A single photo-electron calibration system for theNectarCAM camera of the Cherenkov Telescope ArrayMedium-Sized Telescopes

TL;DR

This paper presents a calibration system for the NectarCAM camera of CTA's Medium-Sized Telescopes, enabling precise gain measurement and systematic uncertainty reduction in gamma-ray energy reconstruction.

Contribution

It introduces a novel single photo-electron calibration system with an XY motorized setup for comprehensive camera calibration and performance assessment.

Findings

Effective calibration coverage of the entire focal plane.

Improved accuracy in photodetector gain measurement.

System performance meets CTA calibration requirements.

Abstract

This contribution aims to introduce the single photo-electron system designed to calibrate the camera of the Medium-Sized Telescopes of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). This system will allow us to measure accurately the gain of the camera's photodetection chain and to constrain the systematic uncertainties on the energy reconstruction of gamma rays detected by CTA. The system consists of a white painted screen, a fishtail light guide, a flasher and an XY motorization to allow movement. The flashes guided by the fishtail mimic the Cherenkov radiation and illuminate the focal plane under the screen homogeneously. Then, through the XY motorisation, the screen is moved across the entire focal plane of the NectarCAM camera, which consists of 1855 photo-multiplier tubes. In this contribution, we present the calibration system and the study on its optimum scan positions required to cover the full camera effectively. Finally, we illustrate the results of the calibration data analysis and discuss the performance of the system.