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The instrument, which operates across the UV/VIS and NIR spectrum from 305-775 nm, is designed to measure the absolute spectral radiance of the Earth and compare it with the absolute spectral irradiance of the Sun. Of key importance to the fidelity of these absolute measurements is the ground based calibration campaign. Continuum lamp sources that are temporally stable and are spatially well defined are central to this process. Xenon short arc lamps provide highly intense and efficient continuum illumination in a range extending from the ultra-violet to the infra-red and their spectrum is well matched to this specific application. Despite their widespread commercial use, certain aspects of their performance are not well documented in the literature.
One of the important requirements in this calibration application is the delivery of highly uniform, collimated illumination at high radiance. In this process, it cannot be assumed that the xenon arc is a point source; the spatial distribution of the radiance must be characterised accurately. We present here careful measurements that thoroughly characterise the spatial distribution of the spectral radiance of a 1000W xenon lamp. A mathematical model is presented describing the spatial distribution. Temporal stability is another exceptionally important requirement in the calibration process. As such, the paper also describes strategies to re-inforce the temporal stability of the lamp output by means of a closed loop attenuation scheme and current control.
The GCT (Gamma-ray Cherenkov Telescope) is one of the prototypes proposed for CTA's SST sub-array. It is based on a Schwarzschild-Couder dual-mirror optical design. This configuration has the benefit of increasing the field-of-view and decreasing the masses of the telescope and of the camera. But, in spite of these many advantages, it was never implemented before in ground-based Cherenkov astronomy because of the aspherical and highly curved shape required for the mirrors.
The optical design of the GCT consists of a primary 4 meter diameter mirror, segmented in six aspherical petals, a secondary monolithic 2-meter mirror and a light camera. The reduced number of segments simplifies the alignment of the telescope but complicates the shape of the petals. This, combined with the strong curvature of the secondary mirror, strongly constrains the manufacturing process. The Observatoire de Paris implemented metallic lightweight mirrors for the primary and the secondary mirrors of GCT. This choice was made possible because of the relaxed requirements of optical Cherenkov telescopes compared to optical ones. Measurements on produced mirrors show that these ones can fulfill requirements in shape, PSF and reflectivity, with a clear competition between manufacturing cost and final performance.
This paper describes the design of these mirrors in the context of their characteristics and how design optimization was used to produce a lightweight design. The manufacturing process used for the prototype and planned for the large scale production is presented as well as the performance, in terms of geometric and optical properties, of the produced mirrors. The alignment procedure of the mirrors is also detailed. This technique is finally compared to other manufacturing techniques based on composite glass mirrors within the framework of GCT mirrors specificities.
The SST-GATE telescope has been designed with the prime objectives of being light, versatile and simple to assemble with a minimal maintenance cost. This papers aims at reviewing the SST-GATE telescope structure from mechanics to optics along with the control command architecture; several innovative developments implemented within the design are discussed. Updates of the project status and perspectives are made.
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