SVOM, launched on June 22, 2024, is dedicated to the detection and study of high-energy events—gamma-ray bursts—that originate from supernova explosions or the mergers of compact stars. It is a collaboration between two national space agencies, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the French National Center for Space Studies (CNES), with contributions from the CEA and the CNRS on behalf of France.
Hundreds of gamma-ray bursts
Since its launch, SVOM has detected 358 gamma-ray bursts and has enabled the measurement of the distance to more than 60 of them. The first scientific report on two years of operation showed that SVOM was largely living up to its promises, both in terms of detecting gamma-ray bursts—the core of the project—and in terms of the open Observatory-type program.
Susanna Vergani of LUX is delighted that this award has been given to The SVOM collaboration :
“I am very pleased that the SVOM team has received this prestigious award, which recognizes the scientific excellence of the results obtained thanks to the dedication of the French and Chinese teams of researchers and engineers, and which positions France as a leader in the study of high-energy phenomena in the Universe. At LUX, we make fundamental contributions to these results, notably by determining the distance to the most distant gamma-ray burst detected by SVOM, GRB 250314A, obtained by the Stargate collaboration at ESO’s VLT using the X-shooter spectrograph. This triggered observations with the James Webb Space Telescope, which led to the discovery of the supernova associated with this gamma-ray burst—the most distant ever detected."
The Role of LUX
LUX is responsible for the analysis pipeline module of the visible telescope VT, which identifies the optical counterpart of the burst. The team is also heavily involved in the follow-up of SVOM bursts with large ground-based telescopes such as ESO’s Very Large Telescope (a LUX researcher serves as Mission Scientist for this ground-based follow-up), and in studying synergies between SVOM and other major facilities such as the Vera Rubin Telescope, the LIGO and Virgo gravitational-wave detectors, and, in the future, CTAO and SKAO.
Contact at LUX
Susanna Vergani
More informations : www.svom.eu
