With broader energy coverage, better angular and energy resolution, and an order of magnitude improvement in sensitivity with respect to existing instruments, the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will revolutionize the study of the Universe at the highest energies. Here we summarize some of the scientific goals of the Observatory, with a focus on the core programme of Key Science Projects...
The purpose of this talk is to outline the needs for CTA science, and the collaboration opportunities in various research topics provided by CTA, in a multi-instrumental perspective. After providing a general panorama of the MWL synergies for CTA science, we will focus on some potential, specific linkages to Australian Astronomy, regarding, in particular, its large infrastructure of...
Transient sources are characterized by their unpredictable emission on timescales spanning milliseconds to years. Many transients are known to be emitters of high-energy gamma rays and are also potential sources of non-photonic signals that include cosmic rays, neutrinos and/or gravitational waves. The next generation observatory for very high energy gamma rays will be the Cherenkov Telescope...
Likely topics: UTMOST FRB localisation update Localised FRBs with ASKAP -- probing the IGM ASKAP repeaters CHIME finds repeating FRBs
The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder is located in the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) in outback Western Australia. It's wide-field and survey capabilities make it an excellent instrument for detecting transients, and performing follow-up observations. This talk presents highlights from ASKAP's fast radio burst (FRB) program, CRAFT, and reviews ASKAP's radio,...
X-ray binaries are accreting stellar-mass black hole and neutron star systems, which are known to launch relativistic jets. Transient X-ray binaries undergo sporadic outbursts in which the accretion rate and jet power both rise by orders of magnitude, occasionally reaching or exceeding the Eddington accretion rate. These spectacular outbursts make good potential targets for CTA observations....
The Gravitational-Wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) is a wide-field robotic optical instrument currently in operation on La Palma, Canary Islands. The scalable design consists of 8 individual 40 cm diameter astrographs on a single mount to instantaneously image a large 40 square degree field-of-view. The primary aim of GOTO is to detect and study electromagnetic counterparts to...
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous sources of electromagnetic radiation in the Universe, of which many fundamental aspects remain poorly understood. TeV gamma rays from GRBs are expected to provide crucial new information on the physical mechanisms of energy dissipation, particle acceleration and radiation in these enigmatic objects. After decades of searches, they were finally...
Only recently have radio telescopes been capable of automatically responding to transient alerts and multi-messenger events through the use of a rapid-response observing system. Such systems enable telescopes to automatically repoint and begin observing an event within seconds to minutes of its discovery, responding to transient alerts broadcast by dedicated telescopes or multi-messenger...
The Zadko Telescope is located on the West coast of Australia, in a unique position at this given latitude and longitude. It is a one meter fully robotic telescope, the only one of this class in Western Australia. Since 2009, it obtained numerous results in the field of high energy (observations of GRBs, GW events and kilonovae). In this presentation, I will present the telescope and its...
The gamma-ray sky is dominated by radio sources. Radio observations with milliarcsecond resolution are will be essential to understand new sources detected with the CTA. Studying Active Galactic Nuclei is one of CTA's Key Science Projects. However, the CTA does not have the angular resolution to study the source of relativistic jets - the resolution of VLBI is required to understand the...
CTA is the next generation gamma-ray observatory which will conduct observations from both hemispheres in the energy range from 20 GeV to more than 300 TeV with an unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution. Several Key Science Projects have been prepared by the CTA consortium to shed light on long standing questions of production mechanisms of gamma rays in extragalactic sources and...
This talk summarizes recent progress in multi-wavelength and multi-messenger studies of AGN, in particular blazars. Prospects of blazar studies with CTA will be summarized and synergies with Australian and South African facilities (in particular, SKA precursors) will be discussed.
The IceCube neutrino alert program led to the observations that suggest that the blazar TXS 0506+056 is a cosmic accelerator, producing high energy cosmic rays, followed by neutrinos and gamma rays from subsequent interactions as these escape the jets. In this talk I will review the motivation for, construction, and science of IceCube, where, the long-sought dream of high-energy neutrino...
A new polarimeter is being developed at UNSW and WSU that will have utility for the CTA project. In this talk I will describe the recent development of high precision polarimetry in Australia and the scientific achievements it has enabled, with a focus on understanding the evolution of high mass stars. I will then outline the development of the new polarimeter, how its design differs and how...
The location of the blazar zone has been a topic of decades long debate. The only wavelength at which we can spatially resolve the jet is radio, where the jet becomes optically thin several parsecs away from the black hole. It has been generally argued that the main blazar zone is located much closer to the black hole due to the fast variability we see, but also due to lack of seed photons...
Surveys of the Galactic Plane in TeV gamma rays reveal over 70 TeV sources, most of which are unidentified. The identified sources are associated with supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae, compact-stellar binary systems, and diffuse gas. CTA's greatly improved sensitivity is expected to uncover many more sources and the diffuse TeV emission localised around particle accelerators. It may...
Using the Mopra Southern Galactic Plane Carbon Monoxide Survey dataset, comparisons between high resolution molecular gas and current HESS observations of Very High Energy (VHE) gamma-ray sources are presented. In particular, VHE gamma-ray sources in and near the Central Molecular Zone are focused on as case studies. Similar comparisons will be able to be made in the future when CTA provides...
The current understanding of the diffuse gamma-ray emission, which is thought to be mainly produced by cosmic ray (CR) particles interacting with the interstellar gas and radiation fields, has a significant basis on advances made with the Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) over the past decade of its operation. The Fermi-LAT observations are most sensitive at GeV gamma-ray energies, and...
The Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU), the all-sky radio continuum survey using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), has now completed its "Pilot Survey" ASKAP and is generating science results from the ~200,000 radio sources in that field. We are now planning the full survey to start next year. I will discuss the latest results, and plans for the full EMU survey, and...
The scientific branches Big Data and Data Mining are increasingly becoming an integral part in astronomy. Numerous experiments in various energy regimes provide immense amounts of data that need to be accurately combined, analysed and interpreted. Forthcoming experiments of a new era, such as CTA or SKA, will produce mind-blowing data rates of up to multiple Petabytes per second, demanding...
Recent years have seen a resurgence in radio astronomy at sub-GHz frequencies, with the construction and operation of telescopes such as the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) and the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), as well as the upgrade of existing facilities such as the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). Radio astronomy at low frequencies offers a valuable window into objects and processes...
We are currently carrying out observational studies of SNRs and superbubbles using today’s gamma-ray, X-ray and radio telescopes and will continue our efforts with upcoming telescopes like eROSITA, Cherenkov Telescope Array, HESS and the SKA precursors, including synergistic programmes such as ASKAP-eROSITA. SKA pathfinders' observations in radio at low frequencies with high sensitivity will...
I report on the discovery of optical emission from the non-radiative shocked ejecta of three young Type Ia supernova remnants (SNRs): SNR 0519-69.0, SNR 0509-67.5, and N103B. Deep integral field spectroscopic observations reveal broad and spatially resolved [Fe XIV] 5303A emission. The width of the broad line reveals, for the first time, the reverse shock speeds. For two of the remnants we can...
Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe), regions dynamically dominated by highly energetic particles accelerated in the vicinity of pulsars, are the most populous Galactic source class identified at TeV energies in the H.E.S.S. Galactic Plane Survey. Recently, the first views of the Galactic plane at energies > 100 TeV from HAWC have unveiled a source population exclusively associated with energetic...
I'll give an overview of current research and results on gamma-ray pulsars from ground and discuss the prospects with CTA, including some considerations on multi-wavelength coordination.
The inner few hundred parsecs of the Galaxy host its resident supermassive black hole and a surrounding region of intense star formation. In addition, this region of the Milky Way is where its dark matter density is expected to peak. Moreover, a number of mysterious signals emanate or peak in this part of the sky: the GC Excess' gamma-ray signal, theFermi Bubbles', and the positron...
The High-Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) has detected diffuse TeV emission correlated with the distribution of molecular gas along the Ridge at the Galactic Centre. Diffuse, non-thermal emission is also seen by the Fermi large area telescope (Fermi-LAT) in the GeV range and by radio telescopes in the GHz range. Additionally, there is a distinct, nearly spherically symmetric excess of gamma...
The purpose of this talk is to outline the needs for CTA science, and the collaboration opportunities in various research topics provided by CTA, in a multi-instrumental perspective. After providing a general panorama of the MWL synergies for CTA science, we will focus on some potential, specific linkages to Australian Astronomy, regarding, in particular, its large infrastructure of...
CTA is the next generation gamma-ray observatory which will conduct observations from both hemispheres in the energy range from 20 GeV to more than 300 TeV with an unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution. Several Key Science Projects have been prepared by the CTA consortium to shed light on long standing questions of production mechanisms of gamma rays in extragalactic sources and...
Topics:
- CTA & transients/variable source studies
- What can MWL/MM inputs can Australia provide?
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous sources of electromagnetic radiation in the Universe, of which many fundamental aspects remain poorly understood. TeV gamma rays from GRBs are expected to provide crucial new information on the physical mechanisms of energy dissipation, particle acceleration and radiation in these enigmatic objects. After decades of searches, they were finally...
This talk summarizes recent progress in multi-wavelength and multi-messenger studies of AGN, in particular blazars. Prospects of blazar studies with CTA will be summarized and synergies with Australian and South African facilities (in particular, SKA precursors) will be discussed.
