[FRBVOEvent] FRB localization contours

[Shriharsh Tendulkar]

Hi all,

I have been discussing FRB followup with regards to Swift and other follow
up. For interferometers, the localization regions are complicated and are
hard to describe with a simple position ellipse. Multiple bananas are
common. One can often get positions distributions that are different than
the beam shape.

I propose that we add a position contour field to the FRB VOEvent standard
were we can specify LIGO-like (but much smaller size) position contours.
This will help follow up telescopes with small fields of views in tiling
the FRB field to search for afterglows. This field should allow for
multiple disjoint contours since sidelobes are complicated. The advantage
of sticking to the LIGO pattern is that the machinery already exists to
ingest and utilize those patterns.

In order to maintain backwards compatibility and to ensure that simple
position errors are easy to communicate, this field will be in addition to
the beam shape ellipse.

This is not hard to implement, but I would like to hear thoughts from
everyone about improvements, potential downsides and pitfalls.

Cheers,
-- Shriharsh

McGill Space Institute
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