GRI: focusing on the evolving violent universe |
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Authors: | Jürgen Knödlseder Peter von Ballmoos Filippo Frontera Angela Bazzano Finn Christensen Margarida Hernanz Cornelia Wunderer |
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Institution: | 1. Centre d’étude Spatiale des Rayonnements, UPS/CNRS, B.P. 44346, 9, avenue du Colonel-Roche, 31028, Toulouse, France 2. Dipartimento di Fisica, University of Ferrara, Via Saragat, 1, 44100, Ferrara, Italy 3. INAF-IASF/Rome, Via Fosso del cavaliere 100, 00133, Rome, Italy 4. Danish National Space Center, Juliane Maries Vej 30, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark 5. Institut de Ciències de l’Espai (CSIC-IEEC), Campus Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Facultat de Ciències, Torre C5-parell-2a planta, 08193, Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain 6. Space Science Laboratory, UC Berkeley, 7 Gauss Way, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7450, USA
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Abstract: | The gamma-ray imager (GRI) is a novel mission concept that will provide an unprecedented sensitivity leap in the soft gamma-ray
domain by using for the first time a focusing lens built of Laue diffracting crystals. The lens will cover an energy band
from 200–1,300 keV with an effective area reaching 600 cm2. It will be complemented by a single reflection multilayer coated mirror, extending the GRI energy band into the hard X-ray
regime, down to ∼10 keV. The concentrated photons will be collected by a position sensitive pixelised CZT stack detector.
We estimate continuum sensitivities of better than 10 − 7 ph cm − 2s − 1keV − 1 for a 100 ks exposure; the narrow line sensitivity will be better than 3 × 10 − 6 ph cm − 2s − 1 for the same integration time. As focusing instrument, GRI will have an angular resolution of better than 30 arcsec within
a field of view of roughly 5 arcmin—an unprecedented achievement in the gamma-ray domain. Owing to the large focal length
of 100 m of the lens and the mirror, the optics and detector will be placed on two separate spacecrafts flying in formation
in a high elliptical orbit. R&D work to enable the lens focusing technology and to develop the required focal plane detector
is currently underway, financed by ASI, CNES, ESA, and the Spanish Ministery of Education and Science. The GRI mission has
been proposed as class M mission for ESAs Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 program. GRI will allow studies of particle acceleration
processes and explosion physics in unprecedented detail, providing essential clues on the innermost nature of the most violent
and most energetic processes in the universe.
All authors are on behalf of a large international collaboration
The GRI mission has been proposed as an international collaboration between (in alphabetical order) Belgium (CSR), China (IHEP,
Tsinghua Univ.), Denmark (DNSC, Southern Univ.), France (CESR, APC, ILL, CSNSM, IAP, LAM), Germany (MPE), Ireland (UCD School
of Physics), Italy (INAF/IASF Rome, Bologna, Milano, Palermo; INAF/OA Brera, Roma; UNIFE, CNR/IMEM), Poland (NCAC), Portugal
(Combra Univ., Evora Univ.), Russia (SINP, MSU, Ioffe Inst.), Spain (IEEC-CSIC-IFAE, CNM-IMB), the Netherlands (SRON, Utrecht
Univ.), Turkey (Sabanci Univ.), United Kingdom (Univ. of Southampton, MSSL, RAL, Edinburgh Univ.), and the United States of
America (SSL UC Berkeley, Argonne National Lab., MSFC, GSFC, US NRL). |
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Keywords: | Gamma-ray astronomy Mission concepts Crystal lens telescope Multilayer-coated mirror telescope Cosmic Vision 2015– 2025 |
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