LOFAR & PanSTARRS: Transient Searches in Different Frequency Domains

Dario Carbone, Alexander J van der Horst, Ralph A M J Wijers (University of Amsterdam)
Adam Stewart, Rob P Fender (University of Southampton)
John L Tonry (University of Hawaii)

LOFAR & PanSTARRS: Transient Searches in Different Frequency Domains


Multi-wavelength observations of the sky are important for the detection and the follow-up of transient sources, providing independent and complementary views of these phenomena. A collaboration between the optical Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS) and the Transient Key Project within the radio interferometer Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) has been created. PanSTARRS is an optical survey conducted from Hawaii that is scanning the entire visible sky in five filters (g, r, i, z, y). LOFAR is a new generation radio interferometer built mainly in the Netherlands but with stations in various European countries, which is observing at very low radio  frequency (between 30 and 240 MHz), a so far unexplored frequency domain for transient searches. Since many transients are broadband emitters, it is interesting to see how optical transient sources behave at low radio frequencies, and when new radio transients are identified, constraints on optical counterparts will be highly valuable. This collaboration is aimed at monitoring the same patches of sky in both optical and radio frequencies in order to identify and follow up transient sources. In this talk I will present the coordinated efforts between PanSTARRS and LOFAR, and show preliminary results of the first LOFAR science observations that are part of this multi-wavelength campaign.

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