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Title: Technical and scientific performance of the prototype Schwarzschild-Couder telescope for CTA
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next-generation ground-based observatory for very-high-energy gamma rays. One candidate design for CTA's medium-sized telescopes consists of the Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope (SCT), featuring innovative dual-mirror optics. The SCT project has built and is currently operating a 9.7-m prototype SCT (pSCT) at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory (FLWO); such optical design enables the use of a compact camera with state-of-the art silicon photomultiplier detectors. A partially-equipped camera has recently successfully detected the Crab Nebula with a statistical significance of 8.6 standard deviations. A funded upgrade of the pSCT focal plane sensors and electronics is currently ongoing, which will bring the total number of channels from 1600 to 11328 and the telescope field of view from about 2.7° to 8° . In this work, we will describe the technical and scientific performance of the pSCT.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1807029 2011361 2110974 1828168 2011420 2200857
NSF-PAR ID:
10311519
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more » ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; « less
Editor(s):
Hallibert, Pascal; Hull, Tony B.; Kim, Daewook; Keller, Fanny
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings Volume 11820, Astronomical Optics: Design, Manufacture, and Test of Space and Ground Systems III;
Volume:
11820
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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