Status and performance results from NectarCam -- a camera for CTA medium sized telescopes

Abstract

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the first ground-based observatory for gamma-ray astronomy. With more than a hundred of 4th generation of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) distributed in two large arrays, CTA will reach unprecedented sensitivity, angular resolution, and spectral coverage. Three classes of IACT -- 40 Medium-Sized Telescopes (MSTs), 8 Large-Sized Telescopes (LSTs) and 70 Small-Sized Telescopes (SSTs) -- are required to cover the full CTA energy range (20 GeV to 300 TeV). NectarCAM is a Cherenkov camera which is designed to equip medium sized telescopes of CTA, covering the central energy range from 100 GeV to 30 TeV, with a field of view of 8 degrees. It's based on a modular design with data channels using the NECTAr chip, which are equipped with both GHz sampling Switched Capacitor Array and 12-bit Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). The camera will be equipped of 265 modules, each module consisting of 7 photomultiplier Tubes (PMTs) and a Front End Board performing the data capture, sending the data over the Ethernet after the trigger decision at rates up to 10 kHz. This contribution provides an overview of the status of the first NectarCAM camera currently under integration in Saclay. Furthermore, we will discuss the calibration strategies and present performance results from the Saclay test bench and from the first data taken under a real sky on the prototype of medium sized telescope (MST) structure in Adlershof (Germany).