Compton-Pair Production Space Telescope (ComPair) for MeV Gamma-ray Astronomy

A. A. Moiseev; M. Ajello; J. H. Buckley; R. Caputo; E. C. Ferrara; D. H. Hartmann; E. Hays; J. E. McEnery; J. W. Mitchell; R. Ojha; J. S. Perkins; J. L. Racusin; A. W. Smith; D. J. Thompson

arXiv · 1508.07349

Compton-Pair Production Space Telescope (ComPair) for MeV Gamma-ray Astronomy

A. A. Moiseev·M. Ajello·J. H. Buckley·R. Caputo·E. C. Ferrara·D. H. Hartmann·E. Hays·J. E. McEnery·J. W. Mitchell·R. Ojha·J. S. Perkins·J. L. Racusin·A. W. Smith·D. J. Thompson

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Abstract

The gamma-ray energy range from a few hundred keV to a few hundred MeV has remained largely unexplored, mainly due to the challenging nature of the measurements, since the pi- oneering, but limited, observations by COMPTEL on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (1991-2000). This energy range is a transition region between thermal and nonthermal processes, and accurate measurements are critical for answering a broad range of astrophysical questions. We are developing a MIDEX-scale wide-aperture discovery mission, ComPair (Compton-Pair Production Space Telescope), to investigate the energy range from 200 keV to > 500 MeV with high energy and angular resolution and with sensitivity approaching a factor of 20-50 better than COMPTEL. This instrument will be equally capable to detect both Compton-scattering events at lower energy and pair-production events at higher energy. ComPair will build on the her- itage of successful space missions including Fermi LAT, AGILE, AMS and PAMELA, and will utilize well-developed space-qualified detector technologies including Si-strip and CdZnTe-strip detectors, heavy inorganic scintillators, and plastic scintillators.

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A. A. Moiseev, M. Ajello, J. H. Buckley, R. Caputo, E. C. Ferrara, D. H. Hartmann, E. Hays, J. E. McEnery, J. W. Mitchell, R. Ojha, J. S. Perkins, J. L. Racusin, A. W. Smith, D. J. Thompson. 2015-09-18. Compton-Pair Production Space Telescope (ComPair) for MeV Gamma-ray Astronomy. https://arxiv.org/abs/1508.07349

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