KEYWORDS: Software development, Telescopes, Data modeling, Computer architecture, Control systems, Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, Data acquisition, Data archive systems, Design, Cameras
The Astrophysics with Italian Replicating Technology Mirrors (ASTRI) Mini-Array is an international collaboration led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and devoted to imaging atmospheric Cherenkov light for very-high γ-ray astrophysics, detection of cosmic-rays, and stellar Hambury-Brown intensity interferometry. The project is deploying an array of nine dual-mirror aplanatic imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes of 4-m class at the Teide Observatory on Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Based on SiPM sensors, the focal plane camera covers an unprecedented field of view of 10.5 deg in diameter. The array is most sensitive to γ-ray radiation above 1 up to 200 TeV, with an angular resolution of 3 arcmin, better than the current particle arrays, such as LHAASO and HAWC. We describe the overall software architecture of the ASTRI Mini-Array and the software engineering approach for its development. The software covers the entire life cycle of the Mini-Array, from scheduling to remote operations, data acquisition, and processing until data dissemination. The on-site control software allows remote array operations from different locations, including automated reactions to critical conditions. All data are collected every night, and the array trigger is managed post facto. The high-speed networking connection between the observatory site and the Data Center in Rome allows for ready data availability for stereoscopic event reconstruction, data processing, and almost real-time science products generation.
KEYWORDS: Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, Telescopes, Data archive systems, Calibration, Data centers, Data processing, Monte Carlo methods, Data storage, Device simulation, Data acquisition
The ASTRI Mini-Array is an international project led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) to build and operate an array of nine 4-m class Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) at the Observatorio del Teide (Tenerife, Spain). The system is designed to perform deep observations of the galactic and extragalactic gamma-ray sky in the TeV and multi-TeV energy band, with important synergies with other ground-based gamma-ray facilities in the Northern Hemisphere and space-borne telescopes. As part of the overall software system, the ASTRI (Astrofisica con Specchi a Tecnologia Replicante Italiana) Team is developing dedicated systems for Data Processing, Simulation, and Archive to achieve effective handling, dissemination, and scientific exploitation of the ASTRI Mini-Array data. Thanks to the high-speed network connection available between Canary Islands and Italy, data acquired on-site will be delivered to the ASTRI Data Center in Rome immediately after acquisition. The raw data will be then reduced and analyzed by the Data Processing System up to the generation of the final scientific products. Detailed Monte Carlo simulated data will be produced by the Simulation System and exploited in several data processing steps in order to achieve precise reconstruction of the physical characteristics of the detected gamma rays and to reject the overwhelming background due to charged cosmic rays. The data access at different user levels and for different use cases, each one with a customized data organization, will be provided by the Archive System. In this contribution we present these three ASTRI Mini-Array software systems, focusing on their main functionalities, components, and interfaces.
KEYWORDS: Data modeling, Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, Control systems, Software development, Telescopes, Data processing, Data archive systems, Data acquisition, Calibration, Computer architecture
The ASTRI Mini-Array is an international collaboration led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and devoted to the imaging of atmospheric Cherenkov light for very-high gamma-ray astronomy. The project is deploying an array of 9 telescopes sensitive above 1 TeV. In this contribution, we present the architecture of the software that covers the entire life cycle of the observatory, from scheduling to remote operations and data dissemination. The high-speed networking connection available between the observatory site, at the Canary Islands, and the Data Center in Rome allows for ready data availability for stereo triggering and data processing.
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