Amerio, A., Cuoco, A., & Fornengo, N. (2023). Extracting the gamma-ray source-count distribution below the Fermi-LAT detection limit with deep learning. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 09(9), 029–39pp.
Abstract: We reconstruct the extra-galactic gamma-ray source-count distribution, or dN/dS, of resolved and unresolved sources by adopting machine learning techniques. Specifically, we train a convolutional neural network on synthetic 2-dimensional sky-maps, which are built by varying parameters of underlying source-counts models and incorporate the FermiLAT instrumental response functions. The trained neural network is then applied to the Fermi-LAT data, from which we estimate the source count distribution down to flux levels a factor of 50 below the Fermi-LAT threshold. We perform our analysis using 14 years of data collected in the (1, 10) GeV energy range. The results we obtain show a source count distribution which, in the resolved regime, is in excellent agreement with the one derived from cataloged sources, and then extends as dN/dS " S-2 in the unresolved regime, down to fluxes of 5 center dot 10-12 cm-2 s-1. The neural network architecture and the devised methodology have the flexibility to enable future analyses to study the energy dependence of the source-count distribution.
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AMON and ANTARES Collaborations(Ayala Solares, H. A. et al), Barrios-Marti, J., Coleiro, A., Colomer, M., Gozzini, R., Hernandez-Rey, J. J., et al. (2019). A Search for Cosmic Neutrino and Gamma-Ray Emitting Transients in 7.3 yr of ANTARES and Fermi LAT Data. Astrophys. J., 886(2), 98–8pp.
Abstract: We analyze 7.3 yr of ANTARES high-energy neutrino and Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) gamma-ray data in search of cosmic neutrino + gamma-ray (nu + gamma) transient sources or source populations. Our analysis has the potential to detect either individual nu + gamma transient sources (durations delta t less than or similar to 1000 s), if they exhibit sufficient gamma-ray or neutrino multiplicity, or a statistical excess of nu + gamma transients of individually lower multiplicities. Individual high gamma-ray multiplicity events could be produced, for example, by a single ANTARES neutrino in coincidence with a LAT-detected gamma-ray burst. Treating ANTARES track and cascade event types separately, we establish detection thresholds by Monte Carlo scrambling of the neutrino data, and determine our analysis sensitivity by signal injection against these scrambled data sets. We find our analysis is sensitive to nu + gamma transient populations responsible for >5% of the observed gamma-coincident neutrinos in the track data at 90% confidence. Applying our analysis to the unscrambled data reveals no individual nu + gamma events of high significance; two ANTARES track + Fermi gamma-ray events are identified that exceed a once per decade false alarm rate threshold (p = 17%). No evidence for subthreshold nu + gamma source populations is found among the track (p = 39%) or cascade (p = 60%) events. Exploring a possible correlation of high-energy neutrino directions with Fermi gamma-ray sky brightness identified in previous work yields no added support for this correlation. While TXS.0506+056, a blazar and variable (nontransient) Fermi gamma-ray source, has recently been identified as the first source of high-energy neutrinos, the challenges in reconciling observations of the Fermi gamma-ray sky, the IceCube high-energy cosmic neutrinos, and ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays using only blazars suggest a significant contribution by other source populations. Searches for transient sources of high-energy neutrinos thus remain interesting, with the potential for either neutrino clustering or multimessenger coincidence searches to lead to discovery of the first nu + gamma transients.
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Amoroso, S., Caron, S., Jueid, A., Ruiz de Austri, R., & Skands, P. (2019). Estimating QCD uncertainties in Monte Carlo event generators for gamma-ray dark matter searches. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 05(5), 007–44pp.
Abstract: Motivated by the recent galactic center gamma-ray excess identified in the Fermi-LAT data, we perform a detailed study of QCD fragmentation uncertainties in the modeling of the energy spectra of gamma-rays from Dark-Matter (DM) annihilation. When Dark-Matter particles annihilate to coloured final states, either directly or via decays such as W(*) -> qq-', photons are produced from a complex sequence of shower, hadronisation and hadron decays. In phenomenological studies their energy spectra are typically computed using Monte Carlo event generators. These results have however intrinsic uncertainties due to the specific model used and the choice of model parameters, which are difficult to asses and which are typically neglected. We derive a new set of hadronisation parameters (tunes) for the PYTHIA 8.2 Monte Carlo generator from a fit to LEP and SLD data at the Z peak. For the first time we also derive a conservative set of uncertainties on the shower and hadronisation model parameters. Their impact on the gamma-ray energy spectra is evaluated and discussed for a range of DM masses and annihilation channels. The spectra and their uncertainties are also provided in tabulated form for future use. The fragmentation-parameter uncertainties may be useful for collider studies as well.
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Anderson, L. et al, & Mena, O. (2014). The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: baryon acoustic oscillations in the Data Releases 10 and 11 Galaxy samples. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 441(1), 24–62.
Abstract: We present a one per cent measurement of the cosmic distance scale from the detections of the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of galaxies from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, which is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III. Our results come from the Data Release 11 (DR11) sample, containing nearly one million galaxies and covering approximately 8500 square degrees and the redshift range 0.2 < z < 0.7. We also compare these results with those from the publicly released DR9 and DR10 samples. Assuming a concordance A cold dark matter (ACDM) cosmological model, the DR11 sample covers a volume of 13 Gpc(3) and is the largest region of the Universe ever surveyed at this density. We measure the correlation function and power spectrum, including density- field reconstruction of the BAO feature. The acoustic features are detected at a significance of over 7s in both the correlation function and power spectrum. Fitting for the position of the acoustic features measures the distance relative to the sound horizon at the drag epoch, r(d), which has a value of r(d,fid) = 149.28 Mpc in our fiducial cosmology. We find D-V = (1264 +/- 25 Mpc)(r(d)/r(d,fid)) at z = 0.32 and D-V = (2056 +/- 20 Mpc)(r(d)/r(d,fid)) at z = 0.57. At 1.0 per cent, this latter measure is the most precise distance constraint ever obtained from a galaxy survey. Separating the clustering along and transverse to the line of sight yields measurements at z = 0.57 of D-A = (1421 +/- 20 Mpc)(r(d)/r(d,fid)) and H = (96.8 +/- 3.4 kms(-1) Mpc(-1))(r(d),(fid)/r(d)). Our measurements of the distance scale are in good agreement with previous BAO measurements and with the predictions from cosmic microwave background data for a spatially flat CDM model with a cosmological constant.
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Anderson, L. et al, & Mena, O. (2014). The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: measuring D-A and H at z=0.57 from the baryon acoustic peak in the Data Release 9 spectroscopic Galaxy sample. Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 439(1), 83–101.
Abstract: We present measurements of the angular diameter distance to and Hubble parameter at z = 0.57 from the measurement of the baryon acoustic peak in the correlation of galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. Our analysis is based on a sample from Data Release 9 of 264 283 galaxies over 3275 square degrees in the redshift range 0.43 < z < 0.70. We use two different methods to provide robust measurement of the acoustic peak position across and along the line of sight in order to measure the cosmological distance scale. We find D-A(0.57) = 1408 +/- 45 Mpc and H(0.57) = 92.9 +/- 7.8 km s(-1) Mpc(-1) for our fiducial value of the sound horizon. These results from the anisotropic fitting are fully consistent with the analysis of the spherically averaged acoustic peak position presented in Anderson et al. Our distance measurements are a close match to the predictions of the standard cosmological model featuring a cosmological constant and zero spatial curvature.
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