Exploring And Classifying The Transient Radio Sky PDF Download

Although many of the most energetic phenomena in the universe display changes in their brightness over time, the study of these variable and transient events in the radio sky is a relatively new field with many questions waiting to be answered. Within this thesis, I began tackling some of these inquiries using a new, deep-field survey, COSMOS HI Large Extragalactic Survey (CHILES) being conducted at the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). CHILES serves as a unique data set from which we can statistically understand the radio transient and variable universe. Within this thesis, I give a general overview of what was observed within the CHILES time domain and focus on the uniqueness of a few of the most variable sources. These findings provide previously unprecedented data with which to explore low-luminosity active galactic nuclei, the evolution of active galactic nuclei, and introduce some potentially unique radio sources for future studies. In addition to my work with CHILES, I also explored potential new radio transients: gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) that have an associated supernova (SN). As the GRB radio emission begins to fade away over time, it has been theorized that the SN's ejecta will begin to sweep up the interstellar medium and the remnant will eventually outshine the GRB within tens of years after the initial explosion. A detection of this rebrightening would allow us to not only better understand the phenomena of GRB-SNe, but would also be a connection between the death of a star and its evolution into a supernova remnant. Although I was unable to detect the emission of this rebrightening, my measurements allow for a better understanding of the environments of these sources and constrains multiple parameters that are vital in our current models. Together, this information about individual sources and a summary of the variable sources within a blind radio study, help to address what can be found in upcoming surveys and the faint radio time domain.