PARTICLE ASTROPHYSICS WITH VERITAS

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

High-energy particle astrophysics has been revolutionized during the last decade as a result of discoveries made by ground-based gamma-ray telescopes. Imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes and air shower arrays have now detected more than 80 point sources of gamma-radiation at energies above 100 GeV, the very high-energy (VHE) regime. In some cases the emitted radiation exceeds energies of 20 TeV. The detected VHE sources include pulsar nebulae, binary systems, supernova remnants, the Galactic center, blazars, radio galaxies, and starburst galaxies. With detailed measurements of these sources, we are making great strides towards understanding the acceleration and emission mechanisms taking place in the most energetic objects in the universe. The need to more fully explore the high-energy sky to search for, and understand, these cosmic accelerators is now stronger than ever. In space, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope surveys the GeV sky with much greater sensitivity than its predecessor, EGRET. On the ground, VERITAS (the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System), an array of four large atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, is now fully operational at a sensitivity level more than an order of magnitude better than the previous generation of instruments. Indeed, VERITAS is presently the most sensitive gamma-ray telescope in the world. It has operated extremely well during the last two years and is already producing a wealth of scientific information, including the discovery, and detailed measurements, of many of new sources of VHE gamma-rays. This award will support the UCLA group's efforts that will be focused on maintaining VERITAS, taking and analyzing data, and continuing the scientific harvest. UCLA also plays a leading role in the dark matter key science project that searches for gamma-ray signatures of annihilating dark matter. A critical activity in all of these scientific areas will be to incorporate results obtained from Fermi data and to collaborate with Fermi scientists. The broader impacts of this proposal include a commitment of the UCLA group to supporting the overall VERITAS Education and Public Outreach (EPO) program, which it helped to develop. The EPO program reaches local audiences at the Whipple Observatory Visitor's Center, museum audiences at the Adler Planetarium, and the general public through the VERITAS education web site.