Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes Technique

An overview of the detection technique of Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) is described. A description of the atmospheric shower development and the Cherenkov light emission is given. The High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.), one of the currently operating IACT arrays at the time of the writing, is described. Some of the standard observation methods and background-measurement techniques are quickly reviewed, and the main performances of the H.E.S.S. instrument are presented. Quick estimates of the required time to observe a dark matter signal with H.E.S.S. and a short introductory description of expectations from the next-generation observatory, the Cherenkov Telescope Array, are presented.