Related papers: Transient phenomena
The SKA will be a transformational instrument in the study of our local Universe. In particular, by virtue of its high sensitivity (both to point sources and diffuse low surface brightness emission), angular resolution and the frequency…
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…
Supplemented with suitable buffering techniques, the low-frequency part of the SKA can be used as an ultra-precise detector for cosmic-ray air showers at very high energies. This would enable a wealth of scientific applications: the physics…
The low-frequency radio telescope of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is being built by the international radio astronomical community to (i) have orders of magnitude higher sensitivity and (ii) be able to map the sky several hundred times…
"High-resolution", or "long-baseline", science with the SKA and its precursors covers a broad range of topics in astrophysics. In several research areas, the coupling between improved brightness sensitivity of the SKA and a sub-arcsecond…
We discuss optimal detection of fast radio transients from astrophysical objects while taking into account the effects of propagation through intervening ionized media, including dispersion, scattering and scintillation.Our analysis applies…
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be sensitive enough to discover all of the pulsars in the Milky Way that are beamed towards Earth. Already in the initial deployment, SKA Phase 1, it will make significant advances in pulsar science. In…
We are developing a purely commensal survey experiment for fast (<5s) transient radio sources. Short-timescale transients are associated with the most energetic and brightest single events in the Universe. Our objective is to cover the…
The sheer number of pulsars discovered by the SKA, in combination with the exceptional timing precision it can provide, will revolutionize the field of pulsar astrophysics. The SKA will provide a complete census of pulsars in both the…
LOFAR, the "low-frequency array", will be one of the first in a new generation of radio telescopes and Square Kilometer Array (SKA) pathfinders that are highly flexible in capability because they are largely software driven. LOFAR will not…
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a proposed next generation radio telescope. Between now and 2005 this project is in a technology development and prototyping phase, with construction likely to begin in $\sim 2010$. This paper describes…
The fields of solar radiophysics and solar system radio physics, or radio heliophysics, will benefit immensely from an instrument with the capabilities projected for SKA. Potential applications include interplanetary scintillation (IPS),…
The main reasons for searching for pulsars are to: (i) get an accurate census of the neutron star population and its origin and evolution; (ii) connect neutron stars to other stellar populations in the Galaxy and globular clusters; (iii)…
Nearly everything we know about extrasolar planets to date comes from optical astronomy. While exoplanetary aurorae are predicted to be bright at low radio frequencies (< 1 GHz), we consider the effect of an exoplanet transit on radio…
Recently, there have been reports of six bright, dispersed bursts of coherent radio emission found in pulsar surveys with the Parkes Multi-beam Receiver. Not much is known about the progenitors of these bursts, but they are…
The Square Kilometre Array is conceived as a telescope which will both test fundamental physical laws and transform our current picture of the Universe. However, the scientific challenges outlined in this book are today's problems--will…
How would observers differentiate Beacons from pulsars or other exotic sources, in light of likely Beacon observables? Bandwidth, pulse width and frequency may be distinguishing features. Such transients could be evidence of civilizations…
In this chapter we provide an overview of the science enabled by radio continuum surveys in the SKA era, focusing on galaxy/galaxy cluster physics and evolution studies, and other relevant continuum science in the >2020 scientific…
The ionised media that permeate the Milky Way have been active topics of research since the discovery of pulsars in 1967. In fact, pulsars allow one to study several aspects of said plasma, such as their column density, turbulence,…
Exploration of the time domain - variable and transient objects and phenomena - is rapidly becoming a vibrant research frontier, touching on essentially every field of astronomy and astrophysics, from the Solar system to cosmology. Time…