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

目前，地面伽玛射线天文台在100 GeV - 10 TeV的能量范围内工作，许多惊人的发现改变了高能伽玛射线天体物理学。这些天文台是由2-4台成像大气切伦科夫望远镜（IACTs）组成的阵列，它们通过切伦科夫光探测由大气中伽马射线引发的电磁级联中的次级电子发出的甚高伽马射线。通过简单地复制或升级现有设备来开发具有更好灵敏度的新仪器是不可能的。有了这个奖项，支持者将在史瓦西和库德的工作基础上，建造一种新型的伽马射线望远镜，它有可能改变这个领域。它结合了光学、机械和电子的原创理念，以与现有仪器相当的成本实现了角分辨率和视野的大幅提高。国际切伦科夫望远镜阵列（CTA）联盟正在为未来的IACT阵列做准备，该阵列具有十倍的灵敏度和更广泛的能量覆盖范围，以利用VHE伽玛射线观测的明显科学潜力。一些新的伽玛射线发现的例子是在银河系中心和光晕中极其深入地寻找暗物质，用河外背景光测量来检验宇宙学，解决超新星遗迹和脉冲星风的激波加速的细节，以及通过人口研究和短期变化的观察来推进河外喷流的物理学。这种新型望远镜克服了当前定焦IACTs在角度分辨率和视场方面的基本限制。同时，它允许应用新的、低成本的相机焦平面传感器技术。这项工作将展示SCT设计的增强性能和改进的可靠性，并且靠近VERITAS的位置将允许对已知灵敏度的仪器进行性能评估。这项工作的结果将有助于为构建CTA或其他未来工具做出明智的选择。它还将增强VERITAS天文台的能力。更广泛的影响：与工业界合作，这项工作将促进新兴技术的大规模生产，相对便宜，轻，非球面反射镜片段，这将使未来的仪器提供独特的科学能力，并鼓励在天文学的其他领域使用设计。该项目将为大量青年科学家提供一个综合研究和教育的独特机会。

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.