Related papers: The Moon as a Cosmic-Ray Spectrometer: Prospects f…
We have measured the gamma-ray emission spectrum of the Moon using the data collected by the Large Area Telescope onboard the Fermi satellite during its first 7 years of operation, in the energy range from 30 MeV up to a few GeV. We have…
The nuclear $\gamma$-ray lines in the MeV range of the electromagnetic spectrum hold a vast variety of astrophysical, particle-physical, and fundamental physical information that is otherwise extreme difficult to access. MeV $\gamma$-ray…
We report the detection of the lunar gamma-ray emission during the first year of Fermi-LAT observations. Such emission is produced by cosmic ray nuclei interacting with the lunar surface. Thanks to the solar minimum conditions and the…
We use the GEANT4 Monte Carlo framework to calculate the gamma-ray albedo of the Moon due to interactions of cosmic ray (CR) nuclei with moon rock. Our calculation of the albedo spectrum agrees with the EGRET data. We show that the spectrum…
We use the GEANT4 Monte Carlo framework to calculate the gamma-ray albedo of the Moon due to interactions of cosmic ray (CR) nuclei with moon rock. Our calculation of the albedo spectrum agrees with the EGRET data. We show that the spectrum…
FERMI-LAT is performing an all-sky gamma-ray survey from 30 MeV to 300 GeV with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution. FERMI has detected high-energy gamma rays from the Moon produced by interactions of cosmic rays with the lunar…
Gamma-rays, the most energetic photons, carry information from the far reaches of extragalactic space with minimal interaction or loss of information. They bring messages about particle acceleration in environments so extreme they cannot be…
The Sun is an excellent laboratory for astroparticle physics but remains poorly understood at GeV--TeV energies. Despite the immense relevance for both cosmic-ray propagation and dark matter searches, only in recent years has the Sun become…
Gamma-ray instrumentation for astronomical spectroscopy consists of multiple-interaction detectors in space combined with sophisticated post-processing of detector events on ground. Spectral signatures in the MeV regime originate from…
Latest precise cosmic-ray (CR) measurements and present gamma-ray observations have started challenging our understanding of CR transport and interaction in the Galaxy. Moreover, because the density of CRs is similar to the density of the…
Cosmic rays are charged energetic particles that permeate the interstellar medium. Their sizeable energy share and penetration power makes them essential players in the dynamical and chemical processes that rule Galactic evolution, such as…
We are conducting a search for new gamma-ray binaries by making high signal-to-noise light curves of all cataloged Fermi LAT sources and searching for periodic variability using appropriately weighted power spectra. The light curves are…
The measurement of gamma rays at MeV energies from cosmic radioactivities is one of the key tools for nuclear astrophysics, in its study of nuclear reactions and how they shape objects such as massive stars and supernova explosions.…
FERMI-LAT is performing an all-sky gamma-ray survey from 30 MeV to $>$300 GeV with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution. FERMI has detected high-energy gamma rays from the Moon and Sun since the first weeks of data taking. This…
Gamma-ray Astronomy studies cosmic accelerators through their electromagnetic radiation in the energy range between ~100 MeV and ~100 TeV. The present most sensitive observations in this energy band are performed, from space, by the Large…
Classical novae produce radioactive nuclei which are emitters of gamma-rays in the MeV range. Some examples are the lines at 478 and 1275 keV (from 7Be and 22Na) and the positron-electron annihilation emission, with the 511 keV line and a…
While the X-ray, GeV gamma-ray, and TeV gamma-ray skies have been extensively studied, the MeV gamma-ray sky is not well investigated after the Imaging Compton Telescope (COMPTEL) scanned the sky about two decades ago. In this paper, we…
The solar disk is a bright source of multi-GeV gamma rays, due to the interactions of hadronic cosmic rays with the solar atmosphere. However, the underlying production mechanism is not understood, except that its efficiency must be greatly…
Gamma-ray astronomy explores the most energetic photons in nature to address some of the most pressing puzzles in contemporary astrophysics. It encompasses a wide range of objects and phenomena: stars, supernovae, novae, neutron stars,…
Thanks to the Fermi gamma-ray satellite and the current Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes, radio galaxies have arisen as a new class of high- and very-high energy emitters. The favourable orientation of their jets makes radio…