The ASTRI Project: a mini-array of dual-mirror small Cherenkov telescopes for CTA
astro-ph.IM
/ Authors
N. La Palombara, G. Agnetta, L. A. Antonelli, D. Bastieri, G. Bellassai, M. Belluso, C. Bigongiari, S. Billotta, B. Biondo, G. Bonanno
and 69 more authors
G. Bonnoli, P. Bruno, A. Bulgarelli, R. Canestrari, M. Capalbi, P. Caraveo, A. Carosi, E. Cascone, O. Catalano, M. Cereda, P. Conconi, V. Conforti, G. Cusumano, V. De Caprio, A. De Luca, A. Di Paola, F. Di Pierro, D. Fantinel, M. Fiorini, D. Fugazza, D. Gardiol, M. Ghigo, F. Gianotti, S. Giarrusso
/ Abstract
ASTRI is a flagship project of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, which aims to develop an end-to-end prototype of the CTA small-size telescope. The proposed design is characterized by a dual-mirror Schwarzschild-Couder configuration and a camera based on Silicon photo-multipliers, two challenging but innovative technological solutions which will be adopted for the first time on a Cherenkov telescope. Here we describe the current status of the project, the expected performance and the possibility to realize a mini-array composed by a few small-size telescopes, which shall be placed at the final CTA Southern Site.