Probing the intergalactic magnetic field with the anisotropy of the extragalactic gamma-ray background

Abstract

The intergalactic magnetic field (IGMF) may leave an imprint on the angular anisotropy of theextragalactic gamma-ray background through its effect on electromagnetic cascades triggered by interactions between very high energy photons and the extragalactic background light. A strong IGMF will deflect secondary particles produced in these cascades and will thus tend to isotropize lower energy cascade photons, thereby inducing a modulation in the anisotropy energy spectrum of the gamma-ray background. Here, we present a simple, proof-of-concept calculation of the magnitude of this effect and demonstrate that current Fermi data already seem to prefer non-negligible IGMF values. The anisotropy energy spectrum of the Fermi gamma-ray background could thus be used as a probe of the IGMF strength.