The Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) Earth Occultation Catalog of Low‐Energy Gamma‐Ray Sources

The Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), aboard the Compton GammaRay Observatory (CGRO), provided a record of the low-energy gamma-ray sky(20-1000 keV) between 1991 April and 2000 May (9.1y). Using the EarthOccultation Technique to extract flux information, a catalog of sources usingdata from the BATSE large area detectors has been prepared. The first part ofthe catalog consists of results from the monitoring of 58 sources, mostlyGalactic. For these sources, we have included tables of flux and spectral data,and outburst times for transients. Light curves (or flux histories) have beenplaced on the world wide web. We then performed a deep-sampling of 179 objects(including the aforementioned 58 objects) combining data from the entire 9.1yBATSE dataset. Source types considered were primarily accreting binaries, but asmall number of representative active galaxies, X-ray-emitting stars, andsupernova remnants were also included. The deep sample results include definitedetections of 83 objects and possible detections of 36 additional objects. Thedefinite detections spanned three classes of sources: accreting black hole andneutron star binaries, active galaxies and supernova remnants. Flux data forthe deep sample are presented in four energy bands: 20-40, 40-70, 70-160, and160-430 keV. The limiting average flux level (9.1 y) for the sample varies from3.5 to 20 mCrab (5 sigma) between 20 and 430 keV, depending on systematicerror, which in turn is primarily dependent on the sky location. To strengthenthe credibility of detection of weaker sources (5-25 mCrab), we generated Earthoccultation images, searched for periodic behavior using FFT and epoch foldingmethods, and critically evaluated the energy-dependent emission in the fourflux bands.Comment: 64 pages, 17 figures, abstract abridged, Accepted by ApJ