Speaker
Description
The HAWC and LHAASO observatories have demonstrated the power of ground-level particle detection for very high energy gamma-ray astronomy. The wide-field and high duty cycle nature of this approach is highly complementatary to the more well-established imaging atmospheric Cherenkov Technique technique. The Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) is a global effort towards a next generation observatory of this type, to be located in the Andes of South America. SWGO is targetting transient astrophysics, large-scale diffuse emission and ultra-high energy emission. As the first instrument of its type in the southern hemisphere there is huge discovery potential, and SWGO will strongly complement the CTA Southern Array to be built in Chile. The project is currently in an R&D phase but the international collaboration is now well established and major design decisions and site choice are on the horizon. In this presentation I will discuss the science goals and the current status and timeline of the project.
