Particle Astrophysics with Milagro

本提案要求资金支持马里兰大学小组参与Milagro实验。该探测器是一种新型的水切伦科夫，广泛的空气阵雨探测器，旨在观察来自太空中高能物体的高能（VHE）伽马射线。该探测器位于洛斯阿拉莫斯附近，海拔2630米。它由一个约5000平方米的中央池塘探测器组成，周围环绕着175个仪表水箱（伸出式），面积约为40000平方米。它是对地面大气切伦科夫望远镜（ACTs）的补充，因为它能观测到ACTs不能观测的地点和时间，并对卫星实验具有更大的高能量有效面积。这些特点使它成为搜索未知源发射、研究和潜在发现VHE伽马射线中的伽马射线暴（GRBs）的理想仪器。实验现在正进入一个新的操作阶段，配备了一个完整的探测器和一个新的触发系统。在教育/推广领域，该小组一直积极地让学生和公众接触到粒子天体物理学领域的兴奋。最近，Milagro成为首批加入QuarkNet项目的粒子天体物理学实验之一，并让课堂教师参与到他们的研究中来。

This proposal requests funds to support the University of Maryland group in their participation in the Milagro experiment. This detector is a new type of water-Cherenkov, extensive air shower detector designed to look at very high-energy (VHE) gamma rays coming from energetic objects in space. The detector is located near Los Alamos, NM at an altitude of 2630 m. It consists of a ~5000 m2 central pond detector surrounded by an array of 175 instrumented water tanks (outriggers) that span an area of roughly 40,000 m2. It is complementary to ground-based atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes (ACTs) by observing where and when ACTs cannot and to satellite experiments by having a much larger effective area at high energies. These features make it an ideal instrument to search for emission from unknown sources and to study and potentially discover Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) in VHE gamma rays. The experiment is now moving into a new phase of operation with a full detector and a new trigger system. In the education/outreach area, the group has been active in exposing students and the general public to the excitement of the particle astrophysics field. Recently, Milagro became one of the first particle astrophysics experiments to join the QuarkNet program and involve classroom teachers in their research.