The LARIX (LARge Italian X-ray facility) is a multi-project facility situated in the Scientific-Technological Pole of the University of Ferrara, housed in an underground building featuring a 100-meter-long tunnel with two large experimental rooms on each side. Dedicated to the development and testing of X- and Gamma-ray astronomy instrumentation, LARIX hosts two beamlines: the 12-meter-long LARIX-A in experimental room A, suitable for linearity tests of hard X-ray detectors, reflectivity measurements of X-ray reflector samples, and ground calibrations; and the 50-meter-long LARIX-T installed in the tunnel, ideal for testing gamma-ray reflectors and low-weight gamma-ray detector prototypes when requiring low-divergence beams or lengthy beamlines.
This presentation will provide an overview of both installations, their instrumentation, past projects, and opportunities for access through collaborations or transnational access programs like AHEAD.
Furthermore, we will discuss recent advancements in Laue lens development that we did in LARIX, particularly the TRILL project, supported by ASI, aimed at advancing the technological readiness of Laue lenses. Future goals include the ASTENA mission concept, submitted to the ESA program ‘Voyage 2050’, featuring a narrow field telescope (NFT) based on a focusing Laue lens with an energy passband from 50 to 700 keV and a 20-meter focal length, promising breakthroughs in sensitivity and angular resolution in this energy band. Additionally, we will explore innovative concepts such as a high-energy Laue lens spectro-polarimeter, inspired by the recent success of the IXPE mission.
Local contact: Thierry FOGLIZZO
Organization: Frédéric GALLIANO
DAp