CAREER: Searching for Dark Matter and Studying Galactic Particle Accelerators with VERITAS

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Gamma-ray astronomy impacts a broad range of key science questions: indirect dark matter detection and tests of fundamental physical laws; cosmological studies; jet physics associated with active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and microquasars; and particle acceleration in galactic tevatrons and pevatrons. Today, extremely sensitive instruments operate in the high energy (AGILE and FERMI in the range 100 MegaelectronVolt (MeV) - 100 GigaelectronVolt (GeV)) and very high energy (VHE) (HAWC, HESS, MAGIC, VERITAS at energies greater than 100 GeV;) regimes simultaneously. Among the most exciting results from VERITAS are the detection of emission from the Crab Pulsar above 100 GeV (requiring the presence of a new emission component), the discovery of gamma-ray emission from a starburst galaxy, M82 (firmly associating cosmic-ray acceleration with star-forming regions), and the detection of correlated variability in the radio and Teraelectronvolt (TeV) regimes in radio galaxies (helping to constrain the emission to be originating within the jet collimation region). The upper limit on the gamma-ray emission from the Segue 1 dwarf galaxy set by VERITAS rules out most of the leptophilic dark matter parameter space favored by recent cosmic-ray positron measurements. A major upgrade to the VERITAS cameras during summer 2012 introduced high-quantum-efficiency photo multiplier tubes to lower the energy threshold of the array by 30%, and the array will be further augmented by the arrival in 2015 of a prototype 10 meter class Schwarzschild-Couder telescope under development for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). Following the recent VERITAS hardware upgrade, great promise for further improving the science potential of the instrument comes from a focus on data analysis. This CAREER award provides support for developing major improvements in VERITAS data analysis methods aimed at lowering the analysis threshold, improving angular and energy resolution, and increasing background discrimination. It will also support analysis of VERITAS data to search for dark matter signals from the Galactic Halo, Fermi unassociated sources, and related targets, as well as studies of Galactic accelerators of cosmic rays. Broader impacts: The science of VERITAS and CTA - searching for dark matter and investigating the most powerful cosmic accelerators - has broad applications to both astro- and particle physics, and addresses questions that can capture the public's imagination. Group members will share that excitement via public lectures at area high schools and to groups in the local Morningside Heights and Harlem areas of Manhattan and Westchester County, and by engaging undergraduates and area high school students in the group's research activities. As a centerpiece to tie together these outreach activities, the group plans to develop a Visitor Center at Nevis Labs that will occupy both physical and virtual spaces and provide a focal point for visiting groups to learn about the history and current research at Nevis.