The Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS)

The VERITAS observatory, located in southern Arizona, is engaged in an exploration of the gamma-ray sky at energies above 85 GeV. Observations of Galactic and extragalactic sources in the TeV band provide clues to the highly energetic processes occurring in these objects, and could provide indirect evidence for the origin of cosmic rays and the sites of particle acceleration in the Universe. In this chapter, we describe the VERITAS telescopes and their operation, as well as analysis procedures, and present results from scientific observations, which include extragalactic science, Galactic physics, and studies of fundamental physics and cosmology.