PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS WITH VERITAS

由于地面伽马射线望远镜的发现，高能粒子天体物理学在过去十年中发生了革命性的变化。成像大气切伦科夫望远镜和空气簇射阵列现已探测到80多个能量超过100 GeV的伽马辐射点源，即甚高能区。在某些情况下，发射的辐射超过20 TeV的能量。被探测到的VHE源包括脉冲星星云、双星系统、超新星遗迹、银河系中心、耀变体、射电星系和星暴星系。通过对这些来源的详细测量，我们正在朝着理解宇宙中最具能量的物体中发生的加速和发射机制迈出巨大的步伐。更全面地探索高能天空以寻找和理解这些宇宙加速器的需求现在比以往任何时候都更强烈。在太空中，费米伽马射线太空望远镜以比其前身EGRET更高的灵敏度调查GeV的天空。在地面上，VERITAS（高能辐射成像望远镜阵列系统），一个由四个大型大气切伦科夫望远镜组成的阵列，现在已经全面运作，灵敏度比上一代仪器高出一个数量级。事实上，VERITAS是目前世界上最灵敏的伽马射线望远镜。在过去的两年里，它运行得非常好，已经产生了丰富的科学信息，包括发现和详细测量了许多新的VHE伽马射线源。该奖项将支持加州大学洛杉矶分校的小组的努力，将专注于维护VERITAS，获取和分析数据，并继续科学收获。加州大学洛杉矶分校还在暗物质关键科学项目中发挥着主导作用，该项目旨在寻找湮灭暗物质的伽马射线特征。所有这些科学领域的一项关键活动将是将费米数据获得的结果纳入其中，并与费米科学家合作。 该提案的更广泛影响包括UCLA集团承诺支持其帮助开发的整体VERITAS教育和公共推广（EPO）计划。EPO计划覆盖维普莱天文台游客中心的当地观众、阿德勒天文馆的博物馆观众以及通过VERITAS教育网站的普通公众。

High-energy particle astrophysics has been revolutionized during the last decade as a result of discoveries made by ground-based gamma-ray telescopes. Imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes and air shower arrays have now detected more than 80 point sources of gamma-radiation at energies above 100 GeV, the very high-energy (VHE) regime. In some cases the emitted radiation exceeds energies of 20 TeV. The detected VHE sources include pulsar nebulae, binary systems, supernova remnants, the Galactic center, blazars, radio galaxies, and starburst galaxies. With detailed measurements of these sources, we are making great strides towards understanding the acceleration and emission mechanisms taking place in the most energetic objects in the universe. The need to more fully explore the high-energy sky to search for, and understand, these cosmic accelerators is now stronger than ever. In space, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope surveys the GeV sky with much greater sensitivity than its predecessor, EGRET. On the ground, VERITAS (the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System), an array of four large atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, is now fully operational at a sensitivity level more than an order of magnitude better than the previous generation of instruments. Indeed, VERITAS is presently the most sensitive gamma-ray telescope in the world. It has operated extremely well during the last two years and is already producing a wealth of scientific information, including the discovery, and detailed measurements, of many of new sources of VHE gamma-rays.This award will support the UCLA group's efforts that will be focused on maintaining VERITAS, taking and analyzing data, and continuing the scientific harvest. UCLA also plays a leading role in the dark matter key science project that searches for gamma-ray signatures of annihilating dark matter. A critical activity in all of these scientific areas will be to incorporate results obtained from Fermi data and to collaborate with Fermi scientists. The broader impacts of this proposal include a commitment of the UCLA group to supporting the overall VERITAS Education and Public Outreach (EPO) program, which it helped to develop. The EPO program reaches local audiences at the Whipple Observatory Visitor's Center, museum audiences at the Adler Planetarium, and the general public through the VERITAS education web site.