IKI GRB-FuN: observations of GRBs with small-aperture telescopes

Abstract

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic and mysterious events in the Universe, which are observed in all ranges of electromagnetic spectrum. Most valuable results about physics of GRB are obtained by optical observations. GRBs are initially detected in gamma-rays with poor localization accuracy, and an optical counterpart should be found. The faster the counterpart is found, the more it can give to physics. This first phase, as a rule, corresponds to an early afterglow. The next phases of the observations are multicolor photometry, polarimetry, spectroscopy, and few days later the search for a supernova or kilonova associated with the GRB, and finally, observations of the host galaxy. To manage the problem of fast optical observations, telescopes with a small aperture are suitable. They can have a large field of view, which is necessary to cover initial localizations of GRBs. The sensitivity of the telescope+detector may be sufficient to record statistically significant light curve with fine time resolution. We describe one of the networks of telescopes with a small aperture IKI-GRB FuN, and present the results of early optical observation of GRB sources, and discuss the design requirements of the optical observations for effective GRB research in the next decade.

Key Space and Ground Facilities in GRB Science

“…The IKI Gamma-Ray Burst Follow-up Network (IKI GRB-FuN [161]) is another project on joining existing telescopes to a dedicated network for GRB rapid follow-up observations. Currently, IKI GRB-FuN conducts TOOs at a number of medium/large optical telescopes: AZT-22 (Maidanak), AZT-20 (Assy), AZT-33IK (Mondy), Zeiss-1000 (TShAO), and Zeiss-1000 (Koshka).…”

Methods for detection and analysis of weak radio sources with single-dish radio telescopes

“…Even hours after the burst, the optical afterglows of GRB 181201A and GRB 190114C optical afterglow remained bright (magnitude < 18 in R-filter; e.g. [16] for GRB 181201A and [17] for GRB 190114C). GRB 181201A was discovered by the INTEGRAL Burst Alert System (IBAS) in IBIS / ISGRI data on 2018 December 1 at 02:38 UT [18]; it was also detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT; [19]), the X-Ray Telescope (XRT) on Swift [20] and the High-Energy (HE) instrument aboard Insight-HXMT [21].…”

Methods for detection and analysis of weak radio sources with single-dish radio telescopes

“…Even hours after the burst, the optical afterglows of GRB 181201A and GRB 190114C optical afterglow remained bright (magnitude < 18 in R-filter; e.g. [16] for GRB 181201A and [17] for GRB 190114C).…”