WoU-MMA, Collaborative Research: Searches After Gravitational Waves Using Arizona's Observatories

最近对引力波和中子星星合并产生的光的探测开辟了多信使天体物理学的时代，为短伽马射线爆发、重元素生产和从紧凑坍缩物体（中子星和黑洞）合并发射的相对论外流的起源提供了直接证据。 这一新的发现空间将通过提高对北方半球GW和高能中微子事件的电磁（EM）对应物的探测率和监测来优化。 这将通过在警报后使用卡塔利纳巡天迅速定位这种发射的位置来实现，将其位置通知天文学界，并立即将使用亚利桑那州天文台（SAGURAO）望远镜网络的引力波后观测系统（SAGURAO）上线 （6.5 mMMT，2x 8 m LBT，以及夏威夷的10 m Keck和其他），以利用深度成像和积分场单元（IFU）光谱监测这些事件。将开发一套算法，以优先考虑EM对应候选人进行后续观察，并建立一个网站，提供一个集中的位置，以真实的时间组织候选人向科学界传播信息，以确保协调本研究的资源。 PI将与芝加哥的哈罗德华盛顿大学合作，为两名代表性不足的少数民族社区大学生提供为期两年的天文学研究暑期课程，以培养他们的STEM技能。这笔赠款将满足北方半球WoU-MMA项目的需求。 它将组织亚利桑那州的天文观测资源，对引力波和中子星星合并观测的光学电磁窗口进行探测和定位。在收到Ligo/Virgo或IceCube的通知后，卡塔利纳巡天将被用来发现和快速定位光学对应物，并立即向天文学界发出警报。随后将利用亚利桑那州天文台（SAGURAO）的PIs联盟在亚利桑那州和夏威夷的望远镜设施以及其他设施进行观测，以成像和光谱研究光学对应物及其环境。将开发一套算法，以优先考虑EM对应候选人进行后续观察，并建立一个网站，提供一个集中的位置，以真实的时间组织候选人并向科学界传播信息，以确保协调本研究的资源。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The recent detection of Gravitational Waves and light from a neutron star merger opens up the era of multimessenger astrophysics with direct evidence for the origin of short gamma ray bursts, heavy element production, and relativistic outflows launched from the mergers of compact collapsed objects (neutron stars and black holes). This new discovery space will be optimized by increasing the detection rate and monitoring of the electromagnetic (EM) counterparts of GW and high energy neutrino events in the northern hemisphere. This will be accomplished by rapidly locating the position of this emission using the Catalina Sky Survey after an alert, informing the astronomical community of its location and immediately bringing on-line the Searches After Gravitational-waves Using Arizona's Observatories (SAGURAO) network of telescopes ( 6.5mMMT, 2x8 m LBT, as well as the 10 m Keck in Hawaii and others) to monitor these events with deep imaging and integral field unit (IFU) spectroscopy. A set of algorithms to prioritize EM counterpart candidates for follow-up observation and a website to provide a centralized location to organize candidates in real time to disseminate the information to the scientific community will be developed to insure coordination of resources for this research. The PIs will partnership with Harold Washington University in Chicago to mentor two underrepresented minority community college students by providing them with a two year summer course on astronomical research to develop their STEM skills.The grant addresses the needs of the WoU-MMA program in the northern hemisphere. It will organize the astronomical observational resources in Arizona to detect and localize the optical electromagnetic window for the observation of gravitational waves and neutron star mergers. After being informed of an event by Ligo/Virgo or IceCube, the Catalina Sky Survey will be used to discover and quickly localize the optical counterpart and immediately send out an alert to the astronomical community. This will be followed by observations using the Searches After Gravitational-waves Using Arizona's Observatories (SAGURAO) PIs consortium of telescope facilities in Arizona and Hawaii as well as other facilities to image and spectroscopically study the optical counterparts and their environments. A set of algorithms to prioritize EM counterpart candidates for follow-up observation and a website to provide a centralized location to organize candidates in real time and disseminate the information to the scientific community will be developed to insure coordination of resources for this research. This program advances the goals of the NSF Windows on the Universe Big-Idea.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.