The AGILE mission and its scientific instrument

Abstract

The AGILE Mission will explore the gamma-ray Universe with a very innovative instrument combining for the first time a gamma-ray imager (sensitive in the range 30 MeV - 50 GeV) and a hard X-ray imager (sensitive in the range 15-45 keV). An optimal angular resolution and a large field of view are obtained by the use of state-of-the-art Silicon detectors integrated in a very compact instrument. AGILE will be operational at the beginning of 2007 and it will provide crucial data for the study of Active Galactic Nuclei, Gamma-Ray Bursts, unidentified gamma-ray sources, Galactic compact objects, supernova remnants, TeV sources, and fundamental physics by microsecond timing

Threshold equalization algorithm for the XAA1.2 ASICs and its application to SuperAGILE X-ray imager

“…This result can be extended, in SuperAGILE-like instruments, after the subtraction of n sources (with a total counting rate equivalent to an on-axis Crab-like source of intensity I src ), the residual ghosts intensity is given by Eqs. (2) and (3). This is a huge systematic effect on the imaging performances of the instruments, compared with the single detector statistical sensitivity (20-25 mCrab a day), but it can be reduced with the threshold equalization.…”

“…In the following sections, we refer to the case of SuperAGILE [1], the hard X-ray imager onboard the AGILE satellite mission [2]. The satellite was launched at the end of April 2007 with a PSLV rocket from Shriharikota space centre in India.…”

Scientific performances of the XAA1.2 front-end chip for silicon microstrip detectors

“…The satellite will be positioned on an equatorial orbit with about 560 km altitude. Further details about the AGILE mission and scientific objectives may be found in [6]. An overall description of the SuperAGILE experiment will be reported in a forthcoming paper [12]).…”

“…Particularly, replacing the gaseous detectors with solid-state detectors allows to increase the lifetime of the space missions, increase the spatial resolution up to µm level for on-axis experiments and to tens of µm in case of inclined penetration and reduce the deadtime from ms to µs ( [4]). The detectors of PAMELA ( [5]), space experiment for Cosmic Ray Physics launched in spring 2006, AGILE ( [6]) and GLAST ( [7]), the next satellite-borne missions for High Energy Astrophysics in the X-ray and gamma-ray energy bands, are all based on the silicon microstrip technology.…”

Design of a CZT gamma-camera for GRB and fast transient follow-up: a wide-field-monitor for the EDGE mission

“…Criteria for source validation and selection will be defined by dedicated future study. This will take advantage in particular, from the expertise in the development of the GRB alert and fast localization procedures on board the AGILE satellite (Tavani et al 2006). …”