arXiv subjects

Yun-Feng Liang

Publications and source records attributed to Yun-Feng Liang.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Searching for Associations Between Short Gamma-ray Bursts and Fast Radio Burst

The physical origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs) is still unclear. However, young magnetars associated with short-duration gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) have been thought to be possible central engines for some FRBs. In this paper, we perform a systematic search for SGRBs that are associated with FRBs in a sample including 623 FRBs (601 one-off bursts and 22 repeaters) and 168 SGRBs with precise localizations. We find that FRB 190309A is spatially associated with GRB 060502B, with a chance probability of 0.05 when temporal and redshift information is taken into account. Considering the high chance probability (the statistical significance is < 3σ), we examine other observational properties such as the host galaxy, the dispersion measure, and the energy budget of the central engine to check the possibility of their association. Although the available observational information is insufficient to determine whether they are physically associated, it does not rule out such a possibility. As the only pair of FRB and GRB that are spatially associated, it remains an interesting case worthy of further attention

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Using $γ$-ray observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies to test the possible common origin of the W-boson mass anomaly and the GeV $γ$-ray/antiproton excesses

A recent result from Fermilab suggests that the measured W-boson mass deviates from the prediction of the Standard Model (SM) with a significance of $>7σ$, and there may exist new physics beyond the SM. It is proposed that the inert two Higgs doublet model (i2HDM) can well explain the new W-boson mass. Meanwhile, the lightest neutral scalar $S$ in the i2HDM can be stable and play the role of dark matter with a preferred dark matter mass of $\sim 54-74$ GeV. It is also found that part of the parameter space of this model can explain both the Galactic center GeV gamma-ray excess detected by $Fermi$-LAT and the GeV antiproton excess detected by AMS-02 through a $SS\rightarrow WW^*$ annihilation. In this paper, we aim to test the possible common i2HDM origin of the three anomaly/excesses using the $Fermi$-LAT observations of Milky Way dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies. We perform single and stacking analyses on 19 dSphs that have J-factor measurements. We find that our upper limits are below the favored parameters and seems to be able to exclude the possibility of a common origin of the three anomaly/excesses. However, because the J-factor measurements include relatively large uncertainties, which come from the measurements of stellar kinematics, whether this model could be reliably excluded needs to be further confirmed by future observations.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Search for the gamma-ray spectral lines with the DAMPE and the Fermi-LAT observations

Weakly interacting massive particles, as a major candidate of dark matter (DM), may directly annihilate or decay into high-energy photons, producing monochromatic spectral lines in the gamma-ray band. These spectral lines, if detected, are smoking-gun signatures for the existence of new physics. Using the 5 years of DAMPE and 13 years of Fermi-LAT data, we search for line-like signals in the energy range of 3 GeV to 1 TeV from the Galactic halo. Different regions of interest are considered to accommodate different DM density profiles. We do not find any significant line structure, and the previously reported line-like feature at $\sim$133 GeV is also not detected in our analysis. Adopting a local DM density of $ρ_{\rm local}=0.4\,{\rm GeV\,cm^{-3}}$, we derive 95% confidence level constraints on the velocity-averaged cross-section of $\langle{σv}\rangle_{γγ} \lesssim 4 \times 10^{-28}\,{\rm cm^{3}\,s^{-1}}$ and the decay lifetime of $τ_{γν} \gtrsim 5 \times 10^{29}\,{\rm s}$ at 100 GeV, achieving the strongest constraints to date for the line energies of 6-660 GeV. The improvement stems from the longer Fermi-LAT data set used and the inclusion of DAMPE data in the analysis. The simultaneous use of two independent data sets could also reduce the systematic uncertainty of the search.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Searching for dark-matter induced neutrino signals in dwarf spheroidal galaxies using 10 years of IceCube public data

This study searches for neutrino signals from 18 dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) using 10 years of publicly available muon-track data of the IceCube neutrino observatory. We apply an unbinned likelihood analysis on each of these dSphs to derive the significance the putative neutrino emission. To further enhance our sensitivity, we also stack all dSphs together to perform a joint analysis. However, no significant neutrino emission signal was detected in either the single-source or stacking analysis. Based on these null results, we derive constraints on the annihilation cross section of dark matter particles. Compared to the existing literature, our constraints via the channel $χχ\rightarrowμ^+μ^-$ are comparable to the ones from the VERITAS observations of dSphs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

The prediction of using LHAASO's cosmic-ray electron measurements to constrain decaying heavy dark matter

LHAASO is an instrument designed for detecting cosmic rays (CRs) and gamma rays at TeV to PeV energies. The decays of heavy dark matter particles in the Galactic halo may produce high-energy electrons that can be detected by LHAASO. The main background for the LHAASO's CR electron measurements is the hadron residuals due to mis-identification of the particle species. In this paper, we estimate the LHAASO's electron background using the known all-particle CR spectrum and the hadron rejection efficiency of LHAASO. With the estimated background, we predict the capability of LHAASO to constrain DM decay lifetime at 95% confidence level for various channels. We find that, if neglecting systematic uncertainties, the CR electron measurement by LHAASO can improve the current best results by up to on order of magnitude for DM masses between 100 - 1000TeV. However, indirect measurements of CR electrons by ground-based experiments suffer from uncertainties included in the calculation, the projected constraints will be largely weakened. So for using the CR electron observation of LHAASO to constrain the DM parameters, the key point is whether the systematic error can be effectively reduced.

hep-ph↗

arXiv2022

Investigating the correlations between IceCube high-energy neutrinos and Fermi-LAT gamma-ray observations

We use 10 years of publicly available IceCube data to investigate the correlations between high-energy neutrinos and various Fermi-LAT gamma-ray samples. This work considers the following gamma-ray samples: the third Fermi-LAT catalog of high-energy sources(3FHL), >100GeV Fermi-LAT events, LAT 12-year source catalog(4FGL), the fourth catalog of active galactic nuclei(4LAC) and subsets of these samples. For each sample, both a single-source analysis and a stacking analysis are performed. We find no indication that the sources in these samples produce significant high-energy neutrinos. From the null search results, we infer that each source population can produce no more than ~2.5%-36%(at the 95% confidence level, for a spectral index of -2.5) of the IceCube's diffuse neutrino flux. Since we are using a larger (10years) dataset of IceCube neutrinos the constraints are improved by a factor of ~2 compared to those based on 3 years of data.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Diffuse $γ$-ray emission around the massive star forming region of Carina Nebula Complex

We report the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) detection of the $γ$-ray emission toward the massive star forming region of Carina Nebula Complex (CNC). Using the latest source catalog and diffuse background models, we found that the GeV $γ$-ray emission in this region can be resolved into three different components. The GeV $γ$-ray emission from the central point source is considered to originate from the Eta Carina ($η$ Car). We further found the diffuse GeV $γ$-ray emission around the CNC which can be modelled by two Gaussian disks with radii of 0.4°(region A) and 0.75°(region B), respectively. The GeV $γ$-ray emission from both the regions A and B have good spatial consistency with the derived molecular gas in projection on the sky. The GeV $γ$-ray emission of region A reveals a characteristic spectral shape of the pion-decay process, which indicates that the $γ$-rays are produced by the interactions of hadronic cosmic rays with ambient gas. The $γ$-rays spectrum of region B has a hard photon index of 2.12 $\pm$ 0.02, which is similar to other young massive star clusters. We argue that the diffuse GeV $γ$-ray emission in region A and region B likely originate from the interaction of accelerated protons in clusters with the ambient gas.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

X-ray and GeV-gamma-ray emission property of TeV Compact Symmetric Object PKS 1413+135 and Implication for Episodic Jet Activity

PKS 1413+135, a compact symmetric object (CSO) with a two-side pc-scale structure in its miniature radio morphology, is spatially associated with 4FGL J1416.1+1320 and recently detected with MAGIC telescopes. We comprehensively analyze its X-ray and GeV gamma-ray observation data for revealing its high energy radiation physics. It is found that the source is in a low-flux stage before MJD 58500 and experiences violent outbursts after MJD 58500 in the GeV band. The flux at 10 GeV varies ~3 orders of magnitude, and the GeV-flux variation is accompanied by the clear spectral variation, which is characterized as a soft log-parabola spectrum in the low-flux state and a hard power-law spectrum in the bright flares. The variability amplitude of X-rays is lower than that of gamma-rays, and no correlation of variability between gamma-rays and X-rays is observed. Fitting the broadband spectral energy distribution during a GeV outburst with a multi-zone leptonic model, we show that the GeV gamma-rays are attributed to the external Compton process while the X-rays are hybrid of several components. The predicted TeV gamma-ray flux during the GeV outburst is consistent with the detection of MAGIC telescopes. These results, together with its CSO radio morphology, imply that PKS 1413+135 has the episodic nuclear jet activities. The weak gamma-ray emission before MJD 58500 may be from its sub-pc-/pc-scale jet component powered by previous activities, and the violent outbursts with short-timescale variability after MJD 58500 could be attributed to the recently restarted jet activity.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

Constraints on ultracompact minihalos from the extragalactic gamma-ray background observation

Ultracompact minihalo (UCMH) is a special type of dark matter halo with a very steep density profile which may form in the early universe seeded by an overdense region or a primordial black hole. Constraints on its abundance give valuable information on the power spectrum of primordial perturbation. In this work, we update the constraints on the UCMH abundance in the universe using the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGB) observation. Comparing to previous works, we adopt the updated Fermi-LAT EGB measurement and derive constraints based on a full consideration of the astrophysical contributions. With these improvements, we place constraints on UCMH abundance 1-2 orders of magnitude better than previous results. With the background components considered, we can also attempt to search for possible additional components beyond the known astrophysical contributions.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2022

Search for gamma-ray line signals around the black hole at the galactic center with DAMPE observation

The adiabatic growth of a black hole (BH) may enhance the dark matter (DM) density surrounding it, causing a spike in the DM density profile. The spike around the supermassive BH at the center of the Milky Way may lead to a dramatic enhancement of the gamma-ray flux of DM annihilation from the galactic center (GC). In this work, we analyze the gamma-ray data of the innermost region (i.e., the inner 1$^\circ$) of the GC to search for potential line-like signals from the BH spike. Such line-like signals could be generated in the process of DM particles annihilating into double photons. We adopt the gamma-ray data from the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE). Although the DAMPE has a much smaller effective area than the Fermi-LAT, the gamma-ray line search can benefit from its unprecedented high energy resolution. No significant line-like signals are found in our analysis. We derive upper limits on the cross section of the annihilation based on this non-detection. We find that despite the DAMPE's small effective area for photon detection, we can still place strong constraints on the cross section ($\left<σv\right>\lesssim10^{-27}\,{\rm cm^3\,s^{-1}}$) in the spike scenario due to the very bright model-expected flux from the spike. Our results indicate that either DM does not annihilate primarily through the $γγ$ channel in the mass range we considered or no sharp density spike is present at the GC.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Effect of axion-like particles on the spectrum of the extragalactic gamma-ray background

Axion-like particles (ALPs) provide a feasible explanation for the observed lower TeV opacity of the Universe. If the anomaly TeV transparency is caused by ALPs, then the fluxes of distant extragalactic sources will be enhanced at photon energies beyond TeV, resulting in an enhancement of the observed extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGB) spectrum. In this work, we have investigated the ALP modulation on the EGB spectrum at TeV energies. Our results show that in the most optimistic case, the existence of ALPs can cause the EGB spectrum to greatly deviate from the prediction of a pure extragalactic-background-light (EBL) absorption scenario. The deviation occurs at approximately $\gtrsim$1 TeV, and the current EGB measurements by Fermi-LAT cannot identify such an effect. We also find that most of the sensitive ALP parameters have been ruled out by existing constraints, leaving only a small region of unrestricted parameters that can be probed using the EGB effect investigated in this work. Observations from forthcoming very-high-energy instruments like LHAASO and CTA may be beneficial for the study of this effect.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Search for gamma-ray emission from the 12 nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxies with 12 years of Fermi-LAT data

Previously, we have shown in Li et al. (2018) that very weak $γ$-ray excesses ($\sim 2σ$) appear in some Milky Way dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs, including candidates) and the combination analysis of 12 nearby dSphs yields a local significance of $>4σ$. In this work, we adopt a longer data set (i.e., the 12 years of Fermi-LAT data), the latest Fermi-LAT software as well as background models to update the searches of $γ$-ray emission from these sources. Very weak $γ$-ray excesses ($>$ 2 $σ$) are found in the directions of three dSphs, including Reticulum II, Bootes II and Willman 1. In the direction of Reticulum II, the peak TS value of the excess reaches $\sim$11. However, different from the previous analysis with the 9 years of Fermi-LAT data, now the location of the gamma-ray emission is significantly away from the center of Reticulum II because of the enhancement of "offset" $γ$-rays above 10 GeV since 2017. The detected weak excess is likely due to the contamination of an astrophysical $γ$-ray source with a TS value of $\sim 22$, irrelevant to the dark matter inside Reticulum II. The possible excesses in the directions of Bootes II and Willman 1 are weaker with lower peak TS values ($\sim 7$). If interpreted as annihilation of dark matter particles into $τ^+τ^-$, the dark mass mass of $m_χ\sim 14$ GeV and $\sim 80$ GeV are found for Bootes II and Willman 1, respectively. Much more data are needed to clarify whether these two potential signals are real and then reveal their origins.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

GRB 200716C: Evidence for a Short Burst Being Lensed

A tiny fraction of observed gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) may be lensed. The time delays induced by the gravitational lensing are milliseconds to seconds if the point lenses are intermediate-mass black holes. The prompt emission of the lensed GRBs, in principle, should have repeated pulses with identical light curves and spectra but different fluxes and slightly offset positions. In this work, we search for such candidates within the GRBs detected by Fermi/GBM, Swift/BAT, and HXMT/HE and report the identification of an attractive event GRB 200716C that consists of two pulses. Both the autocorrelation analysis and the Bayesian inference of the prompt emission light curve are in favor of the gravitational lensing scenario. Moreover, the spectral properties of the two pulses are rather similar and follow the so-called Amati relation of short GRBs rather than long duration bursts. The measured flux ratios between the two pulses are nearly constant in all channels, as expected from gravitational lensing. We therefore suggest that the long duration burst GRB 200716C was a short event being lensed. The redshifted mass of the lens was estimated to be $4.25^{+2.46}_{-1.36}$ $\times$ $10^5$ $M_{\odot}$ (90$\%$ credibility). If correct, this could point towards the existence of an intermediate-mass black hole along the line of sight of GRB 200716C.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Revisiting the analysis of axion-like particles with the Fermi-LAT gamma-ray observation of NGC1275

In this work, we re-analyze the Fermi-LAT observation of NGC 1275 to search for axion-like particle (ALP) effects and constrain ALP parameters. Instead of fitting the observed spectrum with ALP models, we adopt an alternative method for the analysis of this source which calculates the irregularity of the spectrum. With the newly used method, we find no spectral oscillation for the NGC 1275 and rule out couplings $g_{aγ}>3\times10^{-12}\,{\rm GeV^{-1}}$ around ALP mass of $m_a\sim$ 1 neV at 95\% confidence level, which is more stringent than the previous results. We also show that the constraints can be further improved by combining the observation of PKS 2155-304. We suggest that with more sources taken into account, we could obtain a much wider exclusion region.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Highly Variable $γ$-Ray Emission of CTD 135 and Implications for its Compact Symmetric Structure

The $γ$-ray emission properties of CTD 135, a typical compact symmetric object (CSO), are investigated with $\sim$11-year Fermi/LAT observations. We show that it has bright and significantly variable GeV emission, with the $γ$-ray luminosity of $L_γ\sim10^{47}$ erg s$^{-1}$ and a variation index of TS$_{\rm var}=1002$. A quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) with a periodicity of $\sim$460 days is detected in the global 95\% false-alarm level. These $γ$-ray emission features are similar to that of blazars. Its broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) can be attributed to the radiations of the relativistic electrons accelerated in the core region and the extended region. The SED modeling shows that the $γ$-rays are from the core region, which has a Doppler boosting factor of $δ\sim10.8$ and relativistically moves with a small viewing angle, being similar to blazar jets. On the base of the analysis results, we propose that the episodic activity of the central engine in CTD 135 results in a blazar-like jet and the bubble-like lobes as the Fermi bubbles in the Galaxy. The strong $γ$-ray emission with obvious variability is from the jet radiations and the symmetric radio structure is attributed to the bubbles. The jet radiation power and disk luminosity in units of Eddington luminosity of CTD 135 follow the same relation as other young radio galaxies, indicating that its jet radiation may be also driven by the Eddington ratio.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Black Hole Mass Function of Coalescing Binary Black Hole Systems: Is There a Pulsational Pair Instability Mass Cutoff?

We analyze the LIGO/Virgo GWTC-2 catalog to study the primary mass distribution of the merging black holes. We perform hierarchical Bayesian analysis, and examine whether the mass distribution has a sharp cutoff for primary black hole masses below $65 M_\odot$, as predicted in pulsational pair instability supernova model. We construct two empirical mass functions. One is a piece-wise function with two power-law segments jointed by a sudden drop. The other consists of a main truncated power-law component, a Gaussian component, and a third very massive component. Both models can reasonably fit the data and a sharp drop of the mass distribution is found at $\sim 50M_\odot$, suggesting that the majority of the observed black holes can be explained by the stellar evolution scenarios in which the pulsational pair-instability process takes place. On the other hand, the very massive sub-population, which accounts for at most several percents of the total, may be formed through hierarchical mergers or other processes.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

GW190521 and the GWTC-1 Events: Implication on the Black Hole Mass Function of Coalescing Binary Black Hole Systems

With the black hole mass function (BHMF; assuming an exponential cutoff at a mass of $\sim 40\,M_\odot$) of coalescing binary black hole systems constructed with the events detected in the O1 run of the advanced LIGO/Virgo network, Liang et al.(2017) predicted that the birth of the lightest intermediate mass black holes (LIMBHs; with a final mass of $\gtrsim 100\,M_\odot$) is very likely to be caught by the advanced LIGO/Virgo detectors in their O3 run. The O1 and O2 observation run data, however, strongly favor a cutoff of the BHMF much sharper than the exponential one. In this work we show that a power-law function followed by a sudden drop at $\sim 40\,M_\odot$ by a factor of $\sim $a few tens and then a new power-law component extending to $\geq 100M_\odot$ are consistent with the O1 and O2 observation run data. With this new BHMF, quite a few LIMBH events can be detected in the O3 observation run of advanced LIGO/Virgo. The first LIMBH born in GW190521, an event detected in the early stage of the O3 run of advanced LIGO/Virgo network, provides additional motivation for our hypothesis.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

Evidence for gravitational-wave dominated emission in the central engine of short GRB 200219A

GRB 200219A is a short gamma-ray burst (GRB) with an extended emission (EE) lasting $\sim 90$s. By analyzing data observed with the {\em Swift}/BAT and {\em Fermi}/GBM, we find that a cutoff power-law model can adequately fit the spectra of the initial short pulse with $\rm E_{p}=1387^{+232}_{-134}$ keV. More interestingly, together with the EE component and early X-ray data, it exhibits plateau emission smoothly connected with a $\sim t^{-1}$ segment and followed by an extremely steep decay. The short GRB composed of those three segments is unique in the {\em Swift} era and is very difficult to explain with the standard internal/external shock model of a black hole central engine, but could be consistent with the prediction of a magnetar central engine from the merger of an NS binary. We suggest that the plateau emission followed by a $\sim t^{-1}$ decay phase is powered by the spin-down of a millisecond magnetar, which loses its rotation energy via GW quadrupole radiation. Then, the abrupt drop decay is caused by the magnetar collapsing into a black hole before switching to EM-dominated emission. This is the first short GRB for which the X-ray emission has such an intriguing feature powered by a magnetar via GW-dominated radiation. If this is the case, one can estimate the physical parameters of a magnetar, the GW signal powered by a magnetar and the merger-nova emission are also discussed.

astro-ph.HE↗