Particle Astrophysics with VERITAS

最近关于我们宇宙的一些最令人震惊的发现是通过望远镜和仪器收集来自太空的自然辐射形式而获得的，这些辐射是人眼不可见的。 例如，2002年诺贝尔物理学奖授予了致力于收集天体物理学X射线和太阳中微子的科学家。 这项建议是为了支持芝加哥大学的一个小组参与探索天文学的下一个前沿，即从空间观测高能伽马射线。 VERITAS（甚高能辐射成像望远镜阵列系统）望远镜是一个收集器阵列，用于探测高能伽马射线在高层大气中相互作用产生的小闪光。 早期的探路者望远镜已经发现了这种高能辐射的几个来源。 这些来源显然既存在于我们的银河系内，也存在于高能的河外天体中。 VERITAS的探测灵敏度是现有望远镜的50倍以上，预计将发现许多新的辐射源。 VERITAS项目是美国、加拿大和欧洲13个机构之间的合作项目。阵列的建设由史密森天体物理观测站管理，项目办公室位于亚利桑那州图森附近。 除了积极参与这一新天文学科学的发展外，芝加哥还在该提案支持的VERITAS阵列硬件和软件的建设中发挥关键作用。 这些活动包括在每个VERITAS收集器的焦点处构建相机的关键组件，在芝加哥高海湾地区全面集成仪器，以及从VERITAS收集数据。所有这些努力将涉及研究生和博士后研究助理，除了参与教师。 VERITAS阵列目前正在建造中，将于2006年完工。 第一批科学成果预计将在这一时间范围内出现。

Some of the most astounding recent discoveries about our universe have been made by telescopes and instruments collecting forms of natural radiation from space, which are invisible to the human eye. For example, the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to scientists who worked in collecting astrophysical x-rays and solar neutrinos. This proposal is to support a group at the University of Chicago for participation in the exploration of the next frontier in astronomy, the observation of high-energy gamma rays from space. The VERITAS (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) telescope is an array of collectors which detect the small light flashes produced by high-energy gamma rays interacting in the upper atmosphere. Several sources of this high-energy radiation have been discovered with earlier pathfinder telescopes. These sources apparently exist both within our galaxy and in energetic extragalactic objects. VERITAS has a detection sensitivity over fifty times larger than existing telescopes, and is expected to discover many new sources of this radiation. The VERITAS project is a collaboration between 13 institutions in the USA, Canada and Europe. The array construction is managed by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, with a project office located near Tucson, Arizona. Apart from an active involvement in the development of the science of this new astronomy, Chicago has key roles in the construction of the VERITAS array hardware and software supported by this proposal. These activities include building key components of the camera at the focus of each VERITAS collector, the overall integration of the instrumentation in the Chicago high-bay area, and the collection of data from VERITAS. All of these efforts will involve graduate students and postdoctoral research associates, in addition to the faculty members involved. The VERITAS array is at present under construction for completion in 2006. The first scientific results are expected to appear in this time-frame.