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Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory

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Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory
Alternative namesCherenkov Telescope Array Observatory Edit this at Wikidata
Websitewww.ctao.org Edit this at Wikidata
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The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory, or CTAO, will be the world’s largest and most powerful observatory for gamma-ray astronomy, with an energy range that extendsing from20 GeV to about 300 TeV. It will consist of two arrays of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACT), one in the Northern Hemisphere on the Spanish island of La Palma, with an emphasis on the study of extragalactic objects at the lowest possible energies, and the second in the Southern Hemisphere in the Atacama Desert in Chile, which will concentrate on galactic sources. The physics program of the CTAO goes beyond high-energy astrophysics into cosmology and fundamental physics.[1]

CTAO Telescope

Building on the technology of current-generation ground-based gamma-ray detectors (MAGIC, HESS, and VERITAS), the CTAO will be ten times more sensitive and have unprecedented accuracy in its detection of high-energy gamma rays. Current gamma-ray telescope arrays host up to five individual telescopes, but the CTAO is designed to detect gamma rays over a larger area and a wider range of views, with more than 6100 telescopes located in the northern and southern hemispheres. At least three classes of telescopes are required to cover the full CTAO energy range (20 GeV to 300 TeV): Large-Sized Telescope (LST), Medium-Sized Telescope (MST), and Small-Sized Telescope (SST).[2]

The CTAO is a Big Data project. The Observatory generates hundreds of petabytes (PB) of data in a year. Based on its commitment to Open Science, the CTAO will be the first gamma-ray observatory of its kind to operate as an open, proposal-driven observatory providing public access to its high-level science data and software products.

In January 2025, the CTAO was established as an ERIC, European Research Infrastructure Consortium, by the European Commission. The creation of the CTAO ERIC has enabled the Observatory’s construction to advance rapidly and provided a framework for distributing its data worldwide, significantly accelerating its progress toward scientific discovery.[3]

The project was promoted to a landmark on the roadmap of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) and is on the roadmaps for the Aspera European Astroparticle network and Astronet.

Locations

Rendering of the CTAO southern site

The CTAO Headquarters is hosted by the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) in Bologna, Italy, and the Science Data Management Centre (SDMC) is hosted by the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Zeuthen, Germany. [4]

Rendering of the CTAO northern site

The CTAO's northern hemisphere site, CTAO-North, is located on the existing site of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias’ (IAC’s) Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma, the fifth largest island in the Canary Islands. At 2,200 metres of altitude and nestled on a plateau below the rim of an extinct volcanic crater, the site currently hosts a prototype of the LST, the LST-1, and three additional LSTs (LST-2, LST-3 and LST-4) are under construction by the CTAO LST Collaboration. In addition to the four LSTs, the site will also host MSTs.[5]

The CTAO’s southern hemisphere site, CTAO-South, is located less than 10 km southeast of the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO’s) of Paranal Observatory in the Atacama Desert in Chile, which is considered one of the driest and most isolated regions on Earth – a paradise for stargazers. The site will host MSTs and SSTs, and potentially LSTs.[6]

Science

Image illustrates all three classes of telescopes planned.[7]

The CTAO will look at higher-energy photons than ever measured before. Its cosmic particle accelerators can reach energies inaccessible to such accelerators as the Large Hadron Collider. The CTAO will seek to understand the impact of high-energy particles in the evolution of cosmic systems and to gain insight into the most extreme and unusual phenomena in the Universe. It will also search for annihilating dark matter particles and deviations from Einstein's theory of special relativity, even conducting a census of particle acceleration in the Universe.[8]Additionally, the CTAO will play a key role in both multi-wavelength and multi-messenger fields in the coming decades thanks to its enhanced performance, which will allow it to provide fundamental gamma-ray information in the quest to probe the most extreme scenarios.

Research at the CTAO will seek to address questions in and beyond astrophysics that fall under three major themes of study: understanding the origin and role of relativistic cosmic particles, probing extreme environments, and exploring frontiers in physics. To address these themes, the CTAO’s observations will include the following key targets: Galactic Center, Large Magellanic Cloud, Galactic Plane, galaxy clusters, cosmic ray PeVatrons, star-forming systems, active galactic nuclei, and transient phenomena.[9]

Possible increase of light pollution

The planned INNA megaproject by AES Andes, with 1,000 light sources installed just 5 km from the southern part of CTAO, threatens to increase light pollution at the location by 55%.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ The CTA Consortium (2019). Science with the Cherenkov Telescope Array. World Scientific. Bibcode:2019scta.book.....C. doi:10.1142/10986. hdl:11568/1197188. ISBN 978-981-3270-08-4. S2CID 119194404.
  2. ^ "CTAO Telescopes". CTAO. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  3. ^ "CTAO Becomes European Research Infrastructure Consortium". CTAO. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  4. ^ "CTAO Facilities". CTAO. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  5. ^ "CTAO-North". CTAO. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  6. ^ "CTAO-South". CTAO. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  7. ^ "ESO to Host Cherenkov Telescope Array-South at Paranal – ESO enters partnership with the world's largest gamma-ray observatory". www.eso.org. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  8. ^ "CTAO Science". CTAO. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  9. ^ "CTAO Study Themes". CTAO. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  10. ^ information@eso.org. "New ESO analysis confirms severe damage from industrial complex planned near Paranal". eso.org. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
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