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

极高能（VHE）伽马射线天体物理学已经被当前一代在100 GeV - 10 TeV能量范围内运行的地面伽马射线天文台所做的一些惊人发现所改变。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，它们通过大气中伽马射线引发的电磁级联中的二次电子的切伦科夫光探测VHE伽马射线。开发灵敏度更高的新仪器不可能通过简单复制或升级现有设备来实现。凭借该奖项，支持者将在史瓦西和库德的工作基础上建造一台新型伽马射线望远镜，该望远镜有可能改变该领域。它结合了光学、机械和电子学的原创思想，以与现有仪器相当的成本在角分辨率和视场方面实现了实质性的增益。国际切伦科夫望远镜阵列（CTA）联盟正在准备未来的IACT阵列，其灵敏度提高十倍，能量覆盖范围更广，以利用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是在银河系中心和晕中非常深入地寻找暗物质，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冲击加速的细节，并通过人口研究和观测短-这种新的望远镜克服了当前主焦点IACT在角分辨率和视场方面的基本限制。与此同时，它允许将新的、低成本的技术应用于相机焦平面传感器。这项工作将证明SCT设计的增强性能和改进的可靠性，并且邻近VERITAS的位置将允许根据已知灵敏度的仪器对性能进行评价。这一努力的结果将有助于为CTA或其他未来工具的构建做出明智的选择。更广泛的影响：这项工作将与工业界合作，促进新兴技术的大规模生产相对便宜，轻，非球面镜部分，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的设计。该项目将为大量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.