Abstract
SiTian is an ambitious ground-based all-sky optical monitoring project, developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The concept is an integrated network of dozens of 1-m-class telescopes deployed partly in China and partly at various other sites around the world. The main science goals are the detection, identification and monitoring of optical transients (such as gravitational wave events, fast radio bursts, supernovae) on the largely unknown timescales of less than 1 day; SiTian will also provide a treasure trove of data for studies of AGN, quasars, variable stars, planets, asteroids, and microlensing events. To achieve those goals, SiTian will scan at least 10,000 square deg of sky every 30 min, down to a detection limit of $V \approx 21$ mag. The scans will produce simultaneous light-curves in 3 optical bands. In addition, SiTian will include at least three 4-m telescopes specifically allocated for follow-up spectroscopy of the most interesting targets. We plan to complete the installation of 72 telescopes by 2030 and start full scientific operations in 2032.
Highlights
All-sky optical monitoring of transient and variable sources is one of the most promising lines of research over the decade
Rapid detection and follow-up studies of optical counterparts is crucial for the precise localization and physical interpretation of various classes of high energy transients, such as neutron star mergers, tidal disruption events, fast radio bursts
Some are based on a single telescope with an extremely wide field of view
Summary
All-sky optical monitoring of transient and variable sources is one of the most promising lines of research over the decade. The Zwicky Transient Factory (ZTF) at Palomar Observatory uses a 1.2-m Schmidt telescope with a 47 square deg field of view (Bellm et al 2019, Graham et al 2019). The Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will use an 8-m class telescope (effective collecting area of a 6.7-m filled aperture) with a 9.6 square deg field of view (Ivezić et al 2019). From 2023, it will survey the southern sky from La Serena (Chile), down to g ≈ 25 mag per scan. It will only have a few day cadence, not suitable for the study of fast transients on timescales of about 1 hour to 1 day. The All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) deploys 6 units of 4 telescopes each, located in several continents, with a full coverage of the whole sky every night (Kochanek et al 2017); the
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