Highlights from the VERITAS AGN Observation Program

Abstract

The VERITAS array of four 12-m imaging atmospheric-Cherenkov telescopes began full-scale operations in 2007, and is one of the world's most sensitive detectors of astrophysical VHE (E>100 GeV) $\gamma$-rays. Observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are a major focus of the VERITAS Collaboration, and more than 60 AGN, primarily blazars, are known to emit VHE photons. Approximately 3400 hours have been devoted to the VERITAS AGN observation program and roughly 160 AGN are already observed with the array, in most cases with the deepest VHE exposure to date. These observations have resulted in 34 detections, most of which are accompanied by contemporaneous, multi-wavelength observations, enabling a more detailed study of the underlying jet-powered processes. Recent highlights of the VERITAS AGN observation program, and the collaboration's long-term AGN observation strategy, are presented.

8 pages, 4 figures; in Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2015), The Hague (The Netherlands)

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