Background Measurements and Simulations of the ComPair Balloon Flight
ComPair, a prototype of the All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory (AMEGO), completed a short-duration high-altitude balloon campaign on 27 August 2023 from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, USA. The goal of the balloon flight was to demonstrate ComPair as both a Compton and Pair telescope in flight, reject the charged particle background, and measure the background γ-ray spectrum. This analysis compares measurements from the balloon flight with Monte Carlo simulations to benchmark the instrument. The comparison finds good agreement between the measurements and simulations and supports the conclusion that ComPair accomplished its goals for the balloon campaign. Additionally, two charged particle background rejection schemes are discussed: a soft ACD veto that records a higher charged particle event rate but with less risk of event loss, and a hard ACD veto that limits the charged particle event rate on board. There was little difference in the measured spectra from the soft and hard ACD veto schemes, indicating that the hard ACD veto could be used for future flights. The successes of ComPair’s engineering flight will inform the development of the next generation of ComPair with upgraded detector technology and larger active area.
Authors
- Richard S. Woolf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4859-1711)
- Lucas Smith (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7610-4231)
- Iker Liceaga-Indart
- Alexander A. Moiseev (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0093-0358)
- S. Griffin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0779-9623)
- A. E. Bolotnikov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4886-8091)
- R. Caputo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9280-836X)
- Sambid Wasti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5979-3012)
- Carolyn Kierans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6677-914X)
- Jon Eric Grove
- E. Hays (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8172-593X)
- Emily Kong
- E. Wulf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9577-7888)
- Clio Sleator (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4732-6174)
- Janeth Valverde (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8090-6528)
- Nicholas Kirschner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6716-4128)
- G. Carini
- Daniel Shy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3699-265X)
- Priyarshini Ghosh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1293-3660)
- J. Fried (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3734-8954)
- Zachary Metzler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1236-8510)
- M. Sasaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8273-116X)
- Bernard F. Phlips
- Thomas J. Caligiure
- A. Wilder Crosier
- D. J. Thompson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5217-9135)
- N. Cannady (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2916-6955)
- Anna Zajczyk
- Julie McEnery
- Adam J. Schoenwald
- John Mitchell
- Sven Herrmann
- Jeremy Perkins
- Lucas Parker
Institutions
- Marquette University (US)
- United States Naval Research Laboratory (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Technology Service Corporation (United States) (US)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (US)
- University of America (US)
- George Washington University (US)
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (US)
- Global Science & Technology (United States) (US)
- Energy Center of Wisconsin (US)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County (US)
- Catholic University of America (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Particles
- Published
- 2025-07-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/particles8030069
- Primary Topic
- Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Goddard Space Flight Center
- Office of Naval Research
- U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
- Astrophysics Division