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S. Funk
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In recent years, observational $gamma$-ray astronomy has seen a remarkable range of exciting new results in the high-energy and very-high energy regimes. Coupled with extensive theoretical and phenomenological studies of non-thermal processes in the Universe these observations have provided a deep insight into a number of fundamental problems of high energy astrophysics and astroparticle physics. Although the main moti- vations of $gamma$-ray astronomy remain unchanged, recent observational results have contributed significantly towards our understanding of many related phenomena. This article aims to review the most important results in the young and rapidly developing field of $gamma$-ray astrophysics.
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Very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) gamma-rays provide a unique probe into the non-thermal processes in the universe. The ground-based Imaging Air Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) for detecting VHE gamma-rays have been perfected, so a relatively fast and inexpensive assembly of IACTs is now possible. Next generation instruments will have a sensitivity about 10 times better than current facilities, and will extend the accessible gamma-ray bandwidth at both energy ends (down to 30 GeV and up to 300 TeV) with improved angular and energy resolutions. Some key physics drivers, that are discussed here, suit specific features of the upcoming IACT facility, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The resulting technical solutions chosen for CTA, and the current status of the project, are also outlined.
This article is the write-up of a rapporteur talk given at the 34th ICRC in The Hague, Netherlands. It attempts to review the results and developments presented at the conference and associated to the vibrant field of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. In total, it aims to give an overview of the 19 gamma-ray sessions, 84 talks and 176 posters presented at the 34th ICRC on this topic. New technical advances and projects will be described with an emphasis given on the cosmic-ray related studies of the Universe.
As the amount of information to be transmitted from deep-space rapidly increases, the radiofrequency technology has become a bottleneck in space communications. RF is already limiting the scientific outcome of deep-space missions and could be a significant obstacle in the developing of manned missions. Lasercom holds the promise to solve this problem, as it will considerably increase the data rate while decreasing the energy, mass and volume of onboard communication systems. In RF deep-space communications, where the received power is the main limitation, the traditional approach to boost the data throughput has been increasing the receivers aperture, e.g. the 70-m antennas in the NASAs Deep Space Network. Optical communications also can benefit from this strategy, thus 10-m class telescopes have typically been suggested to support future deep-space links. However, the cost of big telescopes increase exponentially with their aperture, and new ideas are needed to optimize this ratio. Here, the use of ground-based gamma-ray telescopes, known as Cherenkov telescopes, is suggested. These are optical telescopes designed to maximize the receivers aperture at a minimum cost with some relaxed requirements. As they are used in an array configuration and multiple identical units need to be built, each element of the telescope is designed to minimize its cost. Furthermore, the native array configuration would facilitate the joint operation of Cherenkov and lasercom telescopes. These telescopes offer very big apertures, ranging from several meters to almost 30 meters, which could greatly improve the performance of optical ground stations. The key elements of these telescopes have been studied applied to lasercom, reaching the conclusion that it could be an interesting strategy to include them in the future development of an optical deep-space network.
e-ASTROGAM (enhanced ASTROGAM) is a breakthrough Observatory space mission, with a detector composed by a Silicon tracker, a calorimeter, and an anticoincidence system, dedicated to the study of the non-thermal Universe in the photon energy range from 0.3 MeV to 3 GeV - the lower energy limit can be pushed to energies as low as 150 keV for the tracker, and to 30 keV for calorimetric detection. The mission is based on an advanced space-proven detector technology, with unprecedented sensitivity, angular and energy resolution, combined with polarimetric capability. Thanks to its performance in the MeV-GeV domain, substantially improving its predecessors, e-ASTROGAM will open a new window on the non-thermal Universe, making pioneering observations of the most powerful Galactic and extragalactic sources, elucidating the nature of their relativistic outflows and their effects on the surroundings. With a line sensitivity in the MeV energy range one to two orders of magnitude better than previous generation instruments, e-ASTROGAM will determine the origin of key isotopes fundamental for the understanding of supernova explosion and the chemical evolution of our Galaxy. The mission will provide unique data of significant interest to a broad astronomical community, complementary to powerful observatories such as LIGO-Virgo-GEO600-KAGRA, SKA, ALMA, E-ELT, TMT, LSST, JWST, Athena, CTA, IceCube, KM3NeT, and LISA.
During the last two decades Gamma-Ray Astronomy has emerged as a powerful tool to study cosmic ray physics. In fact, photons are not deviated by galactic or extragalactic magnetic fields so their directions bring the information of the production sites and are easier to detect than neutrinos. Thus the search for $gamma$ primarily address in the framework of the search of cosmic ray sources and to the investigation of the phenomena in the acceleration sites. This note is not a place for a review of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. We will introduce the experimental techniques used to detect photons from ground in the overwhelming background of CRs and briefly describe the experiments currently in data taking or under installation.
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