Resolving the Extragalactic $\gamma$-ray Background above 50 GeV with Fermi-LAT

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the distribution of extragalactic gamma-ray sources above 50 GeV using Fermi-LAT data, revealing that point sources, mainly blazars, account for most of the gamma-ray background and providing insights for future surveys.

Contribution

First measurement of the source count distribution at energies above 50 GeV using detailed simulations and photon fluctuation analysis, constraining the contribution of sources to the gamma-ray background.

Findings

Source count distribution is compatible with a Euclidean distribution down to low fluxes.

Point sources contribute at least 86% of the extragalactic gamma-ray background.

The distribution suggests a single population, mainly blazars, dominates at these energies.

Abstract

The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) Collaboration has recently released a catalog of 360 sources detected above 50 GeV (2FHL). This catalog was obtained using 80 months of data re-processed with Pass 8, the newest event-level analysis, which significantly improves the acceptance and angular resolution of the instrument. Most of the 2FHL sources at high Galactic latitude are blazars. Using detailed Monte Carlo simulations, we measure, for the first time, the source count distribution, $dN/dS$, of extragalactic $\gamma$-ray sources at $E>50$ GeV and find that it is compatible with a Euclidean distribution down to the lowest measured source flux in the 2FHL ($\sim8\times 10^{-12}$ ph cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$). We employ a one-point photon fluctuation analysis to constrain the behavior of $dN/dS$ below the source detection threshold. Overall the source count distribution is constrained over three decades in flux and found compatible with a broken power law with a break flux, $S_b$, in the range $[8 \times 10^{-12},1.5 \times 10^{-11}]$ ph cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ and power-law indices below and above the break of $\alpha_2 \in [1.60,1.75]$ and $\alpha_1 = 2.49 \pm 0.12$ respectively. Integration of $dN/dS$ shows that point sources account for at least $86^{+16}_{-14}\%$ of the total extragalactic $\gamma$-ray background. The simple form of the derived source count distribution is consistent with a single population (i.e. blazars) dominating the source counts to the minimum flux explored by this analysis. We estimate the density of sources detectable in blind surveys that will be performed in the coming years by the Cherenkov Telescope Array.