Development and calibration of the tracking Compton/Pair telescope MEGA
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.
Department
Space Science Center
Publication Date
4-2005
Journal Title
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Publisher
Elsevier
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1016/j.nima.2005.01.071
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
G. Kanbach, R. Andritschke, A. Zoglauer, M. Ajello, M.L. McConnell, J.R. Macri, J.M. Ryan, P. Bloser, S. Hunter, G. DiCocco, J. Kurfess, V. Reglero, Development and calibration of the tracking Compton/Pair telescope MEGA, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, Volume 541, Issues 1–2, 1 April 2005, Pages 310-322, ISSN 0168-9002, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2005.01.071.
Rights
Copyright © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.