The SOXS consortium : Data Flow Architecture Work Package

In the era of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, new high energy experiments, radio surveys and gravitational wave searches, we will be flooded with transients from both photonic and non-photonic regimes. A major challenge is to determine distances, energies and physical origins. Optical spectra provide the most robust way to quantify transients and dedicated spectroscopic facilities are essential. ESO selected the spectrometer SOXS as a new instrument to be installed on the New Technology Telescope. This wide wavelength, high efficiency, medium resolution spectrometer will be dedicated to real time follow-up.

Our UK consortium team have world leadership in spectroscopic surveys combined with physical modelling to provide rapid science discoveries. We will built this new instrument for the NTT that will follow-up new discoveries in the explosive Universe.

We will combine our expertise to discover and physically model the most exotic stellar explosions. These include superluminous supernovae, black hole and magnetar powered explosions, long and ultra-long gamma ray bursts. Our ultimate goal is to spectroscopically discover and confirm the sources of gravitational waves expected from advanced LIGO/VIRGO - the first kilonovae has been discovered and we will build on this breakthrough in physics to determine how frequently these collisions occur and what powers their luminosity.

We are committed to outreach and public engagement. Stellar explosions, gamma-ray bursts, solar system bodies and the dynamic Universe enthuse the public and school children and we involve the amateur astronomy community in observing. A recent example is PESSTO's link with the BBC's Stargazing live to confirm public supernova discoveries and the SOXS project has great potential to engage further.