News Release 15-023

High-energy partnership

U.S., Mexico join together to detect gamma rays, probe universe's most energetic phenomena



High on the slopes near Puebla, Mexico, HAWC will help scientists learn more about our universe.



March 20, 2015



This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

A new facility should help advance understanding of black holes, supernovae and the origins of our universe.

Today, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.S. Department of Energy and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) inaugurated a new gamma ray astrophysics facility known as the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory. The facility sits high on the slopes of Pico de Orizaba and Sierra Negra, near Puebla, Mexico, at an altitude of 4,100 meters, to help scientists probe the universe's most energetic phenomena.

Almost six years in the making, this facility has unique capabilities for detecting the highest-energy electromagnetic radiation, and complements other gamma ray observatories around the world. The University of Maryland and the Los Alamos National Laboratory lead the HAWC project for the United States, but researchers from around the world will access the data with the hope of better understanding some of our universe's most explosive events and biggest mysteries.

"At NSF, we look forward not only to how HAWC will help answer important questions about our universe, but also how this unique partnership between agencies and countries leverages strengths and maximize resources," said Dr. France Córdova, NSF director. "Mexico's Pico de Orizaba is a perfect location for this observatory, but it's the scientific partnership between the two countries that will make HAWC successful."

How it works

Unlike optical or radio telescopes that observe light from astronomical phenomena directly, HAWC will study high-energy cosmic and gamma rays indirectly. Cosmic and gamma rays from the highest energy phenomena, such as supernovae and gamma ray bursts, smash into molecules in the air as they enter the earth's atmosphere. These collisions set off chain reactions that produce showers of particles, including both photons and charged particles such as electrons and positrons.

These showers of particles hit the surface of the earth where the HAWC observatory detects them with an array of 300 tanks, each filled with approximately 50,000 gallons of extra-pure water. When the particles from the air shower pass through the tanks, they are travelling faster than the speed of light in the water. As they travel through the water, the particles emit flashes of light called "Cherenkov" light, in much the same way that a speed boat can produce a bow wave or an airplane can produce a sonic boom if it is traveling fast enough. The tanks are equipped with detectors that capture this Cherenkov light. With the highly sensitive HAWC observatory, astrophysicists will use the Cherenkov light to reconstruct the timing, the energy and the source direction of that initial gamma ray.

The observatory has been recording data and producing preliminary science results since August 2013, when the first 100 detectors came online. It is now fully functional with the full suite of 300 tanks. HAWC is expected to be 10-15 times more sensitive than its predecessor, the Milagro experiment in Los Alamos, and HAWC will continuously monitor over a wide field of view to observe two-thirds of the sky every 24 hours.

"This project provides unique capabilities at the highest energies in the electromagnetic spectrum," said Jean Cottam Allen, an astrophysicist and the NSF program officer who oversees HAWC funding. "NSF supports research in every part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Not only does this allow us to learn more about the universe we live in, but also the techniques and technologies developed for this fundamental research may have future impacts beyond astrophysics."

Building on a stellar science partnership

HAWC is a U.S./Mexican science collaboration with funding provided by CONACYT and the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México in Mexico and NSF and the Department of Energy in the United States. HAWC is one of many projects that NSF's particle astrophysics program and the Department of Energy's high energy physics office jointly fund.

"The Mexican government has been a steadfast partner in scientific endeavors through CONACYT," Córdova said, noting that it was the first country outside the United States to launch NSF's entrepreneurial Innovation Corps or I-Corps curriculum, which provides hands-on learning about what it takes to successfully transfer knowledge into products and processes that benefit society.

CONACYT and NSF already have held two workshops and one symposium, which brought together more than 240 U.S. and Mexican participants from government, academia and the private sector to adapt the NSF I-Corps model to Mexico and to launch the Intelligent Manufacturing Initiative. This week begins a seven-week I-Corps training program, as well. Four NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers partner with Mexican institutions in the sectors of advanced nonferrous alloys, intelligent manufacturing, logistics/distribution and petroleum.

In May 2013, President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announced the U.S.-Mexico Bilateral Forum on Higher Education, Innovation and Research to expand opportunities for educational exchanges, scientific research partnerships and cross-border innovation, which has served to strengthen bilateral scientific partnerships, as in the case of HAWC and the science that will result from such a unique facility.

-NSF-



The High Altitude Water Cherenkov observatory will study high-energy cosmic and gamma rays.

Credit and Larger Version

Media Contacts

Ivy F. Kupec, NSF, (703) 292-8796, email: ikupec@nsf.gov



Program Contacts

Jean Cottam Allen, NSF, (703) 292-8783, email: jcallen@nsf.gov



The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2020 budget of $8.3 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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