XGRE: a TGF/GRB detector on the TARANIS spacecraft
Abstract
With a launch expected in 2020, the TARANIS microsatellite, supervised by CNES, is dedicated to the study of transient radio, optical and gamma-ray phenomena observed in association with thunderstorms. On board the spacecraft, XGRE is the instrument optimized to study terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGF) and can detect gamma-rays from 30 keV to 10 MeV, with a very high counting capability (about a million counts per second). GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulations of TARANIS/XGRE, using a detailed mass-model cross-checked by FM calibrations, has allowed us to estimate the sensitive area of the instrument. With a spectral averaged effective area of 425 cm2, XGRE should detect about 200 TGFs per year. It will also detect short GRB and monitor bright X-ray sources, such as the Crab and Cygnus X-1.
- Publication:
-
Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana
- Pub Date:
- 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019MmSAI..90..259L