Regensburg 1998 – scientific programme
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PV: Plenarvorträge
PV IX
PV IX: Plenary Talk
Wednesday, March 25, 1998, 15:00–15:30, H1
Gamma-Ray Astronomy: Perspectives beyond 2000 — •Gilbert Vedrenne — Träger des Gentner-Kastler-Preises — Centre d’Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements (CESR), Toulouse, Fance
A first part will be devoted to a short overview of some major
results obtained with the most recent space missions: GRANAT,
Compton GRO, Rossi XTE and Beppo Sax. These missions are
participating in a significant breakthrough thanks to a better
understanding of the gamma-ray sources through the observation
of their spectrum (coninuum – nuclear lines), their variability
an the confirmation of the extragalactic origin of the
gamma-ray bursts.
A second part will describe the next ESA mission in High-Energy
Astrophysics: INTEGRAL, which has to be launched in 2001. Some of
the outstanding objectives of this mission will be highlighted,
with a particular concern on the fine spectroscopy capabilities
of the mission.
The last part will introduce some new concepts for the future
gamma-ray missions which will keep the same objectives as the
previous ones but again with an increase of the sensitivity of
the instruments.
Thsi will allow for example to explore the extragalactic world
for gamma-ray line studies with the detection of type II
supernovae, to probe more deeply our Glaxy with the discovery
of new binary systems including a compact object (neutron star
or blackhole), to look for the signature of the interaction of
high-energy particles accelerated by shock waves in the vicinity
of rich star associations with dense molecular clouds, to reveal
the possible interaction of jets produced in galactic
microquasars with the surrounding dense interstellar medium
…
The approach of these objectives and othes which will certainly
be revealed by the next planned missions such as INTEGRAL will
need new technological challenges which will be evoked.
Concerning the gamma-ray bursts, the observation, identification
and study of their counterparts at other wavelengths of a large
population and not of a few events each year is the prime
objective since these objects might be in the near future as
important as the quasars for the understanding of our universe.
New ideas for the approach of this objective will be presented.