El. knyga: Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy [Taylor & Francis e-book]

Weekes (Whipple Observatory, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) summarizes the status of gamma-ray astronomy at energies above 30 MeV at a critical point in the development of the discipline: the hiatus between the demise of the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope telescope, and the launch of the next generation of space telescope, GLAST, and the completion of the next generation of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov detectors involving large arrays of telescopes. He discusses detectors, telescopes in space, the galactic plane, observations of the Crab Nebula, gamma-ray pulsars and binaries, unidentified sources, gamma-ray bursts, diffuse background radiation, and other topics. Distributed in the US by AIDC. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

High energy gamma-ray photons are the prime probes of the relativistic or high-energy universe, populated by black holes, neutron stars, supernovae, quasars, and matter-antimatter annihilations. Through studying the gamma-ray sky, astrophysicists are able to better understand the formation and behavior of these exotic and energetic bodies.

Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy summarizes the status of gamma-ray astronomy at energies between 30MeV and 50TeV at a critical point in the development of the discipline: the hiatus between the demise of the EGRET telescope and the launch of the next generation of space telescopes. Starting with an overview of the astrophysics of the bodies that generate high energy gamma rays, it proceeds to discuss the latest developments in observational techniques and equipment.

By presenting the techniques, observations, and theories of this expanding frontier, Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy aids experimentalists and theoreticians in detecting and explaining gamma rays of the highest energies.