About the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission

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Swift Science & Instruments
Observing Strategy and Data Flow
Key Info and Documents
Swift Science Center (SSC) - services and responsibilities
Swift User's Group (SUG)

Swift is a first-of-its-kind multi-wavelength observatory dedicated to the study of gamma-ray burst (GRB) science. Its three instruments work together to observe GRBs and afterglows in the gamma-ray, X-ray, ultraviolet, and optical wavebands. The main mission objectives for Swift are to:

Determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts.
Classify gamma-ray bursts and search for new types.
Determine how the blastwave evolves and interacts with the surroundings.
Use gamma-ray bursts to study the early universe.
Perform the first sensitive hard X-ray survey of the sky.

During its nominal 2-year mission, Swift is expected to observe more than 200 bursts with a sensitivity ~3 times fainter than the BATSE detector aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. Swift's Burst Alert Telescope detects and acquires high-precision locations for gamma ray bursts and then relay a 1-4 arc-minute position estimate to the ground within 15 seconds. After the initial burst detection, the spacecraft "swiftly" (approximately 20 to 75 seconds) and autonomously repoints itself to bring the burst location within the field of view of the sensitive narrow-field X-ray and UV/optical telescopes to observe afterglow. Swift can provide redshifts for the bursts and multi-wavelength lightcurves for the duration of the afterglow. Swift measurements are of great interest to the astronomical community and all data products are available to the public via the internet as soon as they are processed. The Swift mission represents the most comprehensive study of GRB afterglow to date.

Swift is part of NASA's medium explorer (MIDEX) program and was launched into a low-Earth orbit on a Delta 7320 rocket on November 20, 2004. The hardware was developed by an internatinoal team from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy, with additional scientific involvement in France, Japan, Germany, Denmark, Spain, and South Africa.

Swift Science and Instruments

Baseline Capabilites:

> 200 GRBs studied over a two year period
0.3 - 5 arcsec positions for each GRB
Multiwavelength observatory (gamma, X-ray, UV and optical)
20 - 75 sec reaction time
Approximately three times more sensitive than BATSE
Spectroscopy from 1800 - 6000 Angstroms and 0.2 - 150 keV
Six colors covering 1800 - 6000 Angstroms
Capability to directly measure redshift
Results publicly distributed within seconds

The Swift telescope payload is comprised of three instruments which work in tandem to provide rapid identification and multiwavelength follow-up of Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their afterglows. Within 20 to 75 seconds of a detected GRB, the telescope slews autonomously so that the fields-of-view of the pointed instruments overlap the location of the burst. The afterglows are monitored over their durations, and the data rapidly disseminated to the public.

Burst Alert Telescope (BAT): 15 - 150 keV
With its large field-of-view (2 steradians) and high sensitivity, the BAT detect about 100 GRBs per year, and computes burst positions onboard the satellite with arc-minute positional accuracy. The BAT was been produced by the Astrophysics Science Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) with science flight software developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory.
X-ray Telescope (XRT): 0.3 - 10 keV
The XRT was built with existing hardware from JET-X. The XRT takes images and is able to obtain spectra of GRB afterglows during pointed follow-up observations. The images are used for higher accuracy position localizations, while the spectra are used to determine redshifts from X-ray absorption lines. The XRT is a joint product of Pennsylvania State University, the Brera Astronomical Observatory (OAB), and the University of Leicester.
UV/Optical Telescope (UVOT): 170 - 650 nm
The UVOT is essentially a copy of the XMM Optical Monitor (OM). The UVOT takes images and obtains spectra (via a grism filter) of GRB afterglows during pointed follow-up observations. The images are used for 0.3 - 2.5 arc-second position localizations, while the spectra are used to determine redshifts and Lyman-alpha cut-offs. The UVOT is a joint product of Pennsylvania State University, and the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL).

Key Info and Documents

Swift Team Key Projects
PSU MOC's Target of Opportunity
Scientific Operations During Year 1 -- Download: Word or PDF
Burst Advocate Guidebook (ver 0.8) -- Download: Word or PDF
Data Release Plan -- Download: Word or PDF

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This page was last modified on Friday, 21-Mar-2008 11:21:26 EDT.