The spectrum of isotropic diffuse gamma-ray emission between 100 MeV and 820 GeV

M. Ackermann, M. Ajello, A. Albert, W. B. Atwood, L. Baldini, J. Ballet, G. Barbiellini, D. Bastieri, K. Bechtol, R. Bellazzini, E. Bissaldi, R. D. Blandford, E. D. Bloom, E. Bottacini, T. J. Brandt, J. Bregeon, P. Bruel, R. Buehler, S. Buson, G. A. CaliandroR. A. Cameron, M. Caragiulo, P. A. Caraveo, E. Cavazzuti, C. Cecchi, E. Charles, A. Chekhtman, J. Chiang, G. Chiaro, S. Ciprini, R. Claus, J. Cohen-Tanugi, J. Conrad, A. Cuoco, S. Cutini, F. D'Ammando, A. De Angelis, F. De Palma, C. D. Dermer, S. W. Digel, E. Do Couto E Silva, P. S. Drell, C. Favuzzi, E. C. Ferrara, W. B. Focke, A. Franckowiak, Y. Fukazawa, S. Funk, P. Fusco, F. Gargano, D. Gasparrini, S. Germani, N. Giglietto, P. Giommi, F. Giordano, M. Giroletti, G. Godfrey, G. A. Gomez-Vargas, I. A. Grenier, S. Guiriec, M. Gustafsson, D. Hadasch, K. Hayashi, E. Hays, J. W. Hewitt, P. Ippoliti, T. Jogler, G. Jóhannesson, A. S. Johnson, W. N. Johnson, T. Kamae, J. Kataoka, J. Knödlseder, M. Kuss, S. Larsson, L. Latronico, J. Li, L. Li, F. Longo, F. Loparco, B. Lott, M. N. Lovellette, P. Lubrano, G. M. Madejski, A. Manfreda, F. Massaro, M. Mayer, M. N. Mazziotta, J. E. McEnery, P. F. Michelson, W. Mitthumsiri, T. Mizuno, A. A. Moiseev, M. E. Monzani, A. Morselli, I. V. Moskalenko, S. Murgia, R. Nemmen, E. Nuss, T. Ohsugi, N. Omodei, E. Orlando, J. F. Ormes, D. Paneque, J. H. Panetta, J. S. Perkins, M. Pesce-Rollins, F. Piron, G. Pivato, T. A. Porter, S. Rainò, R. Rando, M. Razzano, S. Razzaque, A. Reimer, O. Reimer, T. Reposeur, S. Ritz, R. W. Romani, M. Sánchez-Conde, M. Schaal, A. Schulz, C. Sgrò, E. J. Siskind, G. Spandre, P. Spinelli, A. W. Strong, D. J. Suson, H. Takahashi, J. G. Thayer, J. B. Thayer, L. Tibaldo, M. Tinivella, D. F. Torres, G. Tosti, E. Troja, Y. Uchiyama, G. Vianello, M. Werner, B. L. Winer, K. S. Wood, M. Wood, G. Zaharijas, S. Zimmer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

629 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The γ-ray sky can be decomposed into individually detected sources, diffuse emission attributed to the interactions of Galactic cosmic rays with gas and radiation fields, and a residual all-sky emission component commonly called the isotropic diffuse γ-ray background (IGRB). The IGRB comprises all extragalactic emissions too faint or too diffuse to be resolved in a given survey, as well as any residual Galactic foregrounds that are approximately isotropic. The first IGRB measurement with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi ) used 10 months of sky-survey data and considered an energy range between 200 MeV and 100 GeV. Improvements in event selection and characterization of cosmic-ray backgrounds, better understanding of the diffuse Galactic emission (DGE), and a longer data accumulation of 50 months allow for a refinement and extension of the IGRB measurement with the LAT, now covering the energy range from 100 MeV to 820 GeV. The IGRB spectrum shows a significant high-energy cutoff feature and can be well described over nearly four decades in energy by a power law with exponential cutoff having a spectral index of 2.32 ± 0.02 and a break energy of (279 ± 52) GeV using our baseline DGE model. The total intensity attributed to the IGRB is (7.2 ± 0.6) x 10-6 cm-2 s-1 sr-1 above 100 MeV, with an additional +15%/-30% systematic uncertainty due to the Galactic diffuse foregrounds.

Original languageEnglish
Article number86
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume799
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Jan 2015

Keywords

  • Diffuse radiation
  • Gamma rays: Diffuse background

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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