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The Swift/BAT Hard X-ray Transient MonitorThe Swift/Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) hard X-ray transient monitor provides near real-time coverage of the X-ray sky in the energy range 15-50 keV. The BAT observes 88% of the sky each day with a detection sensitivity of 5.3 mCrab for a full-day observation and a time resolution as ne as 64 seconds. The three main purposes of the monitor are (1) the discovery of new transient X-ray sources, (2) the detection of outbursts or other changes in the ux of known X-ray sources, and (3) the generation of light curves of more than 900 sources spanning over eight years. The primary interface for the BAT transient monitor is a public web page. Since 2005 February, 242 sources have been detected in the monitor, 149 of them persistent and 93 detected only in outburst. Among these sources, 16 were previously unknown and discovered in the transient monitor. In this paper, we discuss the methodology and the data processing and ltering for the BAT transient monitor and review its sensitivity and exposure. We provide a summary of the source detections and classify them according to the variability of their light curves. Finally, we review all new BAT monitor discoveries and present basic data analysis and interpretations for those sources with previously unpublished results.
Document ID
20140010249
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Krimm, H. A.
(Universities Space Research Association Columbia, MD, United States)
Holland, S. T.
(Space Telescope Science Inst. Baltimore, MD, United States)
Corbet, R.H.D.
(Maryland Univ. Baltimore County Baltimore, MD, United States)
Pearlman, A. B.
(California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Romano, P.
(Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica (INAF-IASF) Palermo, Italy)
Kennea, J. A.
(Pennsylvania State Univ. University Park, PA, United States)
Bloom, J. S.
(California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Barthelmy, S. D.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Baumgartner, W. H.
(Maryland Univ. Baltimore County Baltimore, MD, United States)
Cummings, J. R.
(Maryland Univ. Baltimore County Baltimore, MD, United States)
Gehrels, N.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Lien, A. Y.
(Maryland Univ. Baltimore County Baltimore, MD, United States)
Markwardt, C. B.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Palmer, D. M.
(Los Alamos National Lab. NM, United States)
Sakamoto, T.
(Aoyamagakuin Univ. Kanagawa, Japan)
Stamatikos, M.
(Ohio State Univ. Columbus, OH, United States)
Ukwatta, N.
(Michigan State Univ. East Lansing, MI, United States)
Date Acquired
July 29, 2014
Publication Date
May 1, 2013
Subject Category
Astronomy
Astrophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN9337
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNH06CC03B
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX09AU85G
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX12AD32G
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG06EO90A
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-03127
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX12AE57G
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNX13AC75G
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Monitor
Swift
Transient
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