MAGIC-II’s central pixel system for simultaneous optical and gamma-ray observation

Abstract. The MAGIC telescopes are a system of two imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes designed to observe very-high-energy γ rays. MAGIC utilizes a large reflective surface and photodetectors with ultrafast time response to capture Cherenkov photons. These features, together with the dedicated system installed in the central photomultiplier tube of their camera, so-called central pixel system (CPS), turn MAGIC into a suitable telescope to study high-speed optical astronomy in the millisecond (ms) regime. We report on the status of the CPS currently mounted in the MAGIC-II camera, its performance and calibration to demonstrate the sensitivity of MAGIC-II to ms optical pulses, for both transient and periodic signals, and discuss its potential over several science cases.

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