Related papers: Ground-based gamma-ray astronomy: history and deve…
In recent years, Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) have discovered a rich diversity of very high energy (VHE, > 100 GeV) gamma-ray emitters in the sky. These instruments image Cherenkov light emitted by gamma-ray induced…
Recent results, the present status and the perspectives of high energy gamma-ray astronomy are described. Since the satellite observations by the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and its precursor missions have been reviewed extensively,…
The Atmospheric Cherenkov Imaging Technique has opened up the gamma-ray spectrumfrom 100 GeV to 50 TeV to astrophysical exploration. The development of the technique is described as are the basic principles underlying its use. The current…
High-energy photons are a powerful probe for astrophysics and for fundamental physics in extreme conditions. During the recent years, our knowledge of the most violent phenomena in the Universe has impressively progressed thanks to the…
A large fraction of the recently discovered Galactic Very High Energy (VHE) source population remains unidentified to date. VHE gamma-ray emission traces high energy particles in these sources, but for example in case of hadronic processes…
The origin of Galactic cosmic rays (with energies up to 10^15 eV) remains unclear, though it is widely believed that they originate in the shock waves of expanding supernova remnants. Currently the best way to investigate their acceleration…
Radio galaxies have emerged as a new gamma-ray emitting source class on the extragalactic sky. With their jets misaligned, i.e. not directly pointing towards us, they offer a unique tool to probe some of the fundamental (and otherwise…
The field of gamma-ray astronomy has experienced impressive progress over the last decade. Thanks to the advent of a new generation of imaging air Cherenkov telescopes (H.E.S.S., MAGIC, VERITAS) and thanks to the launch of the Fermi-LAT…
The detection of gravitational waves and neutrinos from astrophysical sources with gamma-ray counterparts officially started the era of Multi-Messenger Astronomy. Their transient and extreme nature implies that monitoring the VHE sky is…
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is planned to be the next generation ground based observatory for very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray astronomy. Gamma-rays provide a powerful insight into the non-thermal universe and hopefully a unique…
The present generation of ground-based Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray observatories consist of arrays of up to four large (> 12m diameter) light collectors quite similar to those used by R. Hanbury Brown to measure stellar diameters by…
Context. Ultra fast outflows (UFOs) from active galactic nuclei (AGN) are expected to lead to the formation of sub-relativistic strong shocks expanding in a dense circumnuclear medium, and thus have the potential for being efficient…
In recent years, observational $\gamma$-ray astronomy has seen a remarkable range of exciting new results in the high-energy and very-high energy regimes. Coupled with extensive theoretical and phenomenological studies of non-thermal…
Radio Galaxies have by now emerged as a new $\gamma$-ray emitting source class on the extragalactic sky. Given their remarkable observed characteristics, such as unusual gamma-ray spectra or ultrafast VHE variability, they represent unique…
The high energy end of gamma-ray source spectra might provide important clues regarding the nature of the processes involved in gamma-ray emission. Several galactic sources with hard emission spectra extending up to more than 30TeV have…
Gamma rays constitute a privileged point of view for the study of the extreme Universe. Unlike charged cosmic rays, which are thought to have a common origin, gamma rays are not deflected by galactic and intergalactic magnetic fields. This…
One of the main purposes in $\gamma$-ray astronomy is linked to the origin of Galactic cosmic rays. Unlike cosmic rays, $\gamma$ rays can be used to probe their production sites in the Galaxy and to find which type of astrophysical sources…
Recent ground based and space telescopes that detect high energy photons from a few up to hundreds of gigaelectron volts (GeV) have opened a new window on the universe. However, because of the relatively poor angular resolution of these…
Galactic cosmic rays are commonly believed to be accelerated at supernova remnants via diffusive shock acceleration. Despite the popularity of this idea, a conclusive proof for its validity is still missing. Gamma-ray astronomy provides us…
High energy astrophysics is one of the most active branches in contemporary astrophysics. It studies astrophysical objects that emit X-ray and gamma-ray photons, such as accreting super-massive and stellar-size black holes, and various…