Transient Detection and Classification

TL;DR

This paper discusses the upcoming challenges and requirements for detecting, classifying, and issuing alerts for astronomical transient events in next-generation time-domain surveys, emphasizing robustness and community trust.

Contribution

It provides an overview of the necessary survey functionalities, alert systems, and classification ideas for astronomical transient detection and follow-up.

Findings

Highlights the importance of robust alert systems to prevent false positives.

Emphasizes the role of VOEvents in transient alert dissemination.

Suggests future directions for object and event classification methods.

Abstract

I provide an incomplete inventory of the astronomical variability that will be found by next-generation time-domain astronomical surveys. These phenomena span the distance range from near-Earth satellites to the farthest Gamma Ray Bursts. The surveys that detect these transients will issue alerts to the greater astronomical community; this decision process must be extremely robust to avoid a slew of ``false'' alerts, and to maintain the community's trust in the surveys. I review the functionality required of both the surveys and the telescope networks that will be following them up, and the role of VOEvents in this process. Finally, I offer some ideas about object and event classification, which will be explored more thoroughly by other articles in these proceedings.