Fermi GBM Trigger Catalog

The GBM consists of an array of 12 sodium iodide (NaI) detectors which cover the lower end of the energy range up to 1 MeV. The GBM triggers off of the rates in the NaI detectors, with some Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flash (TGF)-specific algorithms using the bismuth germanate (BGO) detectors, sensitive to higher energies, up to 40 MeV. The NaI detectors are placed around the Fermi spacecraft with different orientations to provide the required sensitivity and FOV.

The cosine-like angular response of the thin NaI detectors is used to localize burst sources by comparing rates from detectors with different viewing angles. The two BGO detectors are placed on opposite sides of the spacecraft so that all sky positions are visible to at least one BGO detector. The signals from all 14 GBM detectors are collected by a central Data Processing Unit (DPU).

This unit digitizes and time-tags the detectors' pulse height signals, packages the resulting data into several different types for transmission to the ground (via the Fermi spacecraft), and performs various data processing tasks such as autonomous burst triggering. The information in this table is provided by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor Instrument Operations Center (GIOC) and the Fermi Science Support Center (FSSC).

The values come from a trigger catalog entry file or a burst catalog entry file provided by the GIOC. These are FITS files which may contain additional data in extensions for bursts (see the spectrum_flag and fit_flag columns) and are available for download. This table is updated automatically within a day or so of new data files being processed and made available.

This is a service provided by NASA HEASARC .