Disentangling Instrumental Features of the 130 GeV Fermi Line

Abstract

We study the instrumental features of photons from the peak observed at $E_{\gamma }=130$ GeV in the spectrum of Fermi-LAT data. We use the {\sc sPlots} algorithm to reconstruct -- seperately for the photons in the peak and for background photons -- the distributions of incident angles, the recorded time, features of the spacecraft position, the zenith angles, the conversion type and details of the energy and direction reconstruction. The presence of a striking feature or cluster in such a variable would suggest an instrumental cause for the peak. In the publically available data, we find several suggestive features which may inform further studies by instrumental experts, though the size of the signal sample is too small to draw statistically significant conclusions.

arXiv comment9 pages, 22 figures; this version includes additional variables, study of stat sensitivity, and modification to the chi-sq calculation

References in corpus (12)

• The Large Area Telescope on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Mission
• sPlot: a statistical tool to unfold data distributions
• The Fermi Large Area Telescope On Orbit: Event Classification, Instrument Response Functions, and Calibration
• A Tentative Gamma-Ray Line from Dark Matter Annihilation at the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• Fermi LAT Search for Internal Bremsstrahlung Signatures from Dark Matter Annihilation
• Fermi LAT Search for Dark Matter in Gamma-ray Lines and the Inclusive Photon Spectrum
• Fermi LAT Search for Photon Lines from 30 to 200 GeV and Dark Matter Implications
• The On-orbit Calibrations for the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• Fermi 130 GeV gamma-ray excess and dark matter annihilation in sub-haloes and in the Galactic centre
• Strong Evidence for Gamma-ray Line Emission from the Inner Galaxy
• Two Lines or Not Two Lines? That is the Question of Gamma Ray Spectra
• Illuminating the 130 GeV Gamma Line with Continuum Photons

Cited by in corpus (26)

• Update on scalar singlet dark matter
• A review of indirect searches for particle dark matter
• Double-Disk Dark Matter
• Search for Gamma-ray Spectral Lines with the Fermi Large Area Telescope and Dark Matter Implications
• Sensitivity Projections for Dark Matter Searches with the Fermi Large Area Telescope
• Loopy Constraints on Leptophilic Dark Matter and Internal Bremsstrahlung
• Is the 130 GeV Line Real? A Search for Systematics in the Fermi-LAT Data
• Two Component Dark Matter : A Possible Explanation of 130 GeV γ-Ray Line from the Galactic Centre
• Resolving Small-Scale Dark Matter Structures Using Multi-Source Indirect Detection
• Multiple Gamma Lines from Semi-Annihilation
• Neutralino dark matter and the Fermi gamma-ray lines
• Galactic Center Radio Constraints on Gamma-Ray Lines from Dark Matter Annihilation
• Gamma-ray lines and One-Loop Continuum from s-channel Dark Matter Annihilations
• Looking for new charged states at the LHC: Signatures of Magnetic and Rayleigh Dark Matter
• Confronting the Fermi Line with LHC data: an Effective Theory of Dark Matter Interaction with Photons
• Re-Examining Astrophysical Constraints on the Dark Matter Model
• Gamma Rays from Top-Mediated Dark Matter Annihilations
• Searching for Spurious Solar and Sky Lines in the Fermi-LAT Spectrum
• A Clustering Analysis of the Morphology of the 130 GeV Gamma-Ray Feature
• Vector Higgs-portal dark matter and Fermi-LAT gamma ray line
• Gamma-ray line from radiative decay of gravitino dark matter
• Where are the Fermi Lines Coming From?
• Gamma Rays from Bino-like Dark Matter in the MSSM
• Magnetic dipole moment of neutral particles from quantum corrections at two-loop order
• Indirect searches for dark matter with the Fermi LAT instrument
• 130GeV gamma-ray line through axion conversion