Particle Astrophysics with VERITAS

该提案要求继续支持芝加哥大学小组参与高能辐射成像望远镜阵列系统（VERITAS）的建设和运行。VERITAS是一个由四个12米口径反射望远镜组成的阵列，用于~50 GeV到~50 TeV能量范围内的伽马射线天文学。这些大气切伦科夫望远镜使用了由惠普尔天文台开发的成像技术，该技术探测到了第一个TeV伽玛射线的银河系和星系外来源。VERITAS的灵敏度将比Whipple高一个数量级以上，同时能量阈值显著降低。使用立体成像，阵列将在三十年的能量中实现前所未有的角和能量分辨率和背景抑制。VERITAS的主要科学目标是研究活动星系核、超新星遗迹、脉冲星、伽马射线暴和寻找新的来源。虽然其他的伽玛射线望远镜阵列在过去几年中变得活跃起来，但VERITAS仍然是北半球观测最强大的仪器。最小可探测到的通量灵敏度将是200gev时蟹状星云的0.5%。角分辨率将足以在扩展源中绘制出发射区域。研究表明，VERITAS将发现30多个超新星遗迹和30多个活动星系核。还有一些有趣的迹象表明，只有在高能量下才能看到的源才会被发现。VERITAS将有效补充GLAST，下一个主要的太空高能伽玛射线望远镜；他们一起可以解决宇宙辐射的起源问题，同时也可以探索物理学和宇宙学的基本问题。拟议研究的更广泛影响体现在许多方面，包括通过在未开发的测量窗口中利用新技术来推进天体物理学知识。

This proposal requests continued support for the University of Chicago group to participate in the building and operation of the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). VERITAS is an array of four 12m aperture reflector telescopes for gamma-ray astronomy in the ~50 GeV to ~50 TeV energy range. These atmospheric Cerenkov telescopes use the imaging technique developed by the Whipple Observatory that detected the first galactic and extragalactic sources of TeV gamma-rays. VERITAS will achieve more than an order of magnitude better sensitivity than Whipple with a significant reduction in energy threshold. Using stereoscopic imaging, the array will achieve unprecedented angular and energy resolution and background rejection over three decades of energy. The primary scientific objectives of VERITAS are the study of active galactic nuclei, supernova remnants, pulsars, gamma-ray bursts, and the search for new sources. While other arrays of gamma-ray telescopes have become active in the last few years, VERITAS remains the most powerful instrument for observations in the northern hemisphere. The minimum detectable flux sensitivity will be 0.5% of the Crab Nebula at 200 GeV. The angular resolution will be sufficient to map out emission regions in extended sources. Studies suggest that more than 30 supernova remnants and more than 30 active galactic nuclei will be discovered by VERITAS. There are also intriguing indications that sources which are only visible at high energies will be discovered. VERITAS will effectively complement GLAST, the next major high energy gamma-ray telescope in space; together they may solve the problem of the origin of the cosmic radiation while also probing fundamental questions in physics and cosmology. The broader impacts of the proposed research manifest in a number of ways, including the advancement of astrophysical knowledge through the exploitation of new technology in unexplored measurement windows.