TeV Studies of Active Galactic Nuclei and Starburst Galaxies with the VERITAS Gamma-ray Observatory

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS), located at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory basecamp of Mt. Hopkins, AZ, became fully operational in the Spring of 2007. VERITAS probes the extreme physics of sources such as the jets of Active Galactic Nuclei, Supernovae Remnants and microquasars. The discovery of three new blazars and the detection of several other sources during the 2007-2008 season proves the potential of the VERITAS array. In the following years, VERITAS is expected to further expand the catalog of Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray sources in the Northern Hemisphere and also to contribute significantly in multiwavelength (from radio through optical, UV and X-rays to VHE gamma rays) observing campaigns. It will also be a very important complement to the Fermi Large Area Telescope launched by NASA in June 2008.

This award will provide the Adler Planetarium base support for the staff's VERITAS science and service efforts over the next three years. The Adler group's service efforts are focused on further development and maintenance of the VERITAS optical pointing monitor and related systems in order to improve the effective resolution and sensitivity of the VERITAS telescopes. The analysis efforts will be in studies of Active Galactic Nuclei and Starburst Galaxies. The group will continue to support multiwavelength and multi-messenger (neutrino) studies complementing the TeV data obtained with VERITAS.

For the broader impacts of the program, the PI is the project leader for the VERITAS Education and Public Outreach (EPO) program. The Adler group will be involved in creating content for a general audience website, as well as materials for on site demonstrations and exhibit kiosks. The Adler Planetarium's Space Visualization Laboratory (SVL) coordinates production of the VERITAS interactives, but most of the work is contributed by students or post doctorals from individual VERITAS groups. Through these efforts, the VERITAS post-doctoral associates will have the opportunity to learn best-practices in EPO techniques.