The International Early Supernova Alert Home Page
The International Early Supernova Alert Page
Our group is working
on a system for early warning of a gravitational collapse occurrence
in our galaxy, based on coincidence of neutrino signals from detectors
around the world. The idea is to have a central computer that sits and waits
for messages to arrive from the different neutrino experiments
(SuperKamiokande, SNO, MACRO, LVD, Baksan, GC wave antennae like LIGO
when they turn on,...). Each experiment has an automated monitor that
scans data in real time and notifies the central computer if it finds
a candidate. The central computer then looks at these notices and
sends out an alert if there are coincidences. This coincidence alert
can be sent out to interested parties within half an hour of core
collapse or even sooner. Although there may never be another supernova
as close to us as SN1987A in our lifetimes, the potential payoff of
being able to observe the very early light of a nearby supernova is
well worth the small cost of such a coincidence system.
General Information
Look here for a brief description of the
project. Get the postscript of a more detailed
writeup here.
Various neutrino detectors sensitive to GC neutrinos. A very nice
summary of experiments can found on The Ultimate Neutrino Page.
Supernovae
Some supernova links:
If you're interested in being notified about the occurrence of
a neutrino burst, please click above!
Inter-experiment client/server software
Neutrino experiments can download latest versions of the client/server
software we're using for the inter-experiment coincidence
here. The client code is
available, as well as a test version of the server. If you'd like
to do some tests with the international server, please let us know, and we'll set
something up.
Mailing List
We have a mailing list for updates, announcements and discussion of
issues.
We don't yet have a name for this project. Here are some candidates!
Let us know if you have any more suggestions.
Contacts:
Alec Habig, habig@budoe.bu.edu, Boston University
Kate Scholberg, schol@budoe.bu.edu, Boston University
Mark Vagins, vagins@hepxvt.ps.uci.edu, University of California, Irvine