arXiv subjects

David J. Thompson

Publications and source records attributed to David J. Thompson.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, a key mission in multiwavelength and multimessenger studies, has been surveying the gamma-ray sky from its low-Earth orbit since 2008. Its two scientific instruments, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and the Large Area Telescope (LAT), cover 8 orders of magnitude in photon energy. The GBM consists of 12 Sodium Iodide detectors and 2 Bismuth Germinate detectors, covering the 10 keV - 40 MeV energy range, arrayed on two sides of the spacecraft so as to view the entire sky that is not occulted by the Earth. The LAT is a pair production telescope based on silicon strip trackers, a Cesium Iodide calorimeter, and a plastic scintillator anticoincidence system. It covers the energy range from about 20 MeV to more than 500 GeV, with a field of view of about 2.4 steradians. Thanks to their huge fields of view, the instruments can observe the entire sky with a cadence of about an hour for GBM and about three hours for LAT. All gamma-ray data from Fermi become public immediately, enabling a broad range of multiwavelength and multimessenger research. Over 3000 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), including GRB 170817A associated with a neutron star merger detected in gravitational waves, and 5000 high-energy sources, including the blazar TXS 0506+056 associated with high-energy neutrinos, have been detected by the Fermi instruments. The Fermi Science Support Center provides a wide array of resources to enable scientific use of the data, including background models, source catalogs, analysis software, documentation, and a Help Desk.

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arXiv2022

Pair Production Detectors for Gamma-ray Astrophysics

Electron-positron pair production is the essential process for high-energy gamma-ray astrophysical observations. Following the pioneering OSO-3 counter telescope, the field evolved into use of particle tracking instruments, largely derived from high-energy physics detectors. Although many of the techniques were developed on balloon-borne gamma-ray telescopes, the need to escape the high background in the atmosphere meant that the breakthrough discoveries came from the SAS-2 and COS-B satellites. The next major pair production success was EGRET on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, which provided the first all-sky map at energies above 100 MeV and found a variety of gamma-ray sources, many of which were variable. The current generation of pair production telescopes, AGILE and Fermi LAT, have broadened high-energy gamma-ray astrophysics with particular emphasis on multiwavelength and multimessenger studies. A variety of options remain open for future missions based on pair production with improved instrumental performance.

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arXiv2022

Exploring the MeV Sky with a Combined Coded Mask and Compton Telescope: The Galactic Explorer with a Coded Aperture Mask Compton Telescope (GECCO)

The sky at MeV energies is currently poorly explored. Here we present an innovative mission concept that builds on and improves past and currently proposed missions at such energies. We outline the motivations for combining a coded mask and a Compton telescope and we define the scientific goals of such a mission. The Galactic Explorer with a Coded Aperture Mask Compton Telescope (GECCO) is a novel concept for a next-generation telescope covering hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray energies. The potential and importance of this approach that bridges the observational gap in the MeV energy range are presented. With the unprecedented angular resolution of the coded mask telescope combined with the sensitive Compton telescope, a mission such as GECCO can disentangle the discrete sources from the truly diffuse emission. Individual Galactic and extragalactic sources are detected. This also allows to understand the gamma-ray Galactic center excess and the Fermi Bubbles, and to trace the low-energy cosmic rays, and their propagation in the Galaxy. Nuclear and annihilation lines are spatially and spectrally resolved from the continuum emission and from sources, addressing the role of low-energy cosmic rays in star formation and galaxy evolution, the origin of the 511 keV positron line, fundamental physics, and the chemical enrichment in the Galaxy. Such an instrument also detects explosive transient gamma-ray sources, which enable identifying and studying the astrophysical objects that produce gravitational waves and neutrinos in a multi-messenger context. By looking at a poorly explored energy band it also allows discoveries of new astrophysical phenomena.

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arXiv2021

FAST discovery of an extremely radio-faint millisecond pulsar from the Fermi-LAT unassociated source 3FGL J0318.1+0252

High sensitivity radio searches of unassociated $γ$-ray sources have proven to be an effective way of finding new pulsars. Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) during its commissioning phase, we have carried out a number of targeted deep searches of \textit{Fermi} Large Area Telescope (LAT) $γ$-ray sources. On Feb. 27$^{th}$, 2018 we discovered an isolated millisecond pulsar (MSP), PSR J0318+0253, coincident with the unassociated $γ$-ray source 3FGL J0318.1+0252. PSR J0318+0253 has a spin period of $5.19$ milliseconds, a dispersion measure (DM) of $26$ pc cm$^{-3}$ corresponding to a DM distance of about $1.3$ kpc, and a period-averaged flux density of $\sim$11 $\pm$ 2 $μ$Jy at L-band (1.05-1.45 GHz). Among all high energy MSPs, PSR J0318+0253 is the faintest ever detected in radio bands, by a factor of at least $\sim$4 in terms of L-band fluxes. With the aid of the radio ephemeris, an analysis of 9.6 years of \textit{Fermi}-LAT data revealed that PSR J0318+0253 also displays strong $γ$-ray pulsations. Follow-up observations carried out by both Arecibo and FAST suggest a likely spectral turn-over around 350 MHz. This is the first result from the collaboration between FAST and the \textit{Fermi}-LAT teams as well as the first confirmed new MSP discovery by FAST, raising hopes for the detection of many more MSPs. Such discoveries will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the neutron star zoo while potentially contributing to the future detection of gravitational waves, via pulsar timing array (PTA) experiments.

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arXiv2017

The e-ASTROGAM mission (exploring the extreme Universe with gamma rays in the MeV-GeV range)

e-ASTROGAM (`enhanced ASTROGAM') is a breakthrough Observatory mission dedicated to the study of the non-thermal Universe in the photon energy range from 0.3 MeV to 3 GeV. The mission is based on an advanced space-proven detector technology, with unprecedented sensitivity, angular and energy resolution, combined with polarimetric capability. In the largely unexplored MeV-GeV domain, e-ASTROGAM will open a new window on the non-thermal Universe, making pioneering observations of the most powerful Galactic and extragalactic sources, elucidating the nature of their relativistic outflows and their effects on Galactic ecosystems. With a line sensitivity in the MeV energy range one to two orders of magnitude better than previous generation instruments, will determine the origin of key isotopes fundamental for the understanding of supernova explosion and the chemical evolution of our Galaxy. The mission will provide unique data of significant interest to a broad astronomical community, complementary to powerful observatories such as LIGO-Virgo-GEO600-KAGRA, SKA, ALMA, E-ELT, TMT, LSST, JWST, Athena, CTA, IceCube, KM3NeT, and the promise of eLISA. Keywords: High-energy gamma-ray astronomy, High-energy astrophysics, Nuclear Astrophysics, Compton and Pair creation telescope, Gamma-ray bursts, Active Galactic Nuclei, Jets, Outflows, Multiwavelength observations of the Universe, Counterparts of gravitational waves, Fermi, Dark Matter, Nucleosynthesis, Early Universe, Supernovae, Cosmic Rays, Cosmic antimatter.

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arXiv2017

3FGLzoo. Classifying 3FGL Unassociated Fermi-LAT Gamma-ray Sources by Artificial Neural Networks

In its first four years of operation, the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) detected 3033 $γ$-ray emitting sources. In the Fermi-LAT Third Source Catalogue (3FGL) about 50% of the sources have no clear association with a likely $γ$-ray emitter. We use an artificial neural network algorithm aimed at distinguishing BL Lacs from FSRQs to investigate the source subclass of 559 3FGL unassociated sources characterised by $γ$-ray properties very similar to those of Active Galactic Nuclei. Based on our method, we can classify 271 objects as BL Lac candidates, 185 as FSRQ candidates, leaving only 103 without a clear classification. we suggest a new zoo for $γ$-ray objects, where the percentage of sources of uncertain type drops from 52% to less than 10%. The result of this study opens up new considerations on the population of the $γ$-ray sky, and it will facilitate the planning of significant samples for rigorous analyses and multiwavelength observational campaigns.

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arXiv2017

Multiwavelength picture of the blazar S5 0716+714 during its brightest outburst

S5 0716+714 is a well known BL Lac object, one of the brightest and most active blazars. The discovery in the Very High Energy band (VHE, E > 100 GeV) by MAGIC happened in 2008. In January 2015 the source went through the brightest optical state ever observed, triggering MAGIC follow-up and a VHE detection with 13σ significance (ATel 6999). Rich multiwavelength coverage of the flare allowed us to construct the broad-band spectral energy distribution of S5 0716+714 during its brightest outburst. In this work we will present the preliminary analysis of MAGIC and Fermi-LAT data of the flaring activity in January and February 2015 for the HE (0.1 < HE < 300 GeV) and VHE band, together with radio (Metsähovi, OVRO, VLBA, Effelsberg), sub-millimeter (SMA), optical (Tuorla, Perkins, Steward, AZT-8+ST7, LX-200, Kanata), X-ray and UV (Swift-XRT and UVOT), in the same time-window and discuss the time variability of the multiwavelength light curves during this impressive outburst.

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arXiv2015

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

The design of spaceborne high-energy (E>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.

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arXiv2013

Monitoring the Gamma-ray Sky through 4.5 Years of Fermi LAT Flare Advocate Service

The Fermi Flare Advocate (also known as Gamma-ray Sky Watcher, FA-GSW) service provides for a quick look and review of the gamma-ray sky observed daily by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The FA-GSW service provides alerts and communicates to the external scientific community potentially new gamma-ray sources, interesting transients and source flares. A weekly digest containing the highlights about the variable LAT gamma-ray sky at E>100 MeV is published in the web ("Fermi Sky Blog"). Other news items are occasionally posted through the Fermi multiwavelength mailing list, Astronomer's Telegrams (ATels) and Gamma-ray Coordination Network notes (GCNs). From July 2008 to January 2013 about 230 ATels and some GCNs have been published by the Fermi LAT Collaboration, more than 40 target of opportunity observing programs have been triggered by the LAT Collaboration and performed though the Swift satellite, and individual observing alerts have been addressed to ground-based Cherenkov telescopes. This is helping the Fermi mission to catch opportunities offered by the variable high-energy sky, increasing the rate of simultaneous multifrequency observations and the level of international scientific cooperation.

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arXiv2012

Cosmic Ray Studies with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Large Area Telescope

The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope provides both direct and indirect measurements of Galactic cosmic rays (CR). The LAT high-statistics observations of the 7 GeV - 1 TeV electron plus positron spectrum and limits on spatial anisotropy constrain models for this cosmic-ray component. On a Galactic scale, the LAT observations indicate that cosmic- ray sources may be more plentiful in the outer Galaxy than expected or that the scale height of the cosmic-ray diffusive halo is larger than conventional models. Production of cosmic rays in supernova remnants (SNR) is supported by the LAT gamma-ray studies of several of these, both young SNR and those interacting with molecular clouds.

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arXiv2011

The Identification of the X-ray Counterpart to PSR J2021+4026

We report the probable identification of the X-ray counterpart to the gamma-ray pulsar PSR J2021+4026 using imaging with the Chandra X-ray Observatory ACIS and timing analysis with the Fermi satellite. Given the statistical and systematic errors, the positions determined by both satellites are coincident. The X-ray source position is R.A. 20h21m30.733s, Decl. +40 deg 26 min 46.04sec (J2000) with an estimated uncertainty of 1.3 arsec combined statistical and systematic error. Moreover, both the X-ray to gamma-ray and the X-ray to optical flux ratios are sensible assuming a neutron star origin for the X-ray flux. The X-ray source has no cataloged infrared-to-visible counterpart and, through new observations, we set upper limits to its optical emission of i' >23.0 mag and r' > 25.2mag. The source exhibits an X-ray spectrum with most likely both a powerlaw and a thermal component. We also report on the X-ray and visible light properties of the 43 other sources detected in our Chandra observation.

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arXiv2007

The Elongated Structure of the Hercules dSph from Deep LBT Imaging

We present a deep, wide-field photometric survey of the newly-discovered Hercules dwarf spheroidal galaxy, based on data from the Large Binocular Telescope. Images in B, V and r were obtained with the Large Binocular Camera covering a 23' times 23' field of view to a magnitude of ~25.5 (5 sigma). This permitted the construction of colour-magnitude diagrams that reach approximately 1.5 magnitudes below the Hercules main sequence turnoff. Three-filter photometry allowed us to preferentially select probable Hercules member stars, and examine the structure of this system at a previously unattained level. We find that the Hercules dwarf is highly elongated (3:1), considerably more so than any other dSph satellite of the Milky Way except the disrupting Sagittarius dwarf. While we cannot rule out that the unusual structure is intrinsic to Hercules as an equilibrium system, our results suggest tidal disruption as a likely cause of this highly elliptical structure. Given the relatively large Galactocentric distance of this system (132 +/- 12 kpc), signs of tidal disruption would require the Hercules dwarf to be on a highly eccentric orbit around the Milky Way.

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arXiv2004

The Multiwavelength Approach to Unidentified Gamma-Ray Sources

As the highest-energy photons, gamma rays have an inherent interest to astrophysicists and particle physicists studying high-energy, nonthermal processes. Gamma-ray telescopes complement those at other wavelengths, especially radio, optical, and X-ray, providing the broad, mutiwavelength coverage that has become such a powerful aspect of modern astrophysics. Multiwavelength techniques of various types have been developed to help identify and explore unidentified gamma-ray sources. This overview summarizes the ideas behind several of these methods.

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arXiv2003

Gamma Ray Pulsars: Multiwavelength Observations

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 2007, will provide a major advance in sensitivity, energy range, and sky coverage.

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arXiv2001

Gamma Ray Pulsars: Observations

High-energy gamma rays are a valuable tool for studying particle acceleration and radiation in the magnetospheres of energetic pulsars. The six or more pulsars seen by CGRO/EGRET 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. Unless a new pulsed component appears at higher energies, progress in gamma-ray pulsar studies will be greatest in the 1-20 GeV range. Ground-based telescopes whose energy ranges extend downward toward 10 GeV should make important measurements of the spectral cutoffs. The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), now in planning for a launch in 2005, will provide a major advance in sensitivity, energy range, and sky coverage.

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