Development of the sensor head for the StarBurst multimessenger pioneer
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2024
Abstract
The StarBurst Multimessenger Pioneer is a highly sensitive wide-field gamma-ray monitor designed to detect the prompt emission of short gamma-ray bursts, a key electromagnetic signature of neutron star mergers. StarBurst is designed to enhance the new era of multimessenger astronomy by using the advancements in gamma-ray detectors made over the past decade, namely in silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) for light readout. With >400% the effective area of the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and full coverage of the unocculted sky, the StarBurst observations of electromagnetic counterparts to neutron star mergers make it a key partner to the gravitational wave network in discovering these mergers at a fraction of the cost of currently operating gamma-ray missions. The StarBurst Sensor Head consists of 12 thallium-doped cesium iodide (CsI:Tl) scintillation detectors, each of which uses a custom array of low-mass, low-voltage SiPMs to cover an energy range 50 keV–2000 keV. The manuscript outlines the science of StarBurst; the predecessor technology demonstrator instrument, Glowbug; instrument design including mechanical, electrical, and data acquisition; and, the performance results from a crystal detector unit.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment
Recommended Citation
Woolf, R., Kocevski, D., Grove, J., Briggs, M., Burns, E., Davis, J., Finne, T., Fletcher, C., Goldstein, A., Hamburg, R., Hohl, B., Hristov, B., Hui, C., Jenke, P., Kerr, M., Stump, J., Vaughan, C., Veres, P., Wilson-Hodge, C., & Wood, J. (2024). Development of the sensor head for the StarBurst multimessenger pioneer. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A Accelerators Spectrometers Detectors and Associated Equipment, 1064 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2024.169329