No Arabic abstract
During a core-collapse supernova (SN), axion-like particles (ALPs) could be produced through the Primakoff process and subsequently convert into gamma rays in the magnetic field of the Milky Way. Using a sample of well studied extragalactic SNe at optical wavelengths, we estimate the time of the core collapse and search for a coincident gamma-ray burst with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Under the assumption that at least one SN was contained within the LAT field of view, we exclude photon-ALP couplings within a factor of $sim$5 of previous limits from SN1987A. With the increasing number of SNe observed with optical surveys, our results demonstrate the potential to probe ALP dark matter with combined optical and gamma-ray observations. We also provide preliminary results for the estimation of explosion times of 15 close-by SNe observed recently with ZTF. Our findings show that the explosion time can be estimated within one day (statistical uncertainty only) making them promising targets for a follow-up LAT analysis.
During a core-collapse supernova (SN), axionlike particles (ALPs) could be produced through the Primakoff process and subsequently convert into $gamma$ rays in the magnetic field of the Milky Way. We do not find evidence for such a $gamma$-ray burst in observations of extragalactic SNe with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). The SN explosion times are estimated from optical light curves and we find a probability of about $sim$90% that the LAT observed at least one SN at the time of the core collapse. Under the assumption that at least one SN was contained within the LAT field of view, we exclude photon-ALP couplings $gtrsim 2.6times10^{-11}$GeV$^{-1}$ for ALP masses $m_a lesssim 3times 10^{-10}$ eV, within a factor of $sim 5$ of previous limits from SN1987A.
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 $g_{agamma}>3times10^{-12},{rm GeV^{-1}}$ around ALP mass of $m_asim$ 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.
The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi satellite is the first gamma-ray instrument to discover pulsars directly via their gamma-ray emission. Roughly one third of the 117 gamma-ray pulsars detected by the LAT in its first three years were discovered in blind searches of gamma-ray data and most of these are undetectable with current radio telescopes. I review some of the key LAT results and highlight the specific challenges faced in gamma-ray (compared to radio) searches, most of which stem from the long, sparse data sets and the broad, energy-dependent point-spread function (PSF) of the LAT. I discuss some ongoing LAT searches for gamma-ray millisecond pulsars (MSPs) and gamma-ray pulsars around the Galactic Center. Finally, I outline the prospects for future gamma-ray pulsar discoveries as the LAT enters its extended mission phase, including advantages of a possible modification of the LAT observing profile.
Light axion-like particles (ALPs) are expected to be abundantly produced in core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), resulting in a $sim$10-second long burst of ALPs. These particles subsequently undergo conversion into gamma-rays in external magnetic fields to produce a long gamma-ray burst (GRB) with a characteristic spectrum peaking in the 30--100-MeV energy range. At the same time, CCSNe are invoked as progenitors of {it ordinary} long GRBs, rendering it relevant to conduct a comprehensive search for ALP spectral signatures using the observations of long GRB with the textit{Fermi} Large Area Telescope (LAT). We perform a data-driven sensitivity analysis to determine CCSN distances for which a detection of an ALP signal is possible with the LATs low-energy (LLE) technique which, in contrast to the standard LAT analysis, allows for a a larger effective area for energies down to 30~MeV. Assuming an ALP mass $m_a lesssim 10^{-10}$~eV and ALP-photon coupling $g_{agamma} = 5.3times 10^{-12}$ GeV$^{-1}$, values considered and deduced in ALP searches from SN1987A, we find that the distance limit ranges from $sim!0.5$ to $sim!10$~Mpc, depending on the sky location and the CCSN progenitor mass. Furthermore, we select a candidate sample of twenty-four GRBs and carry out a model comparison analysis in which we consider different GRB spectral models with and without an ALP signal component. We find that the inclusion of an ALP contribution does not result in any statistically significant improvement of the fits to the data. We discuss the statistical method used in our analysis and the underlying physical assumptions, the feasibility of setting upper limits on the ALP-photon coupling, and give an outlook on future telescopes in the context of ALP searches.
The Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope observatory is a pair conversion telescope sensitive to gamma-rays over more than four energy decades, between 20 MeV and more than 300 GeV. Acting in synergy with the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) - the other instrument onboard the mission - the LAT features unprecedented sensitivity for the study of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in terms of spectral coverage, effective area, and instrumental dead time. We will review the main results from Fermi-LAT observation of GRB, presenting the main properties of GRBs at GeV energies.