Swift follow-up of the gravitational wave source GW150914

P. A. Evans, J. A. Kennea, S. D. Barthelmy, A. P. Beardmore, D. N. Burrows, S. Campana, S. B. Cenko, Neil Gehrels, P. Giommi, C. Gronwall, F. E. Marshall, D. Malesani, C. B. Markwardt, B. Mingo, J. A. Nousek, P. T. O'Brien, J. P. Osborne, C. Pagani, K. L. Page, D. M. PalmerM. Perri, J. L. Racusin, M. H. Siegel, B. Sbarufatti, G. Tagliaferri

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (ALIGO) observatory recently reported the first direct detection of gravitationalwaves (GW)which triggered ALIGO on 2015 September 14. We report on observations taken with the Swift satellite two days after the trigger. No new X-ray, optical, UV or hard X-ray sources were detected in our observations, which were focused on nearby galaxies in the GW error region and covered 4.7 deg2 (~2 per cent of the probability in the rapidly available GW error region; 0.3 per cent of the probability from the finalGWerror region, which was produced several months after the trigger). We describe the rapid Swift response and automated analysis of the X-ray telescope and UV/Optical telescope data, and note the importance to electromagnetic follow-up of early notification of the progenitor details inferred from GW analysis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)L40-L44
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Volume460
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Jul 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Gravitational waves
  • Methods: data analysis
  • X-rays: general

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