RUI: Investigations of the Gamma Ray Detection Capabilitiesof Low Energy Threshold Air Cherenkov Telescopes

RUI：低能阈值空气切伦科夫望远镜伽马射线探测能力的研究

• 批准号: 9500231
• 负责人: Mary Kertzman
• 金额: $ 13.43万
• 依托单位: DePauw University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1995
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1995-05-01 至 1999-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9500231&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Investigations; Gamma; Ray; Detection

9500231 Kertzman Gamma ray astronomy encompasses a very broad range of energies, from a few MeV to over one hundred TeV. Currently, the critical energy region from 20 GeV to 200 GeV is inaccessible to observation. At lower energies, gamma rays are observed with satellite borne detectors. At higher energies ground based detectors indirectly observe gamma rays, from astrophysical sources, by detecting the Cherenkov light emitted from the electromagnetic cascade which results from the passage of a gamma ray through the Earth's atmosphere. Satellite borne detectors observe an abundance of sources up to approximately 20 GeV. Groundbased detectors, with energy thresholds of 200 GeV see very few gamma ray sources. The intermediate region is therefore of extreme interest, and the goal of the next generation of ground based air Cherenkov detectors is to lower the energy threshold into this region. Essential to the process of designing a low energy threshold air Cherenkov detector is the ability to model the detectors sensitivity to gamma ray induced air showers. The KASCADE simulation system is a series of computer programs developed to model air Cherenkov detector systems. The KASCADE system simulates the air showers due to both incident gamma rays and incident protons, generates a model of the associated Cherenkov light, and tests the response of a specific telescope design to these air showers. The system can be used to study the energy threshold, flux sensitivity, and gamma ray versus proton discrimination power, of a telescope. The long term goal of the research program is to develop a design for a low energy threshold air Cherenkov detector. The research program will also make improvements to the KASCADE system, including developing a more "user friendly" form of the system to distribute to interested users, undertake several small scale studies of the properties of Cherenkov images related to the detection and discrimination of gamma rays, and model cur rently existing and proposed air Cherenkov systems. A low energy threshold ground based air Cherenkov telescope for detecting gamma rays in the region from 20 GeV to 200 GeV will open a new window to the universe. If it is possible to develop this technique, a low energy ground based telescope could be designed, built and operating in less than a decade. In contrast, the next generation of satellite borne detectors has a longer development timescale, and detection of gamma rays is unlikely to reach energies higher than 50 GeV.

9500231克兹曼伽马射线天文学包括非常广泛的能量范围，从几个MeV到超过100TeV。目前，从20GeV到200GeV的临界能区是无法观测的。在较低的能量下，用卫星搭载的探测器可以观测到伽马射线。在更高的能量下，地面探测器通过探测从电磁级联发出的切伦科夫光，间接观测来自天体物理源的伽马射线，切伦科夫光是伽马射线通过地球大气层的结果。星载探测器观测到高达约20GeV的丰富源。能量阈值为200GeV的地面探测器几乎看不到伽马射线源。因此，人们对中间区域非常感兴趣，下一代陆基空气切伦科夫探测器的目标是降低进入该区域的能量门槛。设计低能阈值空气切伦科夫探测器的关键是能够模拟探测器对伽马射线引起的空气簇射的敏感度。KASCADE模拟系统是为模拟空气切伦科夫探测器系统而开发的一系列计算机程序。KASCADE系统模拟入射伽马射线和入射质子引起的空气簇射，生成相关切伦科夫光的模型，并测试特定望远镜设计对这些空气簇射的响应。该系统可用于研究望远镜的能量阈值、通量灵敏度和伽马射线与质子分辨能力的关系。该研究计划的长期目标是开发一种低能量门槛空气切伦科夫探测器的设计。该研究计划还将改进KASCADE系统，包括开发一种更“用户友好”的系统形式以分发给感兴趣的用户，对切伦科夫图像与伽马射线探测和识别有关的特性进行几次小规模研究，以及对目前存在的和拟议的空气切伦科夫系统进行建模。用于探测20GeV到200GeV区域伽马射线的低能量门槛地面空气切伦科夫望远镜将打开一扇通往宇宙的新窗口。如果有可能发展这项技术，一个低能量的地面望远镜可以在不到十年的时间里设计、建造和运行。相比之下，下一代星载探测器的发展时间更长，伽马射线的探测不太可能达到高于50GeV的能量。