HERMES: An ultra-wide band X and gamma-ray transient monitor on board a nano-satellite constellation
F. Fuschino, R. Campana, C. Labanti, Y. Evangelista, M. Feroci, L. Burderi, F. Fiore, F. Ambrosino, G. Baldazzi, P. Bellutti, R. Bertacin, G. Bertuccio, G. Borg… 展开作者
F. Fuschino, R. Campana, C. Labanti, Y. Evangelista, M. Feroci, L. Burderi, F. Fiore, F. Ambrosino, G. Baldazzi, P. Bellutti, R. Bertacin, G. Bertuccio, G. Borghi, D. Cirrincione, D. Cauz, T. Di Salvo, F. Ficorella, M. Fiorini, A. Gambino, M. Gandola, M. Grassi, A. Guzman, R. Iaria, G. La Rosa, M. Lavagna, P. Lunghi, P. Malcovati, A. Maselli, M. T. Menna, G. Morgante, B. Negri, A. Papitto, G. Pauletta, R. Piazzolla, A. Picciotto, S. Pirrotta, S. Pliego-Caballero, S. Puccetti, A. Rachevski, I. Rashevskaya, A. Riggio, L. Rignanese, M. Salatti, A. Sanna, A. Santangelo, S. Silvestrini, G. Sottile, C. Tenzer, A. Vacchi, G. Zampa, N. Zampa, N. Zorzi
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4 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Nuclear Instrumentation and Methods in Physics Research, A
The High Energy Modular Ensemble of Satellites (HERMES) project is aimed to realize a modular X/gamma-ray monitor for transient events, to be placed on-board of a CubeSat bus. This expandable platform will achieve a significant impact on Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) science and on the detection of Gravitational Wave (GW) electromagnetic counterparts: the recent LIGO/VIRGO discoveries demonstrated that the high-energy transient sky is still a field of extreme interest. The very complex temporal variability of GRBs (up to the millisecond scale) combined with the spatial and temporal coincidence between GWs and their electromagnetic counterparts suggest that upcoming instruments require sub-ms time resolution combined with a transient localization accuracy lower than a degree. The current phase of the ongoing HERMES project is focused on the realization of a technological pathfinder with a small network (3 units) of nano-satellites to be launched in mid 2020. We will show the potential and prospects for short and medium-term development of the project, demonstrating the disrupting possibilities for scientific investigations provided by the innovative concept of a new "modular astronomy" with nano-satellites (e.g. low developing costs, very short realization time). Finally, we will illustrate the characteristics of the HERMES Technological Pathfinder project, demonstrating how the scientific goals discussed are actually already reachable with the first nano-satellites of this constellation. The detector architecture will be described in detail, showing that the new generation of scintillators (e.g. GAGG:Ce) coupled with very performing Silicon Drift Detectors (SDD) and low noise Front-End-Electronics (FEE) are able to extend down to few keV the sensitivity band of the detector. The technical solutions for FEE, Back-End-Electronics (BEE) and Data Handling will be also described.
HERMES (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites) is a space-borne mission based on a constellation of six 3U CubeSats flying in a low-Earth orbit, hosting new miniaturized instruments based on a hybrid Silicon Drift Detector/GAGG:Ce scintillator photodetector system sensitive to X-rays and gamma-rays. Moreover, the HERMES constellation will operate in conjunction with the Australian-Italian Space Industry Responsive Intelligent Thermal (SpIRIT) 6U CubeSat, that will carry in a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) an actively cooled HERMES detector system payload. In this paper we provide an ov…
Multi-messenger observations of the transient sky to detect cosmic explosions and counterparts of gravitational wave mergers critically rely on orbiting wide-FoV telescopes to cover the wide range of wavelengths where atmospheric absorption and emission limit the use of ground facilities. Thanks to continuing technological improvements, miniaturised space instruments operating as distributed-aperture constellations are offering new capabilities for the study of high energy transients to complement ageing existing satellites. In this paper we characterise the performance of the upcoming joint S…
HERMES Pathfinder (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites Pathfinder) is a space mission based on a constellation of nano-satellites in a low Earth Orbit, hosting new miniaturized detectors to probe the X-ray temporal emission of bright high-energy transients such as Gamma-Ray Bursts and the electromagnetic counterparts of Gravitational Waves. This ambitious goal will be achieved exploiting at most Commercial offthe-shelf components. For HERMES-SP, a custom Power Supply Unit board has been designed to supply the needed voltages to the payload and, at the same time, protecting it from…
HERMES (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites) Technological and Scientific pathfinder is a space borne mission based on a LEO constellation of nano-satellites. The 3U CubeSat buses host new miniaturized detectors to probe the temporal emission of bright high-energy transients such as Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). Fast transient localization, in a field of view of several steradians and with arcmin-level accuracy, is gained by comparing time delays among the same event detection epochs occurred on at least 3 nano-satellites. With a launch date in 2022, HERMES transient monitoring represe…
HERMES (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites) is a space-borne mission based on a constellation of nano-satellites flying in a low-Earth orbit (LEO). The six 3U CubeSat buses host new miniaturized instruments hosting a hybrid Silicon Drift Detector/GAGG:Ce scintillator photodetector system sensitive to X-rays and gamma-rays. HERMES will probe the temporal emission of bright high-energy transients such as Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), ensuring a fast transient localization (with arcmin-level accuracy) in a field of view of several steradians exploiting the triangulation technique. With a…
The HERMES-TP/SP mission, based on a nanosatellite constellation, has very stringent constraints of sensitivity and compactness, and requires an innovative wide energy range instrument. The instrument technology is based on the "siswich" concept, in which custom-designed, low-noise Silicon Drift Detectors are used to simultaneously detect soft X-rays and to readout the optical light produced by the interaction of higher energy photons in GAGG:Ce scintillators. To preserve the inherent excellent spectroscopic performances of SDDs, advanced readout electronics is necessary. In this paper, the HE…
HERMES is a scientific mission composed of 3U nano-satellites dedicated to the detection and localization of high-energy astrophysical transients, with a distributed space architecture to form a constellation in Earth orbits. The space segment hosts novel miniaturized detectors to probe the X-ray temporal emission of bright events, such as Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), and the electromagnetic counterparts of Gravitational Wave Events (GWEs), playing a crucial role in future multi-messenger astrophysics. During operations, at least three instruments, separated by a minimum distance shall observe a c…
HERMES-Pathfinder is a constellation of six 3U nano-satellites hosting simple but innovative X-ray detectors for determining the positions of, and monitoring cosmic high-energy transients such as gamma-ray bursts and the electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational Wave Events. The HERMES Technological Pathfinder project is funded by the Italian Space Agency, while the HERMES Scientific Pathfinder project is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 821896. HERMES-Pathfinder is an in-orbit demonstration, that should be tested in or…
The High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites (HERMES) Technological and Scientific pathfinder is a space borne mission based on a constellation of LEO nanosatellites. The payloads of these CubeSats consist of miniaturized detectors designed for bright high-energy transients such as Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). This platform aims to impact Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) science and enhance the detection of Gravitational Wave (GW) electromagnetic counterparts. This goal will be achieved with a field of view of several steradians, arcmin precision and state of the art timing accuracy. The localization…
HERMES (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites) is an innovative mission aiming to observe transient high-energy events such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) through a constellation of CubeSats hosting a broadband X and gamma-ray detector. The detector is based on a solid-state Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) coupled to a scintillator crystal, and is sensitive in the 2 keV to 2 MeV band. An accurate evaluation of the foreseen in-orbit instrumental background is essential to assess the scientific performance of the experiment. An outline of the Monte Carlo simulations of the HERMES payload wil…
HERMES-TP/SP (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites Technologic and Scientific Pathfinder) is a constellation of six 3U nano-satellites hosting simple but innovative X-ray detectors, characterized by a large energy band and excellent temporal resolution, and thus optimized for the monitoring of Cosmic High Energy transients such as Gamma Ray Bursts and the electromagnetic counterparts of Gravitational Wave Events, and for the determination of their positions. The projects are funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research and by the Italian Space Agency, and by the Europe…
CubeSats Reach the Millisecond X-Ray Domain: Crab Pulsar Timing with SpIRIT/HERMES
University of Trento（特伦托大学）；University of Palermo（巴勒莫大学）；INAF/Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste（意大利国家天体物理研究所的里雅斯特天文台）；School of Physics, The University of Melbourne（墨尔本大学物理学院）；Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Cagliari（卡利亚里大学物理系）；INAF/IASF Palermo（意大利国家天体物理研究所巴勒莫空间物理学研究所）；INAF/OAS（意大利国家天体物理研究所博洛尼亚天文台）；INFN Sezione di Bologna（意大利国家核物理研究所博洛尼组分所）
The CUbesat Solar Polarimeter (CUSP) project aims to develop a constellation of two CubeSats orbiting the Earth to measure the linear polarisation of solar flares in the hard X-ray band by means of a Compton scattering polarimeter on board of each satellite. CUSP will allow to study the magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration in the flaring magnetic structures. CUSP is a project approved for a Phase A study by the Italian Space Agency in the framework of the Alcor program aimed to develop CubeSat technologies and missions.
In recent years the number of CubeSats (U-class spacecrafts) launched into space has increased exponentially marking the dawn of the nanosatellite technology. In general these satellites have a much smaller mass budget compared to conventional scientific satellites which limits shielding of scientific instruments against direct and indirect radiation in space. In this paper we present a simulation framework to quantify the signal in large field-of-view gamma-ray scintillation detectors of satellites induced by X-ray/gamma-ray transients, by taking into account the response of the detector. Fur…
