The Optical Layout Of The HEGRA Cherenkov Telescopes

The raytracing technique was used to derive a suitable design for the HEGRA system of Cherenkov telescopes, which is at present commissioned at La Palma. The reflectors with a diameter of 3.9 m consist of 30 spherical mirrors with focal lengths in the range of 4.88 – 4.94 m. It is shown that 93% of the photons from the Cherenkov light emitted by an extended air shower are contained in the camera pixels, 0.25° in diameter, for the full field of view of = ± 2.5°. The optical performance of the HEGRA design is compared to other layouts.