6533b85efe1ef96bd12bfcdc
RESEARCH PRODUCT
GRB 050904 at redshift 6.3: observations of the oldest cosmic explosion after the Big Bang
G. TagliaferriL. A. AntonelliG. ChincariniA. Fernández-sotoD. MalesaniM. Della ValleP. D'avanzoA. GrazianV. TestaS. CampanaS. CovinoF. FioreL. StellaA. J. Castro-tiradoJ. GorosabelD. N. BurrowsM. CapalbiG. CusumanoM. L. ConciatoreV. D'eliaP. FilliatreD. FugazzaN. GehrelsP. GoldoniD. GuettaS. GuziyE. V. HeldK. HurleyG. L. IsraelM. JelínekD. LazzatiA. López-echarriA. MelandriI. F. MirabelM. MolesA. MorettiK. O. MasonJ. NousekJ. OsborneL. J. PellizzaR. PernaS. PiranomonteL. PiroNull A. De Ugarte PostigoP. Romanosubject
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciencesgamma rays: burstsAstrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical PhenomenaFOS: Physical sciencesAstrophysicsAstrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic AstrophysicsJet (particle physics)Astrophysics01 natural sciences[PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO]gamma rays: individual: GRB 0509040103 physical sciences010303 astronomy & astrophysics0105 earth and related environmental sciencesPhotometric redshiftPhysicsCOSMIC cancer database[SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]Star formationAstrophysics (astro-ph)Astronomy and Astrophysicsearly UniverseLight curveRedshiftAfterglowSpace and Planetary Sciencecosmology: observationsGamma-ray burstdescription
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 050904 is consistent with the Amati and Ghirlanda relations. This detection is consistent with the expected number of GRBs at z > 6 and shows that GRBs are a powerful tool to study the star formation history up to very high redshift.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-09-26 |