PROSPECTS FOR GRB SCIENCE WITH THEFERMILARGE AREA TELESCOPE

The Large Area Telescope (LAT) instrument on the Fermi mission will reveal the rich spectral and temporal gamma-ray burst (GRB) phenomena in the > 100 MeV band. The synergy with Fermi's Gamma-ray Burst Monitor detectors will link these observations to those in the well explored 10-1000 keV range; the addition of the > 100 MeV band observations will resolve theoretical uncertainties about burst emission in both the prompt and afterglow phases. Trigger algorithms will be applied to the LAT data both onboard the spacecraft and on the ground. The sensitivity of these triggers will differ because of the available computing resources onboard and on the ground. Here we present the LAT's burst detection methodologies and the instrument's GRB capabilities.