Measurement of the cosmic optical background using the long range reconnaissance imager on New Horizons

Zemcov, Michael; Immel, Poppy; Nguyen, Chi H.; Cooray, Asantha; Lisse, C. M.; Poppe, A. R.

doi:10.1038/ncomms15003

Cited by 59 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 62 publications

(126 reference statements)

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“…Figure 5 indicates that our findings are consistent with results acquired for CIBER/LRS (Matsuura et al 2017) and HST (Bernstein 2007). Zemcov et al (2017) analyzed data from the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager instrument on NASA's New Horizons mission for the wavelength range of 440 -870 nm and reported an upper limit, 19.3 nW m −2 sr −1 , beyond the Jovian orbit, which is lower than our lower limit.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Fluctuation of the background sky in the Hubble Extremely Deep Field (XDF) and its origin

Matsumoto

Tsumura

2019

Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan

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We performed a fluctuation analysis of the Hubble Extremely Deep Field (XDF) at four optical wavelength bands and found large fluctuations that are significantly brighter than those expected for ordinary galaxies. Good cross-correlations with flat spectra are found down to 0.2 arcsec, indicating the existence of a spatial structure even at the 0.2 arcsec scale. The detected auto and cross-correlations provide a lower limit of 24 nW m −2 sr −1 for the absolute sky brightness at 700 ∼ 900 nm, which is consistent with previous observations. We searched for candidate objects to explain the detected large fluctuation using the catalog of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF), and found that the surface number density of faint compact objects (FCOs) rapidly increases toward the faint end. Radial profiles of FCOs are indistinguishable from the PSF, and the effective radius based on de Vaucouleur's law is estimated to be smaller than 0.02 arcsec. The SEDs of FCOs follow a power law at optical wavelengths, but show greater emission and structure at λ > 1µm. Assuming that the FCOs are the cause of the excess brightness and fluctuations, the faint magnitude limit is 34.9 mag for the F775W band, and the surface number density reaches 2.6 × 10 3 (arcsec) −2 .Recent γ ray observations require that the redshift of FCOs must be less than 0.1, if FCOs 1 are the origin of the excess optical and infrared background. Assuming that FCOs consist of missing baryons, the mass and luminosity of a single FCO range from 10 2 to 10 3 solar units, and mass-to-luminosity ratio is significantly lower than 1.0 solar unit. The maximum effective radius of an FCO is 4.7 pc. These results and the good correlation between near-infrared and X-ray background indicate that FCOs could be powered by the gravitational energy associated with black holes.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Fluctuation of the background sky in the Hubble Extremely Deep Field (XDF) and its origin

Matsumoto

Tsumura

2019

Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan

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“…Other methods focus on measuring the background anisotropies, which still provides inconclusive results (e.g. Helgason et al 2014;Zemcov et al 2014Zemcov et al , 2017Helgason & Komatsu 2017;Matsuura et al 2017a). None of these techniques provides direct information about the evolution of the EBL with cosmic redshift.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement of the extragalactic background light using MAGIC and Fermi-LAT gamma-ray observations of blazars up to z = 1

Acciari

Ansoldi

Antonelli

et al. 2019

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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We present a measurement of the extragalactic background light (EBL) based on a joint likelihood analysis of 32 gamma-ray spectra for 12 blazars in the redshift range z = 0.03 − 0.944, obtained by the MAGIC telescopes and Fermi-LAT. The EBL is the part of the diffuse extragalactic radiation spanning the ultraviolet, visible and infrared bands. Major contributors to the EBL are the light emitted by stars through the history of the universe, and the fraction of it which was absorbed by dust in galaxies and re-emitted at longer wavelengths. The EBL can be studied indirectly through its effect on very-high energy photons that are emitted by cosmic sources and absorbed via γγ interactions during their propagation across cosmological distances. We obtain estimates of the EBL density in good agreement with state-of-the-art models of the EBL production and evolution. The 1σ upper bounds, including systematic uncertainties, are between 13% and 23% above the nominal EBL density in the models. No anomaly in the expected transparency of the universe to gamma rays is observed in any range of optical depth. We also perform a wavelength-resolved EBL determination, which results in a hint of an excess of EBL in the 0.18 -0.62 µm range relative to the studied models, yet compatible with them within systematics.

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“…While direct measurements of the EBL SED have been attempted, most recently by Matsuura et al (2017) and Zemcov et al (2017), correct subtraction of contaminating foregrounds is challenging, and the measurements tend to be limited by systematic uncertainties. Robust lower bounds on the EBL SED, on the other hand, have been generated by summing the light expected based on resolved galaxies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement of the Extragalactic Background Light Spectral Energy Distribution with VERITAS

Abeysekara

Archer

Benbow

et al. 2019

ApJ

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The extragalactic background light (EBL), a diffuse photon field in the optical and infrared range, is a record of radiative processes over the Universe's history. Spectral measurements of blazars at very high energies (>100 GeV) enable the reconstruction of the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the EBL, as the blazar spectra are modified by redshift-and energy-dependent interactions of the gamma-ray photons with the EBL. The spectra of 14 VERITAS-detected blazars are included in a new measurement of the EBL SED that is independent of EBL SED models. The resulting SED covers an EBL wavelength range of 0.56-56 µm, and is in good agreement with lower limits obtained by assuming that the EBL is entirely due to radiation from cataloged galaxies.

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Measurement of the cosmic optical background using the long range reconnaissance imager on New Horizons

Cited by 59 publications

References 62 publications

Fluctuation of the background sky in the Hubble Extremely Deep Field (XDF) and its origin

Fluctuation of the background sky in the Hubble Extremely Deep Field (XDF) and its origin

Measurement of the extragalactic background light using MAGIC and Fermi-LAT gamma-ray observations of blazars up to z = 1

Measurement of the Extragalactic Background Light Spectral Energy Distribution with VERITAS

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