A gamma-ray determination of the Universe's star formation history

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...

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Veröffentlicht in:	Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2018-11, Vol.362 (6418), p.1031-1034
Hauptverfasser:	Abdollahi, S., Ackermann, M., Ajello, M., Atwood, W., Baldini, L., Ballet, J., Barbiellini, G., Bastieri, D., González, J. Becerra, Bellazzini, R., Bissaldi, E., Blandford, R., Bloom, E., Bonino, R., Bottacini, E., Buson, S., Bregeon, J., Bruel, P., Buehler, R., Cameron, R., Caputo, R., Caraveo, P. A., Cavazzuti, E., Charles, E., Chen, S., Cheung, T., Chiaro, G., Ciprini, S., Cohen-Tanugi, J., Cominsky, L., Conrad, J., Costantin, D., Cutini, S., D’Ammando, F., de Palma, F., Desai, A., Digel, S., Di Lalla, N., Di Mauro, M., Di Venere, L., Domínguez, A., Favuzzi, C., Fegan, S., Finke, J., Franckowiak, A., Fukazawa, Y., Funk, S., Fusco, P., Romero, G. Gallardo, Gargano, F., Gasparrini, D., Giglietto, N., Giordano, F., Giroletti, M., Green, D., Grenier, I., Guillemot, L., Guiriec, S., Hartmann, D. H., Hays, E., Helgason, K., Horan, D., Jóhannesson, G., Kocevski, D., Kuss, M., Larsson, S., Latronico, L., Li, J., Longo, F., Loparco, F., Lott, B., Lovellette, M., Lubrano, P., Madejski, G., Magill, J., Maldera, S., Manfreda, A., Marcotulli, L., Mazziotta, M., McEnery, J., Meyer, M., Michelson, P., Mizuno, T., Monzani, M. E., Morselli, A., Moskalenko, I., Negro, M., Nuss, E., Ojha, R., Omodei, N., Orienti, M., Orlando, E., Ormes, J., Palatiello, M., Paliya, V., Paneque, D., Perkins, J., Persic, M., Pesce-Rollins, M., Petrosian, V.
Format:	Artikel
Sprache:	eng
Schlagworte:	Active galaxies ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS Astrophysics Attenuation Big bang cosmology Blazars Collaboration Gamma rays Ionization Opacity Physics Red shift Star & galaxy formation Star formation Stellar evolution Ultraviolet radiation Universe Wavelengths
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:	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 ~ 2. Upper limits of the EBL at the epoch of reionization suggest a turnover in the abundance of faint galaxies at ~ 6.
ISSN:	0036-8075 1095-9203 1095-9203
DOI:	10.1126/science.aat8123