SEARCH FOR SPATIALLY EXTENDED FERMI LARGE AREA TELESCOPE SOURCES USING TWO YEARS OF DATA
/ Authors
J. Lande, M. Ackermann, A. Allafort, J. Ballet, K. Bechtol, T. Burnett, J. Cohen-Tanugi, A. Drlica-Wagner, S. Funk, F. Giordano
and 3 more authors
/ Abstract
Spatial extension is an important characteristic for correctly associating γ-ray-emitting sources with their counterparts at other wavelengths and for obtaining an unbiased model of their spectra. We present a new method for quantifying the spatial extension of sources detected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT), the primary science instrument on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi). We perform a series of Monte Carlo simulations to validate this tool and calculate the LAT threshold for detecting the spatial extension of sources. We then test all sources in the second Fermi-LAT catalog for extension. We report the detection of seven new spatially extended sources.
Journal: The Astrophysical Journal