NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2009A-0216
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2009A-0216 |
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PI: Joshua Bloom, UC Berkeley (Astronomy), jbloom@astro.berkeley.edu
Address: Department of Astronomy, 601 Campbell Hall #3411, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3411, USA
CoI: Hsiao-Wen Chen, University of Chicago
CoI: Jason X Prochaska, UC Santa Cruz
CoI: Karl Glazebrook, Swinburne University of Technology
CoI: Sebastian Lopez, Universidad de Chile
CoI: Max Pettini, Institute of Astronomy, England
CoI: Pat Hall, York University
CoI: Andrew Bunker, Anglo-Australian Observatory
CoI: Daniel Perley, UC Berkeley (Astronomy)
CoI: Bethany Cobb, UC Berkeley (Astronomy)
CoI: Maryam Modjaz, UC Berkeley (Astronomy)
CoI: Dovi Poznanski, UC Berkeley (Astronomy)
CoI: Charles Bailyn, Yale University
CoI: Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, UC Santa Cruz
CoI: Nat Butler, UC Berkeley (Astronomy)
CoI: Adam Miller, UC Berkeley (Astronomy)
CoI: Joshua Shiode, UC Berkeley (Astronomy)
CoI: Brad Cenko, UC Berkeley (Astronomy)
Title: Concerted Follow-up of Swift and Fermi GRBs (Gemini South)
Abstract:
The Swift satellite has revolutionized the study of GRBs by providing
unprecedented numbers of accurate real-time localizations. With rapid and
automated access to GMOS-S, Gemini has emerged as the cornerstone facility of
our group's GRB research efforts. This year, Swift has been joined in orbit
by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Telescope with its GeV-photon sensitive LAT detector,
which has already detected emission from several events. We aim to measure
the redshifts of Fermi bursts so that the detection of ultra-high-energy GRB
photons may be used for derivative science such as measuring GRB Lorentz
factors and constraining theories of quantum gravity. We also seek to
differentiate between high reddening and redshift when GRBs have suppressed
optical afterglows. Constraining the number of "dark" GRBs at
moderate-to-high redshift has important implications for understanding GRBs
and for informing the role of future missions (eg. JDEM, LSST). GRB
afterglows have proven to be a versatile and unique astrophysical probe in
the study of the ISM of distant galaxies, the IGM at z>2, and the end of the
reionization epoch. To this end, our proposed semester 2009A ToO program also
seeks to uncover a number of damped-Lyman alpha systems as well as improve
the (very curious) statistics of strong intervening Mg II absorbers towards
GRB sightlines.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2009A-0216 |
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