Speaker
Description
The High Energy cosmic-Radiation Detection (HERD) facility is a gamma-ray and cosmic-ray telescope planned for installation aboard China's Space Station around 2027. Operating for at least 10 years, HERD aims to precise measure the spectra and composition of charged cosmic rays up to the "knee" region (~few PeVs), monitor the high-energy gamma-ray sky above 100 MeV, and advance the indirect search of dark matter through annihilation or decay processes. HERD is designed as a large acceptance telescope, featuring a central 3D finely segmented calorimeter (CALO), composed of approximately 7500 LYSO crystals. Surrounding the CALO on its top and four lateral faces are three sub-detectors: the scintillating-fiber tracker (FIT) for reconstructing the trajectories of gamma rays and cosmic rays (CRs), the plastic scintillator detector (PSD) to measure the charge of incoming CRs and serve as a veto system for gamma-ray detection, and a silicon charge detector (SCD) for precise measurement of CR charges. Additionally, a transition radiation detector (TRD) is positioned on one lateral side, to provide precise calibration for the CALO in space.
In this presentation, I will present the science goals of the mission and the design and status of current activities. I will highlight the performance of the instrument as accessed through simulations, as well as experimental results on prototype sub-detectors obtained from the recent beam tests campaigns at CERN in Fall 2023. Finally, I will focus on the gamma-ray capabilities of HERD, specifically accessing the design and development of a dedicated trigger based on the combination of FIT signals and PSD veto.
