학술논문
GRB 221009A: Discovery of an Exceptionally Rare Nearby and Energetic Gamma-Ray Burst
Document Type
Working Paper
Author
Williams, Maia A.; Kennea, Jamie A.; Dichiara, S.; Kobayashi, Kohei; Iwakiri, Wataru B.; Beardmore, Andrew P.; Evans, P. A.; Heinz, Sebastian; Lien, Amy; Oates, S. R.; Negoro, Hitoshi; Cenko, S. Bradley; Buisson, Douglas J. K.; Hartmann, Dieter H.; Jaisawal, Gaurava K.; Kuin, N. P. M.; Lesage, Stephen; Page, Kim L.; Parsotan, Tyler; Pasham, Dheeraj R.; Sbarufatti, B.; Siegel, Michael H.; Sugita, Satoshi; Younes, George; Ambrosi, Elena; Arzoumanian, Zaven; Bernardini, M. G.; Campana, S.; Capalbi, Milvia; Caputo, Regina; D'Ai, Antonino; D'Avanzo, P.; D'Elia, V.; De Pasquale, Massimiliano; Eyles-Ferris, R. A. J.; Ferrara, Elizabeth; Gendreau, Keith C.; Gropp, Jeffrey D.; Kawai, Nobuyuki; Klingler, Noel; Laha, Sibasish; Melandri, A.; Mihara, Tatehiro; Moss, Michael; O'Brien, Paul; Osborne, Julian P.; Palmer, David M.; Perri, Matteo; Serino, Motoko; Sonbas, E.; Stamatikos, Michael; Starling, Rhaana; Tagliaferri, G.; Tohuvavohu, Aaron; Zane, Silvia; Ziaeepour, Houri
Source
Subject
Language
Abstract
We report the discovery of the unusually bright long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB), GRB 221009A, as observed by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (Swift), Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI), and Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer Mission (NICER). This energetic GRB was located relatively nearby (z = 0.151), allowing for sustained observations of the afterglow. The large X-ray luminosity and low Galactic latitude (b = 4.3 degrees) make GRB 221009A a powerful probe of dust in the Milky Way. Using echo tomography we map the line-of-sight dust distribution and find evidence for significant column densities at large distances (~> 10kpc). We present analysis of the light curves and spectra at X-ray and UV/optical wavelengths, and find that the X-ray afterglow of GRB 221009A is more than an order of magnitude brighter at T0 + 4.5 ks than any previous GRB observed by Swift. In its rest frame GRB 221009A is at the high end of the afterglow luminosity distribution, but not uniquely so. In a simulation of randomly generated bursts, only 1 in 10^4 long GRBs were as energetic as GRB 221009A; such a large E_gamma,iso implies a narrow jet structure, but the afterglow light curve is inconsistent with simple top-hat jet models. Using the sample of Swift GRBs with redshifts, we estimate that GRBs as energetic and nearby as GRB 221009A occur at a rate of ~<1 per 1000 yr - making this a truly remarkable opportunity unlikely to be repeated in our lifetime.
Comment: 30 pages, 13 figures, submitted to ApJL
Comment: 30 pages, 13 figures, submitted to ApJL