HAWC: A Next Generation VHE All-Sky Telescope
- Physics Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States)
The study of the universe at energies above 100 GeV is a relatively new and exciting field. The current generation of pointed instruments have detected TeV gamma rays from at least 10 sources and the next generation of detectors promises a large increase in sensitivity. We have also seen the development of a new type of all-sky monitor in this energy regime based on water Cherenkov technology (Milagro). To fully understand the universe at these extreme energies requires a highly sensitive detector capable of continuously monitoring the entire overhead sky. Such an instrument could observe prompt emission from gamma-ray bursts and probe the limits of Lorentz invariance at high energies. With sufficient sensitivity it could detect short transients ({approx}15 minutes) from active galaxies and study the time structure of flares at energies unattainable to space-based instruments. Unlike pointed instruments a wide-field instrument can make an unbiased study of all active galaxies and enable many multi-wavelength campaigns to study these objects. This paper describes the design and performance of a next generation water Cherenkov detector. To attain a low energy threshold and have high sensitivity the detector should be located at high altitude (> 4km) and have a large area ({approx}40,000 m2). Such an instrument could detect gamma ray bursts beyond a redshift of 1, observe flares from active galaxies as short as 15 minutes in duration, and survey the overhead sky at a level {approx} 30 mCrab in one year.
- OSTI ID:
- 20630517
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 745, Issue 1; Conference: 2. international symposium on high energy gamma-ray astronomy, Heidelberg (Germany), 26-30 Jul 2004; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1878412; (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); HAWC Collaboration; ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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