Measurements of the cosmic-ray electron and positron spectrum and anisotropies with the Fermi LAT

The Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard the Fermi satellite is a pair-conversion telescope for high-energy gamma rays of astrophysical origin. Although it was designed to be a high-sensitivity gamma-ray telescope, the LAT has proved to be an excellent electron/positron detector. It has been operating in low Earth orbit since June 2008 and has collected more than 16 million cosmic-ray electron and positron (CRE) events in its first seven years of operation. The huge data sample collected by the LAT enables a precise measurement of the CRE energy spectrum up to the TeV region. A search for anisotropies in the arrival directions of CREs was also performed. The upper limits on the dipole anisotropy probe the presence of nearby young and middle-aged CRE sources.