ThunderKAT: The MeerKAT Large Survey Project for Image-Plane Radio Transients
Abstract
ThunderKAT is the image-plane transients programme for MeerKAT. The goal as outlined in 2010, and still today, is to find, identify and understand high-energy astrophysical processes via their radio emission (often in concert with observations at other wavelengths). Through a comprehensive and complementary programme of surveying and monitoring Galactic synchrotron transients (across a range of compact accretors and a range of other explosive phenomena) and exploring distinct populations of extragalactic synchrotron transients (microquasars, supernovae and possibly yet unknown transient phenomena) - both from direct surveys and commensal observations - we will revolutionise our understanding of the dynamic and explosive transient radio sky. As well as performing targeted programmes of our own, we have made agreements with the other MeerKAT large survey projects (LSPs) that we will also search their data for transients. This commensal use of the other surveys, which remains one of our key programme goals in 2016, means that the combined MeerKAT LSPs will produce by far the largest GHz-frequency radio transient programme to date.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1711.04132,
title = {ThunderKAT: The MeerKAT Large Survey Project for Image-Plane Radio Transients},
author = {R. Fender and P. A. Woudt and R. Armstrong and P. Groot and V. McBride and J. Miller-Jones and K. Mooley and B. Stappers and R. Wijers and M. Bietenholz and S. Blyth and M. Bottcher and D. Buckley and P. Charles and L. Chomiuk and D. Coppejans and S. Corbel and M. Coriat and F. Daigne and W. J. G. de Blok and H. Falcke and J. Girard and I. Heywood and A. Horesh and J. Horrell and P. Jonker and T. Joseph and A. Kamble and C. Knigge and E. Koerding and M. Kotze and C. Kouveliotou and C. Lynch and T. Maccarone and P. Meintjes and S. Migliari and T. Murphy and T. Nagayama and G. Nelemans and G. Nicholson and T. O'Brien and A. Oodendaal and N. Oozeer and J. Osborne and M. Perez-Torres and S. Ratcliffe and V. Ribeiro and E. Rol and A. Rushton and A. Scaife and M. Schurch and G. Sivakoff and T. Staley and D. Steeghs and I. Stewart and J. Swinbank and K. van der Heyden and A. van der Horst and B. van Soelen and S. Vergani and B. Warner and K. Wiersema},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1711.04132},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
To be published in "MeerKAT Science: On the Pathway to the SKA". Proceedings of Science. Workshop held 25-27 May, 2016 Stellenbosch, South Africa