The performance of an idealized large-area array of moderate-sized IACTs

We present simulations of a large array of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs), for which the size of the array footprint is much larger than the size of the Cherenkov lightpool. To evaluate limitations of the imaging atmospheric Cherenkov technique, the array is simulated under the assumption of ideal optics, having infinite resolution of the photon arrival direction, which makes our conclusions independent of any particular telescope implementation. The primary characteristics of the array performance, γ-ray trigger efficiency, photon energy at the peak of the detection rate, and angular resolution are calculated as a function of the parameters of the array: Telescope spacing, telescope aperture, and camera pixelation. We discuss implication of the results for the design of the next generation ground-based γ-ray observatory.