Supernova Remnants: TeV emission from sources of nonthermal interstellar medium energy

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The matter that is ejected during a supernova explosion into interstellar space creates an extended object which is called supernova remnant. In the outward moving shock waves that form in such a remnant, particles are accelerated to very high energies. Latest at the end of the supernova remnant’s lifetime, all these particles are released into interstellar space. The particles fill up our entire Galaxy and are detected as cosmic rays when they bombard Earth from all directions. In the proposed project, astronomical observations of such supernova remnants and their surroundings in our Galaxy will be used to investigate these high energy cosmic ray particles as they are accelerated and subsequently leave the accelerating sites. To observe these highly energetic particles, associated photons with TeV energies need to be detected (1 TeV = 1,000,000,000,000 times the energy of a visible photon). TeV photons are best observed with ground-based Cherenkov telescopes, such as the High Energy Sterescopic System H.E.S.S. With a thorough understanding of the paths of these particles as they are accelerated and injected into interstellar space, using both observations and supernova remnant models, the project aims at setting the stage for investigations of the interstellar medium at locations where the density of these cosmic ray particles is highest.