Exploring the Radio Transient and Static Sky with the Allen Telescope Array Five GHz Sky Survey

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111 - 5）资助的。加州伯克利大学的杰弗里·鲍尔博士将利用新的艾伦望远镜阵列对无线电波段的静态和可变源进行广泛的调查。 新的调查被称为五GHz天空调查（FiGSS），将覆盖约10，000平方度（无线电天空的三分之一）。 它还将包括与光学和其他波长调查的交叉比较。 这种静态调查将比现有调查敏感得多。 两个较小的视野（100和10平方度）将以快速节奏观察（分别为每10天和每天）。 瞬变巡天的目标包括：系统地搜寻附近星系中的射电超新星;发现孤立伽马射线爆发余辉，这是预测中的与否则无法观测到的恒星爆炸相对应的现象;发现大质量黑洞对恒星的潮汐扰动产生的射电辐射;探测恒星质量黑洞爆发和矮星星爆发。迄今为止，这些现象中有许多尚未得到系统的定性。FiGSS的研究将由一个以伯克利为中心的小组进行，包括博士后研究员，研究生和本科生，为下一代天文学家提供宝贵的培训。FiGSS的结果将通过虚拟天文台向更大的社区传播。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Dr. Geoffrey Bower of the University of California Berkeley will undertake an extensive survey of static and variable sources at radio wavelengths, using the new Allen Telescope Array. The new survey is called the Five GHz Sky Survey (FiGSS), and will cover about 10,000 square degrees (one-third of the radio sky). It will also include cross-comparisons with surveys at optical and other wavelengths. This static survey will be considerably more sensitive than existing surveys. Two smaller fields (100 and 10 square degrees) will be observed with rapid cadence (every 10 days and daily, respectively). The goals of the transient survey include systematic search for radio supernovae in nearby galaxies; discovery of orphan gamma-ray burst afterglows, the predicted counterparts to otherwise unobservable stellar explosions; discovery of radio emission from tidal disruption of stars by massive black holes; and detection of stellar-mass black hole eruptions and dwarf star outbursts. Many of these phenomena have not been characterized in a systematic way to date. Research on FiGSS will be conducted by a small group centered at Berkeley, including postdoctoral fellows, and graduate and undergraduate students, providing valuable training for the next generation of astronomers. The results of FiGSS will be disseminated to the larger community through the Virtual Observatory.