V-SPARC: Detecting Long Period Transients with VLITE
By Aarushi, Bowen, Anavi, Sarah
External Mentor: Dr. Emil Polisensky, Naval Research Laboratory
The proposed research aims to detect a new class of astronomical objects known as Long Period Transients (LPT) using data collected by the Naval Research Laboratory’s Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) Low band Ionospheric and Transient Experiment (VLITE). VLITE receivers are currently installed on 18 of the 27 antennas on the VLA in New Mexico, detecting radio frequencies with a bandwidth of ~40 MHz centered at ~340 MHz while the VLA simultaneously collects data at higher wavelengths. As a result, VLITE gathers more than 6000 hours of imaging data each year, much of which remains relatively unprobed and in need of analysis. Because LPTs emit radio waves, VLITE is particularly well-suited for their detection. In fact, it has already found several of the 13 known LPTs, suggesting that further probing will yield additional candidates. Using VLITE source data, Bowen MacGillivray, Anavi Nellutla, Sarah Trainer, and Aarushi Kanigicherla under the direction of Dr. Emil Polisensky will filter images, clean up artifacts, and curate a list of potential LPT objects for manual review. Our hypothesis is that several LPTs will be found in the VLITE data, as well as other objects that may be serendipitously discovered.