The AMEGO Team https://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/amego/ The gamma-ray energy range from several hundred keV to a hundred MeV has remained largely unexplored since the observations by instruments on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (1991-2000) and on INTEGRAL (since 2002). This energy range is particularly challenging because it is firmly in the Compton-dominated regime where the interaction cross section is minimized. Accurate measurements are critical for answering a broad range of astrophysical questions. To address these questions, we are developing AMEGO: All-sky Medium Energy Gammaray Observatory, to investigate the energy range from 200 keV to >10 GeV with good energy and angular resolution and with sensitivity approaching a factor of 20-50 better than previous measurements. This instrument will be capable of measuring both Compton-scattering events at lower energies and pair-production events at higher energies. To achieve these ambitions goals Monte Carlo (MC) simulations will play a crucial role guiding the design of AMEGO. I will present an overview of the AMEGO simulation campaign using the MEGAlib framework, as well as the initial results for effective area and angular resolution, as well as sensitivity projections.
We identify the scientific prospects for studying low-energy cosmic rays, the interstellar medium, and the associated gamma-ray emissions with a next-generation wide-field telescope from 200 keV to 10 GeV. With improved angular resolution and more than an order of magnitude better sensitivity than previous instruments, the All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory (AMEGO) would allow for the first time to study in detail the low-energy cosmic rays, which play a fundamental role in the formation of stars and in the dynamics of the interstellar medium. It would allow mapping the cosmic-ray distribution in order to understand their propagation in the Galaxy. We discuss the importance of having such a telescope, and we present the predictions for the gamma-ray continuum both at large scale and in individual clouds, and for de-excitation nuclear lines. This paper is based on the Astro2020: Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics, science white papers, no. 151; Orlando E. et al. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 51, Issue 3, id. 151 (2019) "Cosmic Rays and Interstellar Medium with Gamma-Ray Observations at MeV Energies" [1], where more details can be found.
The AMEGO Teamhttps://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/amego/ The All-Sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory (AMEGO) will survey the entire sky every 3 hours with its wide field of view and excellent continuum sensitivity between 200 keV and 10 GeV, discovering new sources and automatically providing follow-up observation for multiwavelength and multi-messenger transient sources. Many of these sources have the energy spectral peaks in the AMEGO band, and/or spectral behavior that is not well understood at these energies. AMEGO will discover new gamma-ray bursts, magnetar flares, active galaxy flares, novae, and monitor the long-term light curves of variable sources including Galactic binaries. Thanks to its wide FoV and survey strategy, AMEGO is also well placed to search for electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave and neutrino sources.
Gamma-ray Observatory (AMEGO) will survey the entire sky every three hours with its wide field of view and excellent continuum sensitivity between 200 keV and 10 GeV. This is a prime mission to study the long-term and short-term behavior of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in the MeV range. Studying AGN that have their peak power output in the MeV band will allow us to determine the emission mechanisms underlying these extreme phenomena. Furthermore, recent results from the Fermi Large Area Telescope have shown that MeV blazars are some of the most luminous and most distant gamma-ray AGN. A mission like AMEGO will provide the first ever census of AGN in the relatively unexplored MeV domain.
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