HEP@VUB Colloquium: Exploring the Very-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Sky with CTAO

The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) is a next-generation facility designed to detect very-high-energy (VHE) gamma rays in the energy range from 20 GeV to 300 TeV. Using three types of imaging air-Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) — large-sized telescopes (LSTs), medium-sized telescopes (MSTs), and small-sized telescopes (SSTs) — CTAO will not only cover a vast energy range, but also achieve unprecedented angular and energy resolution. As a result, CTAO is expected to provide a factor of ~10 improvement in sensitivity compared to current VHE gamma-ray experiments. Furthermore, to enable full-sky coverage, the observatory will be distributed over two sites: CTAO-North in La Palma, Spain, and CTAO-South in Paranal, Chile. In this seminar, I will first briefly introduce the IACT detection technique. I will then discuss the current status of the CTAO arrays, which are under construction; at CTAO-North, the first LSTs have recently entered their commissioning phase. Finally, I will highlight the broad science potential of the completed observatory, which include, amongst others, high-energy astrophysics, dark matter, and even stellar interferometry. In particular, I will focus in more detail on the CTAO prospects of studying star-forming systems from galactic to extragalactic scales.