Some of these topics can be investigated already both with the ASTRI prototype and with the mini array of 9 ASTRI telescopes.
Prototype
With the prototype we can monitor some high-energy sources such as the Crab and the active galactic nuclei MRK 421, MRK 501 and 1ES 1959 + 650 that emit gamma-ray bursts above few TeV.
The mini-array
On a longer timescale, the mini-array of 9 ASTRI telescopes, thanks to the sensitivity that for energy over few TeV will be much better than the sensitivity of its predecessors, will allow studies of specific sources both in the Galactic plane (such as the sites of cosmic ray acceleration) and outside our galaxy, testing new physical models or the existence of elusive particles such as the axions.
Moreover, the wide field of view of the mini-array of ASTRI (about 5 degrees of diameter useful for Cherenkov images) will allow both to study multiple sources simultaneously and to investigate extended sources without making observation mosaics. Therefore, the preferential targeting strategy will be to identify particular areas of the sky that contain potentially important sources. A typical example is the spiral arms of our Galaxy.
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