GRB 101225A - a new class of GRBs?

AbstractThe Christmas burst, GRB 101225A, was one of the most controversial bursts in the last few years. Its exceptionally long duration but bright X-ray emission showing a thermal component followed by a strange afterglow with a thermal SED lead to two different interpretations. We present here our model ascribing this strange event to a new type of GRB progenitor consisting of a neutron star and an evolved main-sequence star in a very faint galaxy at redshift 0.33 while Campana et al. (2011) proposed a Galactic origin. New observations at several wavelengths might resolve the question between the two models in the near future.

GRB 090313 AND THE ORIGIN OF OPTICAL PEAKS IN GAMMA-RAY BURST LIGHT CURVES: IMPLICATIONS FOR LORENTZ FACTORS AND RADIO FLARES

We use a sample of 19 gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) that exhibit single-peaked optical light curves to test the standard fireball model by investigating the relationship between the time of the onset of the afterglow and the temporal rising index. Our sample includes GRBs and X-ray flashes for which we derive a wide range of initial Lorentz factors (40 < Γ < 450). Using plausible model parameters, the typical frequency of the forward shock is expected to lie close to the optical band; within this low typical frequency framework, we use the optical data to constrain εe and show that values derived from the early time light-curve properties are consistent with published typical values derived from …

Detection of GRB 060927 at z = 5.47: Implications for the Use of Gamma-Ray Bursts as Probes of the End of the Dark Ages

We report on follow-up observations of the GRB 060927 using the ROTSE-IIIa telescope and a suite of larger aperture ground-based telescopes. An optical afterglow was detected 20 s after the burst, the earliest rest-frame detection of optical emission from any GRB. Spectroscopy performed with the VLT about 13 hours after the trigger shows a continuum break at lambda ~ 8070 A produced by neutral hydrogen absorption at z~5.6. We also detect an absorption line at 8158 A which we interpret as SiII at z=5.467. Hence, GRB 060927 is the second most distant GRB with a spectroscopically measured redshift. The shape of the red wing of the spectral break can be fitted by a damped Lyalpha profile with a…

GRB 101225A - an unusual stellar death on Christmas Day

The unusual gamma-ray burst GRB 101225A from a helium star/neutron star merger at redshift 0.33

A photometric redshift of z = 1.8$^{\sf{+0.4}}_{\sf{-0.3}}$ for the AGILE GRB 080514B

Aims: The AGILE gamma-ray burst GRB 080514B is the first burst with detected emission above 30 MeV and an optical afterglow. However, no spectroscopic redshift for this burst is known. Methods: We compiled ground-based photometric optical/NIR and millimeter data from several observatories, including the multi-channel imager GROND, as well as ultraviolet \swift UVOT and X-ray XRT observations. The spectral energy distribution of the optical/NIR afterglow shows a sharp drop in the \swift UVOT UV filters that can be utilized for the estimation of a redshift. Results: Fitting the SED from the \swift UVOT $uvw2$ band to the $H$ band, we estimate a photometric redshift of $z=1.8^{+0.4}_{-0.3}$, c…

GRB 101225A: an unusual stellar death on Christmas Day

Properties of Swift's intermediate bursts

Based on their prompt, high-energy emission, gamma-ray bursts are usually classified into short-duration and long-duration classes. A third intermediate group has been identified on statistical grounds but its individual properties have not yet been studied in detail. Using the large sample of follow-up observations of GRBs produced during the Swift era we analyze the individual characteristics of this group. We find that intermediate bursts are significantly different from short GRBs but share many properties with long bursts, probably pointing to a common progenitor type. However, we find that intermediate bursts are significantly dimmer and have on average lower redshifts. Based on their…

BOOTES observation of GRB 080603B

We report on multicolor photometry of long GRB080603B afterglow from BOOTES-1B and BOOTES-2. The optical afterglow has already been reported to present a break in the optical lightcurve at 0.12 ± 0.2 days after the trigger. We construct the lightcurve and the spectral energy distribution and discuss the nature of the afterglow.

GRB 050904 at redshift 6.3: observations of the oldest cosmic explosion after the Big Bang

We present optical and near-infrared observations of the afterglow of the gamma-ray burst GRB 050904. We derive a photometric redshift z = 6.3, estimated from the presence of the Lyman break falling between the I and J filters. This is by far the most distant GRB known to date. Its isotropic-equivalent energy is 3.4x10^53 erg in the rest-frame 110-1100 keV energy band. Despite the high redshift, both the prompt and the afterglow emission are not peculiar with respect to other GRBs. We find a break in the J-band light curve at t_b = 2.6 +- 1.0 d (observer frame). If we assume this is the jet break, we derive a beaming-corrected energy E_gamma = (4-12)x10^51 erg. This limit shows that GRB 050…