Searches after Gravitational Waves Using ARizona Observatories (SAGUARO): System Overview and First Results from Advanced LIGO/Virgo’s Third Observing Run
Name:
Lundquist_2019_ApJL_881_L26.pdf
Size:
3.683Mb
Format:
PDF
Description:
Final Published Version
Author
Lundquist, M. J.Sand, D. J.
Andrews, J. E.
Shivaei, I.
Daly, P. N.
Christensen, E.
Gibbs, A. R.
Shelly, F.
Wyatt, S.
Amaro, R. C.
Behroozi, P.
Egami, E.
Fan, X.
Frye, B.
Green, E. M.
Grier, C. J.
Guzman, F.
Hamden, E.
Jannuzi, B. T.
Milne, P.
Moe, M.
Olszewski, E.
Paschalidis, V.
Psaltis, D.
Smith, P. S.
Smith, N.
Stark, D. P.
Veillet, C.
Weiner, B.
Williams, G. G.
Zabludoff, A.
Affiliation
Univ Arizona, Steward ObservUniv Arizona, Dept Planetary Sci, Lunar & Planetary Lab
Univ Arizona, Coll Opt Sci
Univ Arizona, MMT Observ
Issue Date
2019-08-15
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTDCitation
M. J. Lundquist et al 2019 ApJL 881 L26Journal
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERSRights
Copyright © 2019. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
We present Searches After Gravitational-waves Using ARizona Observatories (SAGUARO), a comprehensive effort dedicated to the discovery and characterization of optical counterparts to gravitational-wave (GW) events. SAGUARO utilizes ground-based facilities ranging from 1.5 to 10 m in diameter, located primarily in the Northern Hemisphere. We provide an overview of SAGUARO's telescopic resources, its pipeline for transient detection, and its database for candidate visualization. We describe SAGUARO' s discovery component, which utilizes the 5 deg 2 field of view optical imager on the Mt. Lemmon 1.5 m telescope, reaching limits of approximate to 21.3 AB mag while rapidly tiling large areas. We also describe the follow-up component of SAGUARO, used for rapid vetting and monitoring of optical candidates. With the onset of Advanced LIGO/Virgo's third observing run, we present results from the first three SAGUARO searches following the GW events S190408an, S190425z and S190426c, which serve as a valuable proof-of-concept of SAGUARO. We triggered and searched 15, 60, and 60 deg(2) respectively, 17.6, 1.4, and 41.8 hr after the initial GW alerts. We covered 7.8%, 3.0%, and 5.1% of the total probability within the GW event localizations, reaching 3 sigma limits of 19.8, 21.3, and 20.8 AB mag, respectively. Although no viable counterparts associated with these events were found, we recovered six known transients and ruled out five potential candidates. We also present Large Binocular Telescope spectroscopy of PS19eq/SN2019ebq, a promising kilonova candidate that was later determined to be a supernova. With the ability to tile large areas and conduct detailed follow-up, SAGUARO represents a significant addition to GW counterpart searches.ISSN
2041-8205Version
Final published versionSponsors
National Science Foundation [AST-1909358, AST-1908972, NSF PHY-1748958, PHY1607611]; NSF [AST1821987, AST-1821967, AST-1813708, AST-1813466, AST-1814782, AST-1813825, AST-1518052]; Packard Foundation; GRAvitational Wave Inaf TeAm (GRAWITA); NASA grant [NNG17PX03C]; Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation; Heising-Simons Foundation; David and Lucile Packard Foundation; Premiale LBT 2013; National Science Foundation under CAREER award [1455090]; Data7: UA's Data Science Institute; Dunlap Institute at the University of Toronto; Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR); state of Arizonaae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.3847/2041-8213/ab32f2