Mong, Y. -L.; Ackley, K.; Galloway, D. K.; Dyer, M.; Cutter, R.; Brown, M. J. I.; Lyman, J.; Ulaczyk, K.; Steeghs, D.; Dhillon, V.; O'Brien, P.; Ramsay, G.; Noysena, K.; Kotak, R.; Breton, R.; Nuttall, L.; Pallé, E.; Pollacco, D.; Thrane, E.; Awiphan, S.; Burhanudin, U.; Chote, P.; Chrimes, A.; Daw, E.; Duffy, C.; Eyles-Ferris, R.; Gompertz, B.; Heikkilä, T.; Irawati, P.; Kennedy, M.; Killestein, T.; Levan, A.; Littlefair, S.; Makrygianni, L.; Marsh, T.; Mata-Sanchez, D.; Mattila, S.; Maund, J.; McCormac, J.; Mkrtichian, D.; Mullaney, J.; Rol, E.; Sawangwit, U.; Stanway, E.; Starling, R.; Strøm, P.; Tooke, S.; Wiersema, K.
Bibliographical reference
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Description
The typical detection rate of ~1 gamma-ray burst (GRB) per day by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) provides a valuable opportunity to further our understanding of GRB physics. However, the large uncertainty of the Fermi localization typically prevents rapid identification of multiwavelength counterparts. We report the follow-up of 93 Fermi GRBs with the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) prototype on La Palma. We selected 53 events (based on favourable observing conditions) for detailed analysis, and to demonstrate our strategy of searching for optical counterparts. We apply a filtering process consisting of both automated and manual steps to 60 085 candidates initially, rejecting all but 29, arising from 15 events. With ≍3 GRB afterglows expected to be detectable with GOTO from our sample, most of the candidates are unlikely to be related to the GRBs. Since we did not have multiple observations for those candidates, we cannot confidently confirm the association between the transients and the GRBs. Our results show that GOTO can effectively search for GRB optical counterparts thanks to its large field of view of ≍40 deg2 and its depth of ≍20 mag. We also detail several methods to improve our overall performance for future follow-up programmes of Fermi GRBs.
Related projects
The study of binary stars is essential to stellar astrophysics. A large number of stars form and evolve within binary systems. Therefore, their study is fundamental to understand stellar and galactic evolution. Particularly relevant is that binary systems are still the best source of precise stellar mass and radius measurements. Research lines
Black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs and their local environment
Accreting black-holes and neutron stars in X-ray binaries provide an ideal laboratory for exploring the physics of compact objects, yielding not only confirmation of the existence of stellar mass black holes via dynamical mass measurements, but also the best opportunity for probing high-gravity environments and the physics of accretion; the most
Exoplanets and Astrobiology
The search for life in the universe has been driven by recent discoveries of planets around other stars (known as exoplanets), becoming one of the most active fields in modern astrophysics. The growing number of new exoplanets discovered in recent years and the recent advance on the study of their atmospheres are not only providing new valuable
