Summary: we propose to conduct two targeted science programs utilizing the 47 DEGREE2 zwicky transient facility (ZTF) project. First, we will search for and characterize tidal disruption events…

This is a $349,999.87 grant awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shared Services Center to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) to conduct two targeted science programs utilizing the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) project. The first program will search for and characterize tidal disruption events (TDEs), which occur when a star wanders too close to a supermassive black hole and is torn apart. The second program will search for electromagnetic counterparts to binary neutron star mergers detected via gravitational waves. This grant does not have a set-aside designation and is for research to be completed by December 31, 2020. Caltech is a leading private research university that has received over $500 million in prime federal contract awards from agencies like NASA and the Department of Defense over the past 5 years, primarily for scientific research, engineering, and technical services.

Summary: we propose to conduct two targeted science programs utilizing the 47 DEGREE2 zwicky transient facility (ZTF) project. First, we will search for and characterize tidal disruption events (tdes), the flare resulting when a star wanders too close to a super-massive black hole (smbh) and is torn apart by tidal forces. Tdes serve as unique probes of inactive black holes in distant galaxies, enabling unique studies of accretion physics and the evolution of smbhs across cosmic history. ZTF is providing the first large, homogenous sample of tdes at optical wavelengths and the neil gehrels swift observatory is providing complementary x-RAY and UV observations of these discoveries. This program will complement ZTF searches with observations from the newly launched erosita instrument. Second, we will search for electromagnetic counterparts to binary neutron star mergers discovered via gravitational waves. The multi-messenger discovery of gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation from the binary neutron star merger GW170817 suggested that these events serve as both the progenitors of short gamma-RAY bursts and the primary sites of heavy element formation in the universe. Here we will search for optical counterparts to ligo and virgo detections in the second half of the O3 observing run, complimenting observations being conducted by the fermi gamma-RAY space telescope.