The ASTRI dual-mirror small-size Cherenkov telescope

Abstract

The ASTRI dual-mirror small-size telescope (ASTRI-Horn) is an imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope that was developed by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) within the framework of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project, the next-generation ground-based very-high-energy gamma-ray observatory. The CTA observatory will consist of two sites configured in two arrays of telescopes of different sizes. They will be located in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres to cover the full sky. ASTRI (Astrofisica con Specchi a Tecnologia replicante Italiana) is the Italian proposal for the small-size telescopes and its design is based on a Schwarzschild-Couder configuration. To fulfill the required plate scale, the camera is based on a new technology involving the use of Silicon-photomultipliers. With its wide field of view of 10 degrees, it is optimized for gamma-ray observations in the range from few TeV up to several tens of TeV. The ASTRI prototype is installed at Serra La Nave at 1735 m a.s.l. in Sicily, Italy, and is currently going through the science validation phase. A further development of the program foresees the construction of a set of nine ASTRI telescopes proposed as pathfinder for the CTA array. In this contribution, the main features of the ASTRI telescope will be described and an update on the latest news on the prototype activities and the mini-array will be presented