Abstract. With a launch expected in 2018, the TARANIS micro-satellite is dedicated to the study of transient phenomena observed in association with thunderstorms. On-board the spacecraft, XGRE and IDEE are two instruments dedicated to study Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) and associated electron beams (TEBs). XGRE can detect electrons (energy range: 1 MeV to 10 MeV) and X/gamma-rays (energy range: 20 keV to 10 MeV), with a very high counting capability (about 10 million counts per second), and the ability to discriminate one type of particle from the other. The IDEE instrument is focused on electrons in the 80 keV to 4 MeV energy range, with the ability to estimate their pitch angles. Monte-Carlo simulations of the TARANIS instruments, using a preliminary model of the spacecraft, allow sensitive area estimates for both instruments. It leads to an averaged effective area of 425 cm2 for XGRE to detect X/gamma rays from TGFs, and the combination of XGRE and IDEE gives an average effective area of 255 cm2 to detect electrons/positrons from TEBs. We then compare these performances to RHESSI, AGILE, and Fermi GBM, using performances extracted from literature for the TGF case, and with the help of Monte-Carlo simulations of their mass models for the TEB case. Combining these data with with the help of the MC-PEPTITA Monte-Carlo simulations of TGF propagation in the atmosphere, we build a self-consistent model of the TGF and TEB detection rates of RHESSI, AGILE, and Fermi. It can then be used to estimate that TARANIS should detect about 225 TGFs/year and 25 TEBs/year.
TARANIS XGRE and IDEE Detection Capability of Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes and Associated Electron Beams
