Broadband Electromagnetic Follow-up of Advanced LIGO Sources

Advanced LIGO began observing in September 2015 with over 3 times the distance reach (27 times the sensitive volume) of its previous configuration. Some gravitational-wave sources, particularly neutron star binary mergers, are expected to produce broadband electromagnetic transients which may be crucial to understanding the astrophysical context of these events. We have assembled a consortium of over 60 ground- and space-based gamma-ray, x-ray, optical, infrared, and radio facilities collaborating to search for broadband electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational-wave sources. In this talk, we describe the LIGO/Virgo EM follow-up program and the astronomical facilities that participated during this first LIGO observing run. Then, we survey the multi-wavelength observing campaigns embarked upon for specific gravitational-wave events. Finally, we discuss lessons learned and the way forward for joint GW-EM observations in an era of increasingly sensitive GW detectors.