Speaker
Description
The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) is an upcoming very-high-energy gamma-ray observatory which will have an order of magnitude better sensitivity than the current generation of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays. The Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope is a candidate design for a CTAO medium-sized telescope featuring a finely pixelated camera populated with silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and innovative dual-mirror optics. The prototype Schwarzschild-Couder Telescope (pSCT) was inaugurated in 2019 at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Arizona and detected the Crab Nebula with a partially populated focal plane. The pSCT camera is currently undergoing an upgrade to fully instrument the 8.04° diameter field-of-view (FoV) with 11,328 SiPM pixels. The upgraded camera modules feature design changes to reduce electronics noise and crosstalk. These changes will improve the telescope's low-energy performance and background rejection capabilities. The first sector of 1,408 pixels was installed in April of 2026. We will present first light with this sector of the pSCT camera upgrade, as well as early commissioning data.
