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International Symposium on

High Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy

Heidelberg, Germany

July 26-30, 2004

 

 

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	Hosted by
	Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik         and
	Sonderforschungsbereich 439 "Galaxies in the Young Universe" of the DFG at the University Heidelberg
	Supported by

BMBF, Verbundforschung Astroteilchenphysik
Sonderforschungsbereich 439 "Galaxies in the Young Universe"

The idea is to discuss the basic topics of high energy astrophysics in their connection to gamma-ray astronomy at energies between 1 GeV and 100 TeV.

The general topic of the Symposium is the continuum gamma-ray emission from cosmic objects and its physical interpretation, in terms of theory and in a multi-wavelength observational context - including regimes of ground-based as well as space-based observations. A special role play here also the nonthermal radio to X-ray and low-energy gamma-ray emission bands. Related activities in high energy neutrino astrophysics and regarding high energy cosmic rays will as well be covered by review talks.

The next year will see results from large ground-based gamma-ray observatories of the new generation, with imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes and thresholds below 100 GeV. They cover both the Southern and the Northern hemispheres. Thus it appears timely to discuss these results in the above broad perspective.

We expect about 200 participants or more. Four morning sessions will be allocated for invited talks to cover the topics outline below. On three days, there will be poster sessions of 1 hour during prime time in the afternoon. After the poster sessions, afternoon sessions from 16:00 - 18:00 will, in addition, include specific projects and multi-wavelength observations. On the one free afternoon there will be a boat trip in the Neckar Valley.

The Symposium is planned to consist of the following four parts:

• Part 1: Nonthermal Galactic Sources
• Supernova Remnants
• Pulsars, Pulsar Winds/Plerions
• Diffuse Galactic emission
• Compact Galactic Objects
• Part 2: Potential Extragalactic Sources
• Blazars
• Radiogalaxies
• Starburst Galaxies
• Rich clusters of galaxies
• Part 3: Particle Acceleration Models
• Acceleration in Supernova Remnants
• Relativistic shocks and Gamma-Ray Bursts
• Nonthermal particles in AGN jets
• Particle acceleration in galaxy clusters
• Part 4: Observational Cosmology and Dark Matter
• Extragalactic Background Light and gamma-ray absorption features
• Pair Halos around nonthermal extragalactic sources
• Extragalactic gamma-ray background
• Gamma rays and Dark Matter

• Felix Aharonian (Heidelberg), chair
• Zulema Abraham (Sao Paulo)
• Evgeny Berezhko (Yakutsk)
• Bernard Degrange (Palaiseau)
• Luke Drury (Dublin)
• Tom Gaisser (Bartol)
• Alice Harding (NASA Goddard)
• Wim Hermsen (Utrecht)
• Werner Hofmann (Heidelberg)
• Tune Kamae (Stanford)
• Tadashi Kifune (Nagoya)
• Laura Maraschi (Milan)
• Josep Paredes (Barcelona)
• Jacques Paul (Saclay)
• Guy Pelletier (Grenoble)
• Joel Primack (Santa Cruz)
• Vladimir Ptuskin (Moscow)
• Reinhard Schlickeiser (Bochum)
• Volker Schönfelder (Garching)
• Tadayuki Takahashi (Tokyo)
• Marco Tavani (Rome)
• Masahiro Teshima (Munich)
• Heinz Völk (Heidelberg)
• Stefan Wagner (Heidelberg)
• Trevor Weekes (Tucson)

The symposium program covers the following areas:

• Nonthermal Galactic Sources
• Potential Extragalactic Sources
• Particle Acceleration Models
• Observational Cosmology and Dark Matter

The program includes reviews and more specialized topics by invited speakers as well as contributed talks/posters.

The detailed timetable of oral talks (also as PS and PDF leaflets) and the poster contributions are available separately.

Review Talks

Invited talks

Registration is open since the 15^th of January and is handled by an external provider (CIS GmbH):

• Please follow this link to proceed with the registration.

In summary, the registration fees are:

• The normal registration fee will be 275 EUR.
• Students pay a reduced fee of 100 EUR.
• Late registration fee after the 26^th of May will be 325 EUR (except for students).
• Closing date for late registrations is the 26^th of June.

The conference papers / posters will be published as AIP Conference Proceedings, after refereeing.

The registration fee includes a free copy of the proceedings volume.

For instructions on the preparation of papers and for LaTeX as well as MS Word style files/templates see the appropriate AIP Conference Proceedings web page.
Also note the Electronic Submission Guide and the customized versions of the Transfer of Copyright Agreement and the Offprint/Reprint Order forms.

Submissions should be done via our web upload interface. Authors should not forget to send also the Transfer of Copyright Agreement via fax.

The symposium will be held in the Heidelberg Stadthalle (City Convention Center), which is centrally located in the beautiful Altstadt (Old Town) and easily accessible by public transport. The Stadthalle can be seen on the riverside in the centre of the picture below.

Heidelberg is the oldest University town in Germany, dating back to the 12th Century. Situated on the banks of the Neckar river and nestled between two local mountains, it is also one of the most picturesque. Heidelberg also sees over 4 million visitors per year, peaking in the summer months (Jun - Aug). The summer weather is usually sunny with average maximum temperatures in the range 20-25 deg C. Being a university town, Heidelberg is considered quite lively for its size with ample restaurants and bars to pass the time.

Naturally, we encourage participants to take advantage of the good weather (hopefully), and to explore what Heidelberg has to offer in their spare time. More detailed information on Heidelberg attractions can be found on this web page, which has a number of useful links (including an interactive city map)

Social Events

The social events associated with the symposium will include a cruise along the Neckar river, temptatively scheduled for Wednesday afternoon (July 28). This trip is included in the conference fee.
On Thursday evening, a symposium banquet will be held in the Heidelberger Kulturbrauerei in the old town of Heidelberg (Leyergasse 6). This will cost an extra 35,- Euro per person and can be booked together with the registration.

For an interactive city map visit the map service provided by the city of Heidelberg. The location of the Stadthalle is in the centre of Heidelberg, as shown on the simple map below. For printing, you can also download the city map.

• the city of Heidelberg,
• the Heidelberger Kongress- und Tourismus GmbH (Convention and Visitors Bureau), and
• the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis (the surrounding county).

Next page: Travel info

If you want to come by plane, the airport of choice from most places in the world is Frankfurt Airport. It is about one hour by train, coach, or car from Heidelberg. Alternative airports are Stuttgart, Baden-Baden, and Frankfurt-Hahn.

• If you arrive at Terminal 1, pick up your baggage, and the way to the train stations is signposted from here on.
• If you arrive at Terminal 2, pick up your baggage and leave the Terminal by taking a direct shuttle bus to the Airport railway stations. The bus stop is located right in front of the exit on level 2. The bus arrives every 10 min. between 05:00 and 00:30. Arriving in the night, you have to go to Terminal 1 first. To do so follow the signs for "Railway Stations via Sky Line". In Terminal 1, follow the signs pointing to the railway stations.
  It's a long way to the long-distance railway station.

Only very few trains go directly from Frankfurt Airport to Heidelberg. So you should get the next available train to Mannheim. You can schedule your railway trip here.

Trains to Mannheim leave typically twice per hour, so not too much planning is required. However, you should better get a ticket beforehand.

The long-distance train station has 2 levels: you enter at the top level, where you find a ticket office and ticket machines. Buy a ticket to Heidelberg, taking into account which train you will take, because there are different prices for different trains. For the ICE, it is typically 22 EUR. All common credit cards and cash are accepted.
You can also purchase tickets in trains. But be careful: entering an S-Bahn or other local area train without a valid ticket is not allowed and might cost you a fine of 40 EUR plus the normal price. Purchase tickets on the train only if you go with an EC, IC, ICE train. If you can: get your ticket beforehand!

The train takes about 30 minutes to Mannheim, which is the first stop. You have to change at Mannheim. Trains to Heidelberg go very often, and take only about 15 minutes. Your destination is "Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof". Here you can get a taxi, a bus or a tram -- see also local transport info (VRN).

Lufthansa provides an Airport Bus between Crowne Plaza Hotel (Heidelberg) and Frankfurt Airport Terminal 1 B (i.e. arrival level, meeting point domestic and international flights). This service is open also to customers of other airlines. Lufthansa (and some allied airlines) passengers can even check in at Crowne Plaza Hotel. Price for the bus trip: 19 EUR one way or 35 EUR return.
For more information/reservation call +49 (0) 01803 803 803.
Check the time table for Lufthansa buses.

For your convenience, we arranged a booking service with an external provider. Please visit their pages for details.

For some participants we may also be able to provide extra economy accommodation. Please contact the Local Organising Committee if interested.

Local Organising Committee

You can contact the Organising Committee by e-mail:
Gamma.Symposium@mpi-hd.mpg.de

Address:

Gamma-Ray Symposium III
c.o. Ms. Nadine Brandes
Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik
Saupfercheckweg 1
69117 Heidelberg
Germany

Fax:      +49 (0) 6221 516 549
Phone: +49 (0) 6221 516 355    Ms. Brandes