Waseda University's Fermi LAT Team
by Jun Kataoka 05/19/2010

The Waseda University (WU) joined the Fermi LAT team in 2009. Our group currently
consists of two faculty staffs (Associate Prof. Jun Kataoka and Assistant. Prof. Takeshi
Nakamori), five graduate students, and four undergraduate students. The mean age of
the members is 25, probably the youngest among all the Fermi LAT collaborations in
the world!

Members from the high energy astrophysics group at Waseda University

We have vast interests in X-ray/gamma-ray astronomy, radiation detectors for
nuclear medicine, and high performance light sensors for quantum signal detection.

The laboratory

Although the group itself is very young, WU-team has a great deal of experience in the operation of the LAT, including serving as burst/flare advocates, participating in calibration issues, and actively working on analysis and interpretation of the LAT data.

In particular, the WU group has leading roles in the analysis of active galaxies (blazars and radio galaxies in general) and gamma-ray pulsars, as well as in the analysis of pulsar wind nebulae. In addition, we are starting a new project to unravel the nature of unidentified Fermi-LAT gamma-ray sources with the Japanese X-ray astronomy satellite Suzaku. In 2009, we successfully monitored four Fermi unID sources; and deep surveys of seven other sources are ongoing in 2010. The results of a cross-analysis between Suzaku and Fermi will be presented soon on behalf of the Fermi-LAT collaboration.

We would like to introduce Waseda University graduate student, Koto Maeda, who is actively working on the analysis of Fermi LAT data and Suzaku data of unidentified gamma-ray sources:

Koto Maeda

My name is Koto Maeda, and I'm a graduate student in the 1st year of the master's course at Waseda University in Tokyo. I’ve been working for the WU group since 2009 and, over the last year, I’ve contributed in the analysis of Fermi-LAT data; in particular, I’m very interested in the nature of unidentified gamma-ray sources detected with the Fermi-LAT at high galactic latitude (|b| > 10 deg). In 2009, I helped with the proposal of deep Suzaku follow-up observations of 7 Fermi unID sources, and won 200 ksec observation time as top priority targets. Everyday I’m excited because I have an excellent opportunity to enjoy “freshly” delivered Fermi-LAT and the X-ray data as well. In my master thesis, I will systematically study the multiwavelength nature of eleven unID sources at high galactic latitude for the first time.

Come see us. Waseda University is located in the heart of Tokyo, and easily accessible by public transportation; it's even within walking distance from Shinjuku station. Please visit us when you come to Tokyo.