defriten
defriten

Ce portail offre des connaissances de base sur le thème de l'astronomie et présente les travaux et coopérations de recherche actuels en Suisse.

Immagine: ESO

Gamma-ray astronomy

A major project for the observation of gamma rays is the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), which is currently still under construction.

Cherenkov Telescope Array

The Cherenkov Telescope Array is a project organised by various countries. Researchers are setting up a total of ten Cherenkov telescopes in the Atacama Desert in Chile (i.e. in the southern hemisphere) and on La Palma in the Canary Islands (i.e. in the northern hemisphere). These are used to observe Cherenkov flashes (see box on right) in the Earth's atmosphere and to gain insights into supernovae or gamma-ray bursts.
The telescopes on La Palma will be sensitive to radiation with energies between 20 GeV and 20 TeV. Those in the Atacama Desert will be sensitive between 20 GeV to 300 TeV and, therefore, a significantly larger spectrum.
The project has been running since 2010, and the telescopes should be operational from 2025.

Possible CTA installation on La Palma
Possible CTA installation on La PalmaImmagine: Gabriel Pérez Díaz, IAC
Possible CTA set-up in Chile
Possible CTA set-up in ChileImmagine: Gabriel Pérez Diaz, IAC / Marc-André Besel, CTAO

Gamma rays from galaxies or the remains of supernovae generate particle showers in the Earth's atmosphere. These are slowed down by the atmosphere and, in turn, trigger a shower of particles. This second particle shower can be observed with special telescopes.