Design and characterization of a single photoelectron calibration system for the NectarCAM camera of the medium-sized telescopes of the Cherenkov Telescope Array

  • Barbara Biasuzzi
  • , Kevin Pressard
  • , Jonathan Biteau
  • , Brice Geoffroy
  • , Carlos Domingues Goncalves
  • , Giulia Hull
  • , Miktat Imre
  • , Michaël Josselin
  • , Alain Maroni
  • , Bernard Mathon
  • , Lucien Seminor
  • , Tiina Suomijarvi
  • , Thi Nguyen Trung
  • , Laurent Vatrinet
  • , Patrick Brun
  • , Sami Caroff
  • , Stephen Fegan
  • , Oscar Ferreira
  • , Pierre Jean
  • , Sonia Karkar
  • Jean François Olive, Stéphane Rivoire, Patrick Sizun, Floris Thiant, Adellain Tsiahina, François Toussenel, Georges Vasileiadis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In this work, we describe the optical properties of the single photoelectron (SPE) calibration system designed for NectarCAM, a camera proposed for the Medium Sized Telescopes (MST) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). One of the goals of the SPE system, as integral part of the NectarCAM camera, consists in measuring with high accuracy the gain of its photo-detection chain. The SPE system is based on a white painted screen where light pulses are injected through a fishtail light guide from a dedicated flasher. The screen – placed 15 mm away from the focal plane – is mounted on an XY motorization that allows movements over all the camera plane. This allows in-situ measurements of the SPE spectra via a complete scan of the 1855 photo-multiplier tubes (PMTs) of NectarCAM. This calibration process will enable the reduction of the systematic uncertainties on the energy reconstruction of γ-rays coming from distant astronomical sources and detected by CTA. We discuss the design of the screen used in the calibration system and we present its optical performances in terms of light homogeneity and timing of the signal.

Original languageEnglish
Article number162949
JournalNuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment
Volume950
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Jan 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • CTA
  • Medium sized telescope
  • NectarCAM

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