UNC-Chapel Hill's GRB Follow-Up Programs

北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校的Daniel Reichart博士将扩大他的研究范围，涉及对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，这些望远镜将能够快速观测伽玛暴余辉，持续数周或数月，以提供采样良好的光曲线。Reichart博士还领导着伽马射线暴后续网络(Fun GRB)合作，这是他帮助组织的一个大型望远镜合作项目，为斯威夫特时代做准备。该奖项还将资助一个建模工作，重点是伽玛暴物理、环境以及尘埃消光和气体吸收在这些环境中的作用。学生们将参与使用Cerro Tololo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，剩下的大部分时间将用于完成北卡罗来纳州其他12所院校的教学和研究目标，其中包括10所本科院校？其中包括历史上的非裔美国人和美洲原住民机构？以及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项目。还将有一个迅速的暑期奖学金计划，将学生带到北卡罗来纳大学教堂山进行为期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.