Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

A search for gamma rays from main belt asteroids

Justin Vandenbroucke
Seth Digel, Igor Moskalenko, Elena Orlando, Troy Porter

Abstract:

The Fermi LAT has detected bright gamma-ray emission from the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon. The same process (interaction of cosmic rays with target material) is predicted to produce gamma rays in small solar system bodies (asteroids). While individual objects cannot be resolved, the signal might be detected as diffuse emission with a particular spatial distribution. Because the signal is produced by the outer ~1 meter of each object, the numerous small bodies contribute much more to the signal than the few large bodies. A detection or non-detection of this gamma-ray signal therefore provides unique information compared to traditional (optical and infrared) methods which are only sensitive to large (> ~1 km) objects. We present results from a search for main belt asteroids using data from the Fermi LAT.