Project title: Very high energy astrophysics with H.E.S.S.
Funding basis: Decision 2021/WK/06 of the Ministry of Education and Science
Project budget: : 412 847,37 PLN (total - consortium) and 338 097,37 PLN (CAMK)
Description:
The overriding goal of the project is to provide Polish scientists with the opportunity to continue research in the field of very high energy gamma-ray astrophysics using the international High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) observatory in Namibia. These telescopes are designed to observe the Universe in the very high energies, between several dozen GeV and about 100 TeV (the so-called VHE range). Telescopes of the H.E.S.S. Observatory record the Cherenkov radiation produced by the particles of the atmospheric shower resulting from the interaction of high-energy gamma photons with the Earth's atmosphere. The images of the shower make it possible to reconstruct the energy of the original gamma photon and to determine its incoming direction.
Scientific objectives of the H.E.S.S. belong to three main thematic groups:
1) searching for sources of cosmic rays (cosmic particle accelerators) and studying their properties and role in the Universe, with particular emphasis on the study of remnants of supernova explosions, pulsar nebulae, pulsars, micro-quasars, binary star systems, star formation regions, galaxies, blazars, radio galaxies, and gamma ray bursts;
2) study of the extragalactic background light (EBL) and the properties and structure of the intergalactic magnetic field;
3) testing fundamental physical theories by looking for traces of dark matter particle annihilation and studying Lorentz invariance. These studies are supplemented by cooperation with observatories operating in other energy ranges, the development of new data analysis methods and the use of modern computer methods for simulation and data acquisition.
