A gamma-ray determination of the Universe's star formation history

The Fermi-LAT Collaboration

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

114 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The light emitted by all galaxies over the history of the Universe produces the extragalactic background light (EBL) at ultraviolet, optical, and infrared wavelengths. The EBL is a source of opacity for gamma rays via photon-photon interactions, leaving an imprint in the spectra of distant gamma-ray sources. We measured this attenuation using 739 active galaxies and one gamma-ray burst detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This allowed us to reconstruct the evolution of the EBL and determine the star formation history of the Universe over 90% of cosmic time. Our star formation history is consistent with independent measurements from galaxy surveys, peaking at redshift z ~ 2. Upper limits of the EBL at the epoch of reionization suggest a turnover in the abundance of faint galaxies at z ~ 6.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1031-1034
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume362
Issue number6418
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Nov 2018

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Multidisciplinary

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