Fermi

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Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Users Group
Meeting 16 August, 2013 Mission Status
Update J. McEnery
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Some goals for this meeting

• Comments and feedback from the users group on
• Observation strategies white paper process
• http//fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/ssc/proposals/alt_obs/o
  bs_modes.html
• Next steps
• GI program
• Outcome after budget adjustment, plans for cycle
  7
• Senior review
• Of course, comments on suggestions on any aspect
  of the mission are welcomed!

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Budget Status

• Significant budget reduction in FY2014, somewhat
  restored in FY2015
• Accelerate planned rampdown take full planned
  reduction in 2014, rather than over the next 3
  years
• Reduce FOT, FSSC staffing, decrease engineering
  support
• 20 decrease in support for instrument teams
• Minimal GI funding in 2014 (originally planned
  8M)
• Cycle 6 reduced from 8M to 6.8M (factor 5
  oversubscription), all funded at end FY13.
• Cycle 7 reduced from 8M to 4M, will be funded
  at beginning of FY15. Gap between Cycle 6 and
  Cycle 7 will be 16 months. Likely to have severe
  oversubscription rate.
• EPO funding withdrawn from NASA budget in
  presidents request
• 1 person let go
• Trying to keep the rest of the group together
  until the end of the calendar year in hope that
  fiscal situation improves

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Mission Status Highlights

• Observatory is operating smoothly
• Star Trackers
• Noise in star trackers were causing alerts to the
  FOT (but not science impacts)
• Fixed by lowering operating temperature
• FSSC webpage issues
• Short IT security related downtime on some FSSC
  pages.
• Judy Racusin has been appointed as a new deputy
  project scientist (joining Liz, Dave and Neil)
• Elizabeth Ferrara is deputy FSSC lead Scientist
• Cycle 6 GI program included new VERITAS and
  Arecibo opportunities
• This week marks 5 year anniversary of science
  operations
• Celebration next Monday afternoon, open new
  exhibit at visitor center
• Press release on Aug 22

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Observations summary (since last meeting)

• Almost exclusively in nominal data taking in
  survey mode
• ARRs (2.5 hour autonomous observation in response
  to GRB)
• 2 per month
• 1 Target of Opportunity (ToO) observation
• Crab nebula
• Nova Del 2013 (today!)
• Nadir observations restarted in Summer 2013
• Most have been changed LAT trigger/filter config
  point at Earth Nadir
• A small number only change LAT config (i.e. stay
  in regular sky survey)
• Calibrations/engineering tests (see Steves talk
  for details)
• lt24 hours for LAT calibrations
• Some data loss (lt6 hours) on Aug 2 due to
  incorrect planning ephemeris

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High Level Data Releases

• Extended weekly data files now available!
• Provided pre-release of P7REP data to allow line
  studies in support of observation white paper
  evaluation
• Sciencetools release (see FSSC presentation)
• Rmfit release
• In the works (within a month or two)
• Revamping LAT GRB summary table
• Updated Galactic diffuse model (for P7reprocessed
  data)
• P7 reprocessed data (updated calorimeter
  calibrations)
• GBM localization contours for GRB

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Multiwavelength Analysis workshops

• LIGO-Fermi meeting, March 2013
• Hands on analysis workshop between LIGO/VIRGO/GEO
  and Fermi-LAT/Fermi-GBM
• Tutorials on how to use each others data, share
  how each collaboration responds to alerts
• Very successful - plan to do this again.
  Continuing to work on joint analysis projects
• Fermi/VERITAS/HAWC, Dec 2013
• Planned to be an analysis workshop
• Goal to optimize how we work together
• Joint analysis techniques
• Share operations experience etc

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Fermi Summer School

• Mix of experimental, theory and observational
  work
• http//fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/mtgs/summerscho
  ol/2013/
• Science focus on dark matter

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Fermi Guest Investigators

• New guest investigators join the program each
  year
• This is a lower limit on number of Fermi users,
  as it is mostly limited to US users

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Publications

• Fermi papers per year continues to show a rising
  trend
• Citations to Fermi paper are very high 2nd LAT
  catalog is most cited 2012 refereed paper in
  astrophysics.

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PhD Theses using Fermi data
gt160

• The list of PhD theses is still being compiled,
  so the numbers in the figure above should be
  considered a lower limit.

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Some outreach items

• HQ iPad group working on Fermi with input from
  Dave Thompson and Toni Venters
• Developing Fermi exhibit for GSFC visitors center
• Revamped Fermi/Swift booth at AAS
• Includes set of science pamphlets
• Upcoming press activity
• Pulsar feature/podcast
• Collision avoidance
• Fermi 5-year launch anniversary
• Starting to think about a celebration,
  ideas/suggestions are welcome!
• Lots happening in EPO see Lynns talk for
  details

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Press Releases

• Neutron star antiglitch

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Press Release

• Fermi discovers shockingly bright burst
  GRB130427A

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Press release

• The day Fermi dodged a 1.5 ton bullet

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Press releases

• Fermi's Motion Produces a Study in Spirograph

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Upcoming press releases

• GRB130427A
• 5 papers submitted to science magazine
  Fermi-LAT, Fermi-GBM, Swift, Raptor, NuSTAR
• Media telecon, possibly followed by google
  hangout
• Five year anniversary
• Variable pulsar in Gamma-Cygni (led by SLAC)

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Questions?
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backup
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GRB table