TY - GEN
T1 - Schwarzschild-Couder telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array
T2 - 33rd International Cosmic Rays Conference, ICRC 2013
AU - FOR THE CTA CONSORTIUM.
AU - Vassiliev, V.
AU - Benbow, W.
AU - Bouvier, A.
AU - Briggs, M.
AU - Buckley, J.
AU - Byrum, K.
AU - Cameron, R.
AU - Connaughton, V.
AU - Criswell, S.
AU - Digel, S.
AU - Errando, M.
AU - Funk, S.
AU - Guarino, V.
AU - Humensky, B.
AU - Kaaret, P.
AU - Kieda, D.
AU - Krennrich, F.
AU - Mukherjee, R.
AU - Naumann, D.
AU - Nieto, D.
AU - Northrop, R.
AU - Okumura, A.
AU - Ong, R.
AU - Otte, N.
AU - Rousselle, J.
AU - Schlenstedt, S.
AU - Tajima, H.
AU - Vandenbroucke, J.
AU - Wakely, S.
AU - Weinstein, A.
AU - Williams, D.
AU - Zhao, H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2013 Sociedade Brasileira de Fisica. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory, which is expected to propel very-high-energy (VHE; E ¿ 30 GeV) astrophysics research to an unprecedented level. This will be achieved through the operation of a large array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs), which simultaneously image Cherenkov light from the atmospheric cascades from multiple positions around it. This offers the possibility to significantly improve angular resolution and background rejection if the pixel size of the IACT cameras is reduced by at least a factor of two compared to current instruments such as VERITAS, H.E.S.S., and MAGIC. We have proposed and are developing a novel IACT design for CTA utilizing a Schwarzschild-Couder (SC) aplanatic two-mirror optical system capable of achieving this goal. In comparison with the traditional single mirror Davies-Cotton IACT, the SC telescope can accommodate a wide field of view simultaneously with significantly improved imaging resolution. In addition, the reduced plate scale of an SC telescope makes it compatible with highly integrated cameras assembled from silicon photomultipliers. In this contribution, we report on the development of a full-scale 9.5-m prototype SC telescope for CTA, which will be constructed at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in southern Arizona during the 2014-2015 period.
AB - The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory, which is expected to propel very-high-energy (VHE; E ¿ 30 GeV) astrophysics research to an unprecedented level. This will be achieved through the operation of a large array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs), which simultaneously image Cherenkov light from the atmospheric cascades from multiple positions around it. This offers the possibility to significantly improve angular resolution and background rejection if the pixel size of the IACT cameras is reduced by at least a factor of two compared to current instruments such as VERITAS, H.E.S.S., and MAGIC. We have proposed and are developing a novel IACT design for CTA utilizing a Schwarzschild-Couder (SC) aplanatic two-mirror optical system capable of achieving this goal. In comparison with the traditional single mirror Davies-Cotton IACT, the SC telescope can accommodate a wide field of view simultaneously with significantly improved imaging resolution. In addition, the reduced plate scale of an SC telescope makes it compatible with highly integrated cameras assembled from silicon photomultipliers. In this contribution, we report on the development of a full-scale 9.5-m prototype SC telescope for CTA, which will be constructed at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in southern Arizona during the 2014-2015 period.
KW - Cherenkov
KW - CTA
KW - Gamma-ray
KW - IACT
KW - Schwarzschild-Couder
KW - VHE
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84905177097
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84905177097
T3 - Proceedings of the 33rd International Cosmic Rays Conference, ICRC 2013
BT - Proceedings of the 33rd International Cosmic Rays Conference, ICRC 2013
PB - Sociedade Brasileira de Fisica
Y2 - 2 July 2013 through 9 July 2013
ER -