Windows for the Small-Sized Telescope (SST) Cameras of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA)

切伦科夫望远镜阵列 (CTA) 小型望远镜 (SST) 相机的窗口

• 批准号: ST/Z000017/1
• 负责人: Paula Chadwick
• 金额: $ 69.54万
• 依托单位: Durham University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ST%2FZ000017%2F1
• 关键词: Windows; Small; Sized; Telescope; SST

Gamma-rays are the highest energy photons coming from the Universe. They don't pass through the Earth's atmosphere, but it is possible to detect them from the ground via the flashes of faint, blue light which they create in the upper atmosphere, known as Cherenkov radiation. A team in the UK is involved in building a new system of telescopes, called the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), to detect this radiation and hence pinpoint where the gamma-rays come from and what energy they are. There will be two arrays of telescopes, one in the Northern Hemisphere (on La Palma) and one in the South (in Chile). Both arrays include telescopes of different sizes to detect gamma-rays of different energy. The Southern array will contain many 10s of small-sized telescopes (SSTs) which are designed to detect the most energetic and rarest gamma-rays that CTA will see. The UK team is involved in building the cameras for the SSTs. These cameras need very sophisticated windows to perform 4 functions:i. protect the light detectors (SiPMs) from dust and water;ii. act as filter to remove the night-sky background (in the red region of the spectrum) while providing high transmission in the blue/ultraviolet;iii. act as an anti-reflective coating for high angles of incidence; andiv. stop infrared photons from the SiPMs from being reflected off the rear surface of the window.This challenging problem is one on which we have been working with coating company Thin Metal Films (TMF) in Basingstoke. They have designed a unique hafnium dioxide/silicon dioxide coating which fulfils all the requirements. This grant will fund the production of all 50 windows needed for the cameras in the UK.

伽马射线是来自宇宙的最高能量光子。它们不会穿过地球的大气层，但是可以通过在上层大气中创建的微弱的蓝光闪烁（称为Cherenkov辐射）从地面上检测到它们。英国的一个团队参与建立一个新的望远镜系统，称为Cherenkov望远镜阵列（CTA），以检测这种辐射，从而确定伽马射线来自哪里以及它们的能量。将有两个望远镜的望远镜，一个在北半球（在La Palma上），一个在南部（智利）。两个阵列都包括不同尺寸的望远镜，以检测不同能量的伽马射线。南部阵列将包含许多10秒的小型望远镜（SST），这些望远镜（SST）旨在检测CTA将会看到的最有活力，最稀有的伽马射线。英国团队参与为SST构建相机。这些相机需要非常复杂的窗口才能执行4个功能：i。保护轻探测器（sipm）免受灰尘和水； ii。充当过滤器，以去除夜间天空背景（在光谱的红色区域），同时在蓝色/紫外线中提供高传输； iii。充当高发角度的抗反射涂层；安迪夫。从sipm的停止红外光子从窗户的后表面反射出来。这个具有挑战性的问题是我们一直在贝辛斯托克（Basingstoke）与涂料公司薄金属膜（TMF）合作的问题。他们设计了一个独特的二氧化碳/二氧化硅涂料，可满足所有要求。该赠款将资助英国相机所需的所有50个窗户的制作。