Radio+Transients

Radio Variables and Transients

Organized by: Steve Croft, Bryan Gaensler

We are entering a new era in the study of variable and transient radio sources. In this workshop we will discuss the instruments and strategy used to study these sources, how they are identified and classified, how results from different surveys can be compared, and how radio observations tie in with those at other wavelengths. The emphasis is on learning what common ground there is between the plethora of ongoing projects, how methods and code can be reused, and how best practices regarding survey strategy can be adopted.

Discussion will be split into four topics, each allocated 45 minutes: a 10-minute introductory talk from an expert identified by the workshop chairs, and 35 minutes of open discussion. There will be an opportunity for participants to upload slides to discuss (limit one slide per person, per topic, strictly enforced!) to a wiki ahead of the workshop.

1. Telescopes, instrumentation and survey strategy: New radio facilities as well as ongoing projects (including upgrades) are studying the variability of the radio sky, and searching for transients. We'll discuss the status of these facilities and those projects with a time-domain focus that are ongoing or planned. Factors driving choices of instrumentation (e.g. phased array versus single pixel feeds), field of view, spatial and time resolution, frequency and bandwidth, and depth, area, and cadence of the surveys will also be discussed.

2. Detection, pipelines, and classification: What factors influence decisions to study variability in the (u,v) plane, in images, or in catalogs? How much pipeline code could potentially be reused between one project and another, and what software packages are best for different approaches? How are data stored and later accessed, and how are transients and variables defined and classified?

3. Statistics, interpretation, and synthesis: We'll discuss how the choice of facility and strategy (1) and detection and classification schemes (2) influence what is seen (in terms of types of object and rates) by different surveys. How can results from different surveys be compared, and how does what we know from existing surveys drive choices in (1) and (2), particularly as regards finding new classes of object?

4. Multiwavelength approaches: What information is needed from wavelengths other than radio to adequately classify transients and variables and predict their rates as a function of (1), (2) and (3)? What are the constraints on responding to and issuing triggers for follow-up observations? How does this feed back into considerations for designing our telescopes and surveys?