequence of the gamma ray sensitivity of CR plates is the possibility that some nuclear medicine patients may fog their x-rays if the x-ray is taken soon after their radiopharmaceutical injection. The investigation showed that such fogging is likely to be diffuse.

Fermi Detection of Gamma-Ray Emission from the M2 Soft X-Ray Flare on 2010 June 12

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; Allafort, A.; Atwood, W. B.; Baldini, L.; Barbiellini, G.; Bastieri, D.; Bechtol, K.; Bellazzini, R.; Bhat, P. N.;

KASCADE-Grande Limits on the Isotropic Diffuse Gamma-Ray Flux between 100 TeV and 1 EeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apel, W. D.; Arteaga-Velázquez, J. C.; Bekk, K.; Bertaina, M.; Blümer, J.; Bozdog, H.; Brancus, I. M.; Cantoni, E.; Chiavassa, A.; Cossavella, F.; Daumiller, K.; de Souza, V.; Di Pierro, F.; Doll, P.; Engel, R.; Feng, Z.; Fuhrmann, D.; Gherghel-Lascu, A.; Gils, H. J.; Glasstetter, R.; Grupen, C.; Haungs, A.; Heck, D.; Hörandel, J. R.; Huege, T.; Kampert, K.-H.; Kang, D.; Klages, H. O.; Link, K.; Łuczak, P.; Mathes, H. J.; Mayer, H. J.; Milke, J.; Mitrica, B.; Morello, C.; Oehlschläger, J.; Ostapchenko, S.; Pierog, T.; Rebel, H.; Roth, M.; Schieler, H.; Schoo, S.; Schröder, F. G.; Sima, O.; Toma, G.; Trinchero, G. C.; Ulrich, H.; Weindl, A.; Wochele, J.; Zabierowski, J.; KASCADE-Grande Collaboration

2017-10-01

KASCADE and KASCADE-Grande were multi-detector installations to measure individual air showers of cosmic rays at ultra-high energy. Based on data sets measured by KASCADE and KASCADE-Grande, 90% C.L. upper limits to the flux of gamma-rays in the primary cosmic ray flux are determined in an energy range of {10}14{--}{10}18 eV. The analysis is performed by selecting air showers with a low muon content as expected for gamma-ray-induced showers compared to air showers induced by energetic nuclei. The best upper limit of the fraction of gamma-rays to the total cosmic ray flux is obtained at 3.7× {10}15 eV with 1.1× {10}-5. Translated to an absolute gamma-ray flux this sets constraints on some fundamental astrophysical models, such as the distance of sources for at least one of the IceCube neutrino excess models.

Recent high energy gamma-ray results from SAS-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, D. J.; Fichtel, C. E.; Hartman, R. C.; Kniffen, D. A.; Bignami, G. F.; Ogelman, H. B.; Ozel, M. E.; Tumer, T.; Lamb, R. C.

1977-01-01

Recent developments in gamma-ray astronomy due to the results from SAS-2 have focused on two areas. First, the emission from the plane of the Galaxy is the dominant feature in the gamma-ray sky. The galactic latitude and longitude distributions are consistent with the concept that the high-energy radiation originates from cosmic rays interacting with interstellar matter, and the measurements support a galactic origin for cosmic rays. Second, searches of the SAS-2 data for emission from localized sources have shown three strong discrete gamma-ray sources: the Crab nebula and PSR 0531 + 21, the Vela supernova remnant and PSR 0833-45, and a source near galactic coordinates 193 deg longitude, +3 deg latitude, which does not appear to be associated with other known celestial objects. Evidence has also been found for pulsed gamma-ray emission from two other radio pulsars, PSR 1818-04 and PSR 1747-46. A localized source near longitudes 76-80 deg may be associated with the X-ray source Cyg X-3.

A luminous gamma-ray binary in the large magellanic cloud

DOE PAGES

Corbet, R. H. D.; Chomiuk, L.; Coe, M. J.; ...

2016-09-27

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. Previously, only a handful of such systems have been discovered, all within our Galaxy. 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. Furthermore, the system has an orbital period ofmore » 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.« less