Mong, Y.-L., Ackley, K., Galloway, D.K. et al. (45 more authors) (2021) Searching for Fermi GRB optical counterparts with the prototype gravitational-wave optical transient observer (GOTO). Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 507 (4). pp. 5463-5476. ISSN 0035-8711
Abstract
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 multi-wavelength 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 square degrees and its depth of ≈20 mag. We also detail several methods to improve our overall performance for future follow-up programs of Fermi GRBs.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: | This paper has 48 authors. You can scroll the list below to see them all or them all.
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Author(s). This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | transients: gamma-ray bursts; methods: observational |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 14 Sep 2021 11:32 |
Last Modified: | 11 Mar 2022 12:04 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press (OUP) |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/mnras/stab2499 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:178216 |