A System for Generating the Trigger Signals of the Spaceborne GAMMA-400 Telescope

Abstract

The GAMMA-400 space project is one of the new generation of space observatories designed to search for signs of dark matter in the cosmic gamma emission, and to measure the characteristics of diffuse gamma-ray emission and gamma-rays from the Sun during periods of solar activity; gamma-ray bursts; extended and point gamma-ray sources; and electron, positron, and cosmic-ray nuclei fluxes with energies in the TeV ranges. The GAMMA-400 γ-ray telescope constitutes the core of the scientific instrumentation. The nature of the intended experiments imposes stringent requirements on the gamma telescope’s system of trigger signal formation, now being developed using the state-of-the-art logic devices and fast data links. The design concept of the system is discussed, along with the chosen engineering solutions and some experimental results obtained during the operation of the system prototype using a positron beam with energies of 100–300\xa0MeV from the PAKHRA S-25R synchrotron at the Lebedev Physical Institute.