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Fermi lat observations of LS i +61°303: First detection of an orbital modulation in GeV gamma rays

  • A. A. Abdo
  • , M. Ackermann
  • , M. Ajello
  • , W. B. Atwood
  • , M. Axelsson
  • , L. Baldini
  • , J. Ballet
  • , G. Barbiellini
  • , D. Bastieri
  • , B. M. Baughman
  • , K. Bechtol
  • , R. Bellazzini
  • , B. Berenji
  • , R. Blandford
  • , E. D. Bloom
  • , E. Bonamente
  • , A. W. Borgland
  • , J. Bregeon
  • , A. Brez
  • , M. Brigida
  • P. Bruel, T. H. Burnett, G. A. Caliandro, R. A. Cameron, P. A. Caraveo, J. M. Casandjian, E. Cavazzuti, C. Cecchi, Ö Çelik, E. Charles, S. Chaty, A. Chekhtman, C. C. Cheung, J. Chiang, S. Ciprini, R. Claus, J. Cohen-Tanugi, L. R. Cominsky, J. Conrad, S. Corbel, R. Corbet, S. Cutini, C. D. Dermer, A. De Angelis, A. De Luca, F. De Palma, S. W. Digel, M. Dormody, E. Do Couto E Silva, P. S. Drell, R. Dubois, G. Dubus, D. Dumora, C. Farnier, C. Favuzzi, S. J. Fegan, W. B. Focke, M. Frailis, Y. Fukazawa, S. Funk, P. Fusco, F. Gargano, D. Gasparrini, N. Gehrels, S. Germani, B. Giebels, N. Giglietto, F. Giordano, T. Glanzman, G. Godfrey, I. A. Grenier, M. H. Grondin, J. E. Grove, L. Guillemot, S. Guiriec, Y. Hanabata, A. K. Harding, M. Hayashida, E. Hays, A. B. Hill, R. E. Hughes, G. Jóhannesson, A. S. Johnson, R. P. Johnson, T. J. Johnson, W. N. Johnson, T. Kamae, H. Katagiri, J. Kataoka, N. Kawai, M. Kerr, J. Knödlseder, M. L. Kocian, F. Kuehn, M. Kuss, J. Lande, S. Larsson, L. Latronico, F. Longo, F. Loparco, B. Lott, M. N. Lovellette, P. Lubrano, G. M. Madejski, A. Makeev, M. Marelli, M. N. Mazziotta, J. E. McEnery, C. Meurer, P. F. Michelson, W. Mitthumsiri, T. Mizuno, C. Monte, M. E. Monzani, A. Morselli, I. V. Moskalenko, S. Murgia, P. L. Nolan, E. Nuss, T. Ohsugi, A. Okumura, N. Omodei, E. Orlando, J. F. Ormes, D. Paneque, J. H. Panetta, D. Parent, V. Pelassa, M. Pepe, M. Pesce-Rollins, F. Piron, T. A. Porter, S. Rainò, R. Rando, P. S. Ray, M. Razzano, N. Rea, A. Reimer, O. Reimer, T. Reposeur, S. Ritz, L. S. Rochester, A. Y. Rodriguez, R. W. Romani, F. Ryde, H. F.W. Sadrozinski, D. Sanchez, A. Sander, P. M. Saz Parkinson, J. D. Scargle, C. Sgrò, M. S. Shaw, A. Sierpowska-Bartosik, E. J. Siskind, D. A. Smith, P. D. Smith, G. Spandre, P. Spinelli, E. Striani, M. S. Strickman, D. J. Suson, H. Tajima, H. Takahashi, T. Takahashi, T. Tanaka, J. B. Thayer, J. G. Thayer, D. J. Thompson, L. Tibaldo, D. F. Torres, G. Tosti, A. Tramacere, Y. Uchiyama, T. L. Usher, V. Vasileiou, N. Vilchez, V. Vitale, A. P. Waite, P. Wang, B. L. Winer, K. S. Wood, T. Ylinen, M. Ziegler
  • National Research Council
  • Naval Research Laboratory
  • Stanford University
  • Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics
  • Oskar Klein Centre
  • Stockholm University
  • Sezione di Pisa
  • Université Paris Diderot
  • Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste
  • Università di Trieste
  • Sezione di Padova
  • Università di Padova
  • The Ohio State University
  • Sezione di Perugia
  • Università di Perugia
  • Dell'Università e Del Politecnico di Bari
  • Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bari
  • École polytechnique
  • University of Washington
  • INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica
  • Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
  • NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
  • George Mason University
  • Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier
  • Sonoma State University
  • AlbaNova
  • University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
  • Università di Udine
  • Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori
  • University Grenoble Alpes
  • IN2P3/CNRS
  • Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux II
  • Hiroshima University
  • University of Maryland, College Park
  • University of Alabama in Huntsville
  • Waseda University
  • Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN)
  • Institute of Science Tokyo
  • CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
  • Sezione di Roma Tor Vergata
  • University of Tokyo
  • Max-Planck Institut für extraterrestrische Physik
  • University of Denver
  • University of Amsterdam
  • Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
  • Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck
  • NASA Ames Research Center
  • NYCB Real-Time Computing Inc.
  • Università di Roma Tor Vergata
  • Purdue University Calumet
  • Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
  • Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats
  • Consorzio Interuniversitario per la Fisica Spaziale (CIFS)
  • University of Kalmar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

164 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This Letter presents the first results from the observations of LS I +61°303 using Large Area Telescope data from the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope between 2008 August and 2009 March. Our results indicate variability that is consistent with the binary period, with the emission being modulated at 26.6 ± 0.5 days. This constitutes the first detection of orbital periodicity in high-energy gamma rays (20 MeV-100 GeV, HE). The light curve is characterized by a broad peak after periastron, as well as a smaller peak just before apastron. The spectrum is best represented by a power law with an exponential cutoff, yielding an overall flux above 100 MeV of 0.82 ± 0.03(stat) ± 0.07(syst) 10-6 ph cm-2 s -1, with a cutoff at 6.3 ± 1.1(stat) ± 0.4(syst) GeV and photon index Γ = 2.21 ± 0.04(stat) ± 0.06(syst). There is no significant spectral change with orbital phase. The phase of maximum emission, close to periastron, hints at inverse Compton scattering as the main radiation mechanism. However, previous very high-energy gamma ray (>100 GeV, VHE) observations by MAGIC and VERITAS show peak emission close to apastron. This and the energy cutoff seen with Fermi suggest that the link between HE and VHE gamma rays is nontrivial.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)L123-L128
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume701
Issue number2 PART 2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Binaries: close
  • Gamma rays: observations
  • Stars: variables: other
  • X-rays: binaries

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