A. Krylov

MASTER ROBOTIC NET

The main goal of the MASTER-Net project is to produce a unique fast sky survey with all sky observed over a single night down to a limiting magnitude of 19-20. Such a survey will make it possible to address a number of fundamental problems: search for dark energy via the discovery and photometry of supernovae (including SNIa), search for exoplanets, microlensing effects, discovery of minor bodies in the Solar System, and space-junk monitoring. All MASTER telescopes can be guided by alerts, and we plan to observe prompt optical emission from gamma-ray bursts synchronously in several filters and in several polarization planes.

Transient Detections and Other Real-Time Data Processing from MASTER-VWF Wide-Field Cameras

Construction of robotic observatories has developed into an important and thriving field of astronomy. Their large field of view combined with the capability to be pointed at any direction makes robotic astronomical systems indispensable for tasks involving searches for transients like GRB, supernovae explosions, novae, and so forth, where both the time and direction of the search are impossible to predict. This paper describes prompt GRB observations made with MASTER-VWF wide-field cameras and the methods of image analysis and classification of transients used for real-time data processing. During seven months of operation six synchronous observations of gamma-ray bursts have been made using MASTER VWF facilities deployed in Kislovodsk and Irkutsk. In all cases high upper limits have been obtained.

Discovery of an optical flare from GRB 060926 by the MASTER robotic telescope: Possible formation of a marginally rotating black hole

The MASTER robotic telescope has obtained the first optical images of GRB 060926. We have discovered an optical flare from GRB 060926, a recurrent brightening that closely follows its behavior in the X-ray range. We have determined the spectral slope for GRB 060926 from the X-ray to optical range in the first minutes. Based on the spinar model, we show that the parameters of the optical and X-ray flares suggest that the gamma-ray burst resulted from the core collapse of a 7M⊙ star with an initial effective Kerr parameter of 7.6 and an initial magnetic-to-gravitational energy ratio of 10−4.

Observations of gamma-ray bursts and a supernovae search at the robotic telescope MASTER

We present here the results of observations made during 2005–2006 using the robotic telescope MASTER. The worlds first observations of the optical emission of gamma-ray bursts GRB050824 and GRB060926 are shown. Our data combined with later observations give the law of brightness as proportional to t 0.55±0.05 for GRB050824. We discovered an optical flare for GRB060926 at about 500–700xa0s. The power law spectral index (F∝ E −β) is equal to β=0.7±0.2. During the sky survey we have imaged more than 90% of the observable sky. Also we discovered three supernovae (SNs): SN2005bv of type Ia (this is the first SN discovered in Russia), SN2005ee (which is one of the brightest type II SN stars) and SN2006ak (type Ia).