Present status of very high energy gamma ray astronomy and plans for an imaging gamma ray telescope in India

Abstract

The unequivocal detection of the Crab Nebula as the first-ever standard candle in the very high energy (VHE) bracket, made possible by the recently-developed Cerenkov Imaging Technique, marks a water-shed in the 20 year-old history of the TeV gamma-ray astronomy. It gives hope that, as with the Crab today, future detections in the field, too, will be on a firm statistical footing and the attendant investigations, more comprehensive in their content and range. The present mood in the field is one of cautious optimism. This paper gives an overview of the contemporary observational scene in the ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. It closes with an introduction to TACTIC, the first Indian Imaging gamma-ray telescope, presently under-development