Is the 130 GeV line real? A search for systematics in the Fermi-LAT data

Abstract

Our recent claims of a Galactic center feature in Fermi-LAT data at approximately 130 GeV have prompted an avalanche of papers proposing explanations ranging from dark matter annihilation to exotic pulsar winds. Because of the importance of such interpretations for physics and astrophysics, a discovery will require not only additional data, but a thorough investigation of possible LAT systematics. While we do not have access to the details of each event reconstruction, we do have information about each event from the public event lists and spacecraft parameter files. These data allow us to search for suspicious trends that could indicate a spurious signal. We consider several hypotheses that might make an instrumental artifact more apparent at the Galactic center, and find them implausible. We also search for an instrumental signature in the Earth limb photons, which provide a smooth reference spectrum for null tests. We find no significant 130 GeV feature in the Earth limb sample. However, we do find a marginally significant 130 GeV feature in Earth limb photons with a limited range of detector incidence angles. This raises concerns about the 130 GeV Galactic center feature, even though we can think of no plausible model of instrumental behavior that connects the two. A modest amount of additional limb data would tell us if the limb feature is a statistical fluke. If the limb feature persists, it would raise doubts about the Pass 7 processing of E > 100 GeV events. At present we find no instrumental systematics that could plausibly explain the excess Galactic center emission at 130 GeV.