The Array Control and Data Acquisition System of the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) project is the initiative to build the next-generation gamma-ray observatory. With more than 100 telescopes planned to be deployed at two sites, CTA is one of the largest astronomical facilities under construction. The Array Control and Data Acquisition (ACADA) system will be the central element of on-site CTA Observatory operations. The mission of the ACADA system is to manage and optimize the telescope array operations at each of the CTA sites. To that end, ACADA will provide all necessary means for the efficient execution of observations, and for the handling of the several Gb/s of data generated by each individual CTA telescope. The ACADA system will contain a real-time analysis pipeline, dedicated to the automatic generation of science alert candidates as data are being acquired. These science alerts, together with external alerts arriving from other scientific installations, will permit ACADA to modify ongoing observations at sub-minute timescales in order to study high-impact scientific transient phenomena. This contribution describes the challenges, architecture, design principles, and development status of the ACADA system.