Collaborative Research: MRI Consortium: Development of a Novel Telescope for Very High-Energy Gamma-Ray Astrophysics

当前一代地面伽马射线观测站在100GeV-10TeV能量范围内工作，这些令人震惊的发现改变了甚高能伽马射线天体物理学。这些天文台是由2-4个成像大气切伦科夫望远镜(IACT)组成的阵列，它们通过切伦科夫光探测VHE伽马射线，这些次级电子来自大气中伽马射线引发的电磁级联中的二次电子。通过对现有设备的简单复制或升级，不可能开发出灵敏度显著提高的新仪器。有了这个奖项，支持者将在Schwarzschild和Couder的工作基础上，建造一种新型的伽马射线望远镜，具有改变该领域的潜力。它融合了光学、机械和电子学的原始想法，以与现有仪器相当的成本在角度分辨率和视场方面实现了实质性的提高。国际切伦科夫望远镜阵列(CTA)联盟正在筹备未来的IACT阵列，其灵敏度提高十倍，能量覆盖范围更广，以开发VHE伽马射线观测的明显科学潜力。一些新型伽马射线发现的例子包括在银河系中心和光晕中极深地搜索暗物质，用河外背景光测量来测试宇宙学，解决超新星遗迹和脉冲星风中的冲击波加速细节，通过人口研究和短期变化观测来推进河外喷流的物理学。这种新的望远镜克服了目前主要焦点IACT在角度分辨率和视野方面的根本限制。同时，它允许为相机焦平面传感器应用新的、低成本的技术。这项工作将展示SCT设计的增强性能和改进的可靠性，并且毗邻Veritas的位置将允许根据已知灵敏度的仪器来评估性能。这一努力的结果将使人们能够在知情的情况下作出选择，以建造CTA或其他未来文书。它还将增强VERITAS天文台的能力。广泛影响：这项工作将与工业界合作，促进大规模生产相对便宜的、轻的、非球面镜片的新兴技术，这些技术将使未来的仪器能够提供独特的科学能力，并鼓励在天文学的其他领域使用该设计。该项目将为相当数量的青年科学家提供一个独特的综合研究和教育机会。

Very high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray astrophysics has been transformed by a number of stunning discoveries made by the current-generation, ground-based gamma-ray observatories operating in the 100 GeV - 10 TeV energy range. These observatories are arrays of 2-4 imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) that detect VHE gamma-rays via Cherenkov light from secondary electrons in electromagnetic cascades initiated by gamma-rays in the atmosphere. Developing new instruments with significantly better sensitivity is not possible by a simple replication or upgrade of existing devices. With this award, the proponents will build a novel gamma-ray telescope that has the potential to transform the field, based on work by Schwarzschild and Couder. It incorporates original ideas for the optics, mechanics, and electronics to achieve substantial gains in angular resolution and field of view at costs comparable to existing instruments. The international Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) Consortium is preparing for a future IACT array with ten times better sensitivity and broader energy coverage to exploit the evident scientific potential of VHE gamma-ray observations. Some examples of new types of gamma-ray discoveries are searching extremely deeply for dark matter in the Galactic center and halo, testing cosmology with extragalactic background light measurements, resolving the details of shock acceleration in supernova remnants and pulsar winds, and advancing the physics of extragalactic jets by population studies and observations of short-term variability.This new telescope overcomes the fundamental limitations in angular resolution and field of view of current prime-focus IACTs. At the same time, it allows the application of new, lower-cost technologies for the camera focal plane sensors. This work will demonstrate the enhanced performance and improved reliability of the SCT design, and the location adjacent to VERITAS will allow the performance to be evaluated against an instrument of known sensitivity. The results from this effort will enable informed choices to be made for the construction of CTA or other future instruments. It will also enhance the capabilities of the VERITAS Observatory.Broader Impact: Working with industry, this work will foster emerging technologies for the mass production of relatively inexpensive, light, aspheric mirror segments that will both enable future instruments to deliver unique science capabilities and encourage use of the design in the other fields of astronomy. This project will provide a unique opportunity for integrated research and education for a substantial number of young scientists.