Topics for Discussion
=====================

Here are some questions that we would like to learn the answers to at
the meeting.  The questions range from general to specific.  Some of the
questions have answers that are well known, although not to everyone in
every field.  Other questions represent problems yet to solve and
decisions yet to make.

This list has two purposes: 

1. First, it's intended to define the focus of the workshop.  If you are
giving a talk at the workshop in your area of expertise, please include
some of the answers as background material.

2. Second, it's intended as a starting point to guide 
the discussion group sessions.

The questions are divided into three categories,
although of course there is some overlap.  These
correspond roughly to the three discussion groups and the
three overall aims of the workshop:

1. Can we use the neutrino signals for pointing?
2. How do we set up the neutrino coincidence?
3. How do we organize the astronomer alert?

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Questions for discussion group 1:  
"The Neutrino Signal and Pointing"

SUPERNOVA THEORY/NEUTRINO EMISSION

- What will the neutrino signal look like?  (flavor composition,
energy spectrum, time dependence)
- What is the current status of neutrino signal predictions?  
- In particular,  what are the current predictions for the 
rising edge of the neutrino pulse?
- How do the different models differ in their underlying physics/assumptions? 
- How much do signal predictions vary and why? (especially for
the rising edge)  
- Is there much variation in predicted signal due to assumptions about the 
    nature of the progenitor?
- How do neutrino oscillations affect the predictions?

- What remains to be done to improve the predictions?

NEUTRINO DETECTION

- What do the signals look like when folded with
detector response for currently running detectors?
- What are the relative experimental flavor sensitivities?  
Distance sensitivities? Time resolutions? Pointing capabilities?

POINTING

- How well can single experiments point from nu-e elastic scattering
or other asymmetric reactions?

- How well can triangulation be done with realistic assumptions
   (emission models and detector response)?
- What is the best method for matching signals to get the best timing?
- How do we unfold the different flavor responses?
- Will rate saturation be a problem for the realistic case?
- Is pointing ability sensitive to SN model or other parameters?
- How much information exchange is necessary for triangulation?
- What is the best way to summarize the time information for
exchange?


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Questions for discussion group 2:  
"The Inter-Experiment Alarm"

NEUTRINO EXPERIMENTS AND THE INTER-EXPERIMENT ALARM

- What are the alarm capabilities of the currently online experiments?
(up-time, response time, timing capability, online reconstruction,
false alarm rates, variation of alarm rates, SN distance sensitivity?)

- What false alarm rate per experiment is acceptable for the coincidence?

- How do we want to set up the coincidence (2-fold, 3-fold, high
rate/low rate queues)?  
- How can we best deal with different experiments' sensitivities?
- How can we configure the coincidence(s)to maximize 
sensitivity to SN candidates?
- How can we quantify SN sensitivity
and/or standardize sensitivity definitions?  
- Do we want to include "EXPERIMENT DEAD"  or "NO SIGNAL" 
information in the coincidence, to lower false alarm rates and
possibly increase sensitivity?  How could we implement this -- should
all experiments be pinged when an alarm is received from one?
- Do we want to allow retraction of alarms by experiments?
- Do we want to have a second level of non-automated, human-checked alarms?


- What specific event information do we want to exchange promptly? 
- What's the minimum amount of information exchange necessary to
accomplish different goals (SN existence, pointing)?
- How does pointing ability vary as a function of event-by-event information
exchange?  (see "Pointing" section above)
- What is the best way to summarize information for exchange?
- How can we summarize "significance": alarm rate? Estimated distance
to star?  What about timing information?
- What data format do we use?

- Should we try to coordinate calibrations to minimize collective down-time?


- How many coincidence server machines do we want to have, and where?  
- Is it necessary or desirable to use  dedicated phone lines?
- What's the best way to deal with security?  (anti-fraud, anti-hacker,
privacy preservation)
- How can we connect the output to the astronomers?

- How shall we run tests?  
- How can we make sure clocks are synched?
- How can we run tests of the alert to astronomers?


FUTURE EXPERIMENTS

- What experiments will be online in the future, and when?
- What are their capabilities?
- How can they be added to the network?

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Questions for discussion group 3:  
"Astronomical Observation and Alert"

ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION

- What will a supernova in the galaxy look like?  
- How likely is it to be obscured by dust?  
- What wavelengths will be visible and on what timescale after core collapse?
- What kind of supernova event do we expect to see as a function
of position?

- How much time do we have to find the supernova after core collapse?
- How does this vary according to progenitor type?  
- What is the distribution of progenitor types in the Galaxy?

- What is the expected spatial distribution of stars in the Galaxy 
that are candidates for collapse?  
- Can we exploit this known likely candidate distribution to
narrow down a search window?

- What are the most interesting things that could be learned from
early observation of a nearby supernova?  
- What wavelengths/instruments would yield the most valuable 
information at early times?
- Given that limited pointing information would be available (possibly
no information, possibly a few-degree-wide band, possibly a
few-degree-size spot) what could be done to pinpoint the SN location if
there were a neutrino warning?  
- Which instruments could respond rapidly, and on what timescales?

- What is the best way to "ring the alarm bell"?
- Is a staged approach appropriate?  (Parallel alarm paths, or in series?)
- How have other networks (e.g. for GRBs) solved the rapid
communication problem?
- How do we want to send messages:  email, beepers, phone calls, other?
- Can we connect to existing alert networks to send an alarm?

- What is the cost of a false alarm for different groups/instruments?  
- Do we want to have different alarm levels which go 
via different paths dependent on the "gold-platedness" of the alarm?

- What can amateur astronomers contribute?