41. Prospects for Galactic transient sources detection with the Cherenkov Telescope ArrayAlicia López-Oramas, Saptashwa Bhattacharyya, Barbara MARČUN, Judit Pérez Romero, Samo Stanič, Veronika Vodeb, Serguei Vorobiov, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Marko Zavrtanik, Danilo Zavrtanik, Miha Živec, 2021, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: Several types of Galactic sources, like magnetars, microquasars, novae or pulsar wind nebulae flares, display transient emission in the X-ray band. Some of these sources have also shown emission at MeV–GeV energies. However, none of these Galactic transients have ever been detected in the very-high-energy (VHE; E>100 GeV) regime by any Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope (IACT). The Galactic Transient task force is a part of the Transient Working group of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) Consortium. The task force investigates the prospects of detecting the VHE counterpart of such sources, as well as their study following Target of Opportunity (ToO) observations. In this contribution, we will show some of the results of exploring the capabilities of CTA to detect and observe Galactic transients; we assume di˙erent array configurations and observing strategies. Keywords: Cherenkov Telescope Array, galactic transient sources, very-high energy gamma rays Published in RUNG: 18.09.2023; Views: 1442; Downloads: 5 Full text (1,57 MB) This document has many files! More... |
42. Performance of the Cherenkov Telescope Array in the presence of cloudsMario Pecimotika, Saptashwa Bhattacharyya, Barbara MARČUN, Judit Pérez Romero, Samo Stanič, Veronika Vodeb, Serguei Vorobiov, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Marko Zavrtanik, Danilo Zavrtanik, Miha Živec, 2021, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the future ground-based observatory for gamma-ray astronomy at very high energies. The atmosphere is an integral part of every Cherenkov telescope. Di˙erent atmospheric conditions, such as clouds, can reduce the fraction of Cherenkov photons produced in air showers that reach ground-based telescopes, which may a˙ect the performance. Decreased sensitivity of the telescopes may lead to misconstructed energies and spectra. This study presents the impact of various atmospheric conditions on CTA performance. The atmospheric transmission in a cloudy atmosphere in the wavelength range from 203 nm to 1000 nm was simulated for di˙erent cloud bases and di˙erent optical depths using the MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission (MODTRAN) code. MODTRAN output files were used as inputs for generic Monte Carlo simulations. The analysis was performed using the MAGIC Analysis and Reconstruction Software (MARS) adapted for CTA. As expected, the e˙ects of clouds are most evident at low energies, near the energy threshold. Even in the presence of dense clouds, high-energy gamma rays may still trigger the telescopes if the first interaction occurs lower in the atmosphere, below the cloud base. A method to analyze very high-energy data obtained in the presence of clouds is presented. The systematic uncertainties of the method are evaluated. These studies help to gain more precise knowledge about the CTA response to cloudy conditions and give insights on how to proceed with data obtained in such conditions. This may prove crucial for alert-based observations and time-critical studies of transient phenomena. Keywords: Cherenkov Telescope Array, very-high energy gamma rays, MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission code, MAGIC Analysis and Reconstruction Software Published in RUNG: 18.09.2023; Views: 1429; Downloads: 5 Full text (980,51 KB) This document has many files! More... |
43. Performance of a proposed event-type based analysis for the Cherenkov Telescope ArrayTarek Hassan, Saptashwa Bhattacharyya, Barbara MARČUN, Judit Pérez Romero, Samo Stanič, Veronika Vodeb, Serguei Vorobiov, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Marko Zavrtanik, Danilo Zavrtanik, Miha Živec, 2021, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the next-generation observatory in the field of very-high-energy (20 GeV to 300 TeV) gamma-ray astroparticle physics. Classically, data analysis in the field maximizes sensitivity by applying quality cuts on the data acquired. These cuts, optimized using Monte Carlo simulations, select higher quality events from the initial dataset. Subsequent steps of the analysis typically use the surviving events to calculate one set of instrument response functions (IRFs). An alternative approach is the use of event types, as implemented in experiments such as the Fermi-LAT. In this approach, events are divided into sub-samples based on their reconstruction quality, and a set of IRFs is calculated for each sub-sample. The sub-samples are then combined in a joint analysis, treating them as independent observations. This leads to an improvement in performance parameters such as sensitivity, angular and energy resolution. Data loss is reduced since lower quality events are included in the analysis as well, rather than discarded. In this study, machine learning methods will be used to classify events according to their expected angular reconstruction quality. We will report the impact on CTA high-level performance when applying such an event-type classification, compared to the classical procedure. Keywords: Cherenkov Telescope Array, very-high-energy gamma-rays, event-type based analysis Published in RUNG: 18.09.2023; Views: 1489; Downloads: 9 Full text (1,03 MB) This document has many files! More... |
44. Monte Carlo Simulations and Validation of NectarCAM, a Medium Sized Telescope Camera for CTAThomas P. Armstrong, Saptashwa Bhattacharyya, Barbara MARČUN, Judit Pérez Romero, Samo Stanič, Veronika Vodeb, Serguei Vorobiov, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Marko Zavrtanik, Danilo Zavrtanik, Miha Živec, 2021, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) ground-based gamma-ray observatory will open up our view of the very high energy Universe, o˙ering an improvement in sensitivity of 5-10 times that of previous experiments. NectarCAM is one of the proposed cameras for the Medium-Sized Telescopes (MST) which have been designed to cover the core energy range of CTA, from 100 GeV to 10 TeV. The final camera will be capable of GHz sampling and provide a field of view of 8 degrees with its 265 modules of 7 photomultiplier each (for a total of 1855 pixels). In order to validate the performance of NectarCAM, a partially-equipped prototype has been constructed consisting of only the inner 61-modules. It has so far undergone testing at the integration test-bench facility in CEA Paris-Saclay (France) and on a prototype of the MST structure in Adlershof (Germany). To characterize the performance of the prototype, Monte Carlo simulations were conducted using a detailed model of the 61 module camera in the CORSIKA/sim_telarray framework. This contribution provides an overview of this work including the comparison of trigger and readout performance on test-bench data and trigger and image parameterization performance during on-sky measurements. Keywords: Cherenkov Telescope Array, ground-based gamma-ray observatory, NectarCAM, Medium-Sized Telescopes Published in RUNG: 18.09.2023; Views: 1449; Downloads: 5 Full text (1,83 MB) This document has many files! More... |
45. Prototype Open Event Reconstruction Pipeline for the Cherenkov Telescope ArrayMaximilian Nöthe, Saptashwa Bhattacharyya, Barbara MARČUN, Judit Pérez Romero, Samo Stanič, Veronika Vodeb, Serguei Vorobiov, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Marko Zavrtanik, Danilo Zavrtanik, Miha Živec, 2021, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next-generation gamma-ray observatory currently under construction. It will improve over the current generation of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) by a factor of five to ten in sensitivity and it will be able to observe the whole sky from a combination of two sites: a northern site in La Palma, Spain, and a southern one in Paranal, Chile. CTA will also be the first open gamma-ray observatory. Accordingly, the data analysis pipeline is developed as open-source software. The event reconstruction pipeline accepts raw data of the telescopes and processes it to produce suitable input for the higher-level science tools. Its primary tasks include reconstructing the physical properties of each recorded shower and providing the corresponding instrument response functions.
ctapipe is a framework providing algorithms and tools to facilitate raw data calibration, image extraction, image parameterization and event reconstruction. Its main focus is currently the analysis of simulated data but it has also been successfully applied for the analysis of data obtained with the first CTA prototype telescopes, such as the Large-Sized Telescope 1 (LST-1).
pyirf is a library to calculate IACT instrument response functions, needed to obtain physics results like spectra and light curves, from the reconstructed event lists.
Building on these two, protopipe is a prototype for the event reconstruction pipeline for CTA. Recent developments in these software packages will be presented. Keywords: Cherenkov Telescope Array, gamma-ray observatory, vent reconstruction pipeline, Large-Sized Telescope 1 Published in RUNG: 18.09.2023; Views: 1261; Downloads: 6 Full text (1,42 MB) This document has many files! More... |
46. The Cherenkov Telescope Array transient and multi-messenger programAlessandro Carosi, Saptashwa Bhattacharyya, Barbara MARČUN, Judit Pérez Romero, Samo Stanič, Veronika Vodeb, Serguei Vorobiov, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Marko Zavrtanik, Danilo Zavrtanik, Miha Živec, 2021, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a next generation ground-based very-high-energy gamma-ray observatory that will allow for observations in the >10 GeV range with unprece-dented photon statistics and sensitivity. This will enable the investigation of the yet-marginally explored physics of short-time-scale transient events. CTA will thus become an invaluable instru-ment for the study of the physics of the most extreme and violent objects and their interactions with the surrounding environment. The CTA Transient program includes follow-up observations of a wide range of multi-wavelength and multi-messenger alerts, ranging from compact galactic binary systems to extragalactic events such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), core-collapse supernovae and bright AGN flares. In recent years, the first firm detection of GRBs by current Cherenkov telescope collaborations, the proven connection between gravitational waves and short GRBs, as well as the possible neutrino-blazar association with TXS 0506+056 have shown the importance of coordinated follow-up observations triggered by these di˙erent cosmic signals in the framework of the birth of multi-messenger astrophysics. In the next years, CTA will play a major role in these types of observations by taking advantage of its fast slewing (especially for the CTA Large Size Telescopes), large e˙ective area and good sensitivity, opening new opportunities for time-domain astrophysics in an energy range not a˙ected by selective absorption processes typical of other wavelengths. In this contribution we highlight the common approach adopted by the CTA Tran-sients physics working group to perform the study of transient sources in the very-high-energy regime. Keywords: Cherenkov Telescope Array, very-high-energy gamma-rays, CTA Transient program, multi-wavelength astronomy, multi-messenger astronomy Published in RUNG: 18.09.2023; Views: 1683; Downloads: 7 Full text (1,63 MB) This document has many files! More... |
47. Reconstruction of stereoscopic CTA events using deep learning with CTLearnTjark Miener, Saptashwa Bhattacharyya, Barbara MARČUN, Judit Pérez Romero, Samo Stanič, Veronika Vodeb, Serguei Vorobiov, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Marko Zavrtanik, Danilo Zavrtanik, Miha Živec, 2021, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), conceived as an array of tens of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs), is an international project for a next-generation ground-based gamma-ray observatory, aiming to improve on the sensitivity of current-generation instruments a factor of five to ten and provide energy coverage from 20 GeV to more than 300 TeV. Arrays of IACTs probe the very-high-energy gamma-ray sky. Their working principle consists of the simultaneous observation of air showers initiated by the interaction of very-high-energy gamma rays and cosmic rays with the atmosphere. Cherenkov photons induced by a given shower are focused onto the camera plane of the telescopes in the array, producing a multi-stereoscopic record of the event. This image contains the longitudinal development of the air shower, together with its spatial, temporal, and calorimetric information. The properties of the originating very-high-energy particle (type, energy, and incoming direction) can be inferred from those images by reconstructing the full event using machine learning techniques. In this contribution, we present a purely deep-learning driven, full-event reconstruction of simulated, stereoscopic IACT events using CTLearn. CTLearn is a package that includes modules for loading and manipulating IACT data and for running deep learning models, using pixel-wise camera data as input. Keywords: Cherenkov Telescope Array, very-high-energy gamma-rays, CTLearn Published in RUNG: 18.09.2023; Views: 1501; Downloads: 6 Full text (4,96 MB) This document has many files! More... |
48. Detection methods for the Cherenkov Telescope Array at very-short exposure timesAmbra Di Piano, Saptashwa Bhattacharyya, Barbara MARČUN, Judit Pérez Romero, Samo Stanič, Veronika Vodeb, Serguei Vorobiov, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Marko Zavrtanik, Danilo Zavrtanik, Miha Živec, 2021, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be the next generation ground-based observatory for very-high-energy (VHE) gamma-ray astronomy, with the deployment of tens of highly sensitive and fast-reacting Cherenkov telescopes. It will cover a wide energy range (20 GeV - 300 TeV) with unprecedented sensitivity. To maximize the scientific return, the observatory will be provided with an online software system that will perform the first analysis of scientific data in real-time. This study investigates the precision and accuracy of available science tools and analysis techniques for the short-term detection of gamma-ray sources, in terms of sky localization, detection significance and, if significant detection is achieved, a first estimation of the integral photon flux. The scope is to evaluate the feasibility of the algorithms’ implementation in the real-time analysis of CTA. In this contribution we present a general overview of the methods and some of the results for the test case of the short-term detection of a gamma-ray burst afterglow, as the VHE counterpart of a gravitational wave event. Keywords: very-high-energy gamma-rays, Cherenkov Telescope Array, gamma-ray astronomy Published in RUNG: 18.09.2023; Views: 1408; Downloads: 7 Full text (1,08 MB) This document has many files! More... |
49. Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array to a dark matter signal from the Galactic centreChristopher Eckner, Saptashwa Bhattacharyya, Barbara MARČUN, Judit Pérez Romero, Samo Stanič, Veronika Vodeb, Serguei Vorobiov, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Marko Zavrtanik, Danilo Zavrtanik, Miha Živec, 2021, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: High-energy gamma rays are promising tools to constrain or reveal the nature of dark matter, in particular Weakly Interacting Massive Particles. Being well into its pre-construction phase, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will soon probe the sky in the 20 GeV - 300 TeV energy range. Thanks to its improved energy and angular resolutions as well as significantly larger e˙ective area when compared to the current generation of Cherenkov telescopes, CTA is expected to probe heavier dark matter, with unprecedented sensitivity, reaching the thermal annihilation cross-section at 1 TeV.
This talk will summarise the planned dark matter search strategies with CTA, focusing on the signal from the Galactic centre. As observed with the Fermi LAT at lower energies, this region is rather complex and CTA will be the first ground-based observatory sensitive to the large scale di˙use astrophysical emission from that region. We report on the collaboration e˙ort to study the impact of such extended astrophysical backgrounds on the dark matter search, based on Fermi-LAT data in order to guide our observational strategies, taking into account various sources of systematic uncertainty. Keywords: high-energy gamma rays, Cherenkov Telescope Array, dark matter, galactic centre Published in RUNG: 18.09.2023; Views: 1310; Downloads: 9 Full text (2,47 MB) This document has many files! More... |
50. Cherenkov Telescope Array: the World's largest VHE gamma-ray observatoryRoberta Zanin, Saptashwa Bhattacharyya, Barbara MARČUN, Judit Pérez Romero, Samo Stanič, Veronika Vodeb, Serguei Vorobiov, Gabrijela Zaharijas, Marko Zavrtanik, Danilo Zavrtanik, Miha Živec, 2021, published scientific conference contribution (invited lecture) Abstract: Very-High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray astroparticle physics is a relatively young field, and obser-vations 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 Observatory (CTAO), 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. CTAO 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. I will conclude the talk presenting the first scientific results obtained by the LST-1, the prototype of one CTA telescope type - the Large Sized Telescope, that is currently under commission. Keywords: Very-High Energy Gamma-rays, Cherenkov Telescope Array Published in RUNG: 18.09.2023; Views: 1500; Downloads: 7 Full text (2,39 MB) This document has many files! More... |