TeV Studies of Active Galactic Nuclei and Starburst Galaxies with the VERITAS Gamma-ray Observatory

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。位于亚利桑那州霍普金斯山弗雷德·劳伦斯·惠普尔天文台大本营的高能辐射成像望远镜阵列系统（VERITAS）于2007年春季全面投入使用。VERITAS探测极端物理源，如活动星系核、超新星遗迹和微类星体的喷流。在2007-2008年间发现的三个新的耀变体和对其他几个源的探测证明了VERITAS阵列的潜力。在接下来的几年里，VERITAS预计将进一步扩大北半球甚高能量（VHE）伽马射线源的目录，并在多波长（从射电到光学、紫外线和x射线到甚高能量伽马射线）观测活动中做出重大贡献。它也将成为美国宇航局2008年6月发射的费米大面积望远镜的重要补充。该合同将在未来三年内为阿德勒天文馆员工的VERITAS科学和服务工作提供基础支持。阿德勒集团的服务重点是进一步开发和维护VERITAS光学指向监视器和相关系统，以提高VERITAS望远镜的有效分辨率和灵敏度。分析工作将用于研究活动星系核和星暴星系。该小组将继续支持多波长和多信使（中微子）研究，以补充VERITAS获得的TeV数据。对于该计划的更广泛影响，PI是VERITAS教育和公共推广（EPO）计划的项目负责人。阿德勒团队将参与创建一个普通受众网站的内容，以及现场演示和展览亭的材料。阿德勒天文馆的空间可视化实验室（SVL）协调VERITAS互动的生产，但大部分工作是由学生或来自VERITAS个人小组的博士后贡献的。通过这些努力，VERITAS的博士后将有机会学习EPO技术的最佳实践。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS), located at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory basecamp of Mt. Hopkins, AZ, became fully operational in the Spring of 2007. VERITAS probes the extreme physics of sources such as the jets of Active Galactic Nuclei, Supernovae Remnants and microquasars. The discovery of three new blazars and the detection of several other sources during the 2007-2008 season proves the potential of the VERITAS array. In the following years, VERITAS is expected to further expand the catalog of Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray sources in the Northern Hemisphere and also to contribute significantly in multiwavelength (from radio through optical, UV and X-rays to VHE gamma rays) observing campaigns. It will also be a very important complement to the Fermi Large Area Telescope launched by NASA in June 2008. This award will provide the Adler Planetarium base support for the staff's VERITAS science and service efforts over the next three years. The Adler group's service efforts are focused on further development and maintenance of the VERITAS optical pointing monitor and related systems in order to improve the effective resolution and sensitivity of the VERITAS telescopes. The analysis efforts will be in studies of Active Galactic Nuclei and Starburst Galaxies. The group will continue to support multiwavelength and multi-messenger (neutrino) studies complementing the TeV data obtained with VERITAS.For the broader impacts of the program, the PI is the project leader for the VERITAS Education and Public Outreach (EPO) program. The Adler group will be involved in creating content for a general audience website, as well as materials for on site demonstrations and exhibit kiosks. The Adler Planetarium's Space Visualization Laboratory (SVL) coordinates production of the VERITAS interactives, but most of the work is contributed by students or post doctorals from individual VERITAS groups. Through these efforts, the VERITAS post-doctoral associates will have the opportunity to learn best-practices in EPO techniques.