MR. SUJAY MATE

Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic explosions in the universe. Since their discovery in the early 1960s, many space missions have been dedicated to their study. Current large missions like Neil Gehrels SWIFT observatory and Fermi Gamma-ray Telescope along with ground-based optical/radio follow-up have given significant insights into the GRB physics. To further advance our knowledge about GRBs as well as high energy astrophysics in general, China and France have proposed a mission called SVOM which will fly in late 2021. SVOM will perform a multi-wavelength study of these objects. The primary objective of the mission is to detect and localise GRBs in near real-time and carry out their rapid follow-up using space and ground telescopes. One of the important instruments aboard SVOM will be the wide-field X / gamma-ray telescope ECLAIRs. It will be the key instrument to detect and localise GRBs with an accuracy of a few arcminutes. The GRBs will be detected using an onboard as well as an offline (on ground) trigger. It is known from previous missions that for a wide field instrument, the observed background level has an impact on the sensitivity of the instrument. It is then important to have a correct estimate of the background to optimize the triggers. To determine the ECLAIRs background, we have developed a fast and accurate method called Particle Interaction Recycling Approach (PIRA). The PIRA can be easily scaled to any other high-energy space instrument. In the first part of the talk, the speaker will give an overview of the SVOM mission with a brief description of the instruments, its science goals, and observing strategy. In the second part, he will briefly describe PIRA with the focus on its application to the ECLAIRs.