Fermi-LAT detection of a new gamma-ray source associated with the radio galaxy PKS 0229-208
ATel #16710; P. Benke (MPIfR), J. Valverde (UMBC/NASA GSFC), I. Mereu (INFN Perugia) on behalf of the Fermi Large Area Telescope Collaboration
on 16 Jul 2024; 09:53 UT
Credential Certification: Isabella Mereu (mereuisabella@gmail.com)
Subjects: Gamma Ray, >GeV, Request for Observations, AGN, Blazar, Quasar
The Large Area Telescope (LAT), one of the two instruments on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, has observed gamma-ray emission from a source positionally consistent with the radio galaxy PKS 0229-208 with coordinates R.A. = 37.904167 deg, Decl. = -20.672667 deg (J2000; Healey at el. 2007 ApJS 171, 61), and redshift z= 0.089835 (Jones et al. 2009, MNRAS 399, 683). The new gamma-ray source was detected with a large localization error. The position of PKS 0229-208, which is offset by 0.5 deg from the gamma-ray source, is located between the 95% and 99% localization error circles, that is between r95 = 0.45 deg and r99 = 0.56 deg. This source is not in any published LAT catalog.
Preliminary analysis indicates that this source was significantly detected (>4 sigma) in a high gamma-ray state on July 13, 2024 , with a daily averaged gamma-ray flux (E>100MeV) of (0.3+/-0.1) X 10^-6 photons cm^-2 s^-1 and a single power-law photon index of 2.4+/-0.3 (statistical uncertainties only).
Because Fermi normally operates in an all-sky scanning mode, regular gamma-ray monitoring of this source will continue. We encourage multifrequency observations of this source. For this source, the Fermi-LAT contact person is Petra Benke (pbenke@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de).
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.
