University of Utah Particle Astrophysics Research Group (VERITAS, HAWC, CTA, SWGO)

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and students at the University of Utah who are pursuing research activities in gamma-ray astronomy. It supports performing astronomical observations and analyzing data to explore the physical forces and processes occurring in some of the most violent astrophysical settings in our universe. By studying the behavior of forces and particles in these extreme environments, the researchers supported by this grant will explore the origin and evolution of stars, galaxies, and the elements of our universe. The award also supports the scientific training of undergraduate students from small liberal arts colleges, funds targeted science workshops and meetings, and provides for faculty and student science outreach activities at Frisco Peak, UT. This project uses the multi-messenger approach to combine observations from the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) and High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) gamma-ray observatories with satellite, neutrino, and gravitational wave alerts. This study will probe the nature of high-energy astrophysical sources and neutrino emitters such as Pevatrons. The study combines VERITAS γ-ray observations with milliarcsecond scale U-band imaging by the VERITAS Stellar Intensity Interferometer to observe recurrent nova T Cor Bor. These observations are only possible once every 80 years and will examine particle acceleration in a symbiotic binary system. The work will leverage the recently upgraded Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope (SCT) to increase the VERITAS detection area by a factor of about nine at energies above 10 TeV, exploring new morphological and multi-wavelength details at both high angular, and high energy, resolution. This project advances the objectives of "Windows on the Universe: the Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics", one of the 10 Big Ideas for Future NSF Investments. 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.