The SST-1M telescopes are Cherenkov telescopes with a primary mirror diameter of four meters, designed to detect gamma radiation in the highest energy range (above 3 TeV), originally designed for CTAO. They are designed in the Davies-Cotton optical configuration and use an innovative camera with silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), which improve observation even in higher light backgrounds. Although originally created as prototypes for the future CTAO, they are now a separate experiment. Development is underway within an international consortium of Switzerland, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Prototype testing was originally conducted in Krakow, and a pair of fully functional telescopes for stereoscopic observation was subsequently installed at the Ondřejov Observatory in the Czech Republic.

Dvojice plně funkčních teleskopů pro stereoskopické pozorování byla instalována na Observatoři v Ondřejově v ČR. Kredit: AV ČR

The goal is to optimize their performance and then deploy them to a new observation site with better observation conditions in the southern hemisphere, where it is possible to better study the galactic plane and the center of the Galaxy.

Our group is responsible for performing Monte Carlo simulations of telescopes, which are indispensable for interpreting the measured data. In addition to measuring sources ourselves, we also participate in analyses in which we assess the suitability of possible future telescope locations in terms of altitude, atmospheric quality, and the associated sensitivity of the observatory at different energies of primary gamma radiation.

Kontakty:

• Dalibor Nosek
• Vladimír Novotný