ACTtools - Space Environment Tools for Simulating Gamma-ray Instrument Backgrounds

Details ACTtools - Space Environment Tools for Simulating Gamma-ray Instrument Backgrounds ACTtools - Space Environment Tools for Simulating Gamma-ray Instrument Backgrounds

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006head....9.1860k&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, HEAD meeting #9, #18.60; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.392

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Large instrumental backgrounds from the space environment are the driving factors limiting progress in the fledgling field of observational gamma-ray astronomy. While current instruments provide tantalizing glimpses of the promise of gamma-ray measurements, they are ultimately limited by poor sensitivity due to large background. Furthermore, the inability to accurately predict background continues to thwart development of new techniques that could mitigate the problem. In the process of studying the Advanced Compton Telescope (ACT) mission concept we developed a collection of simulation and modeling tools that improve our ability to predict background in the difficult gamma-ray regime. This disparate software collection is tied together through the ACTtools package, which consists of (1) a set of semi-empirical models that describe the space environment relevant for medium-energy ( 100 keV to 100 MeV) gamma-ray instruments, (2) a parameter-driven instrument model, and (3) interfaces to the GEANT3-based MGGPOD Monte Carlo simulation package and the MEGAlib data processing and analysis package. The ACTtools have proved to be powerful and reasonably convenient for comparing many different ACT instrument concepts as well as developing associated background mitigation techniques. We believe they could also be useful for the development of other gamma-ray/hard X-ray instrument concepts, or to improve the understanding of current operational instruments.

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