Abstract Details
| Name: Vishwajeet Swain Affiliation: IIT Bombay Conference ID: ASI2025_733 Title : Rapid follow-up of gravitational wave events with a robotic meter-class optical telescope Authors and Co-Authors : Vishwajeet Swain 1, Ravi Kumar 1, Dhananjay Raman 1, Aswin Suresh 1, Tamojeet Roychowdhury 1, Yogesh Wagh 1, Judhajeet Basu 2, Harsh Kumar 1,3, Varun Bhalerao 1, G. C. Anupama 2, Sudhanshu Barway 2 Abstract Type : Poster Abstract Category : Facilities, Technologies and Data science Abstract : The GROWTH-India Telescope (GIT) is India's first fully robotic telescope, set up as a part of the international GROWTH network. The primary goal of GIT is rapid-response time-domain observations of gamma-ray bursts, novae, supernovae, fast optical transients, near earth objects, and, particularly, follow-up of EMGW sources. Our location allows us to fill a longitude gap between major observatories, providing critical continuous coverage for rapidly varying sources. To ensure rapid response, GIT monitors Kafka-based prompt GW alerts from General Coordinates Network (GCN) and automatically triggers neutron star mergers based on specific pre-defined criteria. Based on the localisation area, GIT may undertake observations in one of three modes: (a) tiling the entire localisation, (b) galaxy catalogue weighted observations (c) follow up of candidates reported by other telescopes. A custom dashboard allows us to monitor telescope operations. All data are automatically reduced, including image subtraction and photometry. A machine-learning pipeline trained on our data identifies transient candidates served on an interface for human vetting. The entire software for telescope operations, data processing, and transient identification was developed in-house by a team of students. The system worked well in the O4a observing run of the International Gravitational Wave Network and has since been enhanced based on lessons we learned. I will present our workflows, lessons learnt, and key results from our follow-up efforts. |