MeVCube: a CubeSat for MeV astronomy

TL;DR

MeVCube is a proposed CubeSat-based Compton telescope designed to explore the MeV gamma-ray energy range with high sensitivity, aiming to fill the observational gap between existing missions and future large-scale projects.

Contribution

This work introduces the MeVCube concept, a novel 6U CubeSat with a CdZnTe-based Compton camera for MeV astronomy, including detector performance measurements and performance extrapolations.

Findings

Custom CdZnTe detector performance characterized

Simulations suggest comparable sensitivity to past missions

Potential for rapid deployment within 10 years

Abstract

Despite the impressive progresses achieved both by X-ray and gamma-ray observatories in the last decades, the energy range between $\sim 200\,\mathrm{keV}$ and $\sim 50\,\mathrm{MeV}$ remains poorly explored. COMPTEL, on-board CGRO (1991-2000), was the last telescope to accomplish a complete survey of the MeV-sky with a relatively modest sensitivity. Missions like AMEGO have been proposed for the future, in order to fill this gap in observation; however, the time-scale for development and launch is about 10 years. On a shorter time-scale, a different approach may be profitable: MeV observations can be performed by a Compton telescope flying on a CubeSat. MeVCube is a 6U CubeSat concept currently under investigation at DESY, that could cover the energy range between hundreds of keV up to few MeVs with a sensitivity comparable to that of missions like COMPTEL and INTEGRAL. The Compton camera is based on pixelated Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride (CdZnTe) semiconductor detectors, coupled with low-power read-out electronics (ASIC, VATA450.3), ensuring a high detection efficiency and excellent energy resolution. In this work I will show measurements of the performance of a custom design CdZnTe detector and extrapolations of the expected telescope performance based on these measurements as well as simulations.