In October 2018, the first unit of the state-of-the-art telescope "Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA)",
which was under construction in the Spanish Canary Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, was completed.
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The CTA telescope equipped with a large reflector manufactured by Sanko has been completed.
| This CTA project is an international project in which more than 1,400 researchers from research institutes in 31 countries participate, and research institutes such as the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo also participate from Japan. This telescope is used to observe weak light (Cherenkov light) generated by the reaction of high-energy gamma rays (emitted from supernova explosions and the surroundings of supermassive black holes) with the Earth's atmosphere. For that purpose, we arranged about 200 reflectors and built a huge telescope with a diameter of about 23 m. This is said to be the largest telescope in the world in operation as of 2018. When the CTA is completed, the sensitivity of the observation device will improve dramatically. As a result, it is expected that the mystery of black holes and dark matter (dark matter) and the appearance of the universe in the early stages of birth will be elucidated. Under the guidance of Professor Masahiro Teshima of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, the University of Tokyo, we manufactured reflectors used in telescopes. The reflector has a hexagonal shape with an opposite side of 1.5 m and has a very wide reflecting surface. |
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Although it looks almost flat in the photo, it is a spherical concave mirror with a radius of curvature of 57 m. It is possible to collect the reflected light of 80% or more of the mirror surface to a range of 30 mm in diameter at a distance of 57 m like the light collecting ability. Moreover, this reflector is not polished. As a result, we have succeeded in significantly reducing manufacturing costs compared to conventional reflectors. Since the CTA telescope is installed outdoors, the reflective film on the surface of the reflector is also required to be weather resistant. The surface of the reflector made by Sanko Seikosho is multi-coated with 5 layers by sputtering, and a strong film is formed to achieve high weather resistance. |
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| In recognition of these achievements, we received a letter of appreciation from Takaaki Kajita, director of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, University of Tokyo (winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics). It is an honor for us to receive such a letter of appreciation because our manufacturing technology has contributed to the progress of science, and at the same time, it has motivated us to further improve the technology. We are grateful to everyone at the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, the University of Tokyo, for giving us such an opportunity and for their patient guidance until the product was completed. |
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