On November 17, the Executive Board of the International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA) announced the founding of the High Energy Interest Group or HEIG during the IVOA Interoperability Meeting in Malta. The creation of this group is the result of an effort between multiple instruments and observatories, including the CTAO, to address current and future needs of high- and very high-energy astrophysics within IVOA. 

The IVOA is a forum that facilitates and coordinates global efforts to establish agreed-upon standards, protocols, and methods aligned with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles. These efforts enable the development of interoperable frameworks and applications as an integrated virtual observatory. Its goal is to allow astronomers to seamlessly access and analyze data from different astronomical fields and multiple archives, offering advanced visualization tools and a uniform system for the publication of data. To achieve this, one of the core initiatives includes the creation of standardized data format and exchange methods, as well as a registry of available services and their capabilities. The HEIG will ensure the observatories and instruments in the high-energy field integrate into the interoperable virtual observatory framework. 

“High-energy astrophysics instruments are built to detect and measure the properties of individual particles, such as photons or cosmic rays. The techniques required to do so are very different from those applied at other wavelengths, like in optical or radio astronomy,” explains Catherine Boisson, researcher at LUTH and member of the HEIG. “The establishment of the HEIG within the IVOA allows for the development of standardized requirements for representing high-energy astrophysics data and enhances interoperability both among instruments within the field and across other wavelength domains.” 

Based on its commitment to Open Science, the CTAO will be the first ground-based gamma-ray observatory to operate as an open, proposal-driven observatory providing public access to its high-level science data and software products. As such, the CTAO was not only a founding member but also a key contributor to the creation of the HEIG, laying the groundwork to ensure that the future CTAO’s products and services will be interoperable.  

The CTAO is represented within the HEIG by Karl Kosack, Mathieu Servillat, Catherine Boisson, and Matthias Fuessling, all members of the Data Model group from the CTAO Central Organisation’s Computing Department, as well as Bruno Khélifi, a member of the Very-High Energy Data Format group. All of them played a crucial role in shaping the vision for the HEIG in collaboration with other instruments and, under the guidance of Matthieu Servillat, made significant contributions to the preparation of its foundational document. 

The groups and projects that participated in the foundation of the HEIG, and that will become members, belong to multi-messenger astrophysics, including X-ray, gamma-ray, cosmic-ray, and neutrino instruments. Bruno Khélifi has been appointed as the HEIG Chair, with Janet Evans, who works on the Chandra satellite, serving as vice-Chair. More details on the mission of the HEIG are available on the dedicated webpage.