Andrew Yee[_1_]
May 16th 07, 05:26 PM
Argonne National Laboratory
For more information, please contact:
Sylvia Carson, 630/252-5510 at Argonne
April 30, 2007
New VERITAS telescope array may help find 'dark matter'
ARGONNE, Ill. -- Scientists in the Northern Hemisphere have opened a new
window on the universe allowing them to explore and understand the cosmos at
a much higher level of precision than was previously available. Think of it
as acquiring a new pair of glasses that allow you to see more clearly. These
new "glasses" are VERITAS, (the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope
Array System), a major new ground-based gamma-ray observatory, designed to
provide an in-depth examination of the universe.
VERITAS is an array of four large optical reflectors that detects
high-energy gamma rays by observing the light from secondary showers of
particles that these gamma rays generate in the atmosphere. The U.S.
Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory is a collaborator on the
program and will provide input to the analysis of the data that the array
produces over the next several years.
"It is expected that this instrument will allow for the detection of an
increased number of gamma ray sources, possibly even the indirect detection
of the mysterious dark matter in the universe," said Karen Byrum, Argonne
physicist.
The telescopes are located at a temporary site in the Coronado National
Forest in Mt. Hopkins, Ariz., where they will be operated for two years in
an engineering mode while a permanent site is acquired. During these two
years, a number of key science projects will be undertaken, as well as
collaborative observations with the National Aeronautic and Space
Administration's next generation gamma-ray space telescope, GLAST, scheduled
for launch later this year.
The sensitive instrumentation of VERITAS has an energy threshold for gamma
rays of about 100 GeV and can readily identify sources with an intensity of
about 1 photon per minute with an observation lasting an hour. This makes it
the most sensitive instrument in the northern hemisphere at these energies.
As a collaborator, Argonne participates in the Dark Matter Key Science
Project, the Gamma Ray Burst Key Science Project, the Blazar Key Science
Project and will assist in research and development for VERITAS upgrades and
for the next generation observatory, which is already being planned.
"Through involvement in the VERITAS collaboration, we are examining other
ways to look at high energy physics and bringing to the forefront other
topics connected to it," explained Hendrik (Harry) J. M. Weerts, director of
Argonne's High Energy Physics Division. "The universe with gamma ray bursts,
supernovae, and active galactic nuclei, possess nature's most powerful
accelerators."
With involvement in the project since its implementation in 1996, David
Schramm Postdoctoral Fellow Deirdre Horan serves as Argonne's lead
researcher in the collaboration. She hopes to address fundamental physics
through the use of this instrumentation, perform more precise observations
of black hole systems, and better understand how the universe was formed.
VERITAS is a multi-national collaboration of groups from the United States,
United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada.
U.S. funding for the project is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy,
the National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution.
The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory conducts
basic and applied scientific research across a wide spectrum of disciplines,
ranging from high-energy physics to climatology and biotechnology. Since
1990, Argonne has worked with more than 600 companies and numerous federal
agencies and other organizations to help advance America's scientific
leadership and prepare the nation for the future. Argonne is managed by
UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.anl.gov/Media_Center/News/2007/news070430.html ]
For more information, please contact:
Sylvia Carson, 630/252-5510 at Argonne
April 30, 2007
New VERITAS telescope array may help find 'dark matter'
ARGONNE, Ill. -- Scientists in the Northern Hemisphere have opened a new
window on the universe allowing them to explore and understand the cosmos at
a much higher level of precision than was previously available. Think of it
as acquiring a new pair of glasses that allow you to see more clearly. These
new "glasses" are VERITAS, (the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope
Array System), a major new ground-based gamma-ray observatory, designed to
provide an in-depth examination of the universe.
VERITAS is an array of four large optical reflectors that detects
high-energy gamma rays by observing the light from secondary showers of
particles that these gamma rays generate in the atmosphere. The U.S.
Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory is a collaborator on the
program and will provide input to the analysis of the data that the array
produces over the next several years.
"It is expected that this instrument will allow for the detection of an
increased number of gamma ray sources, possibly even the indirect detection
of the mysterious dark matter in the universe," said Karen Byrum, Argonne
physicist.
The telescopes are located at a temporary site in the Coronado National
Forest in Mt. Hopkins, Ariz., where they will be operated for two years in
an engineering mode while a permanent site is acquired. During these two
years, a number of key science projects will be undertaken, as well as
collaborative observations with the National Aeronautic and Space
Administration's next generation gamma-ray space telescope, GLAST, scheduled
for launch later this year.
The sensitive instrumentation of VERITAS has an energy threshold for gamma
rays of about 100 GeV and can readily identify sources with an intensity of
about 1 photon per minute with an observation lasting an hour. This makes it
the most sensitive instrument in the northern hemisphere at these energies.
As a collaborator, Argonne participates in the Dark Matter Key Science
Project, the Gamma Ray Burst Key Science Project, the Blazar Key Science
Project and will assist in research and development for VERITAS upgrades and
for the next generation observatory, which is already being planned.
"Through involvement in the VERITAS collaboration, we are examining other
ways to look at high energy physics and bringing to the forefront other
topics connected to it," explained Hendrik (Harry) J. M. Weerts, director of
Argonne's High Energy Physics Division. "The universe with gamma ray bursts,
supernovae, and active galactic nuclei, possess nature's most powerful
accelerators."
With involvement in the project since its implementation in 1996, David
Schramm Postdoctoral Fellow Deirdre Horan serves as Argonne's lead
researcher in the collaboration. She hopes to address fundamental physics
through the use of this instrumentation, perform more precise observations
of black hole systems, and better understand how the universe was formed.
VERITAS is a multi-national collaboration of groups from the United States,
United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada.
U.S. funding for the project is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy,
the National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution.
The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory conducts
basic and applied scientific research across a wide spectrum of disciplines,
ranging from high-energy physics to climatology and biotechnology. Since
1990, Argonne has worked with more than 600 companies and numerous federal
agencies and other organizations to help advance America's scientific
leadership and prepare the nation for the future. Argonne is managed by
UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.
[NOTE: Images supporting this release are available at
http://www.anl.gov/Media_Center/News/2007/news070430.html ]