UNC-Chapel Hill's GRB Follow-Up Programs

北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校的Daniel Reichart博士将扩展他的研究，包括对Sift卫星发现的伽马射线暴（GRB）源进行光学跟踪。北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校目前正在建造和组织小型（半米级）机器人望远镜和大型人工控制望远镜，这些望远镜将允许快速观测GRB余辉，持续数周或数月，以提供良好采样的光曲线。Reichart博士还领导着伽马射线暴后续网络（FUN GRB）合作项目，这是一个大型望远镜合作项目，是他帮助组织的，为雨燕时代做准备。该奖项还将资助一项建模工作，重点关注GRB物理、环境以及这些环境中尘埃消除和气体吸收的作用。学生们将使用塞罗·托洛洛国际天文台的PROMPT机器人望远镜进行观测。由于grb只需要PROMPT的一小部分时间，剩余的大部分时间将用于在北卡罗来纳其他12所机构（包括10所本科机构）实现教学和研究目标。包括历史上的非裔美国人和印第安人机构？莫尔黑德天文馆和科学中心，该中心正在为这些望远镜开发广泛的K-12课程。还将有一个PROMPT夏季奖学金项目，将学生带到北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校进行为期12周的研究体验。

Dr. Daniel Reichart of UNC Chapel Hill will expand his research involving optical follow-up of gamma-ray burst (GRB) sources discovered by the Sift satellite. UNC Chapel Hill is currently building and organizing both small (half-meter-class) robotic telescopes and large human-controlled telescopes that will allow rapid observations of GRB afterglows, continuing for weeks or months to provide a well-sampled light curve. Dr. Reichart also leads the Follow-Up Network for Gamma-Ray Bursts (FUN GRB) Collaboration, a large telescope collaboration that he helped organized in preparation for the Swift era. The award will also fund a modeling effort which focuses on GRB physics, environments, and the roles of dust extinction and gas absorption in these environments.Students will be involved in observations using the PROMPT robotic telescope at Cerro Tololo International Observatory. Since GRBs require only a fraction of PROMPT's time, much of the remaining time will be devoted to fulfilling teaching and research objectives at twelve other North Carolina institutions, including ten undergraduate institutions ? which include historically African-American and Native-American institutions ? and Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, which is developing broad-reaching K-12 programs for these telescopes. There will also be a PROMPT Summer Fellowship Program to bring students to UNC Chapel Hill for a 12 week research experience.