Lecture by Werner Hofmann from Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Germany

22/11/2016 2016 Series of Lectures on Astrophysics and Cosmology: science of the cosmos, science in the cosmos Lecture: "Astronomy with Very-High-Energy Gamma Rays: The Sky in a New Light" Speaker: Werner Hofmann Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Germany Synopsis: Over the last decade, very-high-energy (VHE) gamma ray astronomy has developed in giant steps. Gamma rays provide a different and novel view of the Universe. They trace populations of energetic particles and enable the cosmic particle accelerators to be imaged and studied. Gamma-ray-emitting particle accelerators have been found to be ubiquitous in the galaxy and beyond. Systems of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) have played a key role in advancing this new branch of astronomy. The presentation will cover the motivation driving these developments, discuss the instruments used and key discoveries, and conclude with an outlook towards the Cherenkov Telescope Array CTA, a worldwide project aiming to take this novel exploration of the Universe to the next level. Bio notes: Werner Hofmann studied physics at the University of Karlsruhe, completing his studies with a doctorate in 1977. In 1980 he obtained the professorial certification venia legendi at the University of Dortmund. From 1984 to 1987 he worked as assistant and associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was appointed a full professor of physics in 1987. Director of the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg since 1988, the focus of his research is high-energy gamma ray astronomy using the HESS telescopes, and the preparation of the next-generation telescope system CTA. Together with the HESS team, he received the 2006 Descartes Prize from the European Commission, and in 2010 obtained the Rossi Prize of the American Astronomical Society. He holds the 2015 Smoluchowski-Warburg Prize of the Polish Physical Society and the German Physical Society, the 2015 Yodh Prize of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), and the 2016 Stern-Gerlach Medal of the German Physical Society.