The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a new observatory for very high-energy (VHE) gamma rays. CTA has ambitions science goals, for which it is necessary to achieve full-sky coverage, to improve the sensitivity by about an order of magnitude, to span about four decades of energy, from a few tens of GeV to above 100 TeV with enhanced angular and energy resolutions over existing VHE gamma-ray observatories. An international collaboration has formed with more than 1000 members from 27 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America. In 2010 the CTA Consortium completed a Design Study and started a three-year Preparatory Phase which leads to production readiness of CTA in 2014. In this paper we introduce the science goals and the concept of CTA, and provide an overview of the project. ?? 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Abstract. We compute 3D gasdynamical models of jet outflows from the central AGN, that carry mass as well as energy to the hot gas in galaxy clusters and groups. These flows have many attractive attributes for solving the cooling flow problem: why the hot gas temperature and density profiles resemble cooling flows but show no spectral evidence of cooling to low temperatures. Subrelativistic jets, described by a few parameters, are assumed to be activated when gas flows toward or cools near a central SMBH. As the jets proceed out from the center, they entrain more and more ambient gas. Using approximate models for a rich cluster (A1795), a poor cluster (2A 0336+096) and a group (NGC 5044), we show that mass-carrying jets with intermediate mechanical efficiencies (∼ 10 −3 ) can reduce for many Gyr the global cooling rate to or below the low values implied by X-spectra, while maintaining T and ρ profiles similar to those observed, at least in clusters. Groups are much more sensitive to AGN heating and present extreme time variability in both profiles. Finally, the intermittency of the feedback generates multiple generations of X-ray cavities similar to those observed in Perseus cluster and elsewhere. Thus we also study the formation of buoyant bubbles and weak shocks in the ICM, along with the injection of metals by SNIa and stellar winds.

It is now widely accepted that heating processes play a fundamental role in galaxy clusters, struggling in an intricate but fascinating 'dance' with its antagonist, radiative cooling. Lastgeneration observations, especially X-ray, are giving us tiny hints about the notes of this endless ballet. Cavities, shocks, turbulence and wide absorption lines indicate that the central active nucleus is injecting a huge amount of energy in the intracluster medium. However, which is the real dominant engine of self-regulated heating? One of the models we propose is massive subrelativistic outflows, probably generated by a wind disc or just the result of the entrainment on kpc scale by the fast radio jet. Using a modified version of the adaptive mesh refinement code FLASH 3.2, we have explored several feedback mechanisms that self-regulate the mechanical power. Two are the best schemes that answer our primary question, that is, quenching cooling flow and at the same time preserving a cool core appearance for a long-term evolution (7 Gyr): one is more explosive (with efficiencies ∼ 5 × 10 −3 -10 −2 ), triggered by central cooled gas, and the other is gentler, ignited by hot gas Bondi accretion (with = 0.1). These three-dimensional simulations show that the total energy injected is not the key aspect, but the results strongly depend on how energy is given to the intracluster medium. We follow the dynamics of the best models (temperature, density, surface brightness maps and profiles) and produce many observable predictions: buoyant bubbles, ripples, turbulence, iron abundance maps and hydrostatic equilibrium deviation. We present an in-depth discussion of the merits and flaws of all our models, with a critical eye towards observational concordance.

Active galactic nucleus (AGN) heating, through massive subrelativistic outflows, might be the key to solve the long-lasting 'cooling flow problem' in cosmological systems. In a previous paper, we showed that cold accretion feedback and, to a lesser degree, Bondi self-regulated models are in fact able to quench cooling rates for several Gyr, at the same time preserving the main cool-core features, like observed density and temperature profiles. Is it true also for lighter systems, such as galaxy groups? The answer is globally yes, although with remarkable differences. Adopting a modified version of the adaptive mesh refinement code FLASH 3.2, we found that successful 3D simulations with cold and Bondi models are almost convergent in the galaxy group environment, with mechanical efficiencies in the range 5 × 10 −4 -10 −3 and 5 × 10 −2 -10 −1 , respectively. The evolutionary storyline of galaxy groups is dominated by a quasicontinuous gentle injection with sub-Eddington outflows (with the mechanical power P ∼ 10 44 erg s −1 , v ∼ 10 4 km s −1 ). The cold and hybrid accretion models present, in addition, very short quiescence periods, followed by moderate outbursts (10 times the previous phase), which generate a series of 10-20 kpc size cavities with high density contrast, temperatures similar to the ambient medium and cold rims. After shock heating, a phase of turbulence promotes gas mixing and diffusion of metals, which peak along the jet-axis (up to 40 kpc) during active phases. At this stage, the tunnel, produced by the enduring outflow (hard to detect in the mock X-ray surface brightness maps), is easily fragmented, producing tiny buoyant bubbles, typically a few kpc in size. In contrast to galaxy clusters, the AGN self-regulated feedback has to be persistent, with a 'delicate touch', rather than rare and explosive strokes. This evolutionary difference dictates that galaxy groups are not scaled-down versions of clusters: AGN heating might operate in different regimes, contributing to the self-similarity breaking observed.

Abstract. The interstellar medium heated by supernova explosions (SN) may acquire an expansion velocity larger than the escape velocity and leave the galaxy through a supersonic wind. Galactic winds are effectively observed in many local starburst galaxies. SN ejecta are transported out of the galaxies by such winds which thus affect the chemical evolution of the galaxies. The effectiveness of the processes mentioned above depends on the heating efficiency (HE) of the SNe, i.e. on the fraction of SN energy which is not radiated away. The value of HE, in particular in starburst (SB) galaxies, is a matter of debate. We have constructed a simple semi-analytic model, considering the essential ingredients of a SB environment which is able to qualitatively trace the thermalisation history of the ISM in a SB region and determine the HE evolution. Our study has been also accompanied by fully 3-D radiative cooling, hydrodynamical simulations of SNR-SNR and SNR-clouds interactions. We find that, as long as the typical time scale of mass-loss of the clouds to the ambient medium, which is often dominated by photoevaporation, remains shorter than the time scale at which the SNRs interact to form a superbubble, the SN heating efficiency remains very small, as radiative cooling of the gas dominates. If there is a continuous production of clouds by the gas swept by the SNR shells, this occurs during the first ≤16 Myr of the SB activity (of ∼30 Myr), after which the efficiency rapidly increases to one, leading to a possible galactic wind formation. Under an extreme condition in which no clouds are allowed to form, other than those that were already initially present in the SB environment, then in this case HE increases to one in only few Myr. We conclude that the HE value has a time-dependent trend that is sensitive to the initial conditions of the system and cannot be simply assumed to be ∼1, as it is commonly done in most SB galactic wind models.

The ejection of gas out of the disc in late‐type galaxies is related to star formation and is mainly due to the explosion of Type II supernovae (SN II). In a previous paper, we considered the evolution of a single Galactic fountain, that is, a fountain powered by a single SN cluster. Using three‐dimensional hydrodynamical simulations, we studied in detail the fountain flow and its dependence with several factors, such as the Galactic rotation, the distance to the Galactic centre and the presence of a hot gaseous halo. As a natural followup, this paper investigates the dynamical evolution of multiple generations of fountains generated by ∼100 OB associations. We have considered the observed size–frequency distribution of young stellar clusters within the Galaxy in order to appropriately fuel the multiple fountains in our simulations. Most of the results of the previous paper have been confirmed, like for example the formation of intermediate velocity clouds above the disc by the multiple fountains. Also, this work confirms the localized nature of the fountain flows: the freshly ejected metals tend to fall back close to the same Galactocentric region where they are delivered. Therefore, the fountains do not change significantly the radial profile of the disc chemical abundance. The multiple fountain simulations also allowed us to consistently calculate the feedback of the star formation on the halo gas. We found that the hot gas gains about 10 per cent of all the SN II energy produced in the disc. Thus, the SN feedback more than compensate for the halo radiative losses and allow for a quasi steady‐state disc–halo circulation to exist. Finally, we have also considered the possibility of mass infall from the intergalactic medium and its interaction with the clouds that are formed by the fountains. Though our simulations are not suitable to reproduce the slow rotational pattern that is typically observed in the haloes around the disc galaxies, they indicate that the presence of an external gas infall may help to slow down the rotation of the gas in the clouds and thus the amount of angular momentum that they transfer to the coronal gas, as previously suggested in the literature.

Most galaxies present supernova shock fronts interacting with cloudy interstellar medium. These interactions can occur either at small scales, between a single supernova remnant (SNR) and a compact cloud, or at large scales, between a giant shell of a superbubble and a molecular cloud. Here study the by-products of SNR-clouds in a starburst (SB) system. Due to the high supernova (SN) rate in this environment, a cloud may be shocked more than once by SNRs. These interactions can have an important role in the recycling of matter from the clouds to the ISM and vice-versa. Their study is also relevant to understand the evolution of the ISM density and the structure of the clouds embedded in it. In the present work, we have focused our attention on the global effects of the interactions between clouds and SN shock waves in the ISM of SB environments and performed three-dimensional radiative cooling hydrodynamical simulations which have included the continuity equations for several atomic/ionic and molecular species. We have also considered the effects of the photo-evaporation due to the presence of the UV radiation from hot stars and SNe. The results have shown that due to the presence of radiative cooling, the interactions cause the formation of elongated cold filaments, instead of favoring an efficient mixing of the cloud gas with the diffuse ISM. These filaments could be associated with the dense clumps observed inside several SBs that are blown out by the galactic wind. The results have also revealed that the SNR-cloud interactions are less efficient at producing substantial mass loss from the clouds to the diffuse ISM than mechanisms such as the photo-evaporation caused by the UV flux from the hot stars. This result has important consequences for the global evolution of the SB environment and the formation of the associated superwinds, and may also be relevant to the ISM of normal galaxies.

In this study we present three-dimensional radiative cooling hydrodynamical simulations of galactic winds generated particularly in M82-like starburst galaxies. We have considered intermittent winds induced by SNe explosions within super star clusters randomly distributed (in space and time) in the central region of the galaxy (within a radius R = 150 pc) and were able to reproduce the observed M82 wind conditions with its complex morphological outflow structure. We have found that the environmental conditions in the disk in nearly recent past are crucial to determine whether the wind will develop a large scale rich filamentary structure, as in M82 wind, or not. If a sufficiently large number of super stellar clusters is build up in a starburst mainly over a period of a few million years, then the simulations reproduce the multi-phase gas observed in M82-like winds, i.e., with filaments of sizes about 20 to 300 pc, velocities of ∼ 200 -500 km/s, densities in the range of 10 −1 -10 cm −3 , embedded in a hot low density gas with a density smaller than 10 −2 cm −3 and a velocity of ∼ 2000 km s −1 . Otherwise, a "superbubble-like" wind develops, with very poor or no cold filamentary structures. Also, the numerical evolution of the SN ejecta have allowed us to obtain the abundance distribution over the first ∼ 3 kpc extension of the wind and we have found that the SNe explosions change significantly the metallicity only of the hot, low-density wind component for which we obtained abundances ∼ 5 to 10 Z ⊙ in fair consistency with the observations. Moreover, we have found that the SN-driven wind transports to outside the disk large amounts of energy, momentum and gas, but the more massive high-density component reaches only intermediate altitudes smaller than 1.5 kpc. Therefore, no significant amounts of gas mass are lost to the IGM and the mass evolution of the galaxy is not much affected by the starburst events occurring in the nuclear region.