Fast Transients

Members

Members that collaborated to generate this roadmap: 

Eric Bellm (Caltech)

Primary subgroup contact:

Maria Drout (Carnegie Observatories - mdrout@carnegiescience.edu)

Subgroup MAF engineer: 

Eric Bellm (Caltech - ebellm@caltech.edu)

Subgroup Primary members

  • Eric Bellm - Caltech
  • Maria Drout - Carnegie Observatories
  • Shri Kulkarni - Caltech
  • Peter Kurczynski - Rutgers University
  • Marc Moniez - Linear Accelerator Laboratory
  • Dave Morris - UK
  • Arne Rau - Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
  • Wayne Rosing - LCOGT
  • Ken Shen - UC Berkeley
  • Chris Smith - NOAO/CTIO
  • Lluis Galbany - Universidad del Chile

Subgroup Secondary members

  • Brad Cenko - NASA/GSFC
  • Stefano Valenti - UC Davis
  • Andrew Becker
  • Adam Miller
  • Hakeem Oluseyi
  • Umaa Rebbapragada
  • Stephen Ridgway
  • Rob Seaman
  • Tom Vestrand
  • Przemek Wozniak
  • Todd Boroson
  • Lluis Galbany
  • Zoheyr Doctor
  • Mansi Kasliwal
  • Samaya Nissanke
  • Leo Singer
  • Cid Mennickent
  • Robert Williams
  • Stefano Di
  • Brenda Frye
  • Edo Berger
  • Derek Fox
  • Howard Bond
  • Arne Henden
  • Federica Bianco
  • Ryan Chornock
  • Lucy Frey
  • Chris Fryer
  • Tom Matheson
  • David Reiss
  • Stephen Smartt
  • Ken Smith
  • Mark Sullivan
  • Poshak Gandhi
  • Armin Rest

 

Roadmap Outline

(Overlaps significantly with [[Multiwavelength_Characterization/Counterparts]])

Science Drivers

Discovery & rapid followup of young SNe

  • radius/binarity constraints from photometry
  • Shock breakout/shock cooling
  • Flash spectroscopy

Discovery & rapid followup of GRB afterglows

  • Orphan afterglow discovery: beaming constraints, jet structure
  • Discovery of “dirty fireballs”: on-axis events with no high-energy emission

Stellar flares

  • Flare rates; amplitude distribution

Rare & unknown

  • Discovery

Goals & Activities

Near term (2016)

  • Gather multi-band templates for representative objects
  • Develop simplest MAF metrics to determine cadences even capable of recording fast variability
  • Develop more sophisticated MAF simulation infrastructure: Monte Carlo realizations of cosmological populations → realized lightcurves → higher-level metrics

Intermediate term (2017-2020)

  • Develop algorithms for rapid identification of fast transient candidates
  • Test various OpSIM cadences (rolling cadence, etc.) for ability to identify fast transients
  • Prototype broker interfaces using precursor surveys
  • Advocate for followup observing instruments and observing modes optimized for faint transient followup

LSST Commissioning Period

LSST +1 year

  • Test broker interfaces. (Too much asteroid/faint variable contamination for fast transient searches.)

LSST +3 years

  • Fast transient searches going in earnest!

LSST +10 years

  • Archival rates analysis