The Cherenkov Telescopes Array: status and perspectives (presentacion mural y articulo enviado)

MEDINA, M.C.; M. ORELLANA; G.E. ROMERO

Mar del Plata

Congreso; 55 Reunión anual de la Asociación Argentina de Astronomía; 2012

Asociación Argentina de Astronomía

The astonishing progress of the ground-based Gamma-Ray Astronomy in the last 10 years (mainly due to high performant instruments such as H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS) has inspired the scientific community involved to go for the next step in the evolution of the ground-based Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Technique. An international Consortium was formed to realize this aim and conceived CTA as an array of Cherenkov telescopes working as an open observatory, covering a wide energy range, with a 10 times enhanced sensitivity and with improved spatial, temporal and energy resolution. At this moment the design stage of CTA has been completed and the project is entering on its preparatory phase in which prototyping and testing are the main tasks before starting the construction foreseen in 2014. In this paper I describe the status of the project, the technical challenges and give an insight on the involved physics.