The ASTRI camera for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

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Catalano, Osvaldo ; Capalbi, Milvia ; Gargano, Carmelo ; Giarrusso, Salvo ; Impiombato, Domenico ; La Rosa, Giovanni ; Maccarone, Maria Concetta ; Mineo, Teresa ; Russo, Francesco ; Sangiorgi, Pierluca ; Segreto, Alberto ; Sottile, Giuseppe ; Biondo, Benedetto ; Bonanno, Giovanni ; Garozzo, Salvatore ; Grillo, Alessandro ; Marano, Davide ; Romeo, Giuseppe ; Scuderi, Salvatore ; Canestrari, Rodolfo ; Conconi, Paolo ; Giro, Enrico ; Pareschi, Giovanni ; Sironi, Giorgia ; Conforti, Vito ; Gianotti, Fulvio ; Gimenes, Renato ; CTA ASTRI Project ; Evans, CJ ; Simard, L ; Takami, H

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: GROUND-BASED AND AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION FOR ASTRONOMY VII; v. 10702, p. 16-pg., 2018-01-01.

Abstract

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) foresees, in its southern site (Chile), the implementation of up to 70 small-sized telescopes (SSTs), which will extend the energy coverage up to hundreds of TeV. It has been proposed that one of the first set of CTA SSTs will be represented by the ASTRI mini-array, which includes (at least) nine ASTRI telescopes. The end-to-end prototype of such telescopes, named the ASTRI SST-2M, is installed in Italy and it is now completing the overall commissioning and entering the science verification phase. ASTRI telescopes are characterized by an optical system based on a dual-mirror Schwarzschild-Couder design and a camera at the focal plane composed of silicon photomultiplier sensors managed by a fast read-out electronics specifically designed. Based on a custom peak-detector mode, the ASTRI camera electronics is designed to perform Cherenkov signal detection, trigger generation, digital conversion of the signals and data transmission to the camera server. In this contribution we will describe the main features of the ASTRI camera, its performance and results obtained during the commissioning phase of the ASTRI SST-2M prototype in view of the ASTRI mini-array implementation. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/10559-5 - Investigation of high energy and plasma astrophysics phenomena: theory, numerical simulations, observations, and instrument development for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA)
• Grantee: Elisabete Maria de Gouveia Dal Pino
• Support Opportunities: Special Projects