Speaker
Dr
Emiliano Carmona
(Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut))
Description
VHE Gamma Ray Astronomy is today a well established and successful discipline. Among the major Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescopes in operation, MAGIC, a 17 m single dish telescope, has reached the lowest energy threshold. This unique feature has allowed the discovery of VHE gamma rays from 3C279, the farthest Blazar detected in VHE, as well as the first observation of the VHE pulsed emission from the Crab pulsar. In addition a number of galactic and extra-galactic sources have been discovered or confirmed. Moreover, MAGIC has constrained limits of the Quantum Gravity Mass Scale, the Extra-galactic Background Light and gamma ray fluxes from Dark Matter annihilation. In 2009 a second 17 m telescope, MAGIC-II, will start operation. The stereoscopic observation mode will improve the angular and energy resolution, reducing the background at the same time. All this will improve the sensitivity of the instrument by more than a factor two.
Author
Dr
Emiliano Carmona
(Max-Planck-Institut für Physik (Werner-Heisenberg-Institut))