Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

TL;DR

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has been surveying the gamma-ray sky since 2008, providing vital data for multiwavelength and multimessenger astrophysics through its two instruments, GBM and LAT, covering a broad energy range.

Contribution

This paper details the design, capabilities, and scientific achievements of the Fermi Telescope, highlighting its role in advancing gamma-ray astronomy and multimessenger research.

Findings

Detected over 3000 gamma-ray bursts, including GW-associated GRB 170817A.

Cataloged 5000 high-energy sources, including neutrino-associated blazars.

Enabled broad scientific research through public data and analysis tools.

Abstract

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, a key mission in multiwavelength and multimessenger studies, has been surveying the gamma-ray sky from its low-Earth orbit since 2008. Its two scientific instruments, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and the Large Area Telescope (LAT), cover 8 orders of magnitude in photon energy. The GBM consists of 12 Sodium Iodide detectors and 2 Bismuth Germinate detectors, covering the 10 keV - 40 MeV energy range, arrayed on two sides of the spacecraft so as to view the entire sky that is not occulted by the Earth. The LAT is a pair production telescope based on silicon strip trackers, a Cesium Iodide calorimeter, and a plastic scintillator anticoincidence system. It covers the energy range from about 20 MeV to more than 500 GeV, with a field of view of about 2.4 steradians. Thanks to their huge fields of view, the instruments can observe the entire sky with a cadence of about an hour for GBM and about three hours for LAT. All gamma-ray data from Fermi become public immediately, enabling a broad range of multiwavelength and multimessenger research. Over 3000 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), including GRB 170817A associated with a neutron star merger detected in gravitational waves, and 5000 high-energy sources, including the blazar TXS 0506+056 associated with high-energy neutrinos, have been detected by the Fermi instruments. The Fermi Science Support Center provides a wide array of resources to enable scientific use of the data, including background models, source catalogs, analysis software, documentation, and a Help Desk.