The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS)

S. M. Bradbury; I. H. Bond; A. C. Breslin; J. H. Buckley; D. A. Carter-Lewis; M. Catanese; S. Criswell; B. L. Dingus; D. J. Fegan; J. P. Finley; J. Gaidos; J. Grindlay; A. M. Hillas; K. Harris; G. Hermann; P. Kaaret; D. Kieda; J. Knapp; F. Krennrich; S. LeBohec; R. W. Lessard; J. Lloyd-Evans; B. McKernan; D. Mueller; R. Ong; J. J. Quenby; J. Quinn; G. Rochester; H. J. Rose; M. Salamon; G. H. Sembroski; T. Sumner; S. Swordy; V. V. Vassiliev; T. C. Weekes

arXiv · astro-ph/9907248

The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS)

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Abstract

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 array's 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.

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S. M. Bradbury, I. H. Bond, A. C. Breslin, J. H. Buckley, D. A. Carter-Lewis, M. Catanese, S. Criswell, B. L. Dingus, D. J. Fegan, J. P. Finley, J. Gaidos, J. Grindlay, A. M. Hillas, K. Harris, G. Hermann, P. Kaaret, D. Kieda, J. Knapp, F. Krennrich, S. LeBohec, R. W. Lessard, J. Lloyd-Evans, B. McKernan, D. Mueller, R. Ong, J. J. Quenby, J. Quinn, G. Rochester, H. J. Rose, M. Salamon, G. H. Sembroski, T. Sumner, S. Swordy, V. V. Vassiliev, T. C. Weekes. 1999-07-19. The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS). https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9907248

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