784 research outputs found
Contributions from the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) Consortium to the ICRC 2011
No full textThe Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a project for the construction of a next generation VHE gamma ray observatory with full sky coverage. Its aim is improving by about one order of magnitude the sensitivity of the existing installations, covering about 5 decades in energy (from few tens of GeV to above a hundred TeV) and having enhanced angular and energy resolutions. During 2010 the project became a truly global endeavour carried out by a consortium of about 750 collaborators from Europe, Asia, Africa and the North and South Americas. Also during 2010 the CTA project completed its Design Study phase and started a Preparatory Phase that is expected to extend for three years and should lead to the starting of the construction of CTA. An overview of the CTA Consortium activities project will be given
The Cerenkov telescope array project status
No full textThe Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) represents the next generation ground-based observatory for gamma-ray astronomy at very-high energies. It will be capable of detecting gamma rays in the energy range from 20 GeV to more than 300 TeV with unprecedented precision in energy and directional reconstruction. CTA will be located in the northern hemisphere at La Palma, Spain, and in the southern hemisphere at Paranal, Chile, and will comprise more than 100 telescopes of three different types. CTA will be one of the largest astronomical infrastuctures in the world with open data access and it will address questions in astronomy, astrophysics and fundamental physics in the next decades. In this contribution we will present the status of the CTA construction, discuss the telescope prototypes, highlight the scientific perspectives and the instrument performances
Synergies
No full textCTA will have important synergies with many of the new generation of astronomical and astroparticle observatories. As the flagship VHE gamma-ray observatory for the coming decades, CTA plays a similar role in the VHE waveband as the SKA in radio, ALMA at millimetre, or E-ELT/TMT/GMT in the optical wavebands, providing excellent sensitivity and resolution compared to prior facilities. At the same time, the scientific output of CTA will be enhanced by the additional capabilities provided by these instruments (and vice-versa). MWL and MM studies using CTA provide added value to the science cases in two main ways
Status of the technologies for the production of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) mirrors
No full textThe Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next generation very high-energy gamma-ray observatory, with at least 10 times higher sensitivity than current instruments. CTA will comprise several tens of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) operated in array-mode and divided into three size classes: large, medium and small telescopes. The total reflective surface could be up to 10,000 m2 requiring unprecedented technological efforts. The properties of the reflector directly influence the telescope performance and thus constitute a fundamental ingredient to improve and maintain the sensitivity. The R&D status of lightweight, reliable and cost-effective mirror facets for the CTA telescope reflectors for the different classes of telescopes is reviewed in this paper.Fil: Pareschi, G.. INAF/Brera Astronomical Observatory; ItaliaFil: Medina, Maria Clementina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomia (i); ArgentinaFil: CTA Consortium. No especifíca
Developments for coating, testing, and the alignment of CTA mirrors
No full textThe telescopes of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will have segmented mirrors, with mirror facets of 1-2.5 m2 area. In the framework of the CTA mirror work package, the Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics in T¨ubingen (IAAT) is participating in the developments for procedures to coat glass-substrate based mirror facets, is preparing a mirror facet test facility, and is prototyping Active Mirror Control (AMC) alignment mechanics and electronics. The developments are based upon the experiences the group has gained through its participation in the preparations for the 27 m dish of H.E.S.S. phase II. We will present the current status of our work and plans for future developments. The devices and procedures will be relevant for all classes of telescopes that will finally form CTA
HAWC J2227+610: a potential PeVatron candidate for the CTA in the northern hemisphere [Elektronisk resurs]
No full textRecent observations of the gamma-ray source HAWC J2227+610 by Tibet AS+MD and LHAASO confirm the special interest of this source as a galactic PeVatron candidate in the northern hemisphere. HAWC J2227+610 emits Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-rays up to 500 TeV, from a region coincident with molecular clouds and significantly displaced from the nearby pulsar J2229+6114. Even if this morphology favours an hadronic origin, both leptonic or hadronic models can describe the current VHE gamma-ray emission. The morphology of the source is not well constrained by the present measurements and a better characterisation would greatly help the understanding of the underlying particle acceleration mechanisms. The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the future most sensitive Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope and, thanks to its unprecedented angular resolution, could contribute to better constrain the nature of this source. The present work investigates the potentiality of CTA to study the morphology and the spectrum of HAWC J2227+610. For this aim, the source is simulated assuming the hadronic model proposed by the Tibet AS+MD collaboration, recently fitted on multi-wavelength data, and two spatial templates associated to the source nearby molecular clouds. Different CTA layouts and observation times are considered. A 3D map based analysis shows that CTA is able to significantly detect the extension of the source and to attribute higher detection significance to the simulated molecular cloud template compared to the alternative one. CTA data does not allow to disentangle the hadronic and the leptonic emission models. However, it permits to correctly reproduce the simulated parent proton spectrum characterized by a ∼ 500 TeV cutoff. © Copyright owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons
Comparison of Fermi-LAT and CTA in the region between 10-100 GeV
No full textThe past decade has seen a dramatic improvement in the quality of data available at both high (HE: 100 MeV to 100 GeV) and very high (VHE: 100 GeV to 100 TeV) gamma-ray energies. With three years of data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and deep pointed observations with arrays of Cherenkov telescope, continuous spectral coverage from 100 MeV to similar to 10 TeV exists for the first time for the brightest gamma-ray sources. The Fermi-LAT is likely to continue for several years, resulting in significant improvements in high energy sensitivity. On the same timescale, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be constructed providing unprecedented VHE capabilities. The optimisation of CTA must take into account competition and complementarity with Fermi, in particularly in the overlapping energy range 10-100 GeV. Here we compare the performance of Fermi-LAT and the current baseline CTA design for steady and transient, point-like and extended sources. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Science with the Cherenkov Telescope Array
No full textThis book summarizes the science to be carried out by the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array, a major ground-based gamma-ray observatory that will be constructed over the next six to eight years. The major scientific themes, as well as core program of key science projects, have been developed by the CTA Consortium, a collaboration of scientists from many institutions worldwide. CTA will be the major facility in high-energy and very high-energy photon astronomy over the next decade and beyond. CTA will have capabilities well beyond past and present observatories. Thus, CTA's science program is expected to be rich and broad and will complement other major multiwavelength and multimessenger facilities. This book is intended to be the primary resource for the science case for CTA and it thus will be of great interest to the broader physics and astronomy communities. The electronic version (e-book) is available in open access
Cherenkov Telescope Array: The Next Generation Gamma-ray Observatory
No full textThe Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the next-generation gamma-ray observatory, investigating gamma-ray and cosmic ray astrophysics at energies from 20 GeV to more than 300 TeV. The observatory, consisting of large arrays of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes in both the southern and northern hemispheres, will provide full-sky coverage and will achieve a sensitivity improved by up to an order of magnitude compared to existing instruments such as H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS. CTA is expected to discover hundreds of new TeV gamma- ray sources, allowing it to significantly advance our understanding of the origin of cosmic rays, to probe much larger distances in the universe, and to search for WIMP dark matter with unprecedented sensitivity in TeV mass range. The development of CTA is being carried out by a worldwide consortium of scientists from 32 countries. Consortium scientists have developed the core scientific programme of CTA and institutes of the Consortium are expected to provide the bulk of the CTA components. The construction of CTA is overseen by the CTA Observatory that will in the future manage observatory operations, the guest observer programme, and data dissemination. This talk will review the scientific motivation for CTA, focusing on the key science projects that form the core programme of research. The talk will outline the design of CTA, including the science drivers, overall concept, performance optimization, and array layouts. The current status of CTA, including sites, prototype telescope progress, and steps forward will also be described
HAWC J2227+610: a potential PeVatron candidate for the CTA in the northern hemisphere
No full textInternational audienceRecent observations of the gamma-ray source HAWC J2227+610 by Tibet AS+MD and LHAASOconfirm the special interest of this source as a galactic PeVatron candidate in the northern hemisphere. HAWC J2227+610 emits Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-rays up to 500 TeV, froma region coincident with molecular clouds and significantly displaced from the nearby pulsarJ2229+6114. Even if this morphology favours an hadronic origin, both leptonic or hadronicmodels can describe the current VHE gamma-ray emission. The morphology of the source is notwell constrained by the present measurements and a better characterisation would greatly helpthe understanding of the underlying particle acceleration mechanisms. The Cherenkov TelescopeArray (CTA) will be the future most sensitive Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope and,thanks to its unprecedented angular resolution, could contribute to better constrain the nature ofthis source. The present work investigates the potentiality of CTA to study the morphology andthe spectrum of HAWC J2227+610. For this aim, the source is simulated assuming the hadronicmodel proposed by the Tibet AS+MD collaboration, recently fitted on multi-wavelength data, andtwo spatial templates associated to the source nearby molecular clouds. Different CTA layouts andobservation times are considered. A 3D map based analysis shows that CTA is able to significantlydetect the extension of the source and to attribute higher detection significance to the simulatedmolecular cloud template compared to the alternative one. CTA data does not allow to disentanglethe hadronic and the leptonic emission models. However, it permits to correctly reproduce thesimulated parent proton spectrum characterized by a ∼ 500 TeV cutoff
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