Speaker
Benjamin Safdi
(massachusetts institute of technology)
Description
We present a new method to characterize unresolved point sources (PSs), which generalizes traditional template fits to account for non-Poissonian photon statistics. Using Fermi Large-Area Telescope gamma-ray data, we use the method to characterize PS populations at high latitudes and in the Inner Galaxy. We find that PSs (resolved and unresolved) account for $\sim$50% of the total extragalactic gamma-ray background in the energy range $\sim$1.9 to 11.9 GeV.Within 10$^\circ$ of the Galactic Center (with $|b| > 2^\circ$), we find that $\sim$5% of the flux is accounted for by unresolved PSs; the observed $\sim$GeV gamma-ray excess near the Galactic Center is preferentially absorbed by an unresolved PS template as compared to a dark-matter template.
Author
Benjamin Safdi
(massachusetts institute of technology)
