Speaker
Mr
Stephan O'Brien
(UCD Dublin)
Description
The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS), located in southern Arizona USA, is an array of four 12-m diameter imaging atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes dedicated to studying the very-high-energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray sky. The investigation of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is a key element of the VERITAS long-term science plan, with 34 detected by VERITAS to date. VERITAS regularly monitors known AGN through a program of regular observations, many in coincidence with observations made with the Swift-XRT X-ray telescope and optical telescopes, with the aim to build up large multi-year datasets on these objects with good multi-wavelength coverage. In addition, VERITAS has a target-of-opportunity (ToO) program to conduct intense observations during periods of enhanced activity, whether triggered by the VERITAS monitoring observations themselves or by multi-wavelength alerts. Details of the VERITAS observation program and recent result highlights will be presented.
Primary author
Mr
Stephan O'Brien
(UCD Dublin)
