Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA)

Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next-generation pointed gamma-ray observatory. With about a hundred telescopes spread across the northern and southern hemispheres, in La Palma (Canary islands) and the Atacama desert (Chili) respectively, CTA will cover a wide energy range from a few tens of GeV to around a hundred TeV. The sensitivity of CTA, increased by a factor of 5 to 10 compared to current ground-based observatories (H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS), will make it possible to multiply the number of known sources at very high energy and to open an unprecedented window on cosmic accelerators via in-depth studies of emblematic sources and populations, such as for example supernova remnants:

Tycho supernova remnant in X-rays – Credits : Chandra X-ray observatory

The construction of CTA is a major project involving more than 1,500 members from 150 laboratories in 25 countries. The IJCLab group is participating in the construction of the NectarCAM cameras, which will equip the medium-sized telescopes (12-m diameter reflector). In particular, the group is developing, in collaboration with the engineering division of IJCLab and the partner IN2P3 laboratories, the NectarCAM calibration systems. The systems developed at IJCLab will enable precise measurement of the gain of the camera’s photodetectors and thus an accurate reconstruction of the energy of the primary gamma rays.

Medium-sized telescope of CTA – Credits: G. Pérez, IAC, SMM