The Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) is a
gamma-ray observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
to be constructed in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
.
It is designed to detect
air shower particles initiated by
gamma rays
A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically ...
entering the
Earth's atmosphere.
The SWGO Collaboration involves more than 100 scientists from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, South Korea, UK, USA.
SWGO will be the fist high-altitude
gamma-ray observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
to provide wide-field coverage of a large portion of the southern sky. It will complement current and future instruments, such as
HAWC,
LHAASO, and
CTA .
SWGO will join the worldwide
multi-messenger effort to unveil extreme astrophysical phenomena. Its main science topics are: the study of both galactic and extragalactic accelerators, such as
supernova remnants
A supernova remnant (SNR) is the structure resulting from the explosion of a star in a supernova. The supernova remnant is bounded by an expanding shock wave, and consists of ejected material expanding from the explosion, and the interstellar mat ...
,
active galactic nuclei, and
gamma-ray bursts; testing of
particle physics
Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...
beyond the
Standard Model
The Standard Model of particle physics is the theory describing three of the four known fundamental forces (electromagnetism, electromagnetic, weak interaction, weak and strong interactions - excluding gravity) in the universe and classifying a ...
; the monitoring and study of gamma-ray bursts and Active Galacitc Nuclei flares; the characterisation of the
cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...
flux of
particles.
References
Gamma-ray telescopes
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