Fermi LAT Detection of a New Gamma-ray Source in the Vicinity of PMN J1038-5311
ATel #3978; S. Ciprini (ASDC/INAF), E. Hays (NASA/GSFC), C. C. Cheung (NRC/NRL), on behalf of the Fermi-LAT collaboration
on 19 Mar 2012; 18:10 UT
Credential Certification: Teddy Cheung (ccheung@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov)
Subjects: Gamma Ray, >GeV, AGN, Blazar
The Large Area Telescope (LAT), on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, has observed a gamma-ray flare from a new gamma-ray source. The preliminary best-fit location of the gamma-ray source (RA = 159.604 deg, Decl. = -53.242 deg, J2000) is +4.6 deg above the Galactic plane, and has a 95% containment radius of 7.2 arcmin (statistical errors only). The bright flat spectrum radio source, PMN J1038-5311 (RA = 10 38 40.56, Decl. = -53 11 42.9; Massardi et al. 2008 MNRAS, 384, 775) lies at 3.7 arcmin from the gamma-ray position.
Preliminary analysis indicates that the source brightened in gamma-rays with daily fluxes (E>100MeV) of (1.3-1.5) x 10^-6 ph cm^-2 s^-1 (errors are statistical only) from March 6-8, 2012, and has since faded. The source is not present in any of the Fermi LAT catalogs, and there is no reported EGRET gamma-ray detection at this location.
Because Fermi operates in all-sky survey mode, gamma-ray monitoring of this source will continue. In consideration of the activity of this source we encourage multiwavelength observations. The Fermi LAT contact person for this source is C. C. Cheung (Teddy.Cheung.ctr@nrl.navy.mil).
The Fermi LAT is a pair conversion telescope designed to cover the energy band from 20 MeV to greater than 300 GeV. It is the product of an international collaboration between NASA and DOE in the U.S. and many scientific institutions across France, Italy, Japan and Sweden.
