SPS Seminar - Ground-based Gamma-ray Astronomy and the Cherenkov Telescope Array

When:  Thursday 6^th May at 14.00

Where:  Microsoft Teams - Online

Speaker:  Paula Chadwick (Durham University)

Hosted by: Hugh Dickenson

Abstract:

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the major global observatory for very high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray astronomy over the next decade and beyond. Covering a photon energy range from 20 GeV to 300 TeV, CTA will have a wider field-of-view, higher sensitivity, and better angular resolution than any instrument that has gone before. Its two arrays will have unprecedented capability for surveys, imaging of gamma-ray sources and time-domain astrophysics. CTA’s science remit is wide. While the early science will come from the Key Science Projects, the observatory will be operated as an open, proposal-driven observatory, with all data available on a public archive after a proprietary period. In addition, data will be taken regularly as part of multiwavelength/multimessenger ToO campaigns.

This talk will start with a brief introduction to atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, followed by an overview of CTA and its science aims, particularly those relating to the Galactic plane, dark matter, and active galactic nuclei.
 

Bio

Paula Chadwick leads the gamma-ray astronomy group at Durham University. She is a member of the international, 1400-member Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) Consortium and is helping to build the cameras for the small-sized telescopes of the array. She is involved in instrumentation, particularly mirrors and calibration systems, and future science themes for CTA relating to active galaxies, dark matter, and globular clusters. She is also a founder member of the Southern Wide-field-of-view Gamma Ray Observatory (SWGO). She sits on more committees than is reasonable, including STFC’s Technology and Accelerator Advisory Board.