Speaker
Mr
Brandon Bisschoff
(University of the Free state)
Description
Currently there is limited knowledge of the origin of the intergalactic magnetic fields (IGMF) that lie between galaxies, galaxy clusters and cosmic voids. Understanding the origin of the IGMF is a crucial component in models of galaxy and galaxy clusters formation. This magnetic field can be probed indirectly by its effect on electromagnetic cascades initiated by gamma-gamma absorption of very high energy (VHE) gamma-rays, produced in blazars, due to its interaction with the extragalactic background light (EBL). The electron-positron pairs produced via the gamma-gamma absorption interact with the intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF) and can be deviated from their original trajectory path. These pairs can then Compton-scatter off the cosmic microwave background (CMB) to produce high energy gamma-rays that may be detected with Fermi-LAT. The strength of this signal strongly depends on the IGMF strength (B) and the coherence length (L). This secondary gamma-ray emission would be superimposed on the blazar’s intrinsic gamma-ray spectrum. A selection of bright blazars will be re-analysed using the upgraded Pass 8 analysis pipeline, to search for this secondary component. This will be used to place constraints on the IGMF strength. The initial results from this project will be presented.
Supervisor details<br><b>If not a student, type N/A.</b><br>Student abstract submision<br>requires supervisor permission:<br>please give their name,<br> institution and email address.
Dr. Brian Van Soelen,
University of the Free state,
Department of Physics,
VanSoelenB@ufs.ac.za
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|---|---|
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Primary author
Mr
Brandon Bisschoff
(University of the Free state)
Co-authors
Dr
Brian van Soelen
(University of the Free State)
Prof.
Pieter Meintjes
(University of the Free State)
Peer reviewing
Paper
Paper files:
