Search for anomalous features in gamma-ray blazar spectra corrected for the absorption on the extragalactic background light

被引:5
作者
Korochkin, Alexander [1 ,2 ]
Rubtsov, Grigory [1 ]
Troitsky, Sergey [1 ]
机构
[1] Russian Acad Sci, Inst Nucl Res, 60th October Anniversary Prospect 7a, Moscow 117312, Russia
[2] Univ Paris Diderot, APC, Batiment Condorcet,Case 7020, F-75205 Paris 13, France
来源
JOURNAL OF COSMOLOGY AND ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS | 2019年 / 12期
基金
俄罗斯科学基金会;
关键词
active galactic nuclei; axions; gamma ray experiments; BL-LACERTAE OBJECTS; REDSHIFT SURVEY; DATA RELEASE; LAC OBJECTS; ENERGY; SPECTROSCOPY; DISCOVERY; PHOTON; SAMPLE; QUASAR;
D O I
10.1088/1475-7516/2019/12/002
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
We consider the ensemble of very-high-energy gamma-ray sources observed at distances and energies where a significant absorption of gamma rays is expected due to pair production on the extragalactic background light (EBL). Previous studies indicated that spectra of these sources, upon correction for the absorption, exhibit unusual spectral hardenings which happen precisely at the energies where the correction becomes significant. Here, we address this subject with the most recent clean sample of distant gamma-ray blazars, making use of published results of imaging atmospheric Cerenkov telescopes and of the Fermi-LAT Pass 8 data, supplemented by the newest absorption models and individual measurements of sources' redshifts. We perform a search for spectral breaks at energies corresponding to unit optical depth with respect to the absorption on EBL. These energies are different for distant and nearby objects, and consequently, such features may not be related to intrinsic properties of the sources. While in some spectra such breaks are not seen, hardenings at distance-dependent energies are present in many of them, though the overall statistical significance of the effect is lower than reported in previous studies. The dependence of the break strength on the redshift found earlier is not confirmed in the new analysis.
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页数:34
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