REMROSS activities IASFBO

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REM/ROSS activities_at_IASF-BO

• Nicola Masetti
• IASF/CNR, Sezione di Bologna, Italy

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REM, THE ROBOTIC TELESCOPE

• Diameter 60 cm
• Location La Silla (Chile)
• first light 25 June 2003
• IR camera (J, H, K, z filters)
• ROSS optical camera (V, R, I filters 3700-9000 Å
  slitless spectroscopy)
• fast repointing (lt 10 s for 90 slew)
• Limiting mags. (1 s, 3s) V ? 17.5 R ?
  17.5 I ? 16.5 J ? 15 H ? 14 K ? 13.5

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THE REM NOTRE DÔME
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THE OPTICAL SPECTROGRAPH ROSS
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PEOPLE INVOLVED IN ROSS

• CORE GROUP
• Eliana Palazzi (PS IASF-BO)
• Gino Tosti (PI UniPG)
• Nicola Masetti (IASF-BO)
• Alessandro Monfardini (CARSO)
• Luciano Nicastro (IASF-PA)
• Elena Pian (INAF-OATs)
• Carlo Bagaglia (UniPG)
• Carlo Campeggi (UniPG)
• Carlo Ferrigno (UniPA)
• Giorgio Sciuto (UniPG)
• SCIENCE TEAM
• Lorenzo Amati, Filippo Frontera, Mauro Orlandini
  (IASF-BO)
• Marco Tavani (IASF-RM)
• John Danziger (INAF-OATs)

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REM SCIENCE DRIVERS
Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are powerful and
fast-decaying flashes of high-energy
emission. While the dataset of multiwavelength
observations of their emission as observed from
hours to days (the afterglow) after the GRB
proper is now growing larger, the knowledge about
their early behaviour at optical/infrared
energies is lacking. This information, due to
the unpredictability of GRB location in the sky,
can be achieved only by means of fast slewing
(robotic) small telescopes. Early
optical/infrared detections will also serve to
trigger fast GRB followup at larger
telescopes. Besides, spectral coverage of the
whole optical/infrared band will allow
characterizing the emission mechanisms at work in
the early GRB phases and to pinpoint the presence
of high-z bursts (or the lack thereof).
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CAN REM/ROSS DO THIS?
Yes.
GRB990123
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HOW ROSS CAN SEE DLA-GRBs
z 3.37
mR 10 texp 1 sec
GRB030323 with VLT
Vreeswijk et al. (2003)
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WHAT IS ROSS FOR?

• Primary science (GRBs)
• fast detection of the GRB optical transient
  (OT)
• monitoring the OT overall spectral shape
• finding the GRB redshift if 2.0 lt z lt 8.9
• Secondary science
• monitoring of AGNs
• detection of transient X-ray binaries
• monitoring of persistent X-ray binaries
• monitoring of flare stars.

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INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

• Other robotic (or robotized) telescopes
• Tarot (F)
• BOOTES (E) MoU for creation of REM-Nord
• BART (CZ)
• ROTSE-III (USA)
• RAPTOR (USA)
• SuperLOTIS (USA)
• KAIT (USA)
• NEAT (USA)
• REM is however the only one capable to observe
  simultaneously from 3700 to 22500 Å within
  seconds after the GRB trigger.

FUNDING GRANTS

• ASI grant 2001
• COFIN 2002 (grant for 2003-2004)
• Descartes prize 2002 (a fraction of)

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GRB COLLABORATIONS

• GRACE (GRB Afterglow Collaboration at ESO)
• Denmark Telescopes of Paranal
• Germany and La Silla plus
• Italy (IASF OATs) national telescopes
• Netherlands (barring TNG for
• Spain Italians)
• UK ( USA)
• CIBO (Consorzio Italiano Burst Ottici)
• INAF Brera (Merate) Asiago, Loiano, REM,
• INAF Roma (Monteporzio) Campo Imperatore,
• IASF CNR (Bologna) TNG
• INAF - Trieste

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HOW CAN WE DO THIS BETTER?

• A good idea would be having the Italian National
  Telescope to continue the GRB program
• No TNG-AOT9 time allocated for GRB followup
  because
• too much time was requested
• too many instruments were requested.
• But
• Swift will fly in June 2004. It is fundamental
  to have TNG ready for the opportunities this
  satellite will offer
• TNG is one of the (very) few telescopes which
  can afford near-infrared spectropolarimetry
• REM can boost TNG activities.
• In 4 years (2000 2003), we produced 16 of
  TNG-based refereed papers with lt3 of TNG time.

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AMATEUR ACTIVITIES
Cen A
Dumbbell
Eagle
Ring
Trifid
NGC 6652