Constraints on the intergalactic magnetic field from <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>F</mml:mi> <mml:mi>e</mml:mi> <mml:mi>r</mml:mi> <mml:mi>m</mml:mi> <mml:mi>i</mml:mi> </mml:math> -LAT observatio

A cosmological origin of magnetic fields in large scale structures of the Universe would require a non-negligible magnetic field in cosmic voids, which, however, remains undetected. Gamma-ray emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) offers the opportunity to indirectly probe such an intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF), as <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <a:mi>γ</a:mi> </a:math> rays interact with cosmic radiation fields, producing electron-positron pairs, and initiate an electromagnetic cascade. The deflection of the pairs in the IGMF results in a time-delayed signal at GeV energies. Using observations with the Large Area Telescope of the GRB 221009A, we are able to derive the most stringent constraints to date from the nonobservation of the cascade and rule out magnetic fields <c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <c:mi>B</c:mi> <c:mo>&lt;</c:mo> <c:mn>2.5</c:mn> <c:mo>×</c:mo> <c:msup> <c:mn>10</c:mn> <c:mrow> <c:mo>−</c:mo> <c:mn>17</c:mn> </c:mrow> </c:msup> <c:mtext> </c:mtext> <c:mtext> </c:mtext> <c:mi mathvariant="normal">G</c:mi> </c:math> at 95% confidence level for a coherence length larger than 1 Mpc. Our results are comparable to limits obtained from blazar observations but do not suffer from assumptions on the duty cycle of the <f:math xmlns:f="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <f:mi>γ</f:mi> </f:math> -ray source or whether inverse-Compton scattering losses dominate over the development of plasma instabilities.

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Journal
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Published
2026-01-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/g8rr-g7p4
Primary Topic
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
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article
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article

Constraints on the intergalactic magnetic field from <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>F</mml:mi> <mml:mi>e</mml:mi> <mml:mi>r</mml:mi> <mml:mi>m</mml:mi> <mml:mi>i</mml:mi> </mml:math> -LAT observatio

Francesco Gabriele Saturni, A. Stamerra, G. Martí-Devesa, Manuel Enrico Meyer et al.
Physical review. D/Physical review. D.
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
article

Constraints on the intergalactic magnetic field from <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mi>F</mml:mi> <mml:mi>e</mml:mi> <mml:mi>r</mml:mi> <mml:mi>m</mml:mi> <mml:mi>i</mml:mi> </mml:math> -LAT observatio

Francesco Gabriele Saturni, A. Stamerra, G. Martí-Devesa, Manuel Enrico Meyer, P. Veres, Anonymous, Paolo Da Vela
article en

Abstract

A cosmological origin of magnetic fields in large scale structures of the Universe would require a non-negligible magnetic field in cosmic voids, which, however, remains undetected. Gamma-ray emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) offers the opportunity to indirectly probe such an intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF), as <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <a:mi>γ</a:mi> </a:math> rays interact with cosmic radiation fields, producing electron-positron pairs, and initiate an electromagnetic cascade. The deflection of the pairs in the IGMF results in a time-delayed signal at GeV energies. Using observations with the Large Area Telescope of the GRB 221009A, we are able to derive the most stringent constraints to date from the nonobservation of the cascade and rule out magnetic fields <c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <c:mi>B</c:mi> <c:mo>&lt;</c:mo> <c:mn>2.5</c:mn> <c:mo>×</c:mo> <c:msup> <c:mn>10</c:mn> <c:mrow> <c:mo>−</c:mo> <c:mn>17</c:mn> </c:mrow> </c:msup> <c:mtext> </c:mtext> <c:mtext> </c:mtext> <c:mi mathvariant="normal">G</c:mi> </c:math> at 95% confidence level for a coherence length larger than 1 Mpc. Our results are comparable to limits obtained from blazar observations but do not suffer from assumptions on the duty cycle of the <f:math xmlns:f="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <f:mi>γ</f:mi> </f:math> -ray source or whether inverse-Compton scattering losses dominate over the development of plasma instabilities.

Physical review. D/Physical review. D.Vol. 113(4)
University of Trieste (IT), Universität Hamburg (DE), University of Southern Denmark (DK), Heidelberg University (DE), Astronomical Observatory of Rome (IT), Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica di Bologna (IT), Space Micro (United States) (US), Centre for Cosmology and Particle Physics Phenomenology (DK), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Trieste (IT), Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio, University of Alabama in Huntsville (US), National Institute for Astrophysics (IT)
Openalex Percentile: Top 84%
Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
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