GeV telescopes: results and prospects for Fermi

Abstract

We present a review of the current status and future prospects of the field of high-energy gamma-ray astrophysics in the 30 MeV to 30 GeV regime. Scientific studies in this energy range are carried out by satellite-based gamma-ray instruments. We have now entered a new era in space-based gamma-ray astrophysics with the operation of AGILE and the Fermi Gamma Ray Space Telescope. We summarize here highlights from earlier experiments such as the EGRET on board the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and describe some of the first results from AGILE and Fermi.

Pulsar electrodynamics: Relativistic kinetic theory of radiative plasmas—collective phenomena and their radiation

“…After growing steeply,hω peak continues growing but in length scales which suggests it will never reach TeV values. This agrees with the observational cut-off [1,2].…”

“…Pulsar magnetospheres are composed of magnetised electron-positron (pair) plasmas characterised by ultra strong magnetic fields and broadband electromagnetic emission, covering all frequency spectra, from radio to hard γ-ray radiation. However there is a cut-off for observed radiated photons at the 20 GeV range [1,2].…”

A Point-Source Catalog from Swift Observations of Unidentified Fermi Sources

“…Until recently, nearly the totality of γ-ray sources in the inner Galaxy l = 270 • − 90 • and −30 • < b < 30 • remained without firm counterparts. It has been long suspected that low-latitude sources comprise a Galactic population that is either similar to the already identified γ-ray pulsars (Yadigaroglu & Romani 1997), or represent an entirely new class of γ-ray emitters associated with the disk/bulge population (Thompson 2008;Johnson & Mukherjee 2009). With improved localizations and superb timing capabilities, Fermi has started to unveil the likely culprits (Abdo et al 2009b).…”