The light emitted by all galaxies over the history of the Universe produces the extragalactic background light (EBL) at ultraviolet, optical, and infrared wavelengths. The EBL is a source of opacity for gamma rays via photon-photon interactions, leaving an imprint in the spectra of distant gamma-ray sources. We measured this attenuation using 739 active galaxies and one gamma-ray burst detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This allowed us to reconstruct the evolution of the EBL and determine the star formation history of the Universe over 90% of cosmic time. Our star formation history is consistent with independent measurements from galaxy surveys, peaking at redshift z ~ 2. Upper limits of the EBL at the epoch of reionization suggest a turnover in the abundance of faint galaxies at z ~ 6.
A gamma-ray determination of the Universe's star formation history / Abdollahi, S; Ackermann, M; Ajello, M; Atwood, Wb; Baldini, L; Ballet, J; Barbiellini, G; Bastieri, D; Gonzalez, Jb; Bellazzini, R; Bissaldi, E; Blandford, Rd; Bloom, Ed; Bonino, R; Bottacini, E; Buson, S; Bregeon, J; Bruel, P; Buehler, R; Cameron, Ra; Caputo, R; Caraveo, Pa; Cavazzuti, E; Charles, E; Chen, S; Cheung, Cc; Chiaro, G; Ciprini, S; Cohen-Tanugi, J; Cominsky, Lr; Conrad, J; Costantin, D; Cutini, S; D'Ammando, F; de Palma, F; Desai, A; Digel, Sw; Di Lalla, N; Di Mauro, M; Di Venere, L; Dominguez, A; Favuzzi, C; Fegan, Sj; Finke, J; Franckowiak, A; Fukazawa, Y; Funk, S; Fusco, P; Romero, Gg; Gargano, F; Gasparrini, D; Giglietto, N; Giordano, F; Giroletti, M; Green, D; Grenier, Ia; Guillemot, L; Guiriec, S; Hartmann, Dh; Hays, E; Helgason, K; Horan, D; Johannesson, G; Kocevski, D; Kuss, M; Larsson, S; Latronico, L; Li, J; Longo, F; Loparco, F; Lott, B; Lovellette, Mn; Lubrano, P; Madejski, Gm; Magill, Jd; Maldera, S; Manfreda, A; Marcotulli, L; Mazziotta, Mn; Mcenery, Je; Meyer, M; Michelson, Pf; Mizuno, T; Monzani, Me; Morselli, A; Moskalenko, Iv; Negro, M; Nuss, E; Ojha, R; Omodei, N; Orienti, M; Orlando, E; Ormes, Jf; Palatiello, M; Paliya, Vs; Paneque, D; Perkins, Js; Persic, M; Pesce-Rollins, M; Petrosian, V; Piron, F; Porter, Ta; Primack, Jr; Principe, G; Raino, S; Rando, R; Razzano, M; Razzaque, S; Reimer, A; Reimer, O; Parkinson, Pms; Sgro, C; Siskind, Ej; Spandre, G; Spinelli, P; Suson, Dj; Tajima, H; Takahashi, M; Thayer, Jb; Tibaldo, L; Torres, Df; Torresi, E; Tosti, G; Tramacere, A; Troja, E; Valverde, J; Vianello, G; Vogel, M; Wood, K; Zaharijas, G. - In: SCIENCE. - ISSN 0036-8075. - STAMPA. - 362:6418(2018), pp. 1031-1034. [10.1126/science.aat8123]
A gamma-ray determination of the Universe's star formation history
Bissaldi, EMembro del Collaboration Group
;Favuzzi, CMembro del Collaboration Group
;Giglietto, NMembro del Collaboration Group
;
2018-01-01
Abstract
The light emitted by all galaxies over the history of the Universe produces the extragalactic background light (EBL) at ultraviolet, optical, and infrared wavelengths. The EBL is a source of opacity for gamma rays via photon-photon interactions, leaving an imprint in the spectra of distant gamma-ray sources. We measured this attenuation using 739 active galaxies and one gamma-ray burst detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This allowed us to reconstruct the evolution of the EBL and determine the star formation history of the Universe over 90% of cosmic time. Our star formation history is consistent with independent measurements from galaxy surveys, peaking at redshift z ~ 2. Upper limits of the EBL at the epoch of reionization suggest a turnover in the abundance of faint galaxies at z ~ 6.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
