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Register a new userGeV Gamma-ray Flux Upper Limits from Clusters of Galaxies
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M. Ackermann et al.
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The detection of diffuse radio emission associated with clusters of galaxies indicates populations of relativistic leptons infusing the intracluster medium. Those electrons and positrons are either injected into and accelerated directly in the intracluster medium, or produced as secondary pairs by cosmic-ray ions scattering on ambient protons. Radiation mechanisms involving the energetic leptons together with decay of neutral pions produced by hadronic interactions have the potential to produce abundant GeV photons. Here, we report on the search for GeV emission from clusters of galaxies using data collected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi) from August 2008 to February 2010. Thirty-three galaxy clusters have been selected according to their proximity and high mass, X-ray flux and temperature, and indications of non-thermal activity for this study. We report upper limits on the photon flux in the range 0.2-100 GeV towards a sample of observed clusters (typical values 1-5 x 10^-9 ph cm^-2 s^-1) considering both point-like and spatially resolved models for the high-energy emission, and discuss how these results constrain the characteristics of energetic leptons and hadrons, and magnetic fields in the intracluster medium. The volume-averaged relativistic-hadron-to-thermal energy density ratio is found to be < 5-10% in several clusters.
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Galaxy clusters are predicted to produce gamma-rays through cosmic ray interactions and/or dark matter annihilation, potentially detectable by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT). We present a new, independent stacking analysis of Fermi-LAT photon count maps using the 78 richest nearby clusters (z<0.12) from the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) cluster catalog. We obtain the lowest limit on the photon flux to date, 2.3e-11 ph/s/cm^2 (95% confidence) per cluster in the 0.8-100 GeV band, which corresponds to a luminosity limit of 3.5e44 ph/s. We also constrain the emission limits in a range of narrower energy bands. Scaling to recent cosmic ray acceleration and gamma-ray emission models, we find that cosmic rays represent a negligible contribution to the intra-cluster energy density and gas pressure.
Context: Colliding wind binaries (CWBs) are thought to give rise to a plethora of physical processes including acceleration and interaction of relativistic particles. Observation of synchrotron radiation in the radio band confirms there is a relativistic electron population in CWBs. Accordingly, CWBs have been suspected sources of high-energy gamma-ray emission since the COS-B era. Theoretical models exist that characterize the underlying physical processes leading to particle acceleration and quantitatively predict the non-thermal energy emission observable at Earth. Aims: We strive to find evidence of gamma-ray emission from a sample of seven CWB systems: WR 11, WR 70, WR 125, WR 137, WR 140, WR 146, and WR 147. Theoretical modelling identified these systems as the most favourable candidates for emitting gamma-rays. We make a comparison with existing gamma-ray flux predictions and investigate possible constraints. Methods: We used 24 months of data from the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on-board the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope to perform a dedicated likelihood analysis of CWBs in the LAT energy range. Results: We find no evidence of gamma-ray emission from any of the studied CWB systems and determine corresponding flux upper limits. For some CWBs the interplay of orbital and stellar parameters renders the Fermi-LAT data not sensitive enough to constrain the parameter space of the emission models. In the cases of WR140 and WR147, the Fermi-LAT upper limits appear to rule out some model predictions entirely and constrain theoretical models over a significant parameter space. A comparison of our findings to the CWB eta Car is made.
Recent theoretical models suggest that young supernovae might be able to accelerate particles, which in turn might generate very high energy gamma-ray emission. We search for gamma-ray emission towards supernovae in nearby galaxies which were serendipitously within the field of view of the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) within a year of the supernova event. H.E.S.S. data collected between December 2003 and March 2015 were considered and compared to recent catalogs. Nine candidate supernovae were identified and analyzed. No significant emission from these objects has been found. Gamma-ray emission upper limits, which are of the order $sim$10$^{-13}$ cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ above 1 TeV, are reported.
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