A gamma-ray determination of the Universe's star formation history

Abdollahi S; Ackermann M; Ajello M; Atwood WB; Baldini L; Ballet J; Barbiellini G; Bastieri D; Gonzalez JB; Bellazzini R; Bissaldi E; Blandford RD; Bloom ED; Bonino R; Bottacini E; Buson S; Bregeon J; Bruel P; Buehler R; Cameron RA; Caputo R; Caraveo PA; Cavazzuti E; Charles E; Chen S; Cheung CC; Chiaro G; Ciprini S; Cohen-Tanugi J; Cominsky LR; Conrad J; Costantin D; Cutini S; D'Ammando F; de Palma F; Desai A; Digel SW; Di Lalla N; Di Mauro M; Di Venere L; Dominguez A; Favuzzi C; Fegan SJ; Finke J; Franckowiak A; Fukazawa Y; Funk S; Fusco P; Romero GG; Gargano F; Gasparrini D; Giglietto N; Giordano F; Giroletti M; Green D; Grenier IA; Guillemot L; Guiriec S; Hartmann DH; Hays E; Helgason K; Horan D; Johannesson G; Kocevski D; Kuss M; Larsson S; Latronico L; Li J; Longo F; Loparco F; Lott B; Lovellette MN; Lubrano P; Madejski GM; Magill JD; Maldera S; Manfreda A; Marcotulli L; Mazziotta MN; McEnery JE; Meyer M; Michelson PF; Mizuno T; Monzani ME; Morselli A; Moskalenko IV; Negro M; Nuss E; Ojha R; Omodei N; Orienti M; Orlando E; Ormes JF; Palatiello M; Paliya VS; Paneque D; Perkins JS; Persic M; Pesce-Rollins M; Petrosian V; Piron F; Porter TA; Primack JR; Principe G; Raino S; Rando R; Razzano M; Razzaque S; Reimer A; Reimer O; Parkinson PMS; Sgro C; Siskind EJ; Spandre G; Spinelli P; Suson DJ; Tajima H; Takahashi M; Thayer JB; Tibaldo L; Torres DF; Torresi E; Tosti G; Tramacere A; Troja E; Valverde J; Vianello G; Vogel M; Wood K; Zaharijas G

Science, Vol.362, No.6418, 1031-+, 2018

DOI10.1126/science.aat8123 Export Citation

A gamma-ray determination of the Universe's star formation history

Abdollahi S, Ackermann M, Ajello M, Atwood WB, Baldini L, Ballet J, Barbiellini G, Bastieri D, Gonzalez JB, Bellazzini R, Bissaldi E, Blandford RD, Bloom ED, Bonino R, Bottacini E, Buson S, Bregeon J, Bruel P, Buehler R, Cameron RA, Caputo R, Caraveo PA, Cavazzuti E, Charles E, Chen S, Cheung CC, Chiaro G, Ciprini S, Cohen-Tanugi J, Cominsky LR, Conrad J, Costantin D, Cutini S, D'Ammando F, de Palma F, Desai A, Digel SW, Di Lalla N, Di Mauro M, Di Venere L, Dominguez A, Favuzzi C, Fegan SJ, Finke J, Franckowiak A, Fukazawa Y, Funk S, Fusco P, Romero GG, Gargano F, Gasparrini D, Giglietto N, Giordano F, Giroletti M, Green D, Grenier IA, Guillemot L, Guiriec S, Hartmann DH, Hays E, Helgason K, Horan D, Johannesson G, Kocevski D, Kuss M, Larsson S, Latronico L, Li J, Longo F, Loparco F, Lott B, Lovellette MN, Lubrano P, Madejski GM, Magill JD, Maldera S, Manfreda A, Marcotulli L, Mazziotta MN, McEnery JE, Meyer M, Michelson PF, Mizuno T, Monzani ME, Morselli A, Moskalenko IV, Negro M, Nuss E, Ojha R, Omodei N, Orienti M, Orlando E, Ormes JF, Palatiello M, Paliya VS, Paneque D, Perkins JS, Persic M, Pesce-Rollins M, Petrosian V, Piron F, Porter TA, Primack JR, Principe G, Raino S, Rando R, Razzano M, Razzaque S, Reimer A, Reimer O, Parkinson PMS, Sgro C, Siskind EJ, Spandre G, Spinelli P, Suson DJ, Tajima H, Takahashi M, Thayer JB, Tibaldo L, Torres DF, Torresi E, Tosti G, Tramacere A, Troja E, Valverde J, Vianello G, Vogel M, Wood K, Zaharijas G

The light emitted by all galaxies over the history of the Universe produces the extragalactic background light (EBL) at ultraviolet, optical, and infrared wavelengths. The EBL is a source of opacity for gamma rays via photon-photon interactions, leaving an imprint in the spectra of distant gamma-ray sources. We measured this attenuation using 739 active galaxies and one gamma-ray burst detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. This allowed us to reconstruct the evolution of the EBL and determine the star formation history of the Universe over 90% of cosmic time. Our star formation history is consistent with independent measurements from galaxy surveys, peaking at redshift z similar to 2. Upper limits of the EBL at the epoch of reionization suggest a turnover in the abundance of faint galaxies at z similar to 6.