This paper considers latest highlights in simultaneous and follow-up optical observations of high energy astrophysical phenomena by MASTER Global Robotic Net. Such extreme Universe sources includes gamma-ray bursts, gravitational wave events, detected by LIGO/Virgo, fast radio bursts, high energy neutrino sources and others. Some of the neutrinos detected by ground-based facilities owe their births to supermassive black holes – blazars, which are in a special anxious state with high statistical reliability. We discovered the effect of a rapid decrease in the brightness of the blazar PKS 0735+17 at the time of the multiple detection of the high-energy neutrino event IceCube-211208A. This decrease in brightness within several hours was detected with a high confidence (SNR 10) in comparison with a multi-day brightening state of the blazar, which was accompanied not only by a maximum increase in the average brightness, but also by an increase in the amplitude of its brightness fluctuations. Additionally, we analyzed all cases of successful observation of blazars around neutrino events and obtained statistically reliable indications of the relationship between neutrino events and optical activity of blazars in the doubled error box at the 4.2 σ level.
High-energy neutrinos could be produced in the interaction of charged cosmic rays with matter or radiation surrounding astrophysical sources. To look for transient sources associated with neutrino emission, a follow-up program of neutrino alerts has been operating within the ANTARES Collaboration since 2009. This program, named TAToO, has triggered robotic optical telescopes (MASTER, TAROT, ROTSE and the SVOM ground based telescopes) immediately after the detection of any relevant neutrino candidate and scheduled several observations in the weeks following the detection. A subset of ANTARES events with highest probabilities of being of cosmic origin has also been followed by the Swift and the INTEGRAL satellites, the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope and the H.E.S.S. high-energy gamma-ray telescope. The results of twelve years of observations are reported. No optical counterpart has been significantly associated with an ANTARES candidate neutrino signal during image analysis. Constraints on transient neutrino emission have been set. In September 2015, ANTARES issued a neutrino alert and during the follow-up, a potential transient counterpart was identified by Swift and MASTER. A multi-wavelength follow-up campaign has allowed to identify the nature of this source and has proven its fortuitous association with the neutrino. The return of experience is particularly important for the design of the alert system of KM3NeT, the next generation neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea.
The paper presents the method for detecting exoplanets in the image archive obtained by telescopes of the MASTER Global Network since 2002. The unique archive represents homogeneous photometric data obtained over 20 years for the northern (MASTER-Amur, MASTER-Tunka, MASTER-Kislovodsk, M-ASTER-Tavrida, MASTER-IAC, MASTER-OAGH) and 11 years for the southern sky (MASTER-OAFA, MASTER-SAAO). Algorithm of gamma-ray burst error box observation on the MASTER wide-field telescopes make it possible to detect transit phenomena and find exoplanets in archival data. The article presents the results of a photometric analysis of the TESS exoplanet candidate TOI–3570.01.
This article presents the early results of synchronous multiwavelength observations of one of the brightest gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) GRB 160625B with the detailed continuous fast optical photometry of its optical counterpart obtained by MASTER and with hard X-ray and gamma-ray emission, obtained by the Lomonosov and Konus-Wind spacecraft. The detailed photometry led us to detect the quasi-periodical emission components in the intrinsic optical emission. As a result of our analysis of synchronous multiwavelength observations, we propose a three-stage collapse scenario for this long and bright GRB. We suggest that quasiperiodic fluctuations may be associated with forced precession of a self-gravitating rapidly rotating superdense body (spinar), whose evolution is determined by a powerful magnetic field. The spinar's mass allows it to collapse into a black hole at the end of evolution.
We present the results of the participation of the MASTER Global Robotic Network in the program to support the aLIGO (O1) and LIGO/Virgo (O2 and O3) gravitational-wave experiments in the electromagnetic channel. This study covers the first observing run O1 from September 2015 to January 2016, the second observing run O2 from November 2016 to August 2017 (only LIGO in January–July, joint LIGO/VIRGO (LVC) in August) and the third observing run O3 from April 2019 to April 2020. The main goal of these observations was to, for the first time in the history of astronomy, perform precise localization of gravitational-wave sources, which successfully resulted in the independent discovery of the kilonova using MASTER telescopes in the process of searching for the source of the GW170817 event. In many other events, dozens of optical transients unrelated to gravitational waves have been detected. Nevertheless, the experience of optical localization of gravitational waves is of exceptional importance for the development of a future successful strategy for the localization of gravitational wave events involving relativistic stars. In addition, objects detected in the analysis of huge areas in the sky, determined by the localization errors of the GW source, have been studied in particular detail by telescopes around the world. Objects such as supernovae, novae, active galactic nuclei, dwarf novae and other explosive phenomena in the Universe have been found and analyzed. More than 220 000 deg2 within the region of the most probable localization of a gravitational wave source have been explored by the MASTER Global Robotic Network. This paper reports on the observations of the MA-STER Global Robotic Network for all alert events from the O1, O2, and O3 observing runs.
We present MASTER Global Robotic Net (Lipunov et al. 2010) earliest optical alert observations of IceCube-170922A error box. We discovered fast variability of blazar TXS 0506+056 27 sec after notice time (73s after the trigger time) at 2017-09-22 20:55:43 UT by MASTER-Tavrida robotic telescope. MASTER found the blazar TXS 0506+056 to be in the off-state after one minute and then switched to the on-state no later than two hours after the event. The effect is observed at a 50-sigma significance level. We also analysed own unique 16-years light curve of blazar TXS 0506+056 (518 data set).
The detailed continuous fast optical photometry analysis obtained by MASTER Global Network for the GRB160625B optical counterpart MASTER OT J203423.51+065508.0 is presented. There are also hard X-ray and gamma-ray emission obtained by the Lomonosov and Konus-Wind spacecrafts detectors. We detected quasiperiodic emission components in the intrinsic optical emission of GRB160625B and propose a three-stage collapse scenario for this long and bright GRB. We associate quasiperiodic fluctuations with forced precession of a Spinar, i.e. self-gravitating rapidly rotating super dense body, whose evolution is determined by a powerful magnetic field. The spinar's mass lead it to collapse into a black hole at the end of an evolution.
We report on MASTER optical observations of an afterglow-like optical and X-ray transient AT2021lfa/ZTF21aayokph. We detected the initial steady brightening of the transient at 7{\sigma} confidence level. This allowed us to use smooth optical self-similar emission of GRBs model to constrain the explosion time to better than 14 min as well as to estimate its initial Lorentz factor {\Gamma}0 = 20 +/- 10. Taking into consideration the low {\Gamma}0 and non-detection in gamma-rays, we classify this transient as the first failed GRB afterglow.
We report on the earliest detection of the optical transient MASTER OT J123248.62-012924.5 coincident within the error box with the optical and X-ray transient AT2021lfa/ZTF21aayokph. In our images the brightness of the object rises monotonically with $$7\sigma$$ confidence. We interpret this transient as a gamma-ray burst (GRB) characterized by smooth optical self-similar (SOSS) emission, while the nondetection of gamma-ray emission at space observatories is interpreted in terms of the hypothesis of a ‘‘failed’’ GRB. Thus, this is the first detection of a nonmonotonic orphan burst.
GRB 190829A at z = 0.0785 is the fourth closest long GRB ever detected by the Neil Gehrels Swift observatory, and the third confirmed case with a very high-energy component. We present our multiwavelength analysis of this rare event, focusing on its early stages of evolution, and including data from Swift, the MASTER global network of optical telescopes, ALMA, and ATCA. We report sensitive limits on the linear polarization of the optical emission, disfavouring models of off-axis jets to explain the delayed afterglow peak. The study of the multiwavelength light curves and broad-band spectra supports a model with at least two emission components: a bright reverse shock emission, visible at early times in the optical and X-rays and, later, in the radio band; and a forward shock component dominating at later times and lower radio frequencies. A combined study of the prompt and afterglow properties shows many similarities with cosmological long GRBs, suggesting that GRB 190829A is an example of classical GRBs in the nearby universe.