GRB INVESTIGATIONS BY ESA GAIA AND LOFT

Abstract

The possibility of studying GRBs with the ESA Gaia and LOFT missions is briefly addressed. The ESA Gaia satellite to be launched in November 2013 will focus on high precision astrometry of stars and all objects down to limiting magnitude 20. The satellite will also provide photometric and spectral information and hence important inputs for various branches of astrophysics, including the study of GRBs and related optical afterglows (OAs) and optical transients (OTs). The strength of Gaia in GRB analyses will be the fine spectral resolution (spectro-photometry and ultra-low dispersion spectroscopy), which will allow the correct classication of related triggers. An interesting feature of Gaia BP and RP instruments will be the study of highly redshifted triggers. Similarly, the low dispersion spectroscopy provided by various plate surveys can also supply valuable data for investigations of high-energy sources. The ESA LOFT candidate mission, now in the assessment study phase, will also be able to detect and be used in the study of GRBs, with emphasis on low-energy (X-ray) emission.