Speaker
Description
Very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray astroparticle physics is a relatively young field, and
observations over the past decade have surprisingly revealed almost two hundred VHE
emitters which appear to act as cosmic particle accelerators. These sources are an
important component of the Universe, influencing the evolution of stars and galaxies. At the
same time, they also act as a probe of physics in the most extreme environments known -
such as in supernova explosions, and around or after the merging of black holes and neutron
stars. However, the existing experiments have provided exciting glimpses, but often falling
short of supplying the full answer. A deeper understanding of the TeV sky requires a
significant improvement in sensitivity at TeV energies, a wider energy coverage from tens
of GeV to hundreds of TeV and a much better angular and energy resolution with respect to
the currently running facilities. The next generation gamma-ray observatory, the Cherenkov
Telescope Array (CTA), is the answer to this need. In this talk I will present this upcoming
observatory from its design to the construction, and its potential science exploitation. CTA
will allow the entire astronomical community to explore a new discovery space that will likely
lead to paradigm-changing breakthroughs. In particular, CTA has an unprecedented
sensitivity to short (sub-minute) timescale phenomena, placing it as a key instrument in the
future of multi-messenger and multi-wavelength time domain astronomy.