Very High Energy Astrophysics with VERITAS

使用 VERITAS 进行极高能天体物理学

• 批准号: 2110737
• 负责人: Lucy Fortson
• 金额: $ 56.5万
• 依托单位: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2110737&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Very; Energy; Astrophysics; VERITAS

Gamma-ray astronomy probes the extreme physics of systems such as the black holes at the centers of active galaxies or the remnants of supernova explosions that end the lives of many giant stars. These systems emit radiation throughout the electromagnetic spectrum and hundreds are now detectable in the very-high-energy gamma-ray energy band observable by ground-based detectors. The VERITAS gamma-ray observatory, located at the F. L. Whipple Observatory in Arizona, has been and continues to be a key driver of the field’s expansion, making discoveries that, combined with the information obtained from telescopes operating at multiple wavelengths, has significantly increased our understanding of the most energetic processes in the Universe. The VERITAS team at the University of Minnesota, involving postdoctoral and student researchers, focuses on investigations that can help decipher how active galaxies power the emission of gamma rays and the possible links to the origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays and astrophysical neutrino production, two outstanding questions in the field. The team is also developing calibration techniques for the prototype Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope envisaged as a component of the next-generation Cherenkov Telescope Array. Through this effort, a citizen science project via Zooniverse.org provides direct opportunities for public participation in gamma-ray related science via crowdsourced classifications of VERITAS images that will improve the classification of astrophysical objects. Ground-based very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray astrophysics has matured as a field in the last decade, expanding the VHE catalog from a handful to over 200 objects across a wide range of source classes that represent the most extreme phenomena in the Universe. VERITAS observations combined with a wealth of multi-wavelength data from radio to X-ray, and especially high-energy gamma rays from NASA’s Fermi-LAT satellite, has significantly increased our understanding of the most energetic processes in the Universe. The work carried out under this grant is crucial to maintaining the sensitivity of VERITAS to maximize the science return on data taking campaigns across the spectrum as well as with multi-messenger observatories. New analysis methods are targeted that boost sensitivity to weak sources, implement modifications that monitor and account for changes in the overall detector throughput, and address systematic uncertainties at the highest recorded energies by the observatory. These efforts will enable discoveries of new VHE emitting active galactic nuclei (AGN) and observations of known VHE blazars with the goal to better characterize the so-called blazar sequence that postulates an inverse relationship between blazar luminosity and peak synchrotron emission frequency potentially due to cosmic evolution. It will also enable the investigation of blazar spectra at high optical depth where absorption features due to gamma-ray interactions on the extragalactic photon fields becomes important. Results from this work can also be used to elucidate the astrophysics behind gamma-ray emission in blazars and its links to the origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays and astrophysical neutrino production.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

伽马射线天文学探测系统的极端物理现象，例如活跃星系中心的黑洞或结束许多巨星生命的超新星爆炸的残余物。这些系统发射整个电磁频谱的辐射，现在可以在地面探测器可观测到的极高能伽马射线能带中检测到数百种辐射。位于亚利桑那州 F. L. Whipple 天文台的 VERITAS 伽马射线天文台一直是并将继续成为该领域扩展的关键驱动力，其发现与从多个波长运行的望远镜获得的信息相结合，显着增强了我们对宇宙中最具能量过程的理解。 明尼苏达大学的 VERITAS 团队由博士后和学生研究人员组成，重点研究有助于破译活跃星系如何为伽马射线发射提供动力，以及与超高能宇宙射线起源和天体物理中微子产生的可能联系，这是该领域的两个突出问题。该团队还在为史瓦西-库德望远镜原型开发校准技术，该望远镜被设想为下一代切伦科夫望远镜阵列的组成部分。通过这项努力，Zooniverse.org 的公民科学项目通过 VERITAS 图像的众包分类为公众参与伽马射线相关科学提供了直接机会，这将改善天体物理物体的分类。地基甚高能 (VHE) 伽马射线天体物理学作为一个领域在过去十年中已经成熟，将 VHE 目录从少数几个扩展到 200 多个物体，涵盖各种源类别，代表了宇宙中最极端的现象。 VERITAS 观测结果与从无线电到 X 射线的大量多波长数据相结合，特别是来自 NASA 费米-LAT 卫星的高能伽马射线，显着增强了我们对宇宙中最具能量过程的理解。这笔赠款下开展的工作对于保持 VERITAS 的敏感性至关重要，以最大限度地提高跨领域和多信使天文台数据采集活动的科学回报。新的分析方法旨在提高对弱源的灵敏度，实施修改以监测和解释探测器整体吞吐量的变化，并解决天文台记录的最高能量下的系统不确定性。这些努力将使新的VHE发射活动星系核（AGN）的发现和对已知VHE耀变体的观测成为可能，目的是更好地表征所谓的耀变体序列，该序列假设耀变体光度和同步加速器峰值发射频率之间可能由于宇宙演化而存在反比关系。它还将使高光学深度的耀变体光谱研究成为可能，其中由于河外光子场上的伽马射线相互作用而产生的吸收特征变得很重要。这项工作的结果还可用于阐明耀变体中伽马射线发射背后的天体物理学及其与超高能宇宙射线起源和天体物理中微子产生的联系。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

VERITAS Discovery of Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from S3 1227+25 and Multiwavelength Observations

• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/acd2d0
• 发表时间: 2023-05
• 期刊: The Astrophysical Journal
• 作者: A. Acharyya;C. Adams;A. Archer;P. Bangale;W. Benbow;A. Brill;J. Christiansen;A. Chromey;M. Errando;A. Falcone;Q. Feng;J. Finley;G. Foote;L. Fortson;A. Furniss;G. Gallagher;W. Hanlon;D. Hanna;O. Hervet;C. Hinrichs;J. Hoang;J. Holder;Weidong Jin;Madalyn Johnson;P. Kaaret;M. Kertzman;D. Kieda;T. Kleiner;N. Korzoun;F. Krennrich;Mark Lang;Matt Lundy;G. Maier;Conor McGrath;M. Millard;J. Millis;Connor Mooney;P. Moriarty;R. Mukherjee;S. O’Brien;R. Ong;M. Pohl;E. Pueschel;J. Quinn;K. Ragan;Paul Reynolds;D. Ribeiro;E. Roache;I. Sadeh;A. Sadun;L. Saha;M. Santander;G. Sembroski;R. Shang;M. Splettstoesser;A. Talluri;J. Tucci;V. Vassiliev;David Williams;S. Wong;T. Hovatta;S. Jorstad;S. Kiehlmann;A. Lahteenmaki;I. Liodakis;A. Marscher;W. Max-Moerbeck;A. Readhead;R. Reeves;Paul S. Smith;M. Tornikoski

Search for Ultraheavy Dark Matter from Observations of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies with VERITAS

通过 VERITAS 对矮球状星系的观测寻找超重暗物质

• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/acbc7b
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: The Astrophysical Journal
• 作者: Acharyya, A.;Archer, A.;Bangale, P.;Bartkoske, J. T.;Batista, P.;Baumgart, M.;Benbow, W.;Buckley, J. H.;Falcone, A.;Feng, Q.
• 通讯作者: Feng, Q.

VTSCat: The VERITAS Catalog of Gamma-Ray Observations

VTSCat：VERITAS 伽马射线观测目录

• DOI: 10.3847/2515-5172/acb147
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Research Notes of the AAS
• 作者: Acharyya, A.;Adams, C. B.;Archer, A.;Bangale, P.;Bartkoske, J. T.;Batista, P.;Benbow, W.;Brill, A.;Brose, R.;Buckley, J. H.
• 通讯作者: Buckley, J. H.

Gamma-ray observations of MAXI J1820+070 during the 2018 outburst

2018 年爆发期间 MAXI J1820 070 的伽马射线观测

• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stac2686
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• 影响因子: 4.8
• 作者: Abe, H;Abe, S;Acciari, V A;Aniello, T;Ansoldi, S;Antonelli, L A;Arbet Engels, A;Arcaro, C;Artero, M;Asano, K
• 通讯作者: Asano, K

A VERITAS/Breakthrough Listen Search for Optical Technosignatures

VERITAS/突破性的光学技术签名聆听搜索

• DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/ace347
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: The Astronomical Journal
• 作者: Acharyya, A.;Adams, C. B.;Archer, A.;Bangale, P.;Batista, P.;Benbow, W.;Brill, A.;Capasso, M.;Errando, M.;Falcone, A.
• 通讯作者: Falcone, A.