Analysis of Fermi Source 3FGL 2015.6+3709 Qiana Hunt, University of Alabama in Huntsville Dr. John Hewitt, GSFC/University of North Florida

Contents of Discussion Background information and definitions Verifying 3FGL 2015.6+3709 associations Analyzing source component (PWN) Project Conclusion My NAC experience

Background Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope Surveys entire gamma-ray sky 8 times daily Launched 7 years ago; surveys sky 8x daily by rocking at an angle as it orbits earth;

Background Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope Large Area Telescope (LAT) Surveys entire gamma-ray sky 8 times daily Large Area Telescope (LAT) Energy range: ~20 MeV – 300 GeV Detects sources using one of its main instruments, the LAT; Detects energy range from ~20 MeV – 300 GeV; detects gamma-rays and is able to calculate the probable location of the source. So far has detected more than 3000 sources, of which 1000 are unassociated

Approximate location of our source Background “Source” – object or region likely emitting gamma-rays detected by Fermi Fermi cannot tell us what the “source” is; must do multi-wavelength analyses, etc., to make “associations” For this project, we are looking at one particular source: 3FGL 2015.6+3709 Approximate location of our source

Background 3FGL 2015.6+3709 was originally associated with a blazar Blazar - A class of active galactic nuclei with jets pointed in the direction of the observer A second association with a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) has been found! Pulsar wind nebula – clouds of charges particles that have escaped along the B- fields of pulsars

Background

Verifying 3 FGL 2015.6+3709 We want to verify the second association with the PWN The blazar emits in lower energies The PWN emits in TeV By analyzing Fermi data at different energies, we can test the associations

Estimated source location Verifying 3FGL 2015.6+3709 Blazar B2013+370 PWN VER J2016+372 Blazar PWN Estimated source location Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) Test-Statistic (TS) Map Energy > 30 GeV

Analyzing the PWN Relation above from Acero et al. (2013) From SED, calculated luminosity, assuming PWN distance of 6.1 kpc from Matheson (2013) = 1.7e33 ergs/s X-ray luminosity in Matheson (2013) ~1.6e34 ergs/s Matheson estimated an age of ~5-28 kyrs, based on 2D speed of pulsar shell expansion

Project Conclusion Confirmed the Fermi source association with both a blazar and a PWN at different energies Found a new estimate of the age of the PWN ~1000 years Suggests lower age limit compared to Matheson’s calculations Wrote a flexible Python script that can be used to analyze other Fermi sources This method of analysis can be used to (re)identify other sources

NAC Congressional meeting My NAC Experience Goddard NAC Cohort NAC Congressional meeting