The First Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flash (TGF) Catalog
Abstract
We present summary results from the first catalog of Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) detected with the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on the Fermi Space Telescope. The catalog is expected to contain about 2600 TGFs and will be released both online, to conveniently provide the community with TGF parameters, and as a publication. Since the launch of Fermi in 2008 the TGF detection sensitivity of GBM has been improved several times, both in the flight software and in ground analysis. Starting in 2010 July individual photons were downloaded for portions of the orbits, enabling an off-line search that found weaker and shorter TGFs. Since 2012 November 26 this telemetry mode has been extended to continuous coverage -- in the first year of this data mode 841 TGFs were detected. The TGF sample is reliable, with cosmic rays rejected using data both from Fermi GBM and from the Large Area Telescope on Fermi. The online catalog will include times (UTC and solar), spacecraft geographic positions, durations, count intensities and other parameters (e.g., see the Bayesian Block analysis by O. Roberts). There will be separate tables for bright TGFs detected by the flight software and Terrestrial Electron Beams (TEBs).
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2014
- Bibcode:
- 2014AGUFMAE31A3392B
- Keywords:
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- 3304 Atmospheric electricity;
- 3324 Lightning