Exploring the Transient Universe with the Long Wavelength Array (LWA: lwa.nrl.navy.mil )

1. Exploring the Transient Universe with the Long Wavelength Array(LWA:http://lwa.nrl.navy.mil) Greg Taylor (KIPAC / NRAO / UNM) for the Southwest Consortium (UNM, NRL, UT, LANL) Wavelengths longer than 3 meters “Long Wavelengths” (LW)  Frequencies below 90 MHz

2. The 2004 Dec. 27 Giant Flare • was ~5ofrom the sun • It’s distance ≈ 15 kpc • Eiso ~ (2-9)1046 erg • Eiso,spike/Eiso,tail ~ 300 • Expanding radio afterglow Swift (Palmer et al. 2005)

3. Radio Afterglow has a Steep Spectrum ~ -0.6 at t+7 days down to at least 220 MHz Flux > 1 Jy at early times and low frequencies. Visible out to ~ 1 Mpc From Cameron et al. 2005

4. Image Evolution VLA 8.5 GHz Taylor et al. 2005, astro-ph/0504363

5. Growth of the Radio Afterglow VLA 8.5 GHz Velocity to t + 30 days ~ 0.8 c Size at t+7 days 1016 cm Decrease in vexp

6. VLA Y LWA Overview:Far Larger than the VLA Full LWA: 50 stations spread across NM 1 “LWA Station” = 256 antennas State of New Mexico 400 km 100 m

7. Phased Development

8. Full LWA Specifications

9. Another recently discovered type of transient radio source: • CGRT J1745-3009 (Hyman et al. 2005) • A periodic flaring to ~1 Jy at 76 min intervals during several months in 2002 • No obvious IR or X-ray counterpart • Tb ~ 1016 K, most likely a coherent emitter • New type of radio source?

10. Detecting Extra solar Planets • LWA may detect emission from extra-solar “Jupiters” in outburst. • Jupiter exhibits bursts of ~105 Jy at ~ 40 MHz. . Interaction of Jupiter’s magnetosphere with the Solar Wind LWA Range (deca-meter wave) 107 106 105 104 103 102 10 ~40 MHz Brightness Millimeter waves Centimeter waves 1 10 102 103 104 105 106 Frequency (MHz)

11. Low Frequency Transient Sources • Radio afterglows (GRBs, SNe, magnetars, …) • Extra-Solar planets • Ultra-High Energy Cosmic-ray showers • Prompt GRB and/or SNe emission • Giant pulses from pulsars • Microquasars • AGN flares • Microlensing events • LIGO events? • Evaporating black holes? • … Falcke et al. 2005

12. SUMMARY • Opportunity • A pathfinder Long Wavelength (LW) system demonstrates we can finally “see” through the ionosphere at high sensitivity below 100 MHz. • The Long Wavelength Array (LWA) project • A Long Wavelength system more than 10X size and 100X the power of a recently developed LW VLA pathfinder system. • A 400 km, completely electronic radio-telescope to be built in NM by the Southwest Consortium, providing arcsecond resolution below 100 MHz. • Goals: • Detection and Monitoring of Transient Sources, Cosmic Evolution, Particle Acceleration, and Ionospheric Physics The Long Wavelength Array will open the last poorly explored region of the spectrum - the potential for new discoveries will be high!