Characterization of Potential U.S. Sites for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

TL;DR

This paper identifies and characterizes two potential sites in northern Arizona for the northern array of the Cherenkov Telescope Array, including site conditions, instrumentation, and infrastructure requirements.

Contribution

It provides detailed site characterization and deployment plans for the CTA northern array in the USA, a novel step in site selection for gamma-ray observatories.

Findings

Two suitable sites identified in northern Arizona

Site atmospheric and climatic data characterized

Comparison with commercial simulation data conducted

Abstract

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a major ground-based observatory proposed for gamma-ray astronomy. CTA is envisioned to consist of two large arrays of atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes for the study of sources of high-energy gamma rays in the energy range of a few tens of GeV to beyond 100 TeV. One array would be located in the southern hemisphere and one in the northern hemisphere. After a detailed search, we have identified two potential sites in the USA for the northern array. Both sites are located in northern Arizona. Here we describe the two sites and the deployment of instrumentation to characterize them. The characteristics of the sites, in terms of their atmospheric and climatic properties, are described. We show recent data from the automated monitoring equipment at the sites and compare these data to a commercial simulation. Details regarding the facilities and infrastructure required for the sites are also presented.