Rene A. Ong
University of California, Los Angeles
Tuesday,
April 28, 2009
4:00 p.m.
Cardwell 102
Viewing the Universe at Very High Energies
The field of very high energy (VHE) astrophysics has developed rapidly during the last few years as a result of new instruments and exciting discoveries. Ground-based telescopes, such as VERITAS in southern Arizona, have detected numerous astrophysical sources of VHE gamma rays, including supernova remnants, binary star systems, and active galaxies. These telescopes are also carrying out sensitive searches for the annihilation of particle dark matter. We expect similar exciting results from the newly-launched Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. This talk will review the status of the field and will outline the scientific prospects over the next few years.