Large size telescope report

Abstract

Abstract. The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory will be deployed over two sites in the two hemispheres. Both sites will be equipped with four Large Size Telescopes (LSTs), which are crucial to achieve the science goals of CTA in the 20-200 GeV energy range. Each LST is equipped with a primary tessellated mirror dish of 23 m diameter, supported by a structure made mainly of carbon fibre reinforced plastic tubes and aluminum joints. This solution guarantees light weight (around 100 tons), essential for fast repositioning to any position in the sky in <20 seconds. The camera is composed of 1855 photomultiplier tubes and embeds the control, readout and trigger electronics. The detailed design is now complete and production of the first LST, which will serve as a prototype for the remaining seven, is ongoing. The installation of the first LST at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the Canary island of La Palma (Spain) started in July 2016. In this paper we will outline the technical solutions adopted to fulfill the design requirements, present results of element prototyping and describe the installation and operation plans.

A Trigger Interface Board to manage trigger and timing signals in CTA Large-Sized Telescope and Medium-Sized Telescope camera

“…Such structure is shown in Figure 1, where the different subsystems and the signals exchanged with the TIB are presented. Further details of the subsystems can be found in [1] and [2].…”

“…read out, based on neighboring module information 1 . The trigger signal thus generated (L1) is transmitted to the TIB through a dedicated Trigger and Clock Distribution System (TCDS).…”

“…Three different kinds of telescopes will be placed in the observatories according to their mirror diameters: Large-Sized Telescopes (LSTs), Medium-Sized Telescopes (MSTs) and Small-Sized Telescopes (SSTs). The LST camera [1] and NectarCAM [2], which is one of two MST camera designs, have been designed in a similar way, in terms of functionality and hardware implementation. However, they have a number of differences, since their designs are optimized for their corresponding target energy ranges.…”

Monte Carlo studies for the optimisation of the Cherenkov Telescope Array layout

“…The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) 4 [1,2] will detect gamma rays in the energy range from 20 GeV to 300 TeV with unprecedented angular and energy resolutions for ground-based facilities, outperforming the sensitivity of presentday instruments by more than an order of magnitude in the multi-TeV range [3]. This improvement will be possible by using larger arrays of telescopes.…”

“…This improvement will be possible by using larger arrays of telescopes. As a cost-effective solution to improve performance over four decades of energy, telescopes will be built in three different sizes: Large-Sized Telescopes (LSTs) [4], Medium-Sized Telescopes (MSTs) [5,6] and Small-Sized Telescopes (SSTs) [7]. To provide full-sky coverage, IACT arrays will be installed in two sites, one in each hemisphere: at Paranal (Chile) and at La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain).…”