The ASTRI SST-2M prototype for the Cherenkov Telescope Array: status after the commissioning phase of the telescope

Abstract

ASTRI SST-2M is an imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope developed by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) in the framework of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project as an end-to-end prototype for the Small Size array. Large-, medium-, and small-sized telescopes will compose the CTA observatory that represents the next generation of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes and will explore the very high-energy domain from a few tens of GeV up to few hundreds of TeV. The ASTRI SST-2M telescope has been installed at the INAF-Catania observing station at Serra La Nave, on Mt. Etna (Sicily, Italy) in September 2014. In these 3 years of open-air operations the telescope has been commissioned and its opto-mechanical performance is now well understood. The apparatus was made ready to host its main scientific instrument, the camera with Silicon-Photomultiplier based detectors. This contribution is a status report on the complete ASTRI SST-2M telescope assembly including the electro-mechanical structure and the optical system.