Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) is a large-scale astrophysics project that will generate several petabytes of compressed data annually. Ensuring the quality of this vast data stream is critical for reliable scientific analyses. QualPipe is the automated quality control pipeline integrated into the Data Processing and Preservation System (DPPS) of CTAO. It assesses data from the raw archival level (Data Level 0; DL0) to the science-ready stage (DL3), evaluating whether observation conditions were nominal, whether the hardware functioned correctly, and whether the data meet the necessary standards for scientific analysis. The pipeline evaluates a wide range of monitoring variables against a set of customizable criteria defined in configuration files, and produces quality reports for each set of telescopes participating in an observation (subarray), as well as for individual array elements. A key feature of QualPipe is its design: the core code is entirely independent of the specific data quality criteria, which are defined externally through configuration files. This makes it highly adaptable to evolving quality requirements, including those of the early-stage commissioning of CTAO. The system includes a graphical user interface for QualPipe users, who can inspect current and past quality assessment reports and navigate through numerous diagnostic plots for each array element. This document presents the architecture of QualPipe, its role in CTAO’s quality control workflow, and how it supports the efficient validation of observational data at scale.
DOI: 10.22323/1.501.0559
Institution: University of Geneva
Language: English
Subfield: Instrumentation
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4414425176
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