The AGILE Mission Barbiellini, G.; Argan, A.; Boffelli, F. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
08/2009, Letnik:
502, Številka:
3
Journal Article
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Context. AGILE is an Italian Space Agency mission dedicated to observing the gamma-ray Universe. The AGILE's very innovative instrumentation for the first time combines a gamma-ray imager (sensitive ...in the energy range 30 MeV–50 GeV), a hard X-ray imager (sensitive in the range 18–60 keV), a calorimeter (sensitive in the range 350 keV–100 MeV), and an anticoincidence system. AGILE was successfully launched on 2007 April 23 from the Indian base of Sriharikota and was inserted in an equatorial orbit with very low particle background. Aims. AGILE provides crucial data for the study of active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, unidentified gamma-ray sources, galactic compact objects, supernova remnants, TeV sources, and fundamental physics by microsecond timing. Methods. An optimal sky angular positioning (reaching 0.1 degrees in gamma-rays and 1–2 arcmin in hard X-rays) and very large fields of view (2.5 sr and 1 sr, respectively) are obtained by the use of Silicon detectors integrated in a very compact instrument. Results. AGILE surveyed the gamma-ray sky and detected many Galactic and extragalactic sources during the first months of observations. Particular emphasis is given to multifrequency observation programs of extragalactic and galactic objects. Conclusions. AGILE is a successful high-energy gamma-ray mission that reached its nominal scientific performance. The AGILE Cycle-1 pointing program started on 2007 December 1, and is open to the international community through a Guest Observer Program.
ABSTRACT The Catania Astrophysical Observatory Spectropolarimeter (CAOS) is a white-pupil cross-dispersed échelle spectrograph with a spectral resolution of up to R = 55,000 in the 375-1100 nm range ...in a single exposure, with complete coverage up to 856 nm. CAOS is linked to the 36-inch telescope, at Mount Etna Observatory, with a couple of 100 m optical fibers and it achieves a signal-to-noise ratio better than 60 for a V = 10 mag star in one hour. CAOS is thermally stabilized in temperature within a 0.01 K rms, so that radial velocities are measured with a precision better than 100 m s−1 from a single spectral line. Linear and circular spectropolarimetric observations are possible by means of a Savart plate working in series with a half-wave and a quarter-wave retarder plate in the 376-850 nm range. As is usual for high-resolution spectropolarimeters, CAOS is suitable to measure all Stokes parameters across spectral lines and it cannot measure the absolute degree of polarization. Observations of unpolarized standard stars show that instrumental polarization is generally zero at 550 nm and can increase up to 3% at the other wavelengths. Since polarized and unpolarized standard stars are useless, we suggest a method to calibrate a high-resolution spectropolarimeter on the basis of the polarimetric properties of spectral lines formed in the presence of a magnetic field. As applied to CAOS, observations of magnetic chemically peculiar stars of the main sequence show that the cross-talk from linear to circular polarization is smaller than 0.4% and that conversion from circular to linear is less than 2.7%. Strength and wavelength dependences of cross-talk can be entirely ascribed, via numerical simulations, to the incorrect retardance of achromatic wave plates.
We present the first catalog of high-confidence γ-ray sources detected by the AGILE satellite during observations performed from July 9, 2007 to June 30, 2008. Cataloged sources were detected by ...merging all the available data over the entire time period. AGILE, launched in April 2007, is an ASI mission devoted to γ-ray observations in the 30 MeV–50 GeV energy range, with simultaneous X-ray imaging capability in the 18–60 keV band. This catalog is based on Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID) data for energies greater than 100 MeV. For the first AGILE catalog, we adopted a conservative analysis, with a high-quality event filter optimized to select γ-ray events within the central zone of the instrument field of view (radius of 40°). This is a significance-limited (4σ) catalog, and it is not a complete flux-limited sample due to the non-uniform first-year AGILE sky coverage. The catalog includes 47 sources, 21 of which are associated with confirmed or candidate pulsars, 13 with blazars (7 FSRQ, 4 BL Lacs, 2 unknown type), 2 with HMXRBs, 2 with SNRs, 1 with a colliding-wind binary system, and 8 with unidentified sources.
The AGILE silicon tracker: an innovative γ-ray instrument for space Prest, M; Barbiellini, G; Bordignon, G ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
03/2003, Letnik:
501, Številka:
1
Journal Article
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AGILE (Light Imager for Gamma-ray Astrophysics) is the first small scientific mission of ASI, the Italian Space Agency. It is a light (
100
kg
for the scientific instrument) satellite for the ...detection of γ-ray sources in the energy range
30
MeV
–
50
GeV
within a large field of view (
1
4
of the sky). It is planned to be operational in the years 2003–2006, a period in which no other gamma-ray mission in the same energy range is foreseen.
AGILE is made of a silicon tungsten tracker, a CsI(Tl) minicalorimeter (1.5
X
0), an anticoincidence system of segmented plastic scintillators and a X-ray imaging detector sensitive in the 10–
40
keV
range. The tracker consists of 14 planes, each of them made of two layers of 16 single-sided, AC coupled,
410
μm
thick,
9.5×9.5
cm
2
silicon detectors with a readout pitch of
242
μm
and a floating strip. The readout ASIC is the TAA1, an analog-digital, low noise, self-triggering ASIC used in a very low power configuration
(<400
μW/
channel)
with full analog readout. The trigger of the satellite is given by the tracker. The total number of readout channels is around 43
000.
We present a detailed description of the tracker, its trigger and readout logic, its assembly procedures and the prototype performance in several testbeam periods at the CERN PS.
AGILE (Light Imager for Gamma-ray Astrophysics) is a small scientific satellite for the detection of cosmic γ-ray sources in the energy range
30
MeV
–
50
GeV
with a very large field of view (1/4 of ...the sky). It is planned to be operational in the years 2003–2006, a period in which no other γ-ray mission in the same energy range is foreseen.
The heart of the AGILE scientific instrument is a silicon–tungsten tracker made of 14 planes of single sided silicon detectors for a total of 43
000 readout channels. Each detector has a dimension of
9.5×9.5
cm
2
and a thickness of
410
μm
.
We present here a detailed description of the performance of the detector prototype during a testbeam period at the CERN PS in May 2000. The Tracker performance is described in terms of position resolution and signal-to-noise ratio for on and off-axis incident charged particles. The measured
40
μm
resolution for a large range of incident angles will provide an excellent angular resolution for cosmic γ-ray imaging.
Context. The mini-calorimeter (MCAL) instrument on-board the AGILE satellite is a non-imaging gamma-ray scintillation detector sensitive in the 300 keV–100 MeV energy range with a total on-axis ...geometrical area of 1400 cm2. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are one of the main scientific targets of the AGILE mission and the MCAL design as an independent self-triggering detector makes it a valuable all-sky monitor for GRBs. Furthermore MCAL is one of the very few operative instruments with microsecond timing capabilities in the MeV range. Aims. In this paper the results of GRB detections with MCAL after one year of operation in space are presented and discussed. Methods. A flexible trigger logic implemented in the AGILE payload data-handling unit allows the on-board detection of GRBs. For triggered events, energy and timing information are sent to telemetry on a photon-by-photon basis, so that energy and time binning are limited by counting statistics only. When the trigger logic is not active, GRBs can be detected offline in ratemeter data, although with worse energy and time resolution. Results. Between the end of June 2007 and June 2008 MCAL detected 51 GRBs, with a detection rate of about 1 GRB/week, plus several other events at a few milliseconds timescales. Since February 2008 the on-board trigger logic has been fully active. Comparison of MCAL detected events and data provided by other space instruments confirms the sensitivity and effective area estimations. MCAL also joined the 3rd Inter-Planetary Network, to contribute to GRB localization by means of triangulation.
The WSO-UV space observatory, an UV-optimized 1.7 m Ritchey-Chretien telescope, will investigate many astrophysical phenomena from planetary science to cosmology. The Field Camera Unit is a ...multi-spectral radial instrument on the focal plane of WSO-UV. It will have three channels covering the wide spectral range from 115 nm to 800 nm and it will be operated in imaging, low-resolution spectroscopic, polarimetric and spectro-polarimetric modes. This paper will discuss and review the main characteristics and the present status of this instrument.
The AGILE space mission Tavani, M.; Barbiellini, G.; Argan, A. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
04/2008, Letnik:
588, Številka:
1-2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
AGILE is an Italian Space Agency mission dedicated to the exploration of the gamma-ray Universe. The AGILE, very innovative instrument, combines for the first time a gamma-ray imager (sensitive in ...the range 30MeV–50GeV) and a hard X-ray imager (sensitive in the range 18–60keV). An optimal angular resolution and very large fields of view are obtained by the use of state-of-the-art Silicon detectors integrated in a very compact instrument. AGILE was successfully launched on April 23, 2007 from the Indian base of Sriharikota and was inserted in an optimal low-particle background equatorial orbit. AGILE will provide crucial data for the study of Active Galactic Nuclei, Gamma-Ray Bursts, unidentified gamma-ray sources, galactic compact objects, supernova remnants, TeV sources, and fundamental physics by microsecond timing. The AGILE Cycle-1 pointing program started on 2007 December 1, and is open to the international community through a Guest Observer Program.
Aims. We present a variability study of a sample of bright γ-ray(30 Mev−50 Gev) sources. This sample is an extension of the first AGILE catalogue of γ-ray sources (1AGL), obtained using the complete ...set of AGILE observations in pointing mode performed during a 2.3 year period from July 9, 2007 until October 30, 2009. Methods. The dataset of AGILE pointed observations covers a long time interval and its γ-ray data archive is useful for monitoring studies of medium-to-high brightness γ-ray sources. In the analysis reported here, we used data obtained with an improved event filter that covers a wider field of view, on a much larger (about 27.5 months) dataset, integrating data on observation block time scales, which mostly range from a few days to thirty days. Results. The data processing resulted in a better characterized source list than 1AGL was, and includes 54 sources, 7 of which are new high galactic latitude (|BII| ≥ 5) sources, 8 are new sources on the galactic plane, and 20 sources from the previous catalogue with revised positions. Eight 1AGL sources (2 high-latitude and 6 on the galactic plane) were not detected in the final processing either because of low OB exposure and/or due to their position in complex galactic regions. We report the results in a catalogue of all the detections obtained in each single OB, including the variability results for each of these sources. In particular, we found that 12 sources out of 42 or 11 out of 53 are variable, depending on the variability index used, where 42 and 53 are the number of sources for which these indices could be calculated. Seven of the 11 variable sources are blazars, the others are Crab pulsar+nebula, LS I +61°303, Cyg X-3, and 1AGLR J2021+4030.
The AGILE silicon tracker: Pre-launch and in-flight configuration Bulgarelli, A.; Argan, A.; Barbiellini, G. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
03/2010, Letnik:
614, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
AGILE is an ASI (Italian Space Agency) Small Scientific Mission dedicated to high-energy astrophysics which was successfully launched on April 23, 2007. The AGILE instrument is composed of three main ...detectors: a Tungsten-Silicon Tracker designed to detect and image photons in the 30
MeV–50
GeV energy band, an X-ray imager called Super-AGILE operating in the 18–60
keV energy band, and a Mini-Calorimeter that detects gamma-rays and charged particles energy deposits between 300
keV and 100
MeV. The instrument is surrounded by an anti-coincidence (AC) system. In this paper, we present the noise characterization and the front-end configuration of the Silicon Tracker. Two crucial (and unique, among gamma-ray astrophysics missions) characteristic of the AGILE Silicon Tracker are the analog signal acquisition (aimed at obtaining an optimal angular resolution for gamma-ray imaging) and the very small dimension of the instrument (the total height including the active elements is
∼
21
cm
and therefore the Silicon Tracker is the lightest and most compact
γ
‐
ray imager sent in orbit). The results presented in this paper were obtained during the AIV (Assembly, Integration and Verification) pre-launch testing phase and during the post-launch commissioning phase. The AGILE Silicon Tracker has been optimally configured with a very good response of the frontend system and of the data acquisition units.
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