Abstract
This paper is based on a proposal submitted for a BRICS astronomy flagship program, which was presented at the 2019 meeting of the BRICS Astronomy Working Group, held in Rio de Janeiro from 29 September to 2 October 2019. The future prospects for the detection and study of transient phenomena in the Universe heralds a new era in time domain astronomy. The case is presented for a dedicated BRICS-wide flagship program to develop a network of ground-based optical telescopes for an all-sky survey to detect short lived optical transients and to allow follow-up of multi-wavelength and multi-messenger transient objects. This will leverage existing and planned new facilities within the BRICS countries and will also draw on the opportunities presented by other multi-wavelength space- and ground-based facilities that exist within the BRICS group. The proposed optical network would initially perform followup observations on new transients using existing telescopes. This would later expand to include a new global network of \sim ∼ 70 wide-field 1-m telescopes which will cover the entire sky, simultaneously, with a cadence of less than a few hours. This realization would represent a ground-breaking and unique global capability, presenting many scientific opportunities and associated spin-off benefits to all BRICS countries.
Highlights
Astrophysical transients are sources that suddenly appear for the first time, or known objects which brighten considerably, and fade away, sometimes to oblivion
We know of their existence because we have detected powerful bursts of gravitational waves, gamma rays, X-rays, or radio waves; we still know very little about their appearance in the optical bands
Optical observations of transients may lead to important discoveries in other fields of astronomy: nearby asteroids potentially dangerous for Earth, An Acad Bras Cienc (2021) 93(Suppl. 1)
Summary
Astrophysical transients are sources that suddenly appear for the first time, or known objects which brighten considerably, and fade away, sometimes to oblivion. Transient phenomena are seen across a wide range of object classes, from the nearest to the farthest, and covering a wide range of luminosity, some being the most energetic events in the Universe. The latter often hold the key to our understanding of universal physical laws in conditions of extreme energy. We know of their existence because we have detected powerful bursts of gravitational waves, gamma rays, X-rays, or radio waves; we still know very little about their appearance in the optical bands. Optical observations of transients may lead to important discoveries in other fields of astronomy: nearby asteroids potentially dangerous for Earth, An Acad Bras Cienc (2021) 93(Suppl. 1)
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