# Presentation: 584782

## VERITAS Trevor C. WeekesHarvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

- Motivation
- Description
- Telescope-1
- Site
- Current Status

## The Relativistic Universe

- The Relativistic Universe is defined by the presence of high energy particles,
-  the sites where the particles are accelerated, the mechanisms by which they
-  are accelerated, and the regions through which they propagate. Their presence
-  is indicated by the emiossion of TeV gamma rays.

- VERITAS

##  Overview of VERITAS Science

- VERITAS

## VERITAS : Organization

-      Teaming Agreement                                            Collaborators
- Iowa State University                                         Adler Planetarium
- Leeds University                                                Barnard College
- McGill University                                                DePauw University
- National University of Ireland, Dublin                   Grinnell College
- Purdue University                                              U.C. Santa Cruz
- Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory                U. Mass.
- University of California, Los Angeles                    N.U.I., Galway
- University of Chicago                                         Cork I.T.
- University of Utah                                             Galway-Mayo I.T.
- Washington University, Saint Louis

- VERITAS 12m Telescope

**Funding from NSF/DOE/Smithsonian/PPARC/SFI/NSERC**

- _The VERITAS Collaboration_

- (Very Energetic Radiation Imaging
- Telescope Array System)

- Project Office: Whipple Observatory, SAO

- VERITAS

## VERITAS-4: Definition

- System of four telescopes
- Aperture 12 m
- Hexagonal Mirrors
- Cameras with 499 pixels
- Individual pulse shapes;
- FADCs 500MHz sampling
- High data rate; zero suppress.
- Array Trigger
- Southern Arizona location
- Dark site: 1.8  km

- History: 1996 VERITAS proposed
-             2001 Prototype funded
-             2003 VERITAS approved
-             2006 VERITAS completed

- VERITAS

- VERITAS

## World Picture of  ACIT TeV Observatories

- VERITAS

## Master Plan for VERITAS

**Operate Telescope-1 at temporary site at **
**    ****Whipple Observatory Basecamp, 2005**
**    ****Check that it meets all specifications**
** ****Optimize Camera and Telescope**
** ****VERITAS in operation October, 2006**

- VERITAS

## First VERITAS Camera

**499 pixels; 0.15 degree diameter **
**              ****3.5 degree FoV**

**First VERITAS Camera**

- VERITAS

## VERITAS              ELECTRONICS

- Pixel: 28mm Photonis XP2970/02 PMT
- Pre-amplifier located in the base of each pixel
- Readout of each PMT through dual-gain 8-bit FADC boards
- Three Level Trigger System: Pixel
-                                          Pattern
-                                          Array

- VERITAS

##         VERITAS Telescope-1 completed and operating at temporary site.
                    First Light on February 1, 2005 (Crab detection)

**VERITAS TELESCOPE-1**

-         VERITAS Telescope-1 completed and operating at temporary site.
-                     First Light on February 1, 2005 (Crab detection)

- VERITAS

## The Good News!

- Telescope-1 meets all technical specifications
- FADC camera works well

- VERITAS

- Hadron

- Gamma ray

- Muon Ring

- Hadron

- VERITAS

## Slide 14

- VERITAS

## The Good News!

- Telescope-1 meets all technical specifications
- FADC camera works well
- Crab Nebula detected

- VERITAS

## Crab Nebula

**Crab Nebula**
**4.37 hours ON;  +21.1 sigma**
**2.56 gammas/minute**
**10.1 sigma/sqrt(time in hours)**

- VERITAS

## Differential Flux Sensitivity

- Di

- VERITAS will match sensitivity of HESS
-  and will complement GLAST (2007)

- VERITAS

## The Good News!

- Telescope-1 meets all technical specifications
- FADC camera works well
- Crab Nebula detected
- Excellent site selected for location of VERITAS: Horseshoe Canyon on Kitt Peak iin southern Arizona

- VERITAS

## Horseshoe Canyon, Kitt Peak

- VERITAS

- Kitt Peak, Arizona

- Dark; well shielded
- Good Elevation: 5,800’
- Excellent Infrastructure
- Paved Road

- VERITAS

**Notes:**
Kitt Peak is located in the Quinlan Mountains.  Mount Hopkins is in the Santa Rita Mountains.

I think this picture is from the south

## The Good News!

- Telescope-1 meets all technical specifications
- FADC camera works well
- Crab Nebula detected
- Excellent site selected for location of VERITAS: Horseshoe Canyon on Kitt Peak in southern Arizona
- Infrastructure for the four VERITAS telescopes completed in April, 2005
- VERITAS on schedule and within budget and meeting all technical specifications

- VERITAS

- Horseshoe Canyon
-  site ready
-  for installation
-  of Telescopes

- VERITAS

## The Bad News!

- National Science Foundation issued Stop Work order for VERITAS activity on Kitt Peak on April 7, 2005 in response to objection to construction by Tohono O’odham Nation
- Complaint lodged by Nation rejected by court hearing in June, 2005
- New Environmental Assessment; this will be completed in December, 2005
- Telescope Installation starting January, 2006?
- VERITAS operational December, 2006?

- VERITAS

##  Meanwhile:

- Installation of Telescope-2 at temporary site (Whipple Basecamp)
- Array Operation will be tested (Telescopes-1 & 2)
- Observations with two telescope VERITAS  array beginning December, 2005
- Operation of array will be optimized
- Target date for VERITAS operation is still December, 2006

- VERITAS

- VERITAS

- VERITAS

##  VERITAS: Phase II

- Operating options:
- All 7 telescopes
- 3 + 4 telescopes
- 3 + 3 + 1 Telescopes
- 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 Telescopes

- VERITAS

- In Vino
- VERITAS

- Summary:
- VERITAS: on course
- Technically,
- Scientifically,
- Fiscal,
- Manpower
-  but temporarily
-  homeless!

- VERITAS