Under the SPOTLIGHT: Hunting Fast Transients in Real Time with the uGMRT

Abstract:
The detection of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) has grown exponentially in recent years, but real-time localisation with high precision remains one of the key challenges in the field. SPOTLIGHT is a next-generation system developed at the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) to tackle this challenge. Operating commensally with regular uGMRT observations, SPOTLIGHT employs a high-performance, multi-node GPU cluster to handle petabyte-scale data processing in real time, steering 2000 post-correlation beams at sub-millisecond resolution.

Powered by an AI-driven transient detection pipeline, SPOTLIGHT not only captures FRBs in real time but also triggers arcsecond-level imaging and raw voltage dumps for high-resolution studies across the 300–1460 MHz band. With its exceptional sensitivity, SPOTLIGHT is expected to detect and localise hundreds of FRBs, offering exciting prospects for understanding their origins.

In this talk, I will present an overview of the SPOTLIGHT project, its architecture, performance, recent tests, and the scientific opportunities it unlocks.

Location

Organiser

Joshua Preston Pritchard


Event details

August 13 @ 3:00 pm 4:00 pm


Category