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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Development and calibration of the tracking Compton/Pair telescope MEGA
James D. KurfessMark L. McconnellG. DicoccoRobert AndritschkePeter F. BloserJames M. RyanVictor RegleroMarco AjelloAndreas ZoglauerJohn R. MacriG. KanbachStanley D. Huntersubject
PhysicsNuclear and High Energy PhysicsCalorimeter (particle physics)Physics::Instrumentation and Detectorsbusiness.industryAstrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical PhenomenaCompton telescopeAstrophysics::Instrumentation and Methods for AstrophysicsMega-Tracking (particle physics)law.inventionTelescopeOpticsStack (abstract data type)lawCalibrationSensitivity (control systems)businessInstrumentationdescription
Abstract We describe the development and tests of the prototype for a new telescope for Medium Energy Gamma-ray Astronomy (MEGA) in the energy band 0.4–50 MeV. As a successor to COMPTEL and EGRET (at low energies), MEGA aims to improve the sensitivity for astronomical sources by at least an order of magnitude. It could thus fill the severe sensitivity gap between scheduled or operating hard-X-ray and high-energy gamma-ray missions and open the way for a future Advanced Compton Telescope. MEGA records and images γ-rays by completely tracking Compton and Pair creation events in a stack of double-sided Si-strip track detectors surrounded by a pixelated CsI calorimeter. A scaled down prototype has been built and we describe technical details of its design and properties. Results from calibrations using radioactive sources and from measurements with an accelerator generated, fully polarized, γ-ray beam are presented and an outlook to future plans with MEGA is given.
year | journal | country | edition | language |
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2005-04-01 | Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment |