DR. PEEYUSH PRASAD

The detection and characterization of Low frequency radio transients is a Key Science Project for the LOFAR radio telescope. In this context, the Amsterdam-ASTRON Radio Transients Facility and Analysis Center (AARTFAAC) has initiated building an All-Sky Monitor (ASM) to monitor most of the locally visible sky for transient and variable sources. The ASM will use the core of the LOFAR array for continuous and near real-time transient detection and monitoring, at a variety of cadences. The speaker will give a brief introduction to the efforts towards transient detection within the LOFAR community, and then focus on the ongoing implementation of the AARTFAAC ASM. He will discuss some of the calibration and imaging challenges for achieving an all-sky field of view, low latencies and continuous availability. Finally, he will present some initial results obtained from test data.