Electromagnetic facilities and observing strategies for multi-messenger science: situation and future perspectives

Abstract

The era of multi-messenger astrophysics began on 2017 Aug 17 with the discovery of a short GRB and of a kilonova associated with the GW170817 gravitational wave transient detected by the LIGO/Virgo interferometers. The observations confirm the predicted scenario for the merging of two neutron stars and demonstrated the potential of combining information derived from different messengers. We briefly summarise the challenges and opportunities for the multi-wavelength contribution to the forthcoming LIGO/Virgo runs of the Italian astrophysical community.