GLAST
Collaboration:
National Responsible: G. Barbiellini (Ts)
1. Goal of the experiment
High-energy cosmic gamma rays probe the most energetic phenomena in nature. Observations of gamma rays in the GLAST energy range (~10 MeV to 300 GeV) combined with a significantly larger field of view, highly efficient duty cycle, superior pointing and energy resolutions and long lifetime provide a unique and compelling opportunity to answer definitively a wealth of questions and at the same time to open up major discovery opportunities.
2.
Activities during 2002
The following achievements have been obtained:
(*) A delay was introduced by a 2 months stop due to NASA requirement to change the glue
(**) The start of the assembly has been postponed due to the shift of the Critical Design Review to April 2003
Milestones 2003
Trays for qualification towers produced | 28-03-2003 |
1,500 ladders produced | 27-06-2003 |
Side-walls for qualification towers produced | 28-06-2003 |
Complete trays (tray+SSDs+MCMs) for qualification towers produced | 09-10-2003 |
Qualification towers produced | 20-12-2003 |
3. INFN contribution to the experiment in terms of manpower and financial support
Manpower: 67 researchers (47.8 FTE) and 8 technicians (3.9 FTE).
Budget for the Year 2003: 5.6 % of the CSN2 budget
4. Publications in refereed journals (in 2002): 5
5. Number of conference talks (in 2002): 23
6. Number of undergraduate and doctoral thesis on the experiment: 8
7. Leadership roles and primary responsibilities in the experiment
From the hardware point of view, the activity is concentrating on the tracker construction, given the experience of INFN as far as silicon detectors are concerned. On the analysis point of view, the italian groups have the responsibility of the instrument simulation in GEANT4. They are, at the same time, starting to develop the analysis tools that will be used with the real data.
8. Innovative instruments
GLAST will be the experiment with the highest number of silicon channels on a satellite (1 million chs. corresponding to 82 m2 of silicon).
The development and the construction of such a big detector is characterized by the problems peculiar to the high energy particle physics experiments (such as assembly lines, uniformity of products and procedures, test equipments). Moreover, it must be reminded that this detector has to fulfill all the requirements for space established by NASA.
9. Competing experiments
GLAST launch is scheduled for 2006: from then on GLAST will be the largest space gamma ray experiment ever built.
AGILE will fly in 2003-2005 covering, even if with a smaller effective area and energy range, the period before GLAST.
10. International committee which has reviewed the experiment
Joint PDR review by NASA and DOE was passed in January 2002.
GLAST has been approved for phase C/D.