학술논문
The BlackGEM telescope array I: Overview
Document Type
Working Paper
Author
Groot, Paul J.; Bloemen, S.; Vreeswijk, P.; van Roestel, J.; Jonker, P. G.; Nelemans, G.; Klein-Wolt, M.; Poole, R. Le; Pieterse, D.; Rodenhuis, M.; Boland, W.; Haverkorn, M.; Aerts, C.; Bakker, R.; Balster, H.; Bekema, M.; Dijkstra, E.; Dolron, P.; Elswijk, E.; van Elteren, A.; Engels, A.; Fokker, M.; de Haan, M.; Hahn, F.; ter Horst, R.; Lesman, D.; Kragt, J.; Morren, J.; Nillissen, H.; Pessemier, W.; de Rijke, A; Raskin, G.; Scheers, L. H. A.; Schuil, M.; Timmer, S. T.; Arcavi, I.; Blagorodnova, N.; Biswas, S.; Breton, R.; Dawson, H.; Dayal, P.; De Wet, S.; Duffy, C.; Faris, S.; Fausnaugh, M.; Gal-Yam, A.; Geier, S.; Horesh, A.; Johnston, C.; Wijnands, R. A. D.; Modiano, D.; Katusiime, G.; Kelley, C.; Kosakowski, A.; Kupfer, T.; Leloudas, G.; Mogawana, O.; Munday, J.; Paice, J. A.; Patat, F.; Pelisoli, I.; Ramsay, G.; Ranaivomanana, P. T.; Ruiz-Carmona, R.; Schaffenroth, V.; Scaringi, S.; Stoppa, F.; Tranin, H.; Uzundag, M.; Valenti, S.; Veresvarska, M.; Wichern, H. C. I.; Wijers, R. A. M. J.; Zimmerman, E.
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Subject
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Abstract
The main science aim of the BlackGEM array is to detect optical counterparts to gravitational wave mergers. Additionally, the array will perform a set of synoptic surveys to detect Local Universe transients and short time-scale variability in stars and binaries, as well as a six-filter all-sky survey down to ~22nd mag. The BlackGEM Phase-I array consists of three optical wide-field unit telescopes. Each unit uses an f/5.5 modified Dall-Kirkham (Harmer-Wynne) design with a triplet corrector lens, and a 65cm primary mirror, coupled with a 110Mpix CCD detector, that provides an instantaneous field-of-view of 2.7~square degrees, sampled at 0.564\arcsec/pixel. The total field-of-view for the array is 8.2 square degrees. Each telescope is equipped with a six-slot filter wheel containing an optimised Sloan set (BG-u, BG-g, BG-r, BG-i, BG-z) and a wider-band 440-720 nm (BG-q) filter. Each unit telescope is independent from the others. Cloud-based data processing is done in real time, and includes a transient-detection routine as well as a full-source optimal-photometry module. BlackGEM has been installed at the ESO La Silla observatory as of October 2019. After a prolonged COVID-19 hiatus, science operations started on April 1, 2023 and will run for five years. Aside from its core scientific program, BlackGEM will give rise to a multitude of additional science cases in multi-colour time-domain astronomy, to the benefit of a variety of topics in astrophysics, such as infant supernovae, luminous red novae, asteroseismology of post-main-sequence objects, (ultracompact) binary stars, and the relation between gravitational wave counterparts and other classes of transients
Comment: 14 pages, submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysics
Comment: 14 pages, submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysics