GeV/TeV Astrophysics Research using the VERITAS Observatory

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The VERITAS-4 observatory, a next generation instrument for the discovery and study of astrophysical sources of Very High Energy (VHE) GeV/TeV energy gamma-ray radiation, is currently nearing completion near Tucson, AZ. This grant supports the University of Utah's Gamma Ray Group to complete construction of the VERITAS-4 Observatory and to perform observations with and carry out analysis of data from the VERITAS-4 observatory during its operational phase. The observatory is managed by an international consortium of research universities who have constructed the VERITAS-4 telescopes with funding from the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Energy, the Smithsonian Foundation, PPARC, NSERC, and Enterprise-Ireland. VERITAS Collaborating institutions include Smithsonian AstrophysicalObservatory, the University of Chicago, the University of Utah, Purdue University, Washington University (St. Louis), UCLA, Iowa State University, McGill University (Canada), Leeds University (UK), and University College Dublin. The VERITAS-4 Observatory consists of an array of four 12 meter diameter Atmospheric Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), optical reflectors which observe faint flashes of Cherenkov light emitted as VHE gamma rays interact with the Earth's atmosphere. Over the past 15 years, the number of confirmed VHE emitters has grown from a single object (the Crab Nebula) to tens of objects; recent observations in the Southern Hemisphere by the next generation HESS Observatory (with sensitivity similar to VERITAS) have more than tripled the number of known sources, and have discovered new classes of sources, including emission from the Galactic Center Sag A*, emission from supernova remnants, emission from X-ray binaries, and emission from Active Galactic Nuclei at the largest redshift ever observed at these energies. A similar wealth of new sources and phenomena are expected to be discovered in the Northern Hemisphere sky with the VERITAS-4 Observatory over the period of this proposed work. GeV/TeV energy gamma rays are unique probes of the most energetic processes in astrophysical objects. This non-thermal radiation traces relativistic processes in jets associated with Blazars, extragalactic galaxies with supermassive (10**6 solar mass) central black holes that power the observer-pointed relativistic jets through gravitational infall of nearby accreting material. Also, GeV/TeV energy gamma rays are unique tracers of cosmic ray interactions within the Galaxy, and can provide evidence of cosmic ray confinement within our Galaxy, and of interactions with cosmological radiation fields and Giant Molecular clouds. Consequently, they can serve as effective probes of interstellar and intergalactic radiation and matter fields, essential for providing constraints on star formation within the early Universe as well as subsequent Galactic evolutionThe University of Utah participates in Educational Outreach programs in the community, University, statewide and national levels. The University of Utah Gamma Ray Group has developed a strong outreach program to undergraduate students by sponsoring academic year student research opportunities, summer internships at the Whipple Observatory working on the VERITAS project, and new educational initiatives at the University of Utah.