Debashish Bhattacharya

The STACEE-32 ground based gamma-ray detector

We describe the design and performance of the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment detector in its initial configuration (STACEE-32). STACEE is a new ground-based gamma-ray detector using the atmospheric Cherenkov technique. In STACEE, the heliostats of a solar energy research array are used to collect and focus the Cherenkov photons produced in gamma-ray induced air showers. The large Cherenkov photon collection area of STACEE results in a gamma-ray energy threshold below that of previous detectors.

Prototype test results of the solar tower atmospheric Cherenkov effect experiment (STACEE)

STACEE is a proposed atmospheric Cherenkov telescope for ground-based gamma-ray astrophysics between 25 and 500 GeV. The telescope will make use of the large solar mirrors (heliostats) available at a solar research facility to achieve an energy threshold lower than any existing ground-based instrument. This paper describes the development of STACEE, including an overview of the complete instrument design and a discussion of results from recent prototype tests at the large solar heliostat field of Sandia National Laboratories.

Detection of atmospheric Cherenkov radiation using solar heliostat mirrors

Abstract There is considerable interest world-wide in developing large area atmospheric Cherenkov detectors for ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. This interest stems, in large part, from the fact that the gamma-ray energy region between 20 and 250 GeV is unexplored by any experiment. Atmospheric Cherenkov detectors offer a possible way to explore this region, but large photon collection areas are needed to achieve low energy thresholds. We are developing an experiment using the heliostat mirrors of a solar power plant as the primary collecting element. As part of this development, we built a detector using four heliostat mirrors, a secondary Fresnel lens, and a fast photon detection system. In November 1994, we used this detector to record atmospheric Cherenkov radiation produced by cosmic ray particles showering in the atmosphere. The detected rate of cosmic ray events was consistent with an energy threshold near 1 TeV. The data presented here represent the first detection of atmospheric Cherenkov radiation using solar heliostats viewed from a central tower.

TIGRE prototype gamma-ray balloon instrument

The prototype TIGRE Tracking and Imaging Gamma-Ray Experiment is being prepared for a scientific balloon flight in fall, 2006. TIGRE is a Compton telescope for 0.5-10 MeV gamma rays and a pair telescope for 10-100 MeV gammas. It uses multiple layers of thin silicon strip detectors as both the Compton and pair converter and the charged particle tracker. The event coincidence requirement is completed with arrays of CsI(Tl)-photodiode detectors surrounding the converter/tracker and large Na(Tl)-PMT detectors below. The purpose of this flight is to demonstrate the background suppression capabilities of the TIGRE instrument with Compton recoil electron tracking and the improved angular resolution for pairs with silicon as the converter material. Details of the control and readout of the detectors will be described. Calibration results using laboratory radioisotopes will likewise be presented.