Cherenkov Telescope Array is well suited to follow up gravitational-wave transients
I. Bartos
P. Veres
D. Nieto
V. Connaughton
B. Humensky
K. Hurley
S. Marka
P. Meszaros
R. Mukherjee
P. O'Brien
Julian Paul Osborne
2381/36498
https://figshare.le.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Cherenkov_Telescope_Array_is_well_suited_to_follow_up_gravitational-wave_transients/10155629
The first gravitational-wave (GW) observations will greatly benefit from the detection of coincident electromagnetic counterparts. Electromagnetic follow-ups will nevertheless be challenging for GWs with poorly reconstructed directions. GW source localization can be inefficient (i) if only two GW observatories are in operation; (ii) if the detectors’ sensitivities are highly non-uniform; (iii) for events near the detectors’ horizon distance. For these events, follow-up observations will need to cover 100–1000 deg−2 of the sky over a limited period of time, reducing the list of suitable telescopes. We demonstrate that the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) will be capable of following up GW event candidates over the required large sky area with sufficient sensitivity to detect short gamma-ray bursts, which are thought to originate from compact binary mergers, out to the horizon distance of advanced LIGO/Virgo. CTA can therefore be invaluable starting with the first multimessenger detections, even with poorly reconstructed GW source directions. This scenario also provides a further scientific incentive for GW observatories to further decrease the delay of their event reconstruction.
2016-02-01 12:03:54
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Astronomy & Astrophysics
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
gravitational waves
methods: observational
gamma-ray burst: general
GAMMA-RAY BURST
NEUTRON-STAR MERGERS
COMPACT OBJECT MERGERS
FERMI-LAT OBSERVATIONS
HIGH-ENERGY NEUTRINOS
LARGE-AREA TELESCOPE
ELECTROMAGNETIC COUNTERPARTS
SPECTRAL COMPONENTS
BINARY COALESCENCE
EXTENDED EMISSION