SKYMAPPING WITH OSSE VIA THE MEAN-FIELD ANNEALING PIXON TECHNIQUE

We present progress toward using scanned OSSE observations for mapping and Sky Survey work. To this end, we have developed a technique for d etecting pointlike sources of unknown number and location, given that they appear in a background that is relatively featureless or that can be modeled. The technique, based on the newly developed pixon concept and mean field annealing, is described, with sample reconstructions o f data from the OSSE Virgo Survey. The results demonstrate the capabil ity of reconstructing source information without any a priori informat ion about the number and/or location of pointlike sources in the field of view.