RAPID OPTICAL/NEAR-INFRARED FOLLOW-UP OF FERMI TRANSIENTSTHE GAMMA-RAY BURST OPTICAL/NEAR-IR DETECTOR (GROND) CAMERA HAS SUPPORTED FERMI OBSERVATIONS OF TRANSIENTS AND STEADYSOURCES SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE MISSION PROVIDING SENSITIVE AND SIMULTANEOUS OPTICAL/NIR OBSERVATIONS. GROND DATA ALLOWED FERMI TO ACHIEVE SEVERAL KEY RESULTS LIKE THE DETECTION OF THE MOST LUMINOUS GRB CONSTRAINTS ON LORENTZ INVARIANCE VIOLATION AND DETECTION OF ABSORPTION BY THE EBL. IN AN EPOCH WHEN AVAILABLE TELESCOPE TIME IS DECLINING AND THE NUMBER OF FERMI TRANSIENTS WILL LIKELY INCREASE WE PROPOSE TO AUGMENT GROND CAPABILITIES FOR FERMI TRANSIENT FOLLOW-UP WITH THE GOAL OF INCREASING THE RATE OF DETECTED AFTERGLOWS AND TO ENABLE A NEW MODE OF COMMUNITY-TRIGGERED GROND RESPONSES.

Clemson University, Clemson SC

Investigators