arXiv subjects

F. Calore

Publications and source records attributed to F. Calore.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Search for TeV emission from spider millisecond pulsars with HAWC

Millisecond pulsars (MSPs) are observed to emit multi-wavelength radiation, from radio to GeV. Spider MSPs, which interact with their low-mass companion in close orbit (orbital periods $< 1$ day), may lead to strong intrabinary shocks that can further accelerate electron and positron pairs produced in the magnetosphere, possibly emitting very-high-energy (0.1--100 TeV; VHE) photons through inverse Compton scattering. Using 2565 days of HAWC Pass 5 data, we search for VHE emission from spider MSPs and present upper limits on individual sources. We also perform a stacking analysis to examine whether the two sets of spider systems, classified as redbacks and black widows depending on the companion mass, exhibit different spectral properties. Our study places constraints on TeV emission from MSPs and suggests that they are unlikely to contribute significantly to the Galactic diffuse emission at TeV and higher energies.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Multiwavelength identification of millisecond pulsar candidates in the Galactic bulge

The existence of a population of millisecond pulsars in the Galactic bulge is supported, along with other evidence, by the Fermi GeV excess, an anomalous {\gamma}-ray emission detected almost 15 years ago in the direction of the Galactic center. However, radio surveys searching for pulsations have not yet revealed bulge millisecond pulsars. Identifying promising bulge millisecond pulsar candidates is key to motivating pointed radio pulsation searches. Candidates are often selected among steep-spectrum or polarized radio sources, but multiwavelength information can also be exploited: The aim of this work is to pinpoint strong candidates among the yet unidentified X-ray sources. We investigated the multiwavelength counterparts of sources detected by the Chandra X-ray observatory that have spectral properties expected for millisecond pulsars in the Galactic bulge. We considered that ultraviolet, optical, and strong infrared counterparts indicate that an X-ray source is not a bulge pulsar, while a radio or a faint infrared counterpart makes it a promising candidate. We identify a large population of more than a thousand X-ray sources without optical, ultraviolet, or strong infrared counterparts. Among them, five are seen for the first time in unpublished radio imaging data from the Very Large Array. We provide the list of promising candidates, for most of which follow-up pulsation searches are ongoing.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Discovery of two new millisecond pulsars towards the Galactic bulge

The mysterious Galactic Center Excess of gamma rays could be explained by a large population of millisecond pulsars hiding in the Galactic bulge, too faint to be detected as individual high-energy point sources by the Fermi Large Area Telescope, as well as too fast and too dispersed to be detected in shallow radio pulsation surveys. Motivated by an innovative candidate selection method, we aim at detecting millisecond pulsars associated with the Galactic Center Excess by carrying deep radio pulsation searches towards promising candidates detected in the inner Galaxy, in X rays by Chandra, and in radio or gamma rays by the Very Large Array or Fermi. We conducted deep radio observation and follow-up campaigns with MeerKAT, the Murriyang and the Green Bank telescopes towards 9 X-ray candidate sources. We here report the detection of two new millisecond pulsars, including a black widow candidate, towards the Galactic bulge: PSRs J1740-2805 and J1740-28. These discoveries double the number of MSPs discovered within the innermost 2 degree from the Galactic center.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

The TRAPUM Large Magellanic Cloud pulsar survey with MeerKAT II: 12 new discoveries and timing solutions for 7 pulsars

We report the discovery of 12 new radio pulsars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) as part of the TRAPUM (TRAnsients and PUlsars with MeerKAT) Large Survey Project, using the MeerKAT L-band receivers (856--1712\,MHz). These pulsars, discovered in 18 new pointings with 2\,hour integration times, bring the total number of pulsars identified by this ongoing survey to 19 (yielding a total of 44 LMC radio pulsars now known), representing an 80 per cent increase in the LMC radio pulsar population to date. These include PSR\,J0454$-$6927, the slowest extragalactic radio pulsar discovered to date, with a spin period of 2238\,ms, and PSR\,J0452$-$6921, which exhibits the highest dispersion measure (DM) among extragalactic radio pulsars, at 326\,pc\,cm$^{-3}$. The fastest spin period among the new discoveries is 245\,ms, and the lowest DM is 62\,pc\,cm$^{-3}$. We also present timing results for our first pulsar discoveries with MeerKAT and the Murriyang radio telescope, obtaining phase-connected solutions for seven pulsars in the LMC. These results indicate that the pulsars are isolated, canonical radio pulsars with characteristic ages up to 8.8\,Myr

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

A targeted radio pulsar survey of redback candidates with MeerKAT

Redbacks are millisecond pulsar binaries with low mass, irradiated companions. These systems have a rich phenomenology that can be used to probe binary evolution models, pulsar wind physics, and the neutron star mass distribution. A number of high-confidence redback candidates have been identified through searches for variable optical and X-ray sources within the localisation regions of unidentified but pulsar-like Fermi-LAT gamma-ray sources. However, these candidates remain unconfirmed until pulsations are detected. As part of the TRAPUM project, we searched for radio pulsations from six of these redback candidates with MeerKAT. We discovered three new radio millisecond pulsars, PSRs J0838$-$2527, J0955$-$3947 and J2333$-$5526, confirming their redback nature. PSR J0838$-$2827 remained undetected for two years after our discovery despite repeated observations, likely due to evaporated material absorbing the radio emission for long periods of time. While, to our knowledge, this system has not undergone a transition to an accreting state, the disappearance, likely caused by extreme eclipses, illustrates the transient nature of spider pulsars and the heavy selection bias in uncovering their radio population. Radio timing enabled the detection of gamma-ray pulsations from all three pulsars, from which we obtained 15-year timing solutions. All of these sources exhibit complex orbital period variations consistent with gravitational quadrupole moment variations in the companion stars. These timing solutions also constrain the binary mass ratios, allowing us to narrow down the pulsar masses. We find that PSR J2333$-$5526 may have a neutron star mass in excess of 2 M$_{\odot}$.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Feebly Interacting Particles: FIPs 2022 workshop report

Particle physics today faces the challenge of explaining the mystery of dark matter, the origin of matter over anti-matter in the Universe, the origin of the neutrino masses, the apparent fine-tuning of the electro-weak scale, and many other aspects of fundamental physics. Perhaps the most striking frontier to emerge in the search for answers involves new physics at mass scales comparable to familiar matter, below the GeV-scale, or even radically below, down to sub-eV scales, and with very feeble interaction strength. New theoretical ideas to address dark matter and other fundamental questions predict such feebly interacting particles (FIPs) at these scales, and indeed, existing data provide numerous hints for such possibility. A vibrant experimental program to discover such physics is under way, guided by a systematic theoretical approach firmly grounded on the underlying principles of the Standard Model. This document represents the report of the FIPs 2022 workshop, held at CERN between the 17 and 21 October 2022 and aims to give an overview of these efforts, their motivations, and the decadal goals that animate the community involved in the search for FIPs.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

The TRAPUM L-band survey for pulsars in Fermi-LAT gamma-ray sources

More than 100 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) have been discovered in radio observations of gamma-ray sources detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT), but hundreds of pulsar-like sources remain unidentified. Here we present the first results from the targeted survey of Fermi-LAT sources being performed by the Transients and Pulsars with MeerKAT (TRAPUM) Large Survey Project. We observed 79 sources identified as possible gamma-ray pulsar candidates by a Random Forest classification of unassociated sources from the 4FGL catalogue. Each source was observed for 10 minutes on two separate epochs using MeerKAT's L-band receiver (856-1712 MHz), with typical pulsed flux density sensitivities of $\sim$100$\,\mu$Jy. Nine new MSPs were discovered, eight of which are in binary systems, including two eclipsing redbacks and one system, PSR J1526$-$2744, that appears to have a white dwarf companion in an unusually compact 5 hr orbit. We obtained phase-connected timing solutions for two of these MSPs, enabling the detection of gamma-ray pulsations in the Fermi-LAT data. A follow-up search for continuous gravitational waves from PSR J1526$-$2744 in Advanced LIGO data using the resulting Fermi-LAT timing ephemeris yielded no detection, but sets an upper limit on the neutron star ellipticity of $2.45\times10^{-8}$. We also detected X-ray emission from the redback PSR J1803$-$6707 in data from the first eROSITA all-sky survey, likely due to emission from an intra-binary shock.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Strong constraints on primordial black hole dark matter from 16 years of INTEGRAL/SPI observations

We present a new analysis of the diffuse soft $\gamma$-ray emission towards the inner Galaxy as measured by the SPectrometer aboard the INTEGRAL satellite (SPI) with 16 years of data taking. The analysis implements a spatial template fit of SPI data and an improved instrumental background model. We characterize the contribution of Primordial Black Holes (PBH) as dark matter (DM) candidates evaporating into $\mathcal{O}$(1) MeV photons by including, for the first time, the spatial distribution of their signal into the fitting procedure. No PBH signal is detected, and we set the strongest limit on PBH DM for masses up to $4 \times 10^{17}$ g, significantly closing in into the so-called asteroid mass range.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

EuCAPT White Paper: Opportunities and Challenges for Theoretical Astroparticle Physics in the Next Decade

Astroparticle physics is undergoing a profound transformation, due to a series of extraordinary new results, such as the discovery of high-energy cosmic neutrinos with IceCube, the direct detection of gravitational waves with LIGO and Virgo, and many others. This white paper is the result of a collaborative effort that involved hundreds of theoretical astroparticle physicists and cosmologists, under the coordination of the European Consortium for Astroparticle Theory (EuCAPT). Addressed to the whole astroparticle physics community, it explores upcoming theoretical opportunities and challenges for our field of research, with particular emphasis on the possible synergies among different subfields, and the prospects for solving the most fundamental open questions with multi-messenger observations.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Cross-correlating galaxy catalogs and gravitational waves: a tomographic approach

Unveiling the origin of the coalescing binaries detected via gravitational waves (GW) is challenging, notably if no multi-wavelength counterpart is detected. One important diagnostic tool is the coalescing binary distribution with respect to the large scale structures (LSS) of the universe, which we quantify via the cross-correlation of galaxy catalogs with GW ones. By using both existing and forthcoming galaxy catalogs and using realistic Monte Carlo simulations of GW events, we find that the cross-correlation signal should be marginally detectable in a 10-year data taking of advanced LIGO-Virgo detectors at design sensitivity, at least for binary neutron star mergers. The expected addition of KAGRA and LIGO-India to the GW detector network would allow for a firmer detection of this signal and, in combination with future cosmological surveys, would also permit the detection of cross-correlation for coalescing black holes. Such a measurement may unveil, for instance, a primordial origin of coalescing black holes. To attain this goal, we find that it is crucial to adopt a tomographic approach and to reach a sufficiently accurate localization of GW events. The depth of forthcoming surveys will be fully exploited by third generation GW detectors such as the Einstein Telescope or the Cosmic Explorer, which will allow one to perform precision studies of the coalescing black hole LSS distribution and attain rather advanced model discrimination capabilities.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

Electromagnetic probes of primordial black holes as dark matter

The LIGO discoveries have rekindled suggestions that primordial black holes (BHs) may constitute part to all of the dark matter (DM) in the Universe. Such suggestions came from 1) the observed merger rate of the BHs, 2) their unusual masses, 3) their low/zero spins, and 4) also from the independently uncovered cosmic infrared background (CIB) fluctuations signal of high amplitude and coherence with unresolved cosmic X-ray background (CXB). Here we summarize the prospects to resolve this important issue with electromagnetic observations using the instruments and tools expected in the 2020's. These prospects appear promising to make significant, and potentially critical, advances. We demonstrate that in the next decade, new space- and ground-borne electromagnetic instruments, combined with concurrent theoretical efforts, should shed critical light on the long-considered link between primordial BHs and DM. Specifically the new data and methodologies under this program will involve: I) Probing with high precision the spatial spectrum of source-subtracted CIB with Euclid and WFIRST, and its coherence with unresolved cosmic X-ray background using eROSITA and Athena, II) Advanced searches for microlensing of Galactic stars by the intervening Galactic Halo BHs with OGLE, Gaia, LSST and WFIRST, III) Supernovae (SNe) lensing in the upcoming surveys with WFIRST, LSST and also potentially with Euclid and JWST, IV) Advanced theoretical work to understand the details of PBH accretion and evolution and their influence on cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies in light of the next generation CMB experiments, V) Better new samples and theoretical understanding involving stability and properties of ultra faint dwarf galaxies, pulsar timing, and cosmological quasar lensing.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2018

Fundamental Physics with the Square Kilometre Array

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a planned large radio interferometer designed to operate over a wide range of frequencies, and with an order of magnitude greater sensitivity and survey speed than any current radio telescope. The SKA will address many important topics in astronomy, ranging from planet formation to distant galaxies. However, in this work, we consider the perspective of the SKA as a facility for studying physics. We review four areas in which the SKA is expected to make major contributions to our understanding of fundamental physics: cosmic dawn and reionisation; gravity and gravitational radiation; cosmology and dark energy; and dark matter and astroparticle physics. These discussions demonstrate that the SKA will be a spectacular physics machine, which will provide many new breakthroughs and novel insights on matter, energy and spacetime.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2015

Simulated Milky Way analogues: implications for dark matter indirect searches

We study high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations of Milky Way type galaxies obtained within the "Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments" (EAGLE) project, and identify the those that best satisfy observational constraints on the Milky Way total stellar mass, rotation curve, and galaxy shape. Contrary to mock galaxies selected on the basis of their total virial mass, the Milky Way analogues so identified consistently exhibit very similar dark matter profiles inside the solar circle, therefore enabling more accurate predictions for indirect dark matter searches. We find in particular that high resolution simulated haloes satisfying observational constraints exhibit, within the inner few kiloparsecs, dark matter profiles shallower than those required to explain the so-called Fermi GeV excess via dark matter annihilation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

Diffuse gamma-ray emission from galactic pulsars

Millisecond Pulsars are second most abundant source population discovered by the Fermi-LAT. They might contribute non-negligibly to the diffuse emission measured at high latitudes by Fermi-LAT, the IDGRB. Gamma-ray sources also contribute to the anisotropy of the IDGRB measured on small scales by Fermi-LAT. We aim to assess the contribution of the unresolved counterpart of the detected MSPs population to the IDGRB and the maximal fraction of the measured anisotropy produced by this source class. We model the MSPs spatial distribution in the Galaxy and the gamma-ray emission parameters by considering radio and gamma-ray observational constraints. By simulating a large number of MSPs populations, we compute the average diffuse emission and the anisotropy 1-sigma upper limit. The emission from unresolved MSPs at 2 GeV, where the peak of the spectrum is located, is at most 0.9% of the measured IDGRB above 10 degrees in latitude. The 1-sigma upper limit on the angular power for unresolved MSP sources turns out to be about a factor of 60 smaller than Fermi-LAT measurements above 30 degrees. Our results indicate that this galactic source class represents a negligible contributor to the high-latitude gamma-ray sky and confirm that most of the intensity and geometrical properties of the measured diffuse emission are imputable to other extragalactic source classes. Nevertheless, given the MSP distribution, we expect them to contribute significantly to the gamma-ray diffuse emission at low latitudes. Since, along the galactic disk, the population of young Pulsars overcomes in number the one of MSPs, we compute the gamma-ray emission from the whole population of unresolved Pulsars in two low-latitude regions: the inner Galaxy and the galactic center.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2014

Gamma-ray anisotropies from dark matter in the Milky Way: the role of the radial distribution

The annihilation of dark matter particles in the halo of galaxies may end up into gamma rays, which travel almost unperturbed till to their detection at Earth. This annihilation signal can exhibit an anisotropic behavior quantified by the angular power spectrum, whose properties strongly depend on the dark matter distribution and its clumpiness. We use high resolution pure dark matter N-body simulations to quantify the contribution of different components (main halo and satellites) to the global signal as a function of the analytical profile adopted to describe the numerical results. We find that the smooth main halo dominates the angular power spectrum of the gamma-ray signal up to quite large multipoles, where the sub-haloes anisotropy signal starts to emerge, but the transition multipole strongly depends on the assumed radial profile. The extrapolation down to radii not resolved by current numerical simulations can affect both the normalization and the shape of the gamma-ray angular power spectrum. For the sub-haloes described by an asymptotically cored dark matter distribution, the angular power spectrum shows an overall smaller normalization and a flattening at high multipoles. Our results show the criticality of the dark matter density profile shape in gamma-ray anisotropy searches, and evaluate quantitatively the intrinsic errors occurring when extrapolating the dark matter radial profiles down to spatial scales not yet explored by numerical simulations.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Diffuse $\gamma$-ray emission from misaligned active galactic nuclei

We calculate the diffuse $\gamma$-ray emission due to the population of misaligned AGN (MAGN) unresolved by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the {\it Fermi} Gamma-ray Space Telescope ({\it Fermi}). A correlation between the $\gamma$-ray luminosity and the radio-core luminosity is established and demonstrated to be physical by statistical tests, as well as compatible with upper limits based on {\it Fermi}-LAT data for a large sample of radio-loud MAGN. We constrain the derived $\gamma$-ray luminosity function by means of the source count distribution of the MAGN detected by the {\it Fermi}-LAT. We finally estimate the diffuse $\gamma$-ray flux due to the whole MAGN population which ranges from 10% up to nearly the entire measured Isotropic Gamma-Ray Background (IGRB). We evaluate also the room left to galactic DM at high latitudes ($>10^\circ$), by taking into account the results on the MAGN together with the other significant galactic and extragalactic $\gamma$-rays emitting sources.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Diffuse $\gamma$-ray emission from misaligned active galactic nuclei

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) with jets seen at small viewing angles are the most luminous and abundant objects in the $\gamma$-ray sky. AGN with jets misaligned along the line-of-sight appear fainter in the sky, but are more numerous than the brighter blazars. We calculate the diffuse $\gamma$-ray emission due to the population of misaligned AGN (MAGN) unresolved by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the {\it Fermi} Gamma-ray Space Telescope ({\it Fermi}). A correlation between the $\gamma$-ray luminosity and the radio-core luminosity is established and demonstrated to be physical by statistical tests, as well as compatible with upper limits based on {\it Fermi}-LAT data for a large sample of radio-loud MAGN. We constrain the derived $\gamma$-ray luminosity function by means of the source count distribution of the radio galaxies (RGs) detected by the {\it Fermi}-LAT. We finally calculate the diffuse $\gamma$-ray flux due to the whole MAGN population. Our results demonstrate that the MAGN can contribute from 10% up to nearly the entire measured Isotropic Gamma-Ray Background (IGRB). We evaluate a theoretical uncertainty on the flux of almost an order of magnitude.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2011

Conservative upper limits on WIMP annihilation cross section from Fermi-LAT $\gamma$-rays

The spectrum of an isotropic extragalactic $\gamma$-ray background (EGB) has been measured by the Fermi-LAT telescope at high latitudes. Two new models for the EGB are derived from the subtraction of unresolved point sources and extragalactic diffuse processes, which could explain from 30% to 70% of the Fermi-LAT EGB. Within the hypothesis that the two residual EGBs are entirely due to the annihilation of dark matter (DM) particles in the Galactic halo, we obtain $conservative$ upper limits on their annihilation cross section \sigmav. Severe bounds on a possible Sommerfeld enhancement of the annihilation cross section are set as well. Finally, would {\sigmav} be inversely proportional to the WIMP velocity, very severe limits are derived for the velocity-independent part of the annihilation cross section.

hep-ph↗