Science with the ASTRI prototype

TL;DR

The paper discusses the development and expected performance of the ASTRI prototype, an Italian-led telescope system for Very High Energy gamma-ray astronomy, as part of the Cherenkov Telescope Array project.

Contribution

It presents the design, technological solutions, and expected performance of the ASTRI prototype for the Cherenkov Telescope Array.

Findings

Prototype to see first light in early 2014.

Performance evaluation on selected test cases.

Probing technological solutions for gamma-ray detection.

Abstract

ASTRI (Astrofisica a Specchi con Tecnologia Replicante Italiana) is a "Flagship Project" financed by the Italian Ministry of Instruction, University and Research and led by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics. It represents the Italian proposal for the development of the Small Size Telescope system of the Cherenkov Telescope Array, the next generation observatory for Very High Energy gamma-rays (20 GeV - 100 TeV). The ASTRI end-to-end prototype will be installed at Serra La Nave (Catania, Italy) and it will see the first light at the beginning of 2014. We describe the expected performance of the prototype on few selected test cases of the northern emisphere. The aim of the prototype is to probe the technological solutions and the nominal performance of the various telescope's subsystems.