Introducing POISE: Precision Observations of Infant Supernova Explosions

ATel #14441; C. Burns (Carnegie Observatories), E. Hsiao (Florida State), N. Suntzeff (Texas A&M), E. Baron (Univ. of Oklahoma), B. Shappee (Univ. of Hawaii), L. Aldoroty (Texas A&M), J. Anderson (ESO), C. Ashall (Univ. of Hawaii), M. Bersten (Inst. de Astrofisica de La Plata), P. Brown (Texas A&M), A. Burrow (Univ. of Oklahoma), Alejandro Clochiatti (Univ. Catolica de Chile), S. Davis (UC Davis), J. DerKacy (Univ. of Oklahoma), A. Do (Univ. of Hawaii), G. Folatelli (Inst. de Astrofisica de La Plata), F. Forster Buron (Univ. de Chile), L. Galbany ( Univ. de Granada), P. Hoeflich (Florida State), S. Holmbo (Univ. of Aarhus), E. Karamehmetoglu (Univ. of Aarhus), K. Krisciunas (Texas A&M), S. Kumar (Florida State), J. Lu (Florida State), P. Mazzali (Liverpool John Moores Univ.), N. Morrell (Las Campanas Observatory), P. Pessi (Inst. de Astrofisica de La Plata), M. Phillips (Carnegie Observatories), G. Pignata (Univ. Andres Bello), A. L. Piro (Carnegie Observatories), A. Polin (Carnegie Observatories/Caltech), M. Shahbandeh (Florida State), S. Stangl (Univ. of Oklahoma), M. Stritzinger (Univs. of Aarhus), J. Teffs (Liverpool John Moores Univ.), J. Tonry (Univ. of Hawaii), M. Tucker (Univ. of Hawaii), S. Uddin (Carnegie Observatories), and J. Yang (Texas A&M)
on 6 Mar 2021; 01:25 UT
Credential Certification: Eric Hsiao (hsiao@physics.fsu.edu)

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The purpose of this ATEL is to introduce the community to POISE, a collaboration built on the foundations of the Carnegie Supernova Project (CSP) that aims to push the limits of early observations of supernova explosions.

Much of what we know about the physics of SNe and their progenitors is based on observations of objects obtained well past explosion. To expand our understanding of SN origins, we need high-precision and rapid-cadence observations obtained in the first few hours-to-days after explosion. From these very early phase observations, we can estimate key explosion parameters, distinguish between leading explosion models, and study the local environment of these cosmic explosions.

With the advent of discovery surveys that push deeper and with higher cadence -- such as ASAS-SN, ATLAS, and ZTF -- we can follow events mere hours after explosion, when competing models predict a larger variety of observational indicators, allowing us to differentiate between them.

The POISE collaboration includes observers and theorists from several institutions, bringing observational and theoretical resources needed to achieve the science goals. Critical among these are fast response and near-real-time photometric follow-up of candidates with the Swope telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. Not only will the Swope data provide early optical light-curves, but also allow us to perform triage on candidates mere hours after discovery.