Related papers: Science with a wide-field UV transient explorer
Our initial impressions of astronomical objects was that they are inherently "static" over the course of any reasonably long observation. However, with the discovery of quasars and their scintillation in 1963-64, we learnt that there are…
The National Academy Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Science (CAPS) made a recommendation to study a large/medium-class dedicated space telescope for planetary science, going beyond the Discovery-class dedicated planetary space…
The exhilerating results from Swift in its first year of operations have opened a new era of exploration of the high energy universe. The surge to higher redshifts of the Gamma-ray bursts now imaged with increased sensitivity establishes…
The simultaneous detection of electromagnetic and gravitational waves from the coalescence of two neutron stars (GW170817 and GRB170817A) has ushered in a new era of "multi-messenger" astronomy, with electromagnetic detections spanning from…
After decades of development, multi-messenger astronomy, the combination of information on cosmic sources from photons, neutrinos, charged particles and gravitational waves, is now an established reality. Within this emerging discipline we…
Known classes of radio wavelength transients range from the nearby--stellar flares and radio pulsars--to the distant Universe--\gamma-ray burst afterglows. Hypothesized classes of radio transients include analogs of known objects, e.g.,…
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are among the most energetic events in the universe, offering insights into stellar collapse, extreme matter behavior, and cosmic evolution. The advent of multi-messenger astronomy, combining electromagnetic,…
The next generation of gamma-ray telescopes may be able to observe gamma-ray blazars at high redshift, possibly out to the epoch of reionization. The spectrum of such sources should exhibit an absorption edge due to pair-production against…
Recent X-ray observations have had a major impact on topics ranging from protostars to cosmology. They have also drawn attention to important and general physical processes that currently limit our understanding of thermal and nonthermal…
We report on a re-analysis of archival data from the Very Large Array for a sample of ten long duration radio transients reported by Bower and others. These transients have an implied all-sky rate that would make them the most common radio…
For bright transients such as Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs), the Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) operates under event mode at early phases, which records incident positions and arrival time for each photon. The event file is able to be…
The next generation of wide-field cosmic microwave background (CMB) surveys are uniquely poised to open a new window for time-domain astronomy in the millimeter band. Here we explore the discovery phase space for extragalactic transients…
We identify minimal observing cadence requirements that enable photometric astronomical surveys to detect and recognize fast and explosive transients and fast transient features. Observations in two different filters within a short time…
There has never been a more exciting time in the overlapping areas of nuclear physics, particle physics and relativistic astrophysics than today. Orbiting observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope, Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE),…
At low redshift, it is possible to combine spectroscopic information of galaxies with their luminosity or angular diameter distance to directly measure the projection of peculiar velocities (PV) along the line-of-sight. A PV survey probing…
Ultraviolet (UV) planetary astronomy is a unique tool to probe planetary environments of the solar system and beyond. But despite a rising interest for new generation giant UV telescopes regularly proposed to international agencies, none…
Over the past decade, our knowledge of the \gamma-ray sky has been revolutionized by ground- and space-based observatories by detecting photons up to several hundreds of tera-electron volt (TeV) energies. A major population of the…
We summarize some of the compelling new scientific opportunities for understanding stars and stellar systems that can be enabled by sub-mas angular resolution, UV/Optical spectral imaging observations, which can reveal the details of the…
The International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite has made a tremendous contribution to the study of hot-star winds. Its long lifetime has resulted in the collection of ultraviolet spectra for a large sample of OB stars. Its unique…
Astronomical transients are intrinsically interesting things to study. Fast optical transients (microsecond timescale) are a largely unexplored field of optical astronomy mainly due to the fact that large optical telescopes are…