In 2022, Subaru is entering a new stage called ”Subaru-2” which will be realized by the three wide-field facility instruments. The first one is the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), the prime focus optical imager with 1.5 deg FoV. It started the science operation in 2014 and completed the strategic survey program last year with total of 330 observing nights. The second instrument is the Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS), which is an optical to nearinfrared multiobject fiber spectrograph with a similar FoV to HSC. In 2021, it started engineering observations with all of the delivered subsystems; the Prime Focus Instrument, Spectrograph Module 1, Fiber Cable System 1, and Metrology Camera System. The commissioning and installation of the other subsystems will continue in 2022-2023. The third system is the ULTIMATE-Subaru which consists of the Ground Layer AO (GLAO) system and wide-field near-infrared instruments. The conceptual design review of the instruments was done in 2021, and the preliminary design review of the GLAO system is planned in 2022. Among the existing facility instruments, the Adaptive Optics system, AO188, is undergoing active upgrades which include the new laser guide star system, real-time computer system, deformable mirror, NIR wavefront sensor, and relay optics to quickly switch the downstream science instruments. We will also present the status and plan of the other facility instruments as well as the visitor instruments.
The Prime Focus Spectrograph (PFS) is a new optical/near-infrared multi-fiber spectrograph designed for the prime focus of the 8.2m Subaru telescope. PFS will cover 1.3 degrees diameter field with 2394 fibers to complement the imaging capability of Hyper SuprimeCam (HSC). The prime focus unit of PFS called Prime Focus Instrument (PFI) provides the interface with the top structure of Subaru telescope and also accommodates the optical bench in which Cobra fiber positioners and fiducial fibers are located. In addition, the acquisition and guiding cameras (AGCs), the cable wrapper, the fiducial fiber illuminator, and viewer, the field element, and the telemetry system are located inside the PFI. The mechanical structure of the PFI was designed with special care such that its deflections sufficiently match those of the HSC’s Wide Field Corrector (WFC) so the fibers will stay on targets over the course of the observations within the required accuracy. The assembly, integration and verification of PFI was completed in 2021. The performance of PFI meets the requirements and it was delivered to Subaru telescope in June 2021. Consequently, various tests and engineering runs were carried out to calibrate the PFI and verify the performance of the PFI with the telescope.
PFS (Prime Focus Spectrograph), a next generation facility instrument on the Subaru telescope, is now being tested on the telescope. The instrument is equipped with very wide (1.3 degrees in diameter) field of view on the Subaru’s prime focus, high multiplexity by 2394 reconfigurable fibers, and wide waveband spectrograph that covers from 380nm to 1260nm simultaneously in one exposure. Currently engineering observations are ongoing with Prime Focus Instrument (PFI), Metrology Camera System (MCS), the first spectrpgraph module (SM1) with visible cameras and the first fiber cable providing optical link between PFI and SM1. Among the rest of the hardware, the second fiber cable has been already installed on the telescope and in the dome building since April 2022, and the two others were also delivered in June 2022. The integration and test of next SMs including near-infrared cameras are ongoing for timely deliveries. The progress in the software development is also worth noting. The instrument control software delivered with the subsystems is being well integrated with its system-level layer, the telescope system, observation planning software and associated databases. The data reduction pipelines are also rapidly progressing especially since sky spectra started being taken in early 2021 using Subaru Nigh Sky Spectrograph (SuNSS), and more recently using PFI during the engineering observations. In parallel to these instrumentation activities, the PFS science team in the collaboration is timely formulating a plan of large-sky survey observation to be proposed and conducted as a Subaru Strategic Program (SSP) from 2024. In this article, we report these recent progresses, ongoing developments and future perspectives of the PFS instrumentation.
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the major ground-based gamma-ray observatory under construction. The CTA South observatory is foreseen to consist of Large-, Medium-, and Small-sized imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs). The innovative Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope (SCT) is a candidate IACT and a proposed major U.S. contribution for the Medium-sized, 10m aperture telescopes for CTA. The SCT is designed to simultaneously achieve 8 degrees field of view and high imaging resolution with unprecedented 11,328 pixels camera by implementing novel, aplanatic, segmented dual-mirror optics and compact silicon photomultiplier detectors. This presentation will provide an overview of the SCT program in the U.S. including the construction of a full-scale prototype instrument by an international consortium of scientists with the focus on the alignment of the segmented primary and secondary mirrors and the ongoing upgrade of the camera to full scale.
The prototype Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope (pSCT) is a candidate for a medium-sized telescope in the Cherenkov Telescope Array. The pSCT is based on a dual-mirror optics design that reduces the plate scale and allows for the use of silicon photomultipliers as photodetectors. The prototype pSCT camera currently has only the central sector instrumented with 25 camera modules (1600 pixels), providing a 2.68-deg field of view (FoV). The camera electronics are based on custom TARGET (TeV array readout with GSa/s sampling and event trigger) application-specific integrated circuits. Field programmable gate arrays sample incoming signals at a gigasample per second. A single backplane provides camera-wide triggers. An upgrade of the pSCT camera that will fully populate the focal plane is in progress. This will increase the number of pixels to 11,328, the number of backplanes to 9, and the FoV to 8.04 deg. Here, we give a detailed description of the pSCT camera, including the basic concept, mechanical design, detectors, electronics, current status, and first light.
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next-generation ground-based observatory for very-high-energy gamma rays. One candidate design for CTA's medium-sized telescopes consists of the Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope (SCT), featuring innovative dual-mirror optics. The SCT project has built and is currently operating a 9.7-m prototype SCT (pSCT) at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory (FLWO); such optical design enables the use of a compact camera with state-of-the art silicon photomultiplier detectors. A partially-equipped camera has recently successfully detected the Crab Nebula with a statistical significance of 8.6 standard deviations. A funded upgrade of the pSCT focal plane sensors and electronics is currently ongoing, which will bring the total number of channels from 1600 to 11328 and the telescope field of view from about 2.7° to 8° . In this work, we will describe the technical and scientific performance of the pSCT.
PFS (Prime Focus Spectrograph), a next generation facility instrument on the Subaru telescope, is a very wide- field, massively multiplexed, and optical and near-infrared spectrograph. Exploiting the Subaru prime focus, 2394 reconfigurable fibers will be distributed in the 1.3 degree-diameter field of view. The spectrograph system has been designed with 3 arms of blue, red, and near-infrared cameras to simultaneously deliver spectra from 380nm to 1260nm in one exposure. The instrumentation has been conducted by the international collaboration managed by the project office hosted by Kavli IPMU. The team is actively integrating and testing the hardware and software of the subsystems some of which such as Metrology Camera System, the first Spectrograph Module, and the first on-telescope fiber cable have been delivered to the Subaru telescope observatory at the summit of Maunakea since 2018. The development is progressing in order to start on-sky engineering observation in 2021, and science operation in 2023. In parallel, the collaboration is trying to timely develop a plan of large-sky survey observation to be proposed and conducted in the framework of Subaru Strategic Program (SSP). This article gives an overview of the recent progress, current status and future perspectives of the instrumentation and scientific operation.
The novel 9.7m Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope (SCT), utilizing aspheric dual-mirror optical system, has been constructed as a prototype medium size x-ray telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory. The prototype SCT (pSCT) is designed to achieve simultaneously the wide (≥ 8°) field of view and the superior imaging resolution (0.067 per pixel) to significantly improve scientific capabilities of the observatory in conducting the sky surveys, the follow-up observations of multi-messenger transients with poorly known initial localization and the morphology studies of x-ray sources with angular extent. In this submission, we describe the hardware and software implementations of the telescope optical system as well as the methods specifically developed to align its complex optical system, in which both primary and secondary mirrors are segmented. The pSCT has detected Crab Nebula in June 2020 during ongoing commissioning, which was delayed due to worldwide pandemic and is not yet completed. Verification of pSCT performance is continuing and further improvement of optical alignment is anticipated.
For the first time in the history of ground-based y-ray astronomy, the on-axis performance of the dual mirror, aspheric, aplanatic Schwarzschild-Couder optical system has been demonstrated in a 9:7-m aperture imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope. The novel design of the prototype Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope (pSCT) is motivated by the need of the next-generation Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) observatory to have the ability to perform wide (≥8°) field-of-view observations simultaneously with superior imaging of atmospheric cascades (resolution of 0:067 per pixel or better). The pSCT design, if implemented in the CTA installation, has the potential to improve significantly both the x-ray angular resolution and the off-axis sensitivity of the observatory, reaching nearly the theoretical limit of the technique and thereby making a major impact on the CTA observatory sky survey programs, follow-up observations of multi-messenger transients with poorly known initial localization, as well as on the spatially resolved spectroscopic studies of extended x-ray sources. This contribution reports on the initial alignment procedures and point-spread-function results for the challenging segmented aspheric primary and secondary mirrors of the pSCT.
The first prototype of the Schwarzschild Couder Medium Size Telescope (pSCT) proposed for the CTA observatory has been installed in 2018 at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory. The pSCT camera is composed of 25 modules with 64 channels each, covering only a small portion of the full focal plane of the telescope. The Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) has developed and characterized in collaboration with Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) a new generation of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) sensitive to the Near Ultraviolet wavelengths, based on the High Density technology (NUV-HD devices). The latest generation of 6×6 mm2 SiPMs (called NUV-HD3) have been used to equip a subsection of 9 out of 25 modules of the pSCT camera. An upgrade of this camera is foreseen between 2019 and 2020 using the same sensors, aiming to equip the full focal plane with 177 modules, for a total of more than 11000 pixels. We will present a full characterization of the performance of these devices, highlighting why they are suitable for Cherenkov light detection. An overview on the overall behavior of the installed sensors will be also given, providing information on the uniformity of the sensors and of the performance of the camera.
PFS (Prime Focus Spectrograph), a next generation facility instrument on the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope, is a very wide-field, massively multiplexed, optical and near-infrared spectrograph. Exploiting the Subaru prime focus, 2394 reconfigurable fibers will be distributed over the 1.3 deg field of view. The spectrograph has been designed with 3 arms of blue, red, and near-infrared cameras to simultaneously observe spectra from 380nm to 1260nm in one exposure at a resolution of ~ 1.6-2.7Å. An international collaboration is developing this instrument under the initiative of Kavli IPMU. The project recently started undertaking the commissioning process of a subsystem at the Subaru Telescope side, with the integration and test processes of the other subsystems ongoing in parallel. We are aiming to start engineering night-sky operations in 2019, and observations for scientific use in 2021. This article gives an overview of the instrument, current project status and future paths forward.
The construction of a prototype Schwarzschild-Couder telescope (pSCT) started in early June 2015 at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Southern Arizona, as a candidate medium-sized telescope for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). Compared to current Davies-Cotton telescopes, this novel instrument with an aplanatic two-mirror optical system will offer a wider field-of-view and improved angular resolution. In addition, the reduced plate scale of the camera allows the use of highly-integrated photon detectors such as silicon photo multipliers. As part of CTA, this design has the potential to greatly improve the performance of the next generation ground-based observatory for very high-energy (E>60 GeV) gamma-ray astronomy. In this contribution we present the design and performance of both optical and alignment systems of the pSCT.
G. Pareschi, T. Armstrong, H. Baba, J. Bähr, A. Bonardi, G. Bonnoli, P. Brun, R. Canestrari, P. Chadwick, M. Chikawa, P.-H. Carton, V. de Souza, J. Dipold, M. Doro, D. Durand, M. Dyrda, A. Förster, M. Garczarczyk, E. Giro, J.-F. Glicenstein, Y. Hanabata, M. Hayashida, M. Hrabovski, C. Jeanney, M. Kagaya, H. Katagiri, L. Lessio, D. Mandat, M. Mariotti, C. Medina, J. Michalowski, P. Micolon, D. Nakajima, J. Niemiec, A. Nozato, M. Palatka, M. Pech, B. Peyaud, G. Pühlhofer, M. Rataj, G. Rodeghiero, G. Rojas, J. Rousselle, R. Sakonaka, P. Schovanek, K. Seweryn, C. Schultz, S. Shu, F. Stinzing, M. Stodulski, M. Teshima, P. Travniczek, C. van Eldik, V. Vassiliev, Ł Wiśniewski, A. Wörnlein, T. Yoshida
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next generation very high-energy gamma-ray observatory, with at least 10
times higher sensitivity than current instruments. CTA will comprise several tens of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov
Telescopes (IACTs) operated in array-mode and divided into three size classes: large, medium and small telescopes. The
total reflective surface could be up to 10,000 m2 requiring unprecedented technological efforts. The properties of the
reflector directly influence the telescope performance and thus constitute a fundamental ingredient to improve and
maintain the sensitivity. The R&D status of lightweight, reliable and cost-effective mirror facets for the CTA telescope
reflectors for the different classes of telescopes is reviewed in this paper.
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next generation ground-based observatory for very high-energy (E>100 GeV) gamma-ray astronomy. It will integrate several tens of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) with different apertures into a single astronomical instrument. The US part of the CTA collaboration has proposed and is developing a novel IACT design with a Schwarzschild-Couder (SC) aplanatic two-mirror optical system. In comparison with the traditional single mirror Davies-Cotton IACT the SC telescope, by design, can accommodate a wider field-of-view, with significantly improved imaging resolution. In addition, the reduced plate scale of an SC telescope makes it compatible with highly integrated cameras assembled from silicon photo multipliers. In this submission we report on the status of the development of the SC optical system, which is part of the e ort to construct a full-scale prototype telescope of this type at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in southern Arizona.
Laue lenses are an emerging technology allowing the concentration of soft gamma rays in the ~ 100 keV -
1.5 MeV energy range. Two lens designs based on recently measured crystals are presented in this paper. A
lens dedicated to the understanding of the progenitors and explosion physics of Type Ia supernovae through
the observation of the 847 keV line produced by the decay chain of the radionuclide 56Co. With a Compton
camera at the focus (as proposed for the DUAL mission), we find that a space-borne telescope could reach a 3-σ
sensitivity of 1.5×10-6 ph/s/cm2 for a 3% broadened line in 105 s, enabling the detection of several events per
year with enough significance to strongly constrain the models. On the other hand, a second generation prototype
is proposed. Made to realize a balloon-borne telescope focusing around the electron-positron annihilation line
(511 keV), this lens would primarily be a technological demonstrator. However with an estimated sensitivity of
5×10-6 ph/s/cm2 in 104 s observation time, this Laue lens telescope could bring new hints in the search of the
origin of the Galactic positrons. To build this prototype, a dedicated X-ray beamline has been built at the Space
Sciences Laboratory.
Laue lenses are an emerging technology based on diffraction in crystals that allows the concentration of soft
gamma rays. This kind of optics that works in the 100 keV - 1.5 MeV band can be used to realize an highsensitivity
and high-angular resolution telescope (in a narrow field of view). This paper reviews the recent
progresses that have been done in the development of efficient crystals, in the design study and in the modelisation
of the answer of Laue lenses. Through the example of a new concept of 20 m focal length lens focusing in the 100
keV - 600 keV band, the performance of a telescope based on a Laue lens is presented. This lens, uses the most
efficient mosaic crystals in each sub-energy range in order to yield the maximum reflectivity. Imaging capabilities
are investigated and shows promising results.
J. Rousselle, P. von Ballmoos, N. Barrière, N. Abrosimov, P. Bastie, G. Bonnetto, T. Camus, P. Courtois, M. Jentschel, E. Lecomte, E. Rivière, G. Roudil
In a Laue lens a large number of crystals are disposed on concentric rings such as they diffract via Braggdiffraction
the incident gamma-rays onto a common focal spot. Compact structured high-Z mosaic-crystals are
among the most efficient diffraction media for the domain of nuclear astrophysics (i.e. 300 keV ≤ E ≤ 1.5 MeV).
We have studied the potential of various high-Z crystals such as Ir, W, Au, Ag, Pt, Rh and AsGa for a Laue
lens application. The diffraction performance of gold, silver and platinum crystals have been measured during
runs at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility and in a reactor-beamline at the Institut Laue Langevin,
Grenoble in France. Several of the tested high-Z materials show outstanding performances with reflectivities
reaching the theoretical limits for mosaic-crystals, and hence open the way towards efficient focusing optics at
MeV energies.
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