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The first atmospheric Cherenkov telescope of VERITAS (the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) has been in operation since February 2005. We present here a technical description of the instrument and a summary of its performance. The calibration methods are described, along with the results of Monte Carlo simulations of the telescope and comparisons between real and simulated data. The analysis of TeV $gamma$-ray observations of the Crab Nebula, including the reconstructed energy spectrum, is shown to give results consistent with earlier measurements. The telescope is operating as expected and has met or exceeded all design specifications.
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The Very High Energy Radiation Telescope Array (VERITAS) is a system of four imaging Cherenkov telescopes currently under construction at Kitt Peak, Arizona, USA. The first telescope has been in operation at the Mt. Hopkins basecamp since January 2005. We present here detailed Monte Carlo simulations of the telescope response to extensive air showers. The energy threshold for this stand-alone telescope is calculated to be 150 GeV at trigger level, the gamma-ray trigger rate is 22 gammas/min. Image parameter distributions, and the quality of gamma-hadron discrimination are calculated and show good agreement with distributions from observations of background cosmic rays and high-energy gamma-rays from the Crab Nebula and Markarian 421. The energy spectrum of the Crab is reconstructed as $(3.26pm0.9)cdot 10^{-7}cdot E^{-(2.6pm 0.3)}$ m$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$TeV$^{-1}$.
The VERITAS Cherenkov telescope array has been fully operational since Fall 2007 and has fulfilled or outperformed its design specifications. We are preparing an upgrade program with the goal to lower the energy threshold and improve the sensitivity of VERITAS at all accessible energies. In the baseline program of the upgrade we will relocate one of the four telescopes, replace the photo-sensors by higher efficiency photomultipliers and install a new trigger system. In the enhanced program of the upgrade we foresee, in addition, the construction of a fifth telescope and installation of an active mirror alignment system.
We give an overview of the current status and scientific goals of VERITAS, a proposed hexagonal array of seven 10 m aperture imaging Cherenkov telescopes. The selected site is Montosa Canyon (1390 m a.s.l.) at the Whipple Observatory, Arizona. Each telescope, of 12 m focal length, will initially be equipped with a 499 element photomultiplier camera covering a 3.5 degree field of view. A central station will initiate the readout of 500 MHz FADCs upon receipt of multiple telescope triggers. The minimum detectable flux sensitivity will be 0.5% of the Crab Nebula flux at 200 GeV. Detailed simulations of the arrays performance are presented elsewhere at this meeting. VERITAS will operate primarily as a gamma-ray observatory in the 50 GeV to 50 TeV range for the study of active galaxies, supernova remnants, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts.
VERITAS (the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System) is the next generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory that is being built in southern Arizona by a collaboration of ten institutions in Canada, Ireland, the U.K. and the U.S.A. VERITAS is designed to operate in the range from 50 GeV to 50 TeV with optimal sensitivity near 200 GeV; it will effectively overlap with the next generation of space-based gamma-ray telescopes. The first phase of VERITAS, consisting of four telescopes of 12 m aperture, will be operational by the time of the GLAST launch in 2007. Eventually the array will be expanded to include the full array of seven telescopes on a filled hexagonal grid of side 80 m. A prototype VERITAS telescope with a reduced number of mirrors and signal channels has been built. Its design and performance is described here. The prototype is scheduled to be upgraded to a full 499 pixel camera with 350 mirrors during the autumn of 2004.
The Gamma Cherenkov Telescope (GCT) is proposed to be part of the Small Size Telescope (SST) array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). The GCT dual-mirror optical design allows the use of a compact camera of diameter roughly 0.4 m. The curved focal plane is equipped with 2048 pixels of ~0.2{deg} angular size, resulting in a field of view of ~9{deg}. The GCT camera is designed to record the flashes of Cherenkov light from electromagnetic cascades, which last only a few tens of nanoseconds. Modules based on custom ASICs provide the required fast electronics, facilitating sampling and digitisation as well as first level of triggering. The first GCT camera prototype is currently being commissioned in the UK. On-telescope tests are planned later this year. Here we give a detailed description of the camera prototype and present recent progress with testing and commissioning.
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