Particle Astrophysics with VERITAS

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Some of the most astounding recent discoveries about our universe have been made by telescopes and instruments collecting forms of natural radiation from space, which are invisible to the human eye. For example, the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to scientists who worked in collecting astrophysical x-rays and solar neutrinos. This proposal is to support a group at the University of Chicago for participation in the exploration of the next frontier in astronomy, the observation of high-energy gamma rays from space. The VERITAS (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) telescope is an array of collectors which detect the small light flashes produced by high-energy gamma rays interacting in the upper atmosphere. Several sources of this high-energy radiation have been discovered with earlier pathfinder telescopes. These sources apparently exist both within our galaxy and in energetic extragalactic objects. VERITAS has a detection sensitivity over fifty times larger than existing telescopes, and is expected to discover many new sources of this radiation. The VERITAS project is a collaboration between 13 institutions in the USA, Canada and Europe. The array construction is managed by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, with a project office located near Tucson, Arizona. Apart from an active involvement in the development of the science of this new astronomy, Chicago has key roles in the construction of the VERITAS array hardware and software supported by this proposal. These activities include building key components of the camera at the focus of each VERITAS collector, the overall integration of the instrumentation in the Chicago high-bay area, and the collection of data from VERITAS. All of these efforts will involve graduate students and postdoctoral research associates, in addition to the faculty members involved. The VERITAS array is at present under construction for completion in 2006. The first scientific results are expected to appear in this time-frame.