The HERMES-technologic and scientific pathfinder
TL;DR: HERMES-TP/SP is a constellation of six 3U nano-satellites hosting simple but innovative X-ray detectors 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 position.
Abstract: HERMES-TP/SP is a constellation of six 3U nano-satellites hosting simple but innovative X-ray detectors 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 position. The projects are funded by the Italian Space Agency and by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 821896. HERMES-TP/SP is an in orbit demonstration, that should be tested in orbit by the beginning of 2022. It is intrinsically a modular experiment that can be naturally expanded to provide a global, sensitive all sky monitor for high energy transients. On behalf of the HERMES-TP and HERMES-SP collaborations I will present the main scientific goals of HERMES-TP/SP, as well as a progress report on the payload, service module and ground segment developments.
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TL;DR: HERMES (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites) is a space-baring mission based on a LEO constellation of nano-satellites as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: 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 represents a keystone capability to complement the next generation of gravitational wave experiments. In this paper we will illustrate the HERMES payload design, highlighting the technical solutions adopted to allow a wide-energy-band and sensitive X-ray and gamma-ray detector to be accommodated in a Cubesat 1U volume together with its complete control electronics and data handling system.
30 citations
Cites background from "The HERMES-technologic and scientif..."
...The flow-down of HERMES-TP and HERMES-SP Scientific Requirements [1] results in ambitious payload (P/L) requirements: broad energy band, good efficiency, good energy resolution, high temporal resolution, extremely compact design, reliable operation in a quite broad range of space environments (e....
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...INTRODUCTION HERMES (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites) is a mission concept based on a constellation of nanosatellites (3U CubeSats) in low Earth orbit, hosting innovative X and γ-ray detectors to probe the high-energy emission of bright transients [1][2][3]....
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...The flow-down of HERMES-TP and HERMES-SP Scientific Requirements [1] results in ambitious payload (P/L) requirements: broad energy band, good efficiency, good energy resolution, high temporal resolution, extremely compact design, reliable operation in a quite broad range of space environments (e.g., temperature, radiation damage, etc.)....
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17 Dec 2020
TL;DR: Here the authors discuss in detail dedicated timing techniques that allow to precisely locate an astronomical event in the sky taking advantage of the spatial distribution of a swarm of detectors orbiting Earth.
Abstract: The association of GW170817 with GRB170817A proved that electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave events are the key to deeply understand the physics of NS-NS merges. Upgrades of the existing GW antennas and the construction of new ones will allow to increase sensitivity down to several hundred Mpc vastly increasing the number of possible electromagnetic counterparts. Monitoring of the hard X-ray/soft gamma-ray sky with good localisation capabilities will help to effectively tackle this problem allowing to fully exploit multi-messenger astronomy. However, building a high energy all-sky monitor with large collective area might be particularly challenging due to the need to place the detectors onboard satellites of limited size. Distributed astronomy is a simple and cheap solution to overcome this difficulty. Here we discuss in detail dedicated timing techniques that allow to precisely locate an astronomical event in the sky taking advantage of the spatial distribution of a swarm of detectors orbiting Earth.
17 citations
Cites background from "The HERMES-technologic and scientif..."
...The final design of the spacecraft including GPS receivers and accelerometers, guarantees the possibility to reconstruct the position of the CubeSats with an accuracy smaller than 30 meters, that translates into a temporal accuracy lower than 30 ns [20]....
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...More details on the overall HERMES mission description can be find in [20]....
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Posted Content•
TL;DR: GRBAlpha is a 1U CubeSat mission with an expected launch date in the first half of 2021 as mentioned in this paper, which carries a 75 x 75 x 5 mm CsI(Tl) scintillator, read out by a dual-channel multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC) setup, to detect gamma-ray bursts (GRBs).
Abstract: GRBAlpha is a 1U CubeSat mission with an expected launch date in the first half of 2021. It carries a 75 x 75 x 5 mm CsI(Tl) scintillator, read out by a dual-channel multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC) setup, to detect gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The GRB detector is an in-orbit demonstration for the detector system on the Cubesats Applied for MEasuring and LOcalising Transients (CAMELOT) mission. While GRBAlpha provides 1/8th of the expected effective area of CAMELOT, the comparison of the observed light curves with other existing GRB monitoring satellites will allow us to validate the core idea of CAMELOT, i.e. the feasibility of timing-based localization.
17 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: GrailQuest as discussed by the authors is a mission concept based on a constellation of nano/micro/small-satellites in low (or near) Earth orbits, each satellite hosts a non-collimated array of scintillator crystals coupled with Silicon Drift Detectors with broad energy band coverage (keV-MeV range) and excellent temporal resolution.
Abstract: GrailQuest (Gamma Ray Astronomy International Laboratory for QUantum Exploration of Space-Time) is a mission concept based on a constellation (hundreds/thousands) of nano/micro/small-satellites in low (or near) Earth orbits. Each satellite hosts a non-collimated array of scintillator crystals coupled with Silicon Drift Detectors with broad energy band coverage (keV-MeV range) and excellent temporal resolution ( below or equal 100 nanoseconds) each with effective area around 100 cm2. This simple and robust design allows for mass-production of the satellites of the fleet. This revolutionary approach implies a huge reduction of costs, flexibility in the segmented launching strategy, and an incremental long-term plan to increase the number of detectors and their performance: a living observatory for next-generation, space-based astronomical facilities. GrailQuest is conceived as an all-sky monitor for fast localisation of high signal-to-noise ratio transients in the X/gamma-ray band, e.g. the elusive electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave events. Robust temporal triangulation techniques will allow unprecedented localisation capabilities, in the keV-MeV band, of a few arcseconds or below, depending on the temporal structure of the transient event. The ambitious ultimate goal of this mission is to perform the first experiment, in quantum gravity, to directly probe space-time structure down to the minuscule Planck scale, by constraining or measuring a first order dispersion relation for light in vacuo. This is obtained by detecting delays between photons of different energies in the prompt emission of Gamma-ray Bursts.
17 citations
13 Dec 2020
TL;DR: GRBAlpha is a 1U CubeSat mission with an expected launch date in the first half of 2021 as discussed by the authors, which carries a 75 × 75 × 5 mm CsI(Tl) scintillator, read out by a dual-channel multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC) setup, to detect gamma-ray bursts (GRBs).
Abstract: GRBAlpha is a 1U CubeSat mission with an expected launch date in the first half of 2021. It carries a 75 × 75 × 5 mm CsI(Tl) scintillator, read out by a dual-channel multi-pixel photon counter (MPPC) setup, to detect gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The GRB detector is an in-orbit demonstration for the detector system on the Cubesats Applied for MEasuring and LOcalising Transients (CAMELOT) mission. While GRBAlpha provides 1/8th of the expected effective area of CAMELOT, the comparison of the observed light curves with other existing GRB monitoring satellites will allow us to validate the core idea of CAMELOT, i.e. the feasibility of timing-based localization
12 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that γ-ray bursts are sensitive to an energy dispersion predicted by some approaches to quantum gravity, which is sufficient to test theories of quantum gravity.
Abstract: The recent confirmation that at least some γ-ray bursts originate at cosmological distances1,2,3,4 suggests that the radiation from them could be used to probe some of the fundamental laws of physics. Here we show that γ-ray bursts will be sensitive to an energy dispersion predicted by some approaches to quantum gravity. Many of the bursts have structure on relatively rapid timescales5, which means that in principle it is possible to look for energy-dependent dispersion of the radiation, manifested in the arrival times of the photons, if several different energy bands are observed simultaneously. A simple estimate indicates that, because of their high energies and distant origin, observations of these bursts should be sensitive to a dispersion scale that is comparable to the Planck energy scale (∼1019 GeV), which is sufficient to test theories of quantum gravity. Such observations are already possible using existing γ-ray burst detectors.
1,322 citations
"The HERMES-technologic and scientif..." refers background in this paper
...capability to accelerate matter up to G»100-1000 and allowing us to apply for the first time the program envisioned by Amelino-Camelia and collaborators at the end of the ‘90s to investigate quantum space-time using cosmic sources [6,7]....
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...GRBs, being so powerful and distributed uniformly at cosmological distances, are the best phenomena to test quantum gravity [7]....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors reported the detection by the Beppo-SAX satellite of an X-ray "afterglow" associated with the γ-ray burst of 28 February 1997 (GRB970228; ref.
Abstract: Establishing the nature of γ-ray bursts is one of the greatest challenges in high-energy astrophysics. The distribution of these bursts is isotropic across the sky, but inhomogeneous in space, with a deficit of faint bursts1. It is currently unknown whether γ-ray bursts are produced in our Galaxy or at cosmological distances. The detection and identification of counterparts at other wavelengths are seen as crucial for resolving the origin of the events. Here we report the detection by the Beppo-SAX satellite2 of an X-ray ‘afterglow’, associated with the γ-ray burst of 28 February 1997 (GRB970228; ref. 3)—the first such detection for any γ-ray burst. The X-ray transient was found to contain a significant fraction of the total energy of the γ-ray burst and, following the initial detection4 eight hours after the main burst, faded within a few days with a power-law decay function. The rapid locating of this γ-ray burst instigated a multi-wavelength observational campaign that culminated in the identification5 of a fading optical transient in a position consistent6 with the X-ray transient reported here.
977 citations
"The HERMES-technologic and scientif..." refers background in this paper
...First, the arcmin localization of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs, sudden and unpredictable bursts of hard-X/soft g-rays with huge flux up to 10 ergs/cm(2)/s), enabled for the first time by the instruments on board BeppoSAX, allowed to discover their X-ray and optical afterglows [1,2], which led to the identification of their host galaxies [3]....
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...During the past >20 years from the localisation of the first GRBs[1,2,3], no kilonova was unambiguously discovered or spectroscopically studied, and these elusive but crucially important events for the synthesis of rare heavy elements remained a beautiful but unproven theoretical idea[11]....
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University of Amsterdam1, University of Alabama in Huntsville2, Marshall Space Flight Center3, Universities Space Research Association4, University of Cambridge5, University of Copenhagen6, Danish Space Research Institute7, European Southern Observatory8, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute9, University of Ferrara10, European Space Research and Technology Centre11, University College Dublin12
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reported the detection of a transient and fading optical source in the error box associated with the burst GRB970228, less than 21 hours after the burst, suggesting that the burst occurred in that galaxy and thus that γ-ray bursts in general lie at cosmological distance.
Abstract: For almost a quarter of a century1, the origin of γ-ray bursts— brief, energetic bursts of high-energy photons—has remained unknown. The detection of a counterpart at another wavelength has long been thought to be a key to understanding the nature of these bursts (see, for example, ref. 2), but intensive searches have not revealed such a counterpart. The distribution and properties of the bursts3 are explained naturally if they lie at cosmological distances (a few Gpc)4, but there is a countervailing view that they are relatively local objects5, perhaps distributed in a very large halo around our Galaxy. Here we report the detection of a transient and fading optical source in the error box associated with the burst GRB970228, less than 21 hours after the burst6,7. The optical transient appears to be associated with a faint galaxy7,8, suggesting that the burst occurred in that galaxy and thus that γ-ray bursts in general lie at cosmological distance.
916 citations
Brera Astronomical Observatory1, University of Copenhagen2, University of Urbino3, George Washington University4, University of Warwick5, Liverpool John Moores University6, Max Planck Society7, European Southern Observatory8, University of Milan9, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Japan10, University of Leicester11, University of California, Davis12, University of Padua13, Sapienza University of Rome14, University of Rome Tor Vergata15, Centre national de la recherche scientifique16, University of Naples Federico II17, Spanish National Research Council18, Paris Diderot University19, INAF20, Purple Mountain Observatory21, California Institute of Technology22, University of Trieste23, University of Innsbruck24, Andrés Bello National University25, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa26, University of Insubria27, Hebrew University of Jerusalem28, Goddard Space Flight Center29
TL;DR: The spectral identification and physical properties of a bright kilonova associated with the gravitational-wave source GW170817 and γ-ray burst GRB 170817A associated with a galaxy at a distance of 40 megaparsecs from Earth are described.
Abstract: The merger of two neutron stars is predicted to give rise to three major detectable phenomena: a short burst of gamma-rays, a gravitational wave signal, and a transient optical/near-infrared source powered by the synthesis of large amounts of very heavy elements via rapid neutron capture (the r-process). Such transients, named "macronovae" or "kilonovae", are believed to be centres of production of rare elements such as gold and platinum. The most compelling evidence so far for a kilonova was a very faint near-infrared rebrightening in the afterglow of a short gamma-ray burst at z = 0.356, although findings indicating bluer events have been reported. Here we report the spectral identification and describe the physical properties of a bright kilonova associated with the gravitational wave source GW 170817 and gamma-ray burst GRB 170817A associated with a galaxy at a distance of 40 Mpc from Earth. Using a series of spectra from ground-based observatories covering the wavelength range from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared, we find that the kilonova is characterized by rapidly expanding ejecta with spectral features similar to those predicted by current models. The ejecta is optically thick early on, with a velocity of about 0.2 times light speed, and reaches a radius of about 50 astronomical units in only 1.5 days. As the ejecta expands, broad absorption-like lines appear on the spectral continuum indicating atomic species produced by nucleosynthesis that occurs in the post-merger fast-moving dynamical ejecta and in two slower (0.05 times light speed) wind regions. Comparison with spectral models suggests that the merger ejected 0.03-0.05 solar masses of material, including high-opacity lanthanides.
771 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, spectroscopic observations of the possible optical counterpart to the y-ray burst GRB970508 were reported, showing that the spectrum is mostly featureless, except for a few prominent absorption lines which were attributed to the presence of an absorption system along the line of sight at redshift z = 0835.
Abstract: Brief, intense bursts of y-rays occur approximately daily from random directions in space, but their origin has remained unknown since their initial detection almost 25 years ago Arguments based on their observed isotropy and apparent brightness distribution are not sufficient to constrain the location of the bursts to a local or cosmological origin The recent detection of a counterpart to a y-ray burst at other wavelengths has therefore
raised the hope that the sources of these energetic events might soon be revealed Here we report spectroscopic observations of the possible optical counterpart to the y-ray burst GRB970508 The spectrum is mostly featureless, except for a few prominent absorption lines which we attribute to the presence of an absorption system along the line of sight at redshift z = 0835 Coupled with the absence of Lyman-α forest features in the spectra, our
results imply that the optical transient lies at 0835 ≾ z ≾ 23 If the optical transient is indeed the counterpart of GRB970508, our results provide the first direct limits on the distance to a y-ray burst, confirming that at least some of these events lie at cosmological distances, and are thus highly energetic
764 citations
"The HERMES-technologic and scientif..." refers background in this paper
...First, the arcmin localization of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs, sudden and unpredictable bursts of hard-X/soft g-rays with huge flux up to 10 ergs/cm(2)/s), enabled for the first time by the instruments on board BeppoSAX, allowed to discover their X-ray and optical afterglows [1,2], which led to the identification of their host galaxies [3]....
[...]
...During the past >20 years from the localisation of the first GRBs[1,2,3], no kilonova was unambiguously discovered or spectroscopically studied, and these elusive but crucially important events for the synthesis of rare heavy elements remained a beautiful but unproven theoretical idea[11]....
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