Abstract Details

Name: Santosh Vadawale
Affiliation: Physical Research Laboratory
Conference ID: ASI2020_585
Title : DAKSHA – On alert for high-energy transients
Authors and Co-Authors :
Abstract Type : Invited
Abstract Category : Special Session
Abstract : DAKSHA is an ambitious project to realize a hard X-ray all sky monitor with an order of magnitude better sensitivity than those available currently. The main objective of DAKSHA is to detect the electromagnetic (EM) counterpart of the gravitational wave (GW) sources. It is likely to be operational in the time frame of 2023-25 and is expected to detect a significant fraction of the EM counterparts of the GW sources such as NS-NS merger reported by the network of GW detectors operational during this period. In terms of the instrument concept, the main detector for DAKSHA will be enhanced version of the AstroSat-CZTI with field of view covering almost full sky. For wide-band spectroscopic studies of EM counterparts as well as regular GRBs, DAKSHA will also have additional detectors extending total energy range from ~1 keV to ~1 MeV. The pixillated CZT detectors, which are the heart of DAKSHA also has hard X-ray polarization measurement capability, and hence DAKSHA will the most sensitive polarimeter for measuring prompt emission polarization of the GRBs. In this talk, I will discuss the conceptualization of DAKSHA based on the heritage of AstroSat-CZTI, proposed configuration and implementation options, prospects for the ‘assured’ science of the regular GRBs as well as the completely new discovery space opened by DAKSHA for the study of electromagnetic counter parts of the gravitational wave sources.