Next Generation Telescopes

The exciting advances made by the present generation of imaging telescopes (second generation systems) justify the construction of arrays of imaging telescopes (third generation systems). Such systems should have the following properties:

• Larger effective area: $\mathrel{\hbox{\rlap{\hbox{\lower4pt\hbox{$\sim$ }}}\hbox{$>$ }}}$0.1km² to provide sensitive measurements of short variability time-scales.

• Better flux sensitivity: detection of sources which emit gamma-rays at levels of 0.5% of the Crab Nebula at energies of 200GeV in 50 hours of observation.

• Reduced energy threshold: an effective energy threshold of $\mathrel{\hbox{\rlap{\hbox{\lower4pt\hbox{$\sim$ }}}\hbox{$<$ }}}$100GeV with significant sensitivity at 50GeV.

• Improved energy resolution: an RMS spectral resolution of $\Delta E/E \mathrel{\hbox{\rlap{\hbox{\lower4pt\hbox{$\sim$ }}}\hbox{$<$ }}}0.15$ over a broad energy range.

• Increased Angular Resolution: $\mathrel{\hbox{\rlap{\hbox{\lower4pt\hbox{$\sim$ }}}\hbox{$<$ }}}$0.05$^\circ$ for individual photons; source location capability will be better than 0.005$^\circ$.

• Increased Field of View: larger than the 3$^\circ$diameter used in many current atmospheric Cherenkov imaging telescopes.

As we will show in this proposal, all of these objectives can be achieved simultaneously by building an array of imaging telescopes similar to the existing Whipple 10m imaging telescope (Figure 1). VERITAS was first proposed in 1996 to the Smithsonian Institution. The concept has been presented at a number of conferences and a detailed description of it was given in the proposal presented to SAGENAP, the DOE/NSF Advisory group, in March, 1999.

  

Figure 1: The Whipple Observatory 10m reflector: the prototype for telescopes in VERITAS.