AIRIS: Pushing the Boundaries of GRB Optical Afterglow Observation

Abstract

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic electromagnetic events in the universe, yet their origins and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. High-energy gamma-ray observations have provided significant insights, but optical data capturing the evolution of GRB afterglows is needed to characterize these bursts. The Antarctic Demonstrator for the Advanced Particle-astrophysics Telescope (ADAPT) is a NASA mission led by James Buckley of the Washington University in St. Louis physics department. Using a high-altitude weather balloon over Antarctica, ADAPT is designed to demonstrate a Compton scattering detector for a future space-based gamma-ray and cosmic-ray observer. Planned for a December 2026 flight, ADAPT will provide unprecedented sensitivity and wide field of view, producing localizations and polarization constraints on a few gamma-ray bursts in a matter of seconds. However, has a limited capability to refine GRB localization and cannot provide optical imaging of their afterglows. AIRIS (ADAPT Incidence Resolution; Imaging Subsystem) is a fast-slewing optical telescope mounted on the same platform as ADAPT. AIRIS is designed to refine GRB localization sent by ADAPT and provide optical images of their afterglows. AIRIS will respond to GRB triggers identified by ADAPT, slewing up to 30 degrees per second to capture GRB afterglows. Due to the combination of ADAPT’s rapid computing pipeline, the location of AIRIS on the same platform as ADAPT, and AIRIS’ rapidly slewing mount, AIRIS is quickly able to observe the optical afterglows of GRBs. Furthermore, AIRIS’ near-space vantage point, low-noise SONY CMOS sensor, and large aperture 200mm f/1.8 lens, enables the observation of very faint signals. Through burst localization and time evolution tracking, AIRIS enables observations essential for studying GRBs’ development. The data AIRIS gathers will feed into NASA's General Coordinates Network, guiding telescopes worldwide to observe GRB afterglows, contributing to multi-messenger astronomy.

Keywords: Gamma-Ray Astronomy, Multi-Messenger Astronomy, Optics, Real-Time Image Processing, High-Altitude Balloon, Design Team

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