Optical photon-counting observation of the Crab pulsar with the Kanata telescope using a prototype IMONY

Abstract We have developed an optical photon-counting imaging system, IMONY, as an instrument for short-scale time-domain astronomy. In this study, we utilized a Geiger avalanche photodiode array with a $4\times 4$ pixel configuration, with each pixel measuring 100 µm. We developed a dedicated analog frontend board and constructed a data acquisition system with an FPGA to time-stamp each photon with a time resolution of 100 ns. We mounted a prototype model of the system on the 1.5 m Kanata telescope, intending to observe the Crab pulsar and conduct joint observations with the Iitate and Usuda radio telescopes in Japan. We successfully demonstrated that IMONY could image the Crab pulsar as an expected point source and acquire the well-known pulse shape. We found that the time lag between the optical and radio main pulses was $304\pm 35$ µs, consistent with previous studies.

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Publication Details

Journal
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Published
2025-03-08
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/pasj/psaf009
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.46

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article

Optical photon-counting observation of the Crab pulsar with the Kanata telescope using a prototype IMONY

Hiroshi Akitaya, Fuminori Tsuchiya, Takeshi Nakamori, Yuga Ouchi et al.
3 citations
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
3.46
article

Optical photon-counting observation of the Crab pulsar with the Kanata telescope using a prototype IMONY

Hiroshi Akitaya, Fuminori Tsuchiya, Takeshi Nakamori, Yuga Ouchi, M. Shoji, Kazuaki Hashiyama, T. Terasawa, Koji S. Kawabata, Kazuhiro Takefuji, K. Ueno, Yasuhiro Murata, Hiroaki Misawa, Tatsuya Nakaoka, Dai Takei, Rin Sato, Anju Sato, Eiji Ono
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Abstract We have developed an optical photon-counting imaging system, IMONY, as an instrument for short-scale time-domain astronomy. In this study, we utilized a Geiger avalanche photodiode array with a $4\times 4$ pixel configuration, with each pixel measuring 100 µm. We developed a dedicated analog frontend board and constructed a data acquisition system with an FPGA to time-stamp each photon with a time resolution of 100 ns. We mounted a prototype model of the system on the 1.5 m Kanata telescope, intending to observe the Crab pulsar and conduct joint observations with the Iitate and Usuda radio telescopes in Japan. We successfully demonstrated that IMONY could image the Crab pulsar as an expected point source and acquire the well-known pulse shape. We found that the time lag between the optical and radio main pulses was $304\pm 35$ µs, consistent with previous studies.

Publications of the Astronomical Society of JapanVol. 77(2)
Yamagata University (JP), Hiroshima University (JP), Fukui University of Technology (JP), Rikkyo University (JP), High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (JP), Tohoku University (JP), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JP), Institute of Particle and Nuclear Studies, The University of Tokyo (JP), Chiba Institute of Technology (JP), The University of Osaka (JP)
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Openalex Percentile: Top 9%
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
3.46
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