First optical validation of a Schwarzschild Couder telescope: the ASTRI SST-2M Cherenkov telescope
| Autor: | Giorgia Sironi, Elisa Antolini, Rodolfo Canestrari, Salvatore Scuderi, G. Rodeghiero, Giovanni Pareschi, Enrico Giro, Paolo Conconi, C. Gargano, Carlos Eduardo Fermino, V. Vassiliev, Francesco G. Russo, Gino Tosti |
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| Přispěvatelé: | ITA, USA |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Point spread function
Astronomy Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Gamma rays: general FOS: Physical sciences Context (language use) Astrophysics 01 natural sciences law.invention Specifications Telescope Tellurium compounds Optics law 0103 physical sciences Optical systems Gamma rays: generals Technological solution 010303 astronomy & astrophysics Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) Cherenkov radiation Focusing Physics Techniques: miscellaneous 010308 nuclear & particles physics business.industry Cherenkov Telescope Cherenkov telescope arrays Gamma rays Astrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Optical design Astronomy and Astrophysics Design specification Cherenkov Telescope Array Gravitation Optical transfer function Telescopes Tellurium compounds Cherenkov Telescope Large field of views Two-mirror telescope Gamma rays Optical axis Cardinal point Two-mirror telescope Space and Planetary Science business Astrophysics - Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics Schwarzschild radius |
| Popis: | The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) represents the most advanced facility designed for Cherenkov Astronomy. ASTRI SST-2M has been developed as a demonstrator for the Small Size Telescope in the context of the upcoming CTA. Its main innovation consists in the optical layout which implements the Schwarzschild-Couder configuration and is fully validated for the first time. The ASTRI SST-2M optical system represents the first qualified example for two mirrors telescope for Cherenkov Astronomy. This configuration permits to (i) maintain a high optical quality across a large FoV (ii) de-magnify the plate scale, (iii) exploit new technological solutions for focal plane sensors. The goal of the paper is to present the optical qualification of the ASTRI SST-2M telescope. The qualification has been obtained measuring the PSF sizes generated in the focal plane at various distance from the optical axis. These values have been compared with the performances expected by design. After an introduction on the Gamma Astronomy from the ground, the optical design and how it has been implemented for ASTRI SST-2M is discussed. Moreover the description of the setup used to qualify the telescope over the full field of view is shown. We report the results of the first--light optical qualification. The required specification of a flat PSF of $\sim 10$ arcmin in a large field of view ~10 deg has been demonstrated. These results validate the design specifications, opening a new scenario for Cherenkov Gamma ray Astronomy and, in particular, for the detection of high energy (5 - 300 TeV) gamma rays and wide-field observations with CTA. Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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