A Novel Alternative to UV-Lasers Used in Flat-Fielding VHE g-Ray Telescopes

Michael Aye, P M Chadwick, C Hadjichristidis, I J Latham, R Le Gallou, A Noutsos, T J L McComb, J McKenny, J L Osborne, S M Rayner, H E S S Collabortation, J E McMillan

July 2003

Abstract

Preliminary tests of an alternative calibration system for the H.E.S.S. telescope array show that it is possible to replace the currently operating UV-Laser device with an optical LED apparatus. Together with complementary optics, it is able to simulate the Cherenkov flashes, while at the same time illuminating the whole of the telescope’s camera uniformly. The device in question is capable of driving a fixed number of specifically chosen LEDs to produce frequent flashes of very short duration similar to the Cherenkov emission generated by electromagnetic cascades. The design of the system continues to be refined. We describe the components and the operation of the device as developed so far.

Type

Conference paper

Michael Aye

Research Scientist in Planetary Science

My research interests include remote sensing of surfaces, related machine learning studies and open source software.