3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes Michael I. Andersen Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen Introduction GRB intro, BATSE, a Gamma-ray view GRB intro, BATSE, a Gamma-ray view The Beppo-SAX revolution The Beppo-SAX revolution GRB science with robotic telescopes GRB science with robotic telescopes

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen First robotic GRB observation

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen BATSE light curves

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen Hardness vs. duration

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen GRB durations

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen The BATSE sky

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen Beppo-SAX

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen GRB in X-ray

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen The first optical afterglow

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen GRB with ROTSE

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen Redshift = 1.60

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen Brightest object ever observed

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen GRB brightness If in M31 – brighter than the moon! If in Orion Nebula – brighter than the sun! What about four orders of magnitude more energy in Gamma-rays..... (its a planet-blaster!)

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen GRB host galaxy

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen GRB000926: spectrum (z=2.0338)

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen GRBs on the galactic plane

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen GRBs – where are we now? GRBs can be observed anywhere in the Universe (even if highly obscured!) GRBs can be observed anywhere in the Universe (even if highly obscured!) The energy is released through the interaction of an ultra-relativistic blast-wave with circum- burst medium The energy is released through the interaction of an ultra-relativistic blast-wave with circum- burst medium Caused by the core-collaps of a massive star (i.e. a star formation tracer) Caused by the core-collaps of a massive star (i.e. a star formation tracer) Extremely broad optical luminosity function Extremely broad optical luminosity function

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen Science with GRBs Extreme physics Extreme physics The star formation history of the Universe The star formation history of the Universe The chemical enrichment of the Universe The chemical enrichment of the Universe Tracing galaxy formation and evolution Tracing galaxy formation and evolution Finding the first stars Finding the first stars Stellar evolution Stellar evolution And much more And much more

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen Robotic telescopes and GRBs: triggering larger telescopes You don’t need large aperture You don’t need large aperture Front-line instrumentation not required Front-line instrumentation not required Better be fast! Better be fast! Software for fast reduction critical Software for fast reduction critical

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen Robotic GRB science Monitoring light curves Monitoring light curves Early spectroscopy, witness the interaction of the blast wave with the circum-burst medium (VLT Rapid Response Mode not fast enough) Early spectroscopy, witness the interaction of the blast wave with the circum-burst medium (VLT Rapid Response Mode not fast enough) Early polarization monitoring Early polarization monitoring

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen The SWIFT mission Provides about 100 localisations/year Provides about 100 localisations/year Accurate to about 4 arcmin Accurate to about 4 arcmin Delay less than one minute Delay less than one minute Launch fall 2004 Launch fall 2004

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen Robotic telescopes in the SWIFT era RT’s crusial for prompt follow-up and afterglow identification RT’s crusial for prompt follow-up and afterglow identification Can aid observations at larger telescopes by providing magnitude predictions Can aid observations at larger telescopes by providing magnitude predictions Testing achromatic evolution through high precision multi-color photometry Testing achromatic evolution through high precision multi-color photometry

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen SWIFT GRB load on RT’s Two in three goes off during telescope- closed time Two in three goes off during telescope- closed time Two in three are not in the visible sky Two in three are not in the visible sky One in three goes off during bad weather One in three goes off during bad weather Any site will at most have 10 rapid responses annually Any site will at most have 10 rapid responses annually GRBs can’t occupy more than 5-10% of the telescope time GRBs can’t occupy more than 5-10% of the telescope time

3rd Potsdam Thinkshop Robotic Astronomy Gamma-ray burst optical follow-ups with robotic telescopes M.I. Andersen A need for coordination We should in general avoid duplicating efforts on monitoring light curves We should in general avoid duplicating efforts on monitoring light curves However – we should also avoid that no data are taken However – we should also avoid that no data are taken Pooling data in joint publications becomes ever more important with SWIFT Pooling data in joint publications becomes ever more important with SWIFT