We describe the role of GeV gamma-ray observations with GLAST-LAT (Gamma-ray
Large Area Space Telescope - Large Area Telescope) in identifying interaction
sites of cosmic-ray proton (or hadrons) with interstellar medium (ISM). We
expect to detect gamma rays from neutral pion decays in high-density ISM
regions in the Galaxy, Large Magellanic Cloud, and other satellite galaxies.
These gamma-ray sources have been detected already with EGRET (Energetic Gamma
Ray Experiment Telescope) as extended sources (eg. LMC and Orion clouds) and
GLAST-LAT will detect many more with a higher spatial resolution and in a wider
spectral range. We have developed a novel image restoration technique based on
the Richardson-Lucy algorithm optimized for GLAST-LAT observation of extended
sources. Our algorithm calculates PSF (point spread function) for each event.
This step is very important for GLAST-LAT and EGRET image analysis since PSF
varies more than one order of magnitude from one gamma ray to another depending
on its energy as well as its impact point and angle in the instrument. The
GLAST-LAT and EGRET image analysis has to cope with Poisson fluctuation due to
low number of detected photons for most sources. Our technique incorporates
wavelet filtering to minimize effects due to the fluctuation. Preliminary
studies on some EGRET sources are presented, which shows potential of this
novel image restoration technique for the identification and characterisation
of extended gamma-ray sources.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, Invited Talk at International Workshop on
"Cosmic-Rays and High Energy Universe," Aoyama-Gakuin University, Shibuya,
Tokyo, Japan, March 5-6, 200