Astroparticle Physics with the VERITAS Gamma-Ray Observatory

在过去的十年里，地面伽玛射线天文台的发现彻底改变了高能粒子天体物理学领域。发射高能（超过100 GeV）伽马射线的源目录现在由大约100个物体组成，新的源和源类不断被发现。超新星遗迹、脉冲星和脉冲星风星云、耀变体、射电星系、星暴星系和恒星质量双星系统都被证明能发射出非常高能量的伽马射线，还有许多来源的识别仍不清楚。除了以前所未有的光谱、时间和空间分辨率探测宇宙中极端粒子加速的地点外，伽马射线观测还可以让我们间接确定构成宇宙重要组成部分的暗物质的性质。该合同将为该小组正在进行的使用VERITAS的研究提供操作支持，VERITAS是位于亚利桑那州的四个大型成像大气切伦科夫望远镜阵列。他们将利用伽马射线观测来研究宇宙中粒子加速的地点，重点关注超新星遗迹和伽马射线双星系统，对已知源进行深入观测，并发现新的候选源。他们将从过量的天体物理中微子（由冰立方识别）或超高能量宇宙射线（由俄歇识别）区域寻找100 GeV的伽马射线发射。特拉华集团将继续其教育和公共宣传活动，通过指导学生在高中和本科水平。该小组的成员还将向当地业余天文学家和其他感兴趣的团体进行公开演讲，并通过提供网站材料和进行现场参观来支持VERITAS的整体推广计划。

The discoveries made by ground-based gamma-ray observatories over the past decade have revolutionized the field of high energy particle astrophysics. The catalog of sources emitting high energy (more than 100 GeV) gamma rays now consists of ~100 objects, and new sources, and source classes, continue to be found. Supernova remnants, pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae, blazars, radio galaxies, starburst galaxies and stellar-mass binary systems have all been shown to emit very high energy gamma-radiation, along with numerous sources whose identification is still unclear. As well as probing sites of extreme particle acceleration in the Universe with unprecedented spectral, temporal and spatial resolution, gamma-ray observations may allow us to indirectly determine the nature of the dark matter that makes up a significant fraction of the universe.This award will provide operational support for the group's ongoing research using VERITAS, an array of four large imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes sited in Arizona. They will use gamma-ray observations to study sites of particle acceleration in the Universe, focusing on supernova remnants and gamma-ray binary systems, with both deep observations of known sources, and discovery observations of new candidates. They will search for 100 GeV gamma-ray emission from regions of excess astrophysical neutrinos (identified by IceCube), or ultra-high energy cosmic rays (identified with Auger). The Delaware group will continue its education and public outreach activities through mentoring of students at the high school and undergraduate level. Members of the group will also give public presentations to local amateur astronomers, and other interested groups, as well as supporting the overall VERITAS outreach program by providing website materials and conducting on-site tours.