Concept study for the next generation medium-energy gamma-ray astronomy mission: MEGA

Gottfried Kanbach; Robert Andritschke; Peter Forbes Bloser; Florian Schopper; Volker Schoenfelder; Andreas Zoglauer

doi:10.1117/12.461348

11 March 2003 Concept study for the next generation medium-energy gamma-ray astronomy mission: MEGA

Gottfried Kanbach, Robert Andritschke, Peter Forbes Bloser, Florian Schopper, Volker Schoenfelder, Andreas Zoglauer

Proceedings Volume 4851, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Telescopes and Instruments for Astronomy; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461348
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

A new telescope for Medium Energy Gamma-Ray Astronomy, MEGA, is being developed for the energy band 0.4 - 50 MeV as a successor to COMPTEL on CGRO. MEGA aims to improve the sensitivity for astronomical sources by at least an order of magnitude with respect to past instruments and will fill a severe sensitivity gap between already scheduled hard-X-ray and high-energy gamma-ray missions. MEGA records and images gamma rays by completely tracking Compton and pair creation events in a stack of double sided Si-strip track detectors surrounded by a pixelated CsI calorimeter. MEGA will have an effective area of ~100 square cm, a large field of view of ~130 degrees, angular resolution of ~2 degrees, and energy resolution of ~8% (all FWHM at ~2 MeV). Key science objectives for MEGA are the investigation of cosmic high-energy accelerators, nucleosynthesis sites with gamma-ray lines, and the mapping of large-scale structures in the Galaxy and beyond. If operated on a zenith pointing satellite MEGA will be an ideal continuous all-sky monitor for transient sources. This paper describes the development of a small scale prototype and the concept of a space mission for MEGA.

Citation Download Citation

Gottfried Kanbach, Robert Andritschke, Peter Forbes Bloser, Florian Schopper, Volker Schoenfelder, and Andreas Zoglauer "Concept study for the next generation medium-energy gamma-ray astronomy mission: MEGA", Proc. SPIE 4851, X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Telescopes and Instruments for Astronomy, (11 March 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461348

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