CTA Bridging Grant 2020

2020 年 CTA 过渡补助金

• 批准号: ST/V000284/1
• 负责人: Paula Chadwick
• 金额: $ 14.08万
• 依托单位: Durham University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FV000284%2F1
• 关键词: CTA; Bridging; Grant; 2020

The Universe is full of particles with energies so great that they are travelling at very close to the speed of light. They affect the Universe in many ways, influencing the life cycles of stars and the evolution of galaxies. These particles are hard to trace but can reveal their presence by producing gamma rays. Like their lower-energy cousins, X-rays, gamma rays do not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and usually satellite-based telescopes are used to detect them. However, at very high energies (VHE) there are so few gamma rays that detecting them using spacecraft becomes impossible. Luckily, it is possible to observe them from the ground via the flashes of blue light, Cherenkov radiation, produced when they interact in the atmosphere. The glow from Cherenkov radiation in the atmosphere is 10,000 times fainter than starlight, so large mirrors are required to collect it, and because the flashes last only a few billionths of a second, ultra-fast cameras are needed to record them.We know from current ground-based gamma-ray telescopes such as HESS that there is a wealth of phenomena to be studied. VHE gamma ray telescopes have detected the remains of supernova explosions, binary star systems, highly energetic jets produced by black holes in distant galaxies, star formation regions, and many other objects. These observations can help us to understand not only what is going on inside these objects, but also answer fundamental physics questions relating to the nature of Dark Matter and of space-time itself. However, we have reached the limit of what can be done with current instruments, and so over 1640 scientists and engineers from 31 countries around the world have come together to build a new instrument - the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA).CTA will offer a dramatic increase in sensitivity over current instruments and extend the energy range of the gamma rays observed to both lower and higher values. It is predicted that the catalogue of known VHE emitting objects will expand from the roughly 130 known now to over 1000, and we can expect many new discoveries in key areas of astrophysics and fundamental physics. To achieve the energy coverage of CTA, telescopes of three different sizes are needed: Small (~4 m diameter), Medium (12 m) and Large (23 m) Sized Telescopes (SSTs, MSTs and LSTs, respectively). CTA will have arrays in the northern and southern hemispheres. The northern array will consist of 4 LSTs and 25 MSTs. The southern array will add to its 4 LSTs and 25 MSTs an extensive array of 70 SSTs, to investigate the highest energy phenomena, visible mainly in the southern sky. We expect construction of the first telescopes on the CTA southern site to begin in 2021.There are currently 12 UK universities and Laboratories involved in CTA. The four UK groups developing the hardware are concentrating their efforts on the construction of the SSTs for which we previously developed the Compact High Energy Camera (CHEC). CHEC has been recently selected along with the Italian ASTRI telescope structure, from the three competing SST designs, as the basis for the final SST design. During the 2020 funding period we will use the lessons learned from CHEC to design and produce a final production-ready camera for SST. This will involve making essential changes from the CHEC design to improve manufacturability, operation, maintenance and reliability, maximise performance, and cut costs. The research work to be undertaken in 2020 includes: mechanical design modifications, improvements to cooling, a new window and lid design, updated sensors, reduced power consumption, and improvements to electronics components. We will also prepare AIV facilities in preparation for production. This will be supported by ongoing camera software and simulations development. We will expand outreach activities to include a planetarium show and UK science meeting and enhance project management and product assurance in readiness for production.

宇宙中充满了能量如此之大的粒子，它们的运动速度非常接近光速。它们以多种方式影响宇宙，影响恒星的生命周期和星系的演化。这些粒子很难追踪，但可以通过产生伽马射线来揭示它们的存在。像较低能量的X射线一样，伽马射线不会穿透地球大气层，通常使用基于卫星的望远镜来探测它们。然而，在非常高的能量(VHE)下，伽马射线如此之少，以至于用航天器探测它们变得不可能。幸运的是，通过它们在大气中相互作用时产生的蓝光-切伦科夫辐射-从地面上观察它们是可能的。切伦科夫辐射在大气中发出的光芒比星光弱一万倍，因此需要大镜子来收集它，而且由于闪光的持续时间只有几十亿分之一秒，所以需要超高速相机来记录它们。我们从目前的地面伽马射线望远镜(如Hess)中了解到，有大量的现象需要研究。伽马射线望远镜探测到了超新星爆炸、双星系统、遥远星系中黑洞产生的高能喷流、恒星形成区域和许多其他天体的残骸。这些观测不仅可以帮助我们了解这些物体内部正在发生的事情，而且还可以回答与暗物质的性质和时空本身有关的基本物理问题。然而，我们已经达到了现有仪器所能完成的极限，因此来自世界31个国家的1640多名科学家和工程师聚集在一起，建造了一台新的仪器-切伦科夫望远镜阵列(CTA)。CTA将提供比现有仪器更高的灵敏度，并将观测到的伽马射线的能量范围扩大到更低和更高的值。据预测，已知的VHE发射天体的目录将从目前已知的大约130个扩大到1000多个，我们可以期待在天体物理和基础物理的关键领域有许多新的发现。为了实现CTA的能量覆盖，需要三种不同尺寸的望远镜：小型(直径约4m)、中型(12m)和大(23m)望远镜(分别为SSTs、MSTs和LSTs)。CTA将在北半球和南半球都有阵列。北部阵列将由4个LST和25个MST组成。南方阵列将在其4个LST和25个MST的基础上增加一个由70个SST组成的广泛阵列，以调查主要在南方天空可见的最高能量现象。我们预计将于2021年在CTA南部开始建造第一台望远镜。目前有12所英国大学和实验室参与了CTA。开发硬件的四个英国集团正集中精力建造SST，我们之前为SST开发了紧凑型高能相机(CHEC)。CHEC最近与意大利应科院的望远镜结构一起，从三个相互竞争的SST设计中被选为最终SST设计的基础。在2020年的资助期内，我们将利用从CHECC中吸取的经验教训，为SST设计和生产最终的量产相机。这将涉及对检查设计进行必要更改，以改进可制造性、操作、维护和可靠性，最大限度地提高性能，并削减成本。2020年将开展的研究工作包括：机械设计改进、冷却改进、新的窗盖设计、更新传感器、降低功耗以及改进电子元件。我们还将准备AIV设施，为生产做准备。这将得到正在进行的相机软件和模拟开发的支持。我们将扩大外展活动，包括天文馆展览和英国科学会议，并加强项目管理和产品保证，为生产做好准备。

项目成果

Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array for probing cosmology and fundamental physics with gamma-ray propagation

切伦科夫望远镜阵列通过伽马射线传播探测宇宙学和基础物理的灵敏度

• DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2021/02/048
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
• 影响因子: 6.4
• 作者: Abdalla, H.;Abe, H.;Acero, F.;Acharyya, A.;Adam, R.;Agudo, I.;Aguirre-Santaella, A.;Alfaro, R.;Alfaro, J.;Alispach, C.
• 通讯作者: Alispach, C.

Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array to a dark matter signal from the Galactic centre

切伦科夫望远镜阵列对来自银河系中心的暗物质信号的灵敏度

• DOI: 10.1088/1475-7516/2021/01/057
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics
• 影响因子: 6.4
• 作者: Tagliaferri Gianpiero;Antonelli Angelo;Arnesen Tora;Aschersleben Jann;Attina' Primo;Balbo Matteo;Bang Sunghyun;Barcelo Miquel;Baryshev Andrey;Bellassai Giancarlo;et al.;Adams Colin B. et al.;H. Abe et al.;H. Abe et al.;H. Abe et al.;B. Mode et al.;H. Abe et al.;R. Lopez-Coto et al.;R. White et al.;Y. Ohtani et al.;Y. Kobayashi et al.;O. Blanch et al.;D. Ribeiro et al.;C. Alispach et al.;L. Foffano et al.;H. Abe et al.;A. Okumura;R. Zanin et al.;Colin B. Adams et al.;Colin B. Adams et al.;Adams Colin B. et al.;Adams C.B et al.;Acharyya A et al.
• 通讯作者: Acharyya A et al.

The Cherenkov Telescope Array: layout, design and performance

切伦科夫望远镜阵列：布局、设计和性能

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Proceedings of Science
• 作者: Abdalla H.

The Small-Sized Telescopes for the Southern Site of the Cherenkov Telescope Array

切伦科夫望远镜阵列南站的小型望远镜

• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Proceedings of the 37th International Cosmic Ray Conference
• 作者: Tagliaferri Gianpiero;Antonelli Angelo;Arnesen Tora;Aschersleben Jann;Attina' Primo;Balbo Matteo;Bang Sunghyun;Barcelo Miquel;Baryshev Andrey;Bellassai Giancarlo;et al.;Adams Colin B. et al.;H. Abe et al.;H. Abe et al.;H. Abe et al.;B. Mode et al.;H. Abe et al.;R. Lopez-Coto et al.;R. White et al.
• 通讯作者: R. White et al.