Speaker
Description
Crystal Eye is a new concept of space-based all-sky monitor optimized for the detection of 10 keV – 30 MeV short (<8s) transients. It foresees enhanced localization capability in real-time and detection power of the astrophysical short-duration outburst phenomena with respect to other concurrent instruments. In order to enhance the understanding about these phenomena through simultaneous multimessenger study, the satellite is designed to provide real-time alerts with precise (~1°) location information ready to be distributed within few ms from the trigger. Crystal Eye naturally enables a broad corollary science program: thanks to a customization of the Earth Occultation Technique, it can also provide information about known steady and variable (with transition time > minutes) sources in the under-explored MeV range. Moreover, given its capability to detect terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) and related atmospheric phenomena, once deployed in low-Earth orbit Crystal Eye could also perform dedicated observational runs aimed at studying space weather and other high-energy processes originating in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Currently the status of the project is in the engineering qualification model production. Furthermore, a scaled down prototype made of three full size pixels is being realized for the Space Rider (ESA) Maiden Flight, with the aim to characterize the background at the orbit and verify the technology for space use. We discuss here the scientific potential of the instrument and its performances together with the first tests on the prototype.