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A site evaluation campaign for a ground based atmospheric Cherenkov telescope in Romania

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Abstract

Around the world, several scientific projects share the interest of a global network of small Cherenkov telescopes for monitoring observations of the brightest blazars—the DWARF network. A small, ground based, imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope of last generation is intended to be installed and operated in Romania as a component of the DWARF network. To prepare the construction of the observatory, two support projects have been initiated. Within the framework of these projects, we have assessed a number of possible sites where to settle the observatory. In this paper we submit a brief report on the general characteristics of the best four sites selected after the local infrastructure, the nearby facilities and the social impact criteria have been applied.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Wolfgang Rhode and Michael Backes for the very enlightening discussions. This work was supported by the Romanian Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sport, the National Center for the Management of Programs (CNMP), through grant 81-010/2007/Program 4.

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Correspondence to Aurelian Andrei Radu.

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Radu, A.A., Angelescu, T., Curtef, V. et al. A site evaluation campaign for a ground based atmospheric Cherenkov telescope in Romania. Exp Astron 34, 31–42 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-012-9297-y

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