Radio Followup of MultiWavelength Transients
Ashley Zauderer (Harvard)
Radio Followup of MultiWavelength Transients
Currently, hundreds of transients are being discovered nightly from a broad range of facilities spanning the entire wavelength regime, with thousands expected in the LSST era, including the potential for non-EM transients. From dedicated optical surveys with regular cadences (e.g. PanSTARRs and the Palomar Transient Factory) and space-based instruments (e.g. GALEX) to high-energy satellites (e.g. Swift, Fermi) and high energy ground-based facilities (e.g. IPN, Veritas), a zoo of astronomical sources have been discovered including all types of supernovae, novae, gamma-ray bursts, tidal disruption flares, and exotic objects which do not neatly fit into any current category. I will briefly summarize the major multi-wavelength facilities which currently are used as triggers for radio observations, discussing the current challenges and limitations. I will highlight the unique information that radio observations can provide for the various types of transients. I will conclude with a discussion of the currently scheduled upgrades to radio facilities, and discuss the challenges for radio astronomy observatories to keep up pace in the LSST era, maximizing the unique contributions that radio astronomy can provide to the driving science questions.
