The future space-based GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope will operate onboard the Russian astrophysical observatory in a highly elliptic orbit during 7 years to observe Galactic plane, Galactic Center, ...Fermi Bubbles, Crab, Vela, Cygnus X, Geminga, Sun, and other regions and measure gamma- and cosmic-ray fluxes. Observations will be performed in the point-source mode continuously for a long time (∼100 days). GAMMA-400 will measure gamma rays in the energy range from ∼ 20 MeV to several TeV and cosmic-ray electrons + positrons up to several tens TeV. GAMMA-400 instrument will have very good angle and energy resolutions, high separation efficiency of gamma rays from cosmic-ray background, as well as electrons + positrons from protons. The main feature of GAMMA-400 is the unprecedented angular resolution for energies > 30 GeV better than the space-based and ground-based gamma-ray telescopes by a factor of 5–10. GAMMA-400 observations will permit to resolve gamma rays from annihilation or decay of dark matter particles, identify many discrete sources, clarify the structure of extended sources, specify the data on cosmic-ray electron + positron spectra.
The future space-based GAMMA-400
-ray telescope will operate onboard the Russian astrophysical observatory in a highly elliptic orbit during 7 years. Observing
-ray sources from Galactic plane,
-ray ...bursts,
-ray diffuse emission,
rays from the Sun, and
rays from dark matter particles will be performed uninterruptedly for a long time (
100 days) in point-source mode in contrast to scanning mode for Fermi-LAT and other space- and ground-based instruments. GAMMA-400 will measure
rays in the energy range from
20 MeV to several TeV units, have the unprecedented angular (
at
GeV) and energy (
at
GeV) resolutions better than for Fermi-LAT, as well as ground-based
-ray facilities, by a factor of 5–10, and perfectly separate
rays from cosmic-ray background.
The GAMMA-400 γ-ray telescope installed at the Russian space observatory is intended for precision measurements in the energy range of 20 MeV–1000 GeV of γ-ray emission (with the angular and energy ...resolutions several times better than that of current γ-ray telescopes) from discrete sources; measurement of the energy spectra of Galactic and extragalactic diffuse γ-ray emission; studies of γ-ray emission from the active Sun; and measurements of fluxes of γ-ray emission and electron–positron cosmicray component, which are probably associated with the annihilation or decay of dark-matter particles.
•The GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope performance for lateral aperture.•Detection of GRB from the lateral aperture in the energy range from ∼ 10 to ∼ 100 MeV.•The problem of connection between high- and ...low-energy gamma-ray emissions of GRBs.
The currently developing space-based gamma-ray telescope GAMMA-400 will measure the gamma-ray and electron + positron fluxes using the main top-down aperture in the energy range from ∼ 20 MeV to several TeV in a highly elliptic orbit (without shading the telescope by the Earth and outside the radiation belts) continuously for a long time. The instrument will provide fundamentally new data on discrete gamma-ray sources, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), sources and propagation of Galactic cosmic rays and signatures of dark matter due to its unique angular and energy resolutions in the wide energy range. The gamma-ray telescope consists of the anticoincidence system (AC), the converter-tracker (C), the time-of-flight system (S1 and S2), the position-sensitive and electromagnetic calorimeters (CC1 and CC2), scintillation detectors (S3 and S4) located above and behind the CC2 calorimeter and lateral detectors (LD) located around the CC2 calorimeter.
In this paper, the capabilities of the GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope to measure fluxes of GRBs from lateral directions of CC2 are analyzed using Monte-Carlo simulations. The analysis is based on off-line second-level trigger construction using signals from S3, CC2, S4 and LD detectors. For checking the numerical algorithm the data from space-based GBM and LAT instruments of the Fermi experiment are used, namely, three long bursts: GRB 080916C, GRB 090902B, GRB 090926A and one short burst GRB 090510A. The obtained results allow us to conclude that from lateral directions the GAMMA-400 space-based gamma-ray telescope will reliably measure the spectra of bright GRBs in the energy range from ∼ 10 to ∼ 100 MeV with the on-axis effective area of about 0.13 m2 for each of the four sides of CC2 and total field of view of about 6 sr.
The GAMMA-400 project will be the new generation of satellite gamma-observatory. GAMMA-400 space-based gamma-ray telescope represents the core of the scientific complex intended to perform a search ...for signatures of dark matter in the cosmic gamma-emission, measurements of diffuse gamma-emission characteristics, investigation of extended and point gamma-ray sources, studying of high energy component of gamma-ray bursts and solar flares emission. Four fast plastic sub-detectors of the gamma-ray telescope are included in fast trigger logic in the main telescope aperture. This aperture expected angular and energy resolution are ∼0.01° and ∼1-2% respectively for gammas with the energy >100 GeV and electron/protons rejection factor ∼5-105. Prototype of anticoincidence detector based on long BC-408 scintillators with SiPM readout for gamma-ray telescope was tested on a 300 MeV secondary positron beam of synchrotron C-25P «PAKHRA» of Lebedev Physical Institute in Russia. The measurement setup, design concepts for the prototype detector and chosen solutions together with some test results are discussed. Two other apertures (additional and lateral) allow analyzing transient events not required precision angular resolution, for examples, GRBs and solar flares. Similar plastics sub-detectors included in their fast trigger logic. Using of all three apertures allows making more effective observations of GRBs (better signal to noise ratio), more detailed study of its high energy afterglow due long term measurements (because of high apogee orbit provides low background variations with time) and detailed analysis of the sources luminosity variability (spectral, angular and temporal).
The GAMMA-400 gamma-ray telescope is planned for the launch at the end of 2026 on the Navigator service platform designed by Lavochkin Association on an elliptical orbit with following initial ...parameters: an apogee
300 000, a perigee
500 km, a rotation period
7 days and inclination of 51.4
. The apparatus is expected to operate for more than 5 years, reaching an unprecedented sensitivity for the search of dark matter signatures and the study of the unresolved and so far unidentified gamma-ray sources. The segmented anticoincidence counters surround the converter-tracker and calorimeter of the telescope with the purpose of vetoing to assure a clean track reconstruction and charged particle background suppression. The anticoincidence detector prototype based on long BC-408 scintillator with silicon photomultipliers readout was tested using 300-MeV positron beam of synchrotron C-25P ‘‘PAKHRA’’ of Lebedev Physical Institute. The measurement setup, design concepts for the prototype detector together with test results are discussed.
Status of the GAMMA-400 project Galper, A.M.; Adriani, O.; Aptekar, R.L. ...
Advances in space research,
01/2013, Volume:
51, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The preliminary design of the new space gamma-ray telescope GAMMA-400 for the energy range 100MeV–3TeV is presented. The angular resolution of the instrument, 1–2° at Eγ∼100MeV and ∼0.01° at ...Eγ>100GeV, its energy resolution ∼1% at Eγ>100GeV, and the proton rejection factor ∼106 are optimized to address a broad range of science topics, such as search for signatures of dark matter, studies of Galactic and extragalactic gamma-ray sources, Galactic and extragalactic diffuse emission, gamma-ray bursts, as well as high-precision measurements of spectra of cosmic-ray electrons, positrons, and nuclei.
The GAMMA-400 telescope will measure the fluxes of gamma rays and cosmic-ray electrons and positrons in the energy range from 100MeV to several TeV. These measurements will allow it to achieve the ...following scientific objectives: search for signatures of dark matter, investigation of gamma-ray point-like and extended sources, study of the energy spectrum of the Galactic and extragalactic diffuse emission, study of gamma-ray bursts and gamma-ray emission from the active Sun, together with high-precision measurements of the high-energy electrons and positrons spectra, protons and nuclei up to the knee.
The bulk of cosmic rays are protons and helium nuclei, whereas the lepton component in the total flux is ∼10−3 at high energy. In the present paper, the simulated capability of the GAMMA-400 telescope to distinguish electrons and positrons from protons in cosmic rays is addressed. The individual contribution to the proton rejection from each detector system of GAMMA-400 is studied separately. The use of the combined information from all detectors allows us to reach a proton rejection of the order of ∼4×105 for vertical incident particles and ∼3×105 for particles with initial inclination of 30° in the electron energy range from 50GeV to 1TeV.
A new method of high-energy gamma ray incident direction reconstruction is developed for gamma-ray detectors with multilayered converters. The method uses data from converter and, if available, from ...position-sensitive calorimeter to reconstruct an electromagnetic cascade axis and to determine the incident direction of a primary gamma. For the first time to find point of intersection of gamma direction line with convertor plane, median of energy deposit in sensitive plane of convertor is used. Applied, for example, to the GAMMA-400 space-based gamma-ray telescope this method allowed to achieve the angular resolution ∼0.01° at gamma-ray energy of 100 GeV, being much better than accuracy of the past and present space- and ground-based experiments. In the algorithm presented, a balance between the angular resolution and the effective area can be found to meet a scientific goal of an experiment.
The future space-based GAMMA-400 mission is intended for direct gamma- and cosmic-ray observations in the highly elliptic orbit during 7-10 years. GAMMA-400, currently developing gamma-ray telescope, ...will observe in the energy range from ∼20 MeV to several TeV some regions of the Universe (such as Galactic Center, Fermi Bubbles, Crab, Cygnus, etc.) with the unprecedented angular (∼0.01° at Eγ = 100 GeV) and energy (∼1% at Eγ = 100 GeV) resolutions better than the Fermi-LAT, as well as ground gamma-ray telescopes, by a factor of 5-10. GAMMA-400 will also study cosmic rays in the energy range of up to ∼20 TeV due to deep calorimeter (22 r.l. and 53 r.l. for vertical and lateral events, respectively). GAMMA-400 will permit to resolve gamma rays from dark matter particles, identify many discrete sources (many of which are variable), to clarify the structure of extended sources, to specify the data on the diffuse emission. GAMMA-400 will also specify the sources and the spectra of cosmic-ray electrons + positrons.
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