Properties of the Intergalactic Magnetic Field Constrained by Gamma-ray Observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts

Abstract

The magnetic field in intergalactic space gives important information about magnetogenesis in the early universe. The properties of this field can be probed by searching for radiation of secondary e${}^{+}$e${}^{-}$ pairs created by TeV photons, that produce GeV range radiation by Compton-scattering cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons. The arrival times of the GeV "echo" photons depend strongly on the magnetic field strength and coherence length. A Monte Carlo code that accurately treats pair creation is developed to simulate the spectrum and time-dependence of the echo radiation. The extrapolation of the spectrum of powerful gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) like GRB 130427A to TeV energies is used to demonstrate how the IGMF can be constrained if it falls in the $10^{-21}$ - $10^{-17}$ G range for 1 Mpc coherence length.

8 pages, 6 figures

References in corpus (5)

• Lower limit on the strength and filling factor of extragalactic magnetic fields
• Probing the Nature of the Weakest Intergalactic Magnetic Fields with the High Energy Emission of Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Blazar halos as probe for extragalactic magnetic fields and maximal acceleration energy
• Cascading on extragalactic background light
• Physics of cosmological cascades and observable properties

Cited by in corpus (11)

• Progress on Cosmological Magnetic Fields
• Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays: The Intersection of the Cosmic and Energy Frontiers
• The Gamma-Ray Window to Intergalactic Magnetism
• First constraints on the strength of the extragalactic magnetic field from $\gamma$-ray observations of GRB 221009A
• A delayed 400 GeV photon from GRB 221009A and implication on the intergalactic magnetic field
• Constraints on the extragalactic magnetic field strength from blazar spectra based on 145 months of Fermi-LAT observations
• Constraints on the intergalactic magnetic field strength from $\gamma$-ray observations of GRB 221009A
• Imprints of primordial magnetic fields on intrinsic alignments of galaxies
• Very High Energy Emission and Cascade Radiation of Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows: Homogeneous Versus Wind External Media
• Intergalactic magnetic field studies by means of $\gamma$-ray emission from GRB 190114C
• Prospects for detection of the pair-echo emission from TeV gamma-ray bursts