The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) will include telescopes of three different sizes, the smallest of which are the Small-Sized Telescopes (SSTs). In particular, the SSTs will be installed at the southern site of CTAO, on the Chilean Andes, and will cover the highest energy range of CTAO (up to ~300 TeV). The SSTs are developed by an international consortium of institutes that will provide them as an in-kind contribution to CTAO. The optical design of the SSTs is based on a Schwarzschild-Couder-like dual-mirror polynomial configuration, with a primary aperture of 4.3m diameter. They are equipped with a focal plane camera based on SiPM detectors covering a field of view of ~9°. The preliminary design of the SST telescopes was evaluated and approved during the Product Review (PR) organised with CTAO in February 2023. The SST project is now going through a consolidation phase leading to the finalisation and submission of the final design to the Critical Design Review (CDR), expected to occur late 2024, after which the production and construction of the telescopes will begin leading to a delivery of the telescopes to CTAO southern site starting at the end of 2025-early 2026 onward. In this contribution we will present the progress of the SST programme, including the results of the PDR, the consolidation phase of the project and the plan up to the on-site integration of the telescopes.
The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) consists of three types of telescopes: large-sized (LST), mediumsized (MST), and small-sized (SST), distributed in two observing sites (North and South). For the CTA South “Alpha Configuration” the construction and installation of 37 (+5) SST telescopes (a number that could increase up to 70 in future upgrades) are planned. The SSTs are developed by an international consortium of institutes that will provide them as an in-kind contribution to CTAO. The SSTs rely on a Schwarzschild-Couder-like dual-mirror polynomial optical design, with a primary mirror of 4 m diameter, and are equipped with a focal plane camera based on SiPM detectors covering a field of view of ~9°. The current SST concept was validated by developing the prototype dual-mirror ASTRI-Horn Cherenkov telescope and the CHEC-S SiPM focal plane camera. In this contribution, we will present an overview of the SST key technologies, the current status of the SST project, and the planned schedule.
The Gamma-ray Cherenkov Telescope (GCT) is one of the telescopes proposed for the Small Sized Telescope (SST) section of CTA. Based on a dual-mirror Schwarzschild-Couder design, which allows for more compact telescopes and cameras than the usual single-mirror designs, it will be equipped with a Compact High-Energy Camera (CHEC) based on silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). In 2015, the GCT prototype was the first dual-mirror telescope constructed in the prospect of CTA to record Cherenkov light on the night sky. Further tests and observations have been performed since then. This report describes the current status of the GCT, the results of tests performed to demonstrate its compliance with CTA requirements, and the optimisation of the design for mass production. The GCT collaboration, including teams from Australia, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, plans to install the first telescopes on site in Chile for 2019-2020 as part of the CTA pre-production phase.
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