Ground Instrumentation
MAGIC
Pair of telescopes to detect very high-energy gamma rays using Cherenkov radiation
MAGIC (Mayor Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes) is a system of two atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (La Palma, Canary Islands), about 2200 m above sea level. Built in 2004, it was initially a single Cherenkov telescope with a 17-metre-diameter segmented mirror and an area of 240 square metres, capable of detecting the light flash produced in the atmosphere by cosmic rays. A second telescope, identical to the first and located about 85 m from it, was added in 2008. Operated together, the two telescopes substantially improve their angular resolution and sensitivity.
The objective of the MAGIC telescopes is the detection of very high-energy gamma rays (between 50 GeV and 30 TeV). These photons come from processes other than nuclear fusion—such as those that usually occur in stars—such as the accretion of matter by a compact object like a neutron star or black hole, the acceleration of charged particles in a supernova remnant or shock waves in the jets of an active galaxy, or gamma-ray bursts, extremely violent and very brief explosions in distant galaxies. Very high-energy gamma rays can also be by-products of cosmic-ray collisions with atoms in the interstellar medium and are therefore useful for studying the distribution of cosmic rays in our galaxy. And they could also be secondary to the annihilation of dark matter particles, which could also be a very useful way to find out where dark matter is concentrated.
The MAGIC telescopes are managed by an international collaboration of 24 institutes from 10 different countries around the world.
THE IEEC CONTRIBUTION
Several IEEC researchers are involved in MAGIC and play an important role in the preparation, execution, and interpretation of MAGIC observations. In addition, the IEEC researchers are involved in the search for phenomena related to quantum gravity. They also coordinate MAGIC's activities related to atmospheric monitoring, being responsible for the weather station and the analysis of the provided data.