Observation of Very High Energy Gamma Ray Sources from the South Pole (GASP)

这是在南极站开发和操作空气切伦科夫望远镜的项目的继续，目的是研究非常高能量伽马射线的谨慎天体物理来源。该项目名为南极伽马射线天文学(GAP)。初级仪器由一系列抛物面反射镜组成，在焦点处有光电倍增管，可以在小体积的大气中探测VHE相互作用产生的光。这项实验有望阐明宇宙射线的起源，如果存在外来辐射的话，还可能揭示这种辐射的来源。GAP是对先前存在的南极空气簇射实验(SPASE)的补充，该实验由特拉华大学和利兹大学(英国)巴托尔研究所运营，并将SPASE的能量阈值向下扩展了两到三个数量级。Spase可以探测南方大部分天空，而Gap将能够专注于疑似活动的小区域。南极的位置允许GASP通过恒定的大气厚度在较长的时间内(几周到几个月)观察单个物体，而中纬度位置一次只允许观察给定物体的几个小时。极地位置也意味着非常有趣的高赤纬南方天空总是在视野中，这使GASP比任何中纬度天文台都有很大的优势。该项目是威斯康星大学、普渡大学和史密森天体物理天文台的合作项目。它由美国国家科学基金会极地计划办公室和史密森天体物理天文台联合资助。

This is a continuation of a project to develop and operate air Cherenkov telescopes at South Pole Station for the purpose of studying discreet astrophysical sources of very high energy (VHE) gamma rays. The project is called Gamma-ray Astronomy at South Pole (GASP). The primary instrument consists of an array of parabolic mirrors, with photomultiplier tubes at their foci, which can detect light from VHE interactions in a small volume of the atmosphere. The experiment is expected to shed light on the origin of cosmic rays and possibly on sources of exotic radiation, if such radiation exists. GASP complements the pre-existing South Pole Air Shower Experiment (SPASE), which is operated by the Bartol Research Institute of the University of Delaware and Leeds University (UK), and extends downward by two to three orders of magnitude the energy threshold of SPASE. SPASE can survey most of the southern sky, and GASP will be able to focus on small regions of suspected activity. The location at South Pole allows GASP to view a single object for extended periods (weeks to months) through a constant thickness of atmosphere, while mid-latitude locations allow only a few hours of viewing at a time of a given object. The Polar location also means that the very interesting high declination southern sky is always within view, which gives GASP a great advantage over any mid- latitude observatory. The project is a collaboration of the University of Wisconsin, Purdue University and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. It is jointly funded by NSF's Office of Polar Programs and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.