Speaker
Description
The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) is often described as the world's most powerful ground-based gamma-ray observatory. This is particularly true in the time domain.
The collection areas of Fermi-LAT, LHAASO, and the CTAO are approximately 1, 10³, and 10⁵ m², respectively, above a threshold of 50 GeV. In a signal-dominated regime, the event rate above 50 GeV is expected to be three to five orders of magnitude higher for the CTAO. Thus, a bright event that can be detected on minute timescales with the CTAO would only be detected at the same statistical significance on daily or monthly timescales with LHAASO and Fermi-LAT, respectively. With the CTAO, we can anticipate measuring the spectra of the most extreme transients over short timescales in both the Milky Way 一 including flares from pulsar wind nebulae, magnetars, microquasars, and novae 一 and beyond our Galaxy, particularly active galactic nuclei and gamma-ray bursts. The CTAO's main time-domain targets also include fast radio bursts, tidal disruption events, and supernova shock breakouts, as well as counterparts to sources of gravitational waves, neutrinos, and the most energetic cosmic rays. Key to the CTAO's success is its ability to respond to internal and external alerts. With nearly 1,200 hours of observation time at each of its sites, following alerts for around two hours would enable the CTAO to respond to (and issue) a thousand alerts per year across the entire sky at most. This is five to six orders of magnitude below the expected alert rate from upcoming transient factories at longer wavelengths. The alert selection strategy of the CTAO, its ability to respond quickly, and its capacity to transmit relevant information to the astronomical community will be crucial to mapping the non-thermal universe in space and time.
This presentation highlights the CTAO's technical and scientific performance in the time domain. The Observatory's potential in this emerging field of astronomy is undeniable. Its impact, in terms of both stand-alone and multi-facility discoveries, hinges on our ability to prepare for a large expected rate of detections and adapt our observation strategies to unexpected events, which may unveil scientific wonders beyond our current imagination.
| Collaboration(s) | CTAO Consortium |
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