Structuring metadata for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

TL;DR

This paper presents a structured high-level data model for CTA observations, integrating metadata on various aspects and ensuring compatibility with Virtual Observatory standards for data sharing.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive data model for CTA observations that incorporates provenance and is compatible with Virtual Observatory standards.

Findings

Developed a web-based data diffusion prototype.

Ensured compliance with IVOA Provenance Data Model.

Facilitated data sharing within the astronomy community.

Abstract

The landscape of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy is drastically changing with the perspective of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) composed of more than 100 Cherenkov telescopes. For the first time in this energy domain, CTA will be operated as an observatory open to the astronomy community. In this context, a structured high level data model is being developed to describe a CTA observation. The data model includes different classes of metadata on the project definition, the configuration of the instrument, the ambient conditions, the data acquisition and the data processing. This last part relies on the Provenance Data Model developed within the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA), for which CTA is one of the main use cases. The CTA data model should also be compatible with the Virtual Observatory (VO) for data diffusion. We have thus developed a web-based data diffusion prototype to test this requirement and ensure the compliance.