On the potential of atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays for resolving TeV gamma-ray sources in the Galactic Plane

TL;DR

This study evaluates how atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays can resolve multiple gamma-ray sources in the crowded Galactic plane, considering realistic PSFs and source complexities.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed simulation framework for assessing Cherenkov telescope array capabilities in complex gamma-ray source environments.

Findings

Realistic PSFs with tails affect source resolution.

Instrument sensitivity varies with source complexity.

Array can distinguish multiple sources within 1 degree.

Abstract

The potential of an array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes to detect gamma-ray sources in complex regions has been investigated. The basic characteristics of the gamma-ray instrument have been parametrized using simple analytic representations. In addition to the ideal (Gaussian form) point spread function (PSF), the impact of more realistic non-Gaussian PSFs with tails has been considered. Simulations of isolated point-like and extended sources have been used as a benchmark to test and understand the response of the instrument. The capability of the instrument to resolve multiple sources has been analyzed and the corresponding instrument sensitivities calculated. The results are of particular interest for weak gamma-ray emitters located in crowded regions of the Galactic plane, where the chance of clustering of two or more gamma-ray sources within 1 degree is high.