WoU-MMA: High-Energy Astrophysics with VERITAS and Towards Realization of CTA

成像大气切伦科夫望远镜(IACT)，如美国亚利桑那州弗雷德·劳伦斯·惠普尔天文台的非常高能辐射成像望远镜阵列系统(VERITAS)，在过去十年中彻底改变了我们对宇宙中高能现象的理解。在此期间，这些仪器发现和研究的极高能伽马辐射源目录已从少数增加到近250个，涵盖了各种天体物理环境。除了阐明产生宇宙射线的银河源中的加速机制和爆炸现象、活动星系核的工作原理以及引起星系和恒星磁场的星系间磁场的强度外，这些仪器还表现出对快速瞬变事件的极高瞬时灵敏度，使研究时间域甚高能量天体物理学和通过协调多信使观测而成为可能的新科学成为可能。该奖项支持加州大学洛杉矶分校的科学家与VERTIAS一起进行研究。该奖项计划将提供对银河系PeV级宇宙射线源群体的更好了解，对扩展源(超新星遗迹、脉冲星风星云和银河系中心区)的研究，以及利用极端布拉扎星作为弱银河系间磁场的探测器。该奖项将支持对研究生和博士后研究人员的培训和指导，为当地高中生提供外展和教育，并包括对Muon Hunter公民科学计划的增强。该团队还将继续为下一代IACTS提供公认的领导，包括原型施瓦茨柴尔德-库德望远镜和切伦科夫望远镜阵列。VERITAS是由四个直径12米的大气切伦科夫望远镜组成的阵列，每个望远镜的成像视场为3.5度。Veritas采用的立体观察技术实现了80GeV的低能量阈值、强背景抑制、出色的角度分辨率和良好的能量分辨率。广视场和高角度分辨率观测能力的发展使得有可能在可能产生强子相互作用(宇宙射线和高能中微子)的天体物理环境的潜在PeV级加速区域探测复杂的形态，在这些环境中，多信使观测对源研究至关重要。此外，对银河中心区域的专门观测将提供关于以下方面的更好的知识：促进发展加速模型的中央源的光谱，以及在来自传统天体物理源的伽马射线污染较低的银河中心晕中寻找暗物质自湮灭。这个项目推进了NSF宇宙大理想之窗的目标。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs), like the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Arizona, USA, have revolutionized our understanding of high-energy phenomena in the Universe over the last decade. The catalog of sources of very high-energy gamma radiation discovered and studied by these instruments has grown from a handful to nearly 250 over that period and cover a wide variety of astrophysical environments. In addition to elucidating acceleration mechanisms and explosive phenomena in Galactic sources that give rise to cosmic rays, the workings of active galactic nuclei, and the strength of the intergalactic magnetic field that gave rise to the magnetic fields of galaxies and stars, the instruments have demonstrated excellent instantaneous sensitivity for rapid transient events enabling the study of time-domain very high-energy astrophysics and the new science enabled by coordinated multi-messenger observations. This award supports scientists at the University of California-Los Angeles performing research with VERTIAS. The award program will provide improved understanding of populations of the Galactic sources of PeV-scale cosmic rays, studies of extended sources (supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae and the Galactic Center region), and utilizing extreme blazars as probes of the weak intergalactic magnetic field. The award will support the training and mentoring of graduate student and postdoctoral researchers, provide outreach and education to local high school students, and includes enhancements to the Muon Hunter Citizen Science program. The team will also provide continued recognized leadership for the next generation IACTS, including the prototype Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope and the Cherenkov Telescope Array. VERITAS is an array of four 12m diameter atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, each with an imaging field of view of 3.5 degrees. The stereoscopic viewing technique employed by VERITAS achieves a low-energy threshold of 80 GeV, strong background rejection, and excellent angular resolution and good energy resolution. The development of wide-field and high angular resolution observation capabilities has made it possible to probe complex morphology in potential PeV-scale accelerating regions of astrophysical environments likely to produce hadronic interactions (cosmic rays and high-energy neutrinos) and where multi-messenger observations are essential to source studies. In addition, dedicated observations of the Galactic Centre region will provide improved knowledge of: the spectrum of the central source that enhance the development of acceleration models, and; the search for dark matter self-annihilation in the Galactic Center halo where the gamma-ray contamination from conventional astrophysical sources is low. This project advances the goals of the NSF Windows on the Universe Big Idea.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.