- GCN/BACODINE POSITION NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/INTEGRAL NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Sun 19 Dec 04 01:44:05 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: INTEGRAL Wakeup
TRIGGER_NUM: 2073, Sub_Num: 0
GRB_RA: 6.1075d {+00h 24m 26s} (J2000),
6.1769d {+00h 24m 42s} (current),
5.4129d {+00h 21m 39s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +62.8347d {+62d 50' 05"} (J2000),
+62.8622d {+62d 51' 44"} (current),
+62.5577d {+62d 33' 28"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 2.53 [arcmin, radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN: 38.22 [sigma]
GRB_TIME: 6174.79 SOD {01:42:54.79} UT
GRB_DATE: 13358 TJD; 354 DOY; 04/12/19
SC_RA: 9.59 [deg] (J2000)
SC_DEC: 65.62 [deg] (J2000)
SUN_POSTN: 267.27d {+17h 49m 05s} -23.41d {-23d 24' 51"}
SUN_DIST: 114.74 [deg]
MOON_POSTN: 2.97d {+00h 11m 53s} -1.48d {-01d 28' 49"}
MOON_DIST: 64.39 [deg]
GAL_COORDS: 119.85, 0.12 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
ECL_COORDS: 41.27, 52.84 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
COMMENTS: INTEGRAL GRB Coordinates.
COMMENTS: Possibly real GRB event
- GCN/BACODINE POSITION NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/INTEGRAL NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Sun 19 Dec 04 01:47:49 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: INTEGRAL Refined
TRIGGER_NUM: 2073, Sub_Num: 1
GRB_RA: 6.1080d {+00h 24m 26s} (J2000),
6.1774d {+00h 24m 43s} (current),
5.4134d {+00h 21m 39s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +62.8324d {+62d 49' 57"} (J2000),
+62.8599d {+62d 51' 36"} (current),
+62.5554d {+62d 33' 19"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 2.52 [arcmin, radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN: 42.86 [sigma]
GRB_TIME: 6392.79 SOD {01:46:32.79} UT
GRB_DATE: 13358 TJD; 354 DOY; 04/12/19
SC_RA: 9.59 [deg] (J2000)
SC_DEC: 65.62 [deg] (J2000)
SUN_POSTN: 267.27d {+17h 49m 06s} -23.41d {-23d 24' 52"}
SUN_DIST: 114.73 [deg]
MOON_POSTN: 3.00d {+00h 11m 60s} -1.46d {-01d 27' 52"}
MOON_DIST: 64.37 [deg]
GAL_COORDS: 119.85, 0.12 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
ECL_COORDS: 41.27, 52.84 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
COMMENTS: INTEGRAL GRB Coordinates.
COMMENTS: Possibly real GRB event
- GCN notice #2865
GRB 041219: PAIRITEL IR Observations, < 3 minutes after trigger
J. S. Bloom (CfA/UCB) reports on behalf of a larger group:
"Responding to the IBAS Alert #2073, we imaged the field of the (possible)
GRB 041219 starting at 19 Dec 2004 01h49m18 UT, about 2.8 minutes after
the GRB (imaging is on-going). A quick comparison with the 2MASS Quicklook
J-band images reveals no obvious new source. The imaging depth is deeper
than 2MASS. A more detailed analysis is on-going."
This message may be cited.
- GCN notice #2866
D. Gotz, S. Mereghetti (IASF, Milano), S.Shaw, M. Beck (ISDC, Versoix),
J.Borkowski (CAMK, Torun) on behalf of the IBAS Localization Team report:
A very long (about 9 minutes ) and bright GRB has been detected with the
INTEGRAL Burst Alert System (IBAS) on December 19 at 01:43 UT. The GRB has
been detected with IBIS/ISGRI in the 15-200 keV band (IBAS Alert # 2073).
Its coordinates (J2000) are:
RA: 6.1075 [degrees]
DEC: +62.8349 [degrees]
with an uncertainty of 2 arcmin (90% c.l. radius)
The brightest part of the burst saturated the available telemetry.
Therefore at the moment we can only estimate a lower limit to the peak
flux in the 20-200 keV range. This is about 12 photons/cmsq/s (1E-6
erg/cmsq/s) (1 s integration time).
This message can be cited.
- GCN/BACODINE POSITION NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/INTEGRAL NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Sun 19 Dec 04 03:43:21 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: INTEGRAL Offline
TRIGGER_NUM: 2073, Sub_Num: 1
GRB_RA: 6.1073d {+00h 24m 26s} (J2000),
6.1767d {+00h 24m 42s} (current),
5.4127d {+00h 21m 39s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +62.8347d {+62d 50' 05"} (J2000),
+62.8622d {+62d 51' 44"} (current),
+62.5577d {+62d 33' 28"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 2.00 [arcmin, radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN: 38.22 [sigma]
GRB_TIME: 6174.79 SOD {01:42:54.79} UT
GRB_DATE: 13358 TJD; 354 DOY; 04/12/19
SC_RA: 9.59 [deg] (J2000)
SC_DEC: 65.62 [deg] (J2000)
SUN_POSTN: 267.27d {+17h 49m 05s} -23.41d {-23d 24' 51"}
SUN_DIST: 114.74 [deg]
MOON_POSTN: 2.97d {+00h 11m 53s} -1.48d {-01d 28' 49"}
MOON_DIST: 64.39 [deg]
GAL_COORDS: 119.85, 0.12 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
ECL_COORDS: 41.27, 52.84 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
COMMENTS: INTEGRAL GRB Coordinates.
COMMENTS: REFINED_POSITION
- GCN notice #2867
S. Bradley Cenko reports on behalf of the Caltech-NRAO-Carnegie GRB
Collaboration:
"We have imaged the 2.5-arcmin radius error circle of the Integral GRB
041219 with the robotic Palomar 60-inch telescope. Observations consisted
of 19 x 120-second exposures in the Kron I filter, commencing at 02:05:09
UT (~ 22 minutes after the burst). To a limiting magnitude of I ~ 20 we
detect no new objects by reference to the Digitized Sky Survey (second
epoch).
Continued analysis and further observations are planned."
- GCN notice #2868
E. Rykoff (U. Michigan) and R. Quimby (U. Texas) report on behalf of the ROTSE
collaboration:
ROTSE-IIIb, located at McDonald Observatory, Texas, responded automatically to
INTEGRAL trigger #2073, GRB041219. Our first 5-s exposure started at 01:44:11.6
UT, 74 seconds after the start of the GRB, and 6 seconds after the trigger, and
during the GRB itself (GCN 2866). Our unfiltered images were calibrated
relative to USNO A2.0. Comparison to DSS reveals no new sources to a limiting
magnitude of around 17.2. Due to the low galactic latitude, field crowding is
a significant issue. Imaging is ongoing.
- GCN notice #2870
GRB 041219: Infrared Afterglow Candidate
C. Blake (CfA) and J. S. Bloom (CfA/UCB) report on behalf of a larger
group:
"PAIRITEL continued to image the field of GRB 041219 (GCN #2866) starting
from 19 Dec 2004 01h49m18 UT, about 2.8 minutes after the GRB (see GCN
#2865). That first epoch of imaging had a total integration time of 533
sec. A second epoch of image began at 02h46m59 UT (502 sec total
integration). A comparison with the 2MASS Quicklook and Atlas K-band
images reveals a new point source at RA 00h24m27.6s, DEC +62d50m32.9s
(J2000). By comparison to nearby 2MASS stars we estimate a magnitude of
K~15.5 in the first epoch. The object is also detected in J-band near the
detection limit (ie. it appears to be heavily reddened) and appears to
have faded between the two epochs. Observations have ceased due to high
winds."
A finding chart will be posted shortly at:
http://pairitel.org/grb041219.gif
This message may be cited.
- GCN notice #2871
A. Henden (USRA/USNO) reports on behalf of the USNO GRB team:
We have acquired BVRcIc all-sky photometry for
a 11x11 arcmin field centered on the coordinates for the
INTEGRAL burst GRB041219 (Gotz et al., GCN 2866)
with the USNOFS 1.0-m telescope on one marginally photometric
night. Stars brighter than V=13.0 are saturated and
should be used with care. We have placed the photometric data
on our anonymous ftp site:
ftp://ftp.nofs.navy.mil/pub/outgoing/aah/grb/grb041219.dat
The astrometry in this file is based on linear plate solutions
with respect to USNOA2. The external errors are less than 300mas.
The estimated external photometric error is about 0.04mag
due to the poor seeing.
As always, you should check the dates on the .dat file prior to
final publication to get the latest photometry. There is
a README file on the ftp directory to give you information
about the procedures used to calibrate these fields.
- GCN notice #2872
GRB 041219: Infrared Afterglow Candidate
C. Blake (CfA) and J. S. Bloom (CfA/UCB) report on behalf of a larger
group:
"PAIRITEL continued to image the field of GRB 041219 (GCN #2866) starting
from 19 Dec 2004 01h49m18 UT, about 2.8 minutes after the GRB (see GCN
#2865). That first epoch of imaging had a total integration time of 533
sec. A second epoch of image began at 02h46m59 UT (502 sec total
integration). A comparison with the 2MASS Quicklook and Atlas K-band
images reveals a new point source at RA 00h24m27.6s, DEC +62d50m32.9s
(J2000). By comparison to nearby 2MASS stars we estimate a magnitude of
K~15.5 in the first epoch. The object is also detected in J-band near the
detection limit (ie. it appears to be heavily reddened) and appears to
have faded between the two epochs. Observations have ceased due to high
winds."
A finding chart will be posted shortly at:
http://pairitel.org/grb041219.gif
This message may be cited.
- GCN notice #2874
S. Barthelmy (GSFC), D. Burrows (PSU), J. Cummings (GSFC), E. Fenimore (LANL),
N. Gehrels (GSFC), M. Goad (U.Leicester), D. Hullinger (UMD), H. Krimm (USRA),
C. Markwardt (UMD), F. Marshall (GSFC), K. McLean (LANL), J. Nousek (PSU),
J. Osborne (U.Leicester), D. Palmer (LANL), A. Parsons (GSFC), G. Sato (ISAS),
M. Suzuki (Saitama), G. Tagliaferri (OAB), J. Tueller (GSFC)
on behalf of the Swift BAT team.
At 01:42:18 UT, the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) triggered and
located on-board GRB041219 (GCN Circ# 2866, D.Gotz et al.). The spacecraft
did not autonomously slew to the burst since automated slewing
is not yet enabled.
The BAT ground-calculated location is RA,Dec 6.154,+62.847 (J2000)
with an uncertainty of 12 arcmin (radius, including a large systematic
uncertainty due to the lack of an on-orbit bore-sight alignment calibration).
This is ~11 degrees off the BAT bore sight and is in the fully encoded
field of view. This position is consistant with the INTEGRAL position
(GCN Circ# 2866), and is within 4.1 arcmin of the BAT on-board location
(14 sec after the initial rate trigger). We note that this position
is in the Galactic plane with a Galactic Lon,Lat of 120,+0.1deg.
The burst lightcurve is multi-peaked with structure within the peaks.
After an initial pair of small precursors, the peak intensity increased
to 25 events/cm^2/sec (1-sec sampling; unsaturated; ~15 to 200 keV; 43 Crab)
300 sec after the initial triggering peak. The total duration was 520 sec.
The fluence is ~1e-4 erg/cm^2.
- GCN notice #2876
Dae-Sik Moon, S. Bradley Cenko (Caltech), and Joe Adams (Cornell) report
on behalf of the Caltech-NRAO-Carnegie GRB Collaboration:
"We have imaged the field of GRB041219 with the Wide Field Infrared
Camera (WIRC) on the Palomar 200-inch Hale Telescope. We can confirm the
presence of a fading source at the position reported by Blake and Bloom
(GCN 2870). Our K_s magnitudes (with reference to the 2MASS catalog) are
as follows:
UT (Dec 19) t_burst K_s Magnitude
----------------------------------------------------
02:31:52 0.8 h 14.9
03:16:01 1.55 h 15.5
This corresponds to a decay index of ~ 0.8"
- GCN notice #2881
A. M. Soderberg (Caltech) and D. A. Frail (NRAO) report on behalf
of the Caltech/NRAO/Carnegie GRB Collaboration:
"We observed the field of GRB 041219 (GCN #2866) with the
Very Large Array on 2004 Dec 20.14 UT (t ~ 1.1 days after the
burst). At 8.5 GHz we detect a radio source coincident with
the optical afterglow reported by Blake & Bloom (GCN #2870)
with a flux density of 0.45 +- 0.05 mJy. Further observations
are planned."
- GCN notice #2882
E.Sonoda,S.Maeno,Y.Matsuo, M.Yamauchi
(University of Miyazaki)
"We have observed the field covering the error box of
GRB 041219 (INTEGRAL trigger 2073; trigger time 01:42:54.79 UT)
with the unfiltered CCD camera on the 30-cm telescope
at University of Miyazaki.
The observation was started 11:17:21 UT on Dec.19.
Observed field of view is 43 arcmin centerd on
R.A=00h 23m 41.32s
Dec=+62d 54m 13.0s
After co-adding a set of 5 images of 30 sec exposures ,
we have compared with the USNO A2.0 catalog . Preliminary analysis
shows there is no new source brighter than 18.5 mag.
at the position reported by C.Blake et.al.(GCN2872)."
- GCN notice #2884
Dae-Sik Moon, S. Bradley Cenko (Caltech) and Joe Adams (Cornell) report on
behalf of the Caltech-NRAO-Carnegie GRB Collaboration:
"We have continued to image the NIR afterglow of GRB041219 (Blake and
Bloom, GCN 2870) with the Wide Field Infrared Camera (WIRC) on the Palomar
200-inch Hale Telescope. Our latest observations in the K_s
band, taken at a mean time of 01:58:00 UT (1.01 days after the burst), put
the object at a magnitude of 16.5 (with reference to the 2MASS catalog).
This is a significantly shallower decay than we reported for the early
afterglow (GCN 2876).
Further observations are planned."
- GCN notice #2885
S. Bradley Cenko reports on behalf of the Caltech-NRAO-Carnegie GRB
Collaboration:
"We have imaged the position of the NIR afterglow of GRB041219 (Blake and
Bloom, GCN 2870) with the robotic Palomar 60-inch telescope. We detect
the presence of a faint source at this position, with a z-band magnitude
of 21.0 +/- 0.3. The mean epoch of our observations is approximately
04:57 UT, December 20.
Further observations are planned."
- GCN notice #2887
S. B. Pandey and Kuntal Misra (ARIES NainiTal), on behalf of
larger Indian GRB collaboration
We observed INTEGRAL/Swift GRB 041219 localization by Gotz et al. (GCN
2866) with 1.04m telescope at ARIES NainiTal. In a single 900 sec R_c
band frame, we did not detect the optical afterglow at the IR afterglow
position of the source by Blake & Bloom (GCN 2870). We put an upper
limit ~ 21 mag, around 13 hours after the burst.
This massage may be cited.
- GCN notice #2889
J. Wren, W. T. Vestrand, S. Evans, R. White, and P. Wozniak
report on behalf of the RAPTOR team at Los Alamos National Lab.
The RAPTOR-S telescope responded robotically to INTEGRAL trigger
#2073. Our first image began at 01:44:13.65 UT, 8 seconds after
receipt of the Integral notice and while the GRB was still ongoing.
Summing our images over the duration of the GRB emission (1:44 UT to
1:52 UT), we marginally detect a possible source very close to our
threshold at the location of the candidate given by Blake and Bloom
(GCN 2870). Interpreted as an upper limit, these observations
indicate the prompt optical emission remained fainter than R=19.4.
A RAPTOR finder chart can be found at
http://www.raptor.lanl.gov/grb041219/.
- GCN notice #2891
GRB 041219 : optical follow-up observations
C.W. Chen (NCU), H.C. Lin (NCU), C.L. Lu (BAO)
K.Y. Huang (NCU), Y. Qiu (BAO), Y. Urata (RIKEN), Y.Q. Lou(THCA)
on behalf of the East Asian collaboration report:
" We have observed the position of infrared afterglow candidate
reported by Blake et al. (GCN 2870) at Lulin (Taiwan, 1-m telescope)
and XingLong (China, 0.8 m telescope) Observatory. The R band
observations are summarized as below:
Start Time (UTC) Filter Exposure (sec) Limit mag. Site
(SN=3)
Dec. 9.47 R 300 x 2 + 600 x 2 >~ 21 Lulin
Dec. 9.48 R 300 x 1 + 360 x 1 >~ 20 XingLong
Limiting magnitudes were estimated by comparison with several
USNO-B1.0 stars. The candidate was not detected brighter than the
limiting magnitudes."
This message may be cited.
- GCN notice #2893
GRB 041219: Keck IR Observations and Astrometric Refinement of the IR Flash
J. S. Bloom (CfA/UCB), J. X. Prochaska (UCSC), C. McCabe (UCLA),
A. Ghez (UCLA), K. Stapelfeldt (JPL), G. Duchene (Grenoble),
Q. Konopacky (UCLA), K. Hurley (UCB/SSL), C. Blake (CfA), D. Starr
(Gemini) report:
Comparing the IR flash discovery images (GCN #2870) of GRB 041219 (GCN
#2866; #2874) to 25 stars in the 2MASS catalogue, we find a refined
absolute astrometric position of the IR flash to be (J2000):
RA = 00:24:27.68 (+/- 0.124"), Dec = +62:50:33.501 (+/- 0.228")
This is 4.310" East and 8.415" North from a nearby brighter point source.
In J-band imaging (though clouds) with NIRC on the Keck I 10-m
telescope on Mauna Kea, HI, the IR transient (IRT) was detected on
20.25 December 2004 UT, significantly faded from the first night of
PAIRITEL imaging. In 0.7" seeing, the IRT appears point-like; that is,
there is no indication yet for the presence of an underlying host
galaxy. We note that the IRT is located 2.5 arcsec south-south-west of
a faint compact source."
This message may be cited.
- GCN notice #2894
A.J. van der Horst (University of Amsterdam), E. Rol (University of
Leicester) and R. Strom (ASTRON, University of Amsterdam) report on behalf
of a larger collaboration:
"We observed the INTEGRAL GRB 041219 (GCN 2866) at 4.9 GHz with the
Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope on December 20 from 15.55 to 23.59
UT, i.e. 1.59 - 1.93 days after the burst.
We detect a radio source at the position of the infrared afterglow
reported by Bloom et al. (GCN 2893) with an average flux density of 205
+/- 20 microJy,
and a probable increase in the flux density during the observation.
This measurement is in agreement with the radio detection at 8.5 GHz
reported by Soderberg & Frail (GCN 2881).
Further observations are planned."
This message may be cited.
- GCN notice #2895
A.J. van der Horst (University of Amsterdam), E. Rol (University of
Leicester) and R. Strom (ASTRON, University of Amsterdam) report on behalf
of a larger collaboration:
"We reobserved the INTEGRAL GRB 041219 (GCN 2866) at 4.9 GHz with the
Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope on December 21 from 14.45 to 23.55
UT, i.e. 2.54 - 2.93 days after the burst.
Compared to our previous measurement (GCN 2894), the average flux density
has increased to 349 +/- 22 microJy.
Assuming a power law behaviour, the average temporal index at 4.9 GHz
between this and our previous observation is alpha ~ 1.2.
Further observations are planned."
This message may be cited.
- GCN notice #2905
Klotz, A., Boer M. (OHP), Atteia, J.L., and G. Stratta (LATT) report
The field of GRB 041219 (Mereghetti, et al., GCNC 2866) was observed with
the robotic 25 cm TAROT telescope at Calern, France.
The observation started 25 seconds after the GCN notice without filter. The
field was only 28 degrees above horizon.
We co-added 12 frames of 30s from 01:45:30 to 01:54:05 UT, i.e. while the
GRB prompt emission was still active. The associated OT described by Blake &
Bloom (GCNC 2870) is not detected at the limiting magnitude of the image R >
18.5.
We analyzed the 2MASS catalog to extract the galactic extinction through the
line of sight of GRB041219. We used the method described in Klotz et al.
(A&A 2004, vol 425, p427). From Earth to a distance modulus of about 10.5,
the visual extinction is Av=1.12. The 2MASS data don't allow probing farer
distances.
This message can be cited.
- GCN notice #2906
E. Fenimore (LANL), S. Barthelmy (GSFC), J. Cummings (GSFC), N. Gehrels
(GSFC), D. Hullinger (GSFC/UMD), H. Krimm (GSFC/USRA), C. Markwardt (UMD),
K. McLean (LANL), D. Palmer (LANL), A. Parsons (GSFC), J. Tueller (GSFC)
on behalf of the Swift BAT team.
The INTEGRAL-Swift Burst of 041219 (GCN 2866, Gotz et al, GCN 2874,
Barthelmy et al.) had a time history that is rather rare: a precursor was
followed by 200 sec of mostly quiet emission before a huge spiky outburst
that lasted an additional 300 sec. This is one of the few events for which
there have been simultaneous ground observations. It is the first event
with simultaneous IR observations (GCN 2870, Blake and Bloom) and there
has been a near-threshold detection in the optical (GCN 2889, Wren et
al.). Given the large interest in this burst and the scientific value of
combining the simultaneous gamma-ray and ground observations, we provide
at the web site below the GRB041219 4-channel data (15-25 keV, 25-50 keV,
50-100 keV, 100-350 keV) for -341 s before to +558 s after the BAT trigger
with 0.064 s resolution. Provided are figures for each energy band, the 15
- 350 keV energy band, and a text table of the data. We have not corrected
for the deadtime. Testing has shown that our saturation level is > 1E6 Hz,
so we were orders of magnitude below our saturation limit.
The background was very smooth before the event and, apparently, also
within the 8 minute long burst. Beyond 560 s after the trigger, there is a
long smooth increase in the count rate, but it does not image to a point
source, so it is probably due to trapped radiation. We used 300 s of data
ending at 41 s before the trigger to determine background. Many features
are common to other GRBs: peaks that are narrower at higher energy, peaks
with FWHM of ~ 1 s, and a general softening of the event with time. Time in
the figure is from the BAT initial trigger at 6138.68 UT. BAT located
the event 14 s later, at which time Swift would have slewed XRT and UVOT
as well as sent out a TDRSS notice if slewing and TDRSS messages had been
enabled.
See
http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/gcn/other/041219_swift_bat.html
- GCN notice #2916
NIR Observations of GRB 041219
F. Hearty (Colorado), D. Q. Lamb (Chicago), J. Barentine (APO), P. A.
Price (Hawaii), S. Beland (Colorado), E. L. Turner (Princeton), R.
McMillan (APO), J. Dembicky (APO), B. Ketzeback(APO), and D. G. York
(Chicago) report on behalf of the ARC team of the FUN GRB
collaboration:
We observed the NIR afterglow (Blake and Bloom, GCN Circular No. 2870)
of GRB 041219, a burst localized by Integral (Gotz et al., GCN Circular
No. 2866) and Swift-BAT (Barthelmy et al., GCN Circular No. 2874), on
the night of December 20th, using C-NIC (formerly NIC-FPS) on the ARC
3.5-meter telescope at Apache Point Observatory. The observation began
at 01.05 UT, 47.25 hours after the burst, and consisted of a series of
120, 20, and 20-second exposures in J, H, and Ks, respectively. We
constructed stacked images corresponding to 20-minute exposures in J
and H, and a 40-minute exposure in Ks. We detect the afterglow in all
three filters; the magnitudes are J = 19.9 +/- 0.2, H = 18.9 +/- 0.1,
and Ks = 17.6 +/- 0.2. We thus confirm that the afterglow is heavily
reddened, as previously noted by Blake and Bloom (GCN Circular No.
2870). We also confirm that the afterglow had faded significantly in
comparison with the earlier NIR observations reported by Blake and
Bloom (GCN Circular No. 2870) and Moon, Cenko, and Adams (GCN Circular
Nos. 2876 and 2884), in agreement with the conclusion of Bloom et al.
(GCN Circular No. 2893). As noted by Bloom et al. (GCN Circular No.
2893), the IR afterglow is located 2.5 arcseconds south-south-west of a
faint compact source that is visible in J, H, and Ks.
Using Schlegel et al. (1998), the estimated extinction in the direction
of GRB 041219 is E(B-V) = 1.8 mag, corresponding to A_lambda values of
J = 1.6, H = 1.0, K = 0.65 mag. These values give J-H = 0.6, H-K =
0.4, and J-K = 1 mag, compared to our measured values of J-H = 1.0,
H-K = 1.3, and J-K = 2.3 mag. Although our results indicate greater
reddening than that estimated using Schlegel et al. (1998), the
estimated value of E(B-V) is unreliable because GRB 041219 lies very
close to the Galactic plane (b = 0.6 [deg]). We therefore cannot say
that there is more reddening than can be accounted for by Galactic
extinction. However, our results show that the drop-off with
decreasing wavelength is gradual and therefore is unlikely to be due to
absorption by hydrogen in the host galaxy or along the line of sight to
the host galaxy. Consequently, the burst is unlikely to lie at a very
high redshift (z > 5).
This message may be cited.
- GCN notice #2917
Alan Levine and Ron Remillard (MIT) on behalf of the RXTE ASM Team
at MIT and GSFC:
GRB041219 (Mereghetti et al., GCN Circular 2866; and Barthelmy et al.,
GCN Circular 2874) was observed during two dwells, each of duration 90
s, with Scanning Shadow Camera 3 of the RXTE ASM. The observations
cover the interval 2004 December 19 1:42:24 to 1:45:30 UTC except for
a single 6 s gap in the middle of the interval. Automated real-time
analysis of RXTE ASM data yielded a detection of GRB041219 and an
error box:
RA, Dec (error box center; J2000): 7.085 62.727 degrees
Position angle of the error box long direction): 105.72 degrees
Error box half width: 0.037 degrees
Error box half length: 0.7 degrees
in which is found the position derived by Bloom et al. (GCN Circular
2893).
In count rate data, the event appears as a single peak with possible
substructure lasting about 50 s in the 1.5-3 keV and 3-5 keV bands and
about 25 s in the 5-12 keV band. The peak fluxes were approximately
3, 4 and 6 Crab in the 1.5-3, 3-5, and 5-12 keV bands, respectively.
The initial sharp rise of this peak (best defined in the 5-12 keV
band) occurs at UTC 2004:354:01:43:30 with an uncertainty of about 2
seconds. The background before this time appears to vary; this could
be the tail of an earlier GRB-related peak or it could be variation of
an unrelated source. The times quoted herein are times at the
position of the spacecraft; they have not been corrected to the
barycenter of the solar system.
In the time interval covered by the ASM, the Swift BAT light curves
(Fenimore et al., GCN Circular 2906) show a single relatively
inconspicuous small enhancement that appears to start at about the
same time as the peak seen in the ASM data. The ASM coverage does not
cover the first peak seen by BAT or the later strong peaks.
This message is citeable.
- GCN notice #2924
A. Henden (USRA/USNO) reports on behalf of the USNO GRB team:
In addition to the BVRcIc calibration, we also acquired
some early time, short exposure Rc and Ic imagery for the
INTEGRAL burst GRB041219 (Gotz et al., GCN 2866)
with the USNOFS 1.0-m telescope. At the position of
the NIR afterglow (Blake and Bloom, GCN 2872), we
find no optical afterglow in the Ic bandpass at
t+13minutes, to a limit of Ic=19.7.
- astro-ph/0604455 from 21 Apr 2006
McBreen: Observations of the intense and ultra-long burst GRB041219a with the Germanium Spectrometer on INTEGRAL
GRB041219a is the brightest burst localised by INTEGRAL. The intense burst
occurred about ~250s after the precursor and the long delay enabled optical and
near infrared telescopes to observe the prompt emission. We present
comprehensive results of the temporal and spectral analyses, including line and
afterglow searches using the spectrometer, SPI, aboard INTEGRAL, BAT on Swift
and ASM on RXTE. We avail of multi-wavelength data to generate broadband
spectra of GRB041219a and afterglow. Spectra for the burst and sub-intervals
were fit by the Band model and also by the quasithermal model. The high
resolution Germanium spectrometer data were searched for emission and
absorption features and for gamma-ray afterglow. The overall burst and
sub-intervals are well fit by the Band model. The photon index below the break
energy shows a marked change after the quiescent time interval. In addition the
spectra are well described by a black body component with a power law. The
burst was detected by BAT and ASM during the long quiescent interval in SPI
indicating the central engine might not be dormant but that the emission occurs
in different bands. No significant emission or absorption features were found
and limits of 900 eV and 120 eV are set on the most significant features. No
gamma-ray afterglow was detected from the end of the prompt phase to ~12 hours
post-burst. Broadband spectra of the prompt emission were generated in 7 time
intervals using gamma-ray, x-ray, optical and near-infrared data and these were
compared to the high-redshift burst GRB050904. The optical and gamma-ray
emission are correlated in GRB041219a. The spectral lag was determined using
data from the BAT and it changes throughout the burst. A number of
pseudo-redshifts were evaluated and large dispersion in values was found.
- astro-ph/0605016 from 30 Apr 2006
Wei: The GRB early optical flash from internal shock: application to
GRB990123, GRB041219a and GRB060111b
With the successful launch of the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer, people
expected the prompt optical flash like GRB990123 would be easily detected.
However the fact that early optical flash have not been detected for a number
of GRBs indicates the reverse shock must be suppressed. Here we explore the
possibility that the optical flash may arise from the internal shock. We find
that, under certain circumstance, the optical flash of GRB990123 and GRB060111b
can really be explained by the internal shock. For GRB041219a, the prompt
optical emission was correlated with the gamma-ray emission, we explain this
feature also in the internal shock scenario, the optical emission is the low
energy extension of the gamma-ray emission, and we can restrict its redshift
$z\sim 0.2$. As for GRB050904, we have shown in previous paper that the optical
flash was produced by synchrotron radiation and the X-ray flare was produced by
the synchrotron-self-Compton mechanism. Therefore we conclude that the early
optical flash of GRBs can usually come from the internal shock. Meanwhile since
the condition to produce the optical flash is not easily satisfied, so the
optical flash like GRB990123 should not be common in GRBs. In addition, we also
discussed the synchrotron-self-Compton effect in the internal shock model, and
find that for different values of parameters, there would be soft gamma-ray
(100 KeV), hard gamma-ray (10 MeV) and GeV flare accompanying the optical
flash. For GRB like GRB990123, a GeV flare with fluence about 10^{-8} erg
cm^{-2} s^{-1} is expected, which may be detected by the GLAST satellite.
- astro-ph/0606312 from 13 Jun 2006
Zheng: Comptonization model for Prompt optical and infrared emission of GRB
041219A
Prompt optical emission from the $\gamma$-ray burst of GRB 041219A has been
reported by \citet{ves05}. The facts that the fast rise of optical emission
simultaneous with the dominant $\gamma$-ray pulse, and a tight correlation with
the prompt $\gamma$-ray emission have been displayed. These indicate that the
prompt optical emission and $\gamma$-ray emission would naturally have a common
origin. We then propose that this optical component could be modelled by
considering the $Comptonization$ of $\gamma$-ray photons by an electron cloud.
As a result of this mechanism, the arrival time of the optical photons is
delayed comparing with that of the $\gamma$-rays. We restrict that the lagging
time is shorter than 10 s, within which the prompt optical emission is
considered as varying simultaneously with the prompt $\gamma$-ray emission.
Taking into account of the observations of GRB 041219A, we derive the number
density of the surrounding electron cloud required by $Comptonization$. The
red-shift of GRB 041219A is predicted as $z\lesssim 0.073$ as well.
- astro-ph/0610771 from 26 Oct 2006
Kalemci etal:
Measuring the polarization of the prompt gamma-ray emission from GRBs can
significantly improve our understanding of both the GRB emission mechanisms, as
well as the underlying engine driving the explosion. We searched for
polarization in the prompt gamma-ray emission of GRB 041219a with the SPI
instrument on INTEGRAL. Using multiple-detector coincidence events in the
100--350 keV energy band, our analysis yields a polarization fraction from this
GRB of 99 +- 33 %. Statistically, we cannot claim a polarization detection from
this source. Moreover, different event selection criteria lead to even less
significant polarization fractions, e.g. lower polarization fractions are
obtained when higher energies are included in the analysis. We cannot strongly
rule out the possibility that the measured modulation is dominated by
instrumental systematics. Therefore, SPI observations of GRB 041219a do not
significantly constrain GRB models. However, this measurement demonstrates the
capability of SPI to measure polarization, and the techniques developed for
this analysis.
- astro-ph/0702738 from 28 Feb 2007
McGlynn: Polarisation studies of the prompt gamma-ray emission from GRB 041219a using the Spectrometer aboard INTEGRAL
The spectrometer aboard INTEGRAL, SPI, has the capability to detect the
signature of polarised emission from a bright gamma-ray source. GRB 041219a is
the most intense burst localised by INTEGRAL and is an ideal candidate for such
a study. Polarisation can be measured using multiple events scattered into
adjacent detectors because the Compton scatter angle depends on the
polarisation of the incoming photon. A search for linear polarisation in the
most intense pulse of duration 66 seconds and in the brightest 12 seconds of
GRB 041219a was performed in the 100-350keV, 100-500keV and 100keV-1MeV energy
ranges. The multiple event data from the spectrometer was analysed and compared
with the predicted instrument response obtained from Monte-Carlo simulations
using the GEANT 4 INTEGRAL mass model. The chi^2 distribution between the real
and simulated data as a function of the percentage polarisation and
polarisation angle was calculated for all three energy ranges. The degree of
linear polarisation in the brightest pulse of duration 66s was found to be
63+/-31% at an angle of 70+/-14 degrees in the 100-350keV energy range. The
degree of polarisation was also constrained in the brightest 12s of the GRB and
a polarisation fraction of 96+/-40% at an angle of 60+/-14 degrees was
determined over the same energy range. However, despite extensive analysis and
simulations, a systematic effect that could mimic the weak polarisation signal
could not be definitively excluded. Our results over several energy ranges and
time intervals are consistent with a polarisation signal of about 60% at a low
level of significance (2 sigma). We conclude that the procedure described here
demonstrates the effectiveness of using SPI as a polarimeter, and is a viable
method of measuring polarisation levels in intense gamma--ray bursts.
- 1102.2784 from 15 Feb 11
Floyd W. Stecker: New Limits on Planck Scale Lorentz Violation from Gamma-ray Burst Polarization
Constraints on possible Lorentz invariance violation to first order in E/M_{Planck} for photons in the framework of effective field theory are
discussed. Using the detection of polarized soft gamma-ray emission from the gamma-ray burst GRB041219a that indicates the absence of vacuum
birefringence, together with a method for estimating the redshift of the burst, we improve the previous constraints on the dimension 5 Lorentz
violating modification to the Lagrangian of an effective local QFT for QED by 4 orders of magnitude.
- 1103.3663 from 21 Mar 11
D. Gotz et al.: A detailed spectral study of GRB 041219A and its host galaxy
GRB 041219A is one of the longest and brightest gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) ever observed. It was discovered by the INTEGRAL satellite, and thanks
to a precursor happening about 300 s before the bulk of the burst, ground based telescopes were able to catch the rarely-observed prompt
emission in the optical and in the near infrared bands. Here we present the detailed analysis of its prompt gamma-ray emission, as observed
with IBIS on board INTEGRAL, and of the available X-ray afterglow data collected by XRT on board Swift. We then present the late-time
multi-band near infrared imaging data, collected at the TNG, and the CFHT, that allowed us to identify the host galaxy of the GRB as an
under-luminous, irregular galaxy of about 5x10^9 M_Sun at best fit redshift of z=0.31 -0.26 +0.54. We model the broad-band prompt optical to
gamma-ray emission of GRB 041219A within the internal shock model. We were able to reproduce the spectra and light curve invoking the
synchrotron emission of relativistic electrons accelerated by a series of propagating shock waves inside a relativistic outflow. On the other
hand, it is less easy to simultaneously reproduce the temporal and spectral properties of the infrared data.
- 1106.1068 from 7 Jun 11
P. Laurent et al.: Constraints on Lorentz Invariance Violation using INTEGRAL/IBIS observations of GRB041219A
One of the experimental tests of Lorentz invariance violation is to measure the helicity dependence of the propagation velocity of photons
originating in distant cosmological obejcts. Using a recent determination of the distance of the Gamma-Ray Burst GRB 041219A, for which a high
degree of polarization is observed in the prompt emission, we are able to improve by 4 orders of magnitude the existing constraint on Lorentz
invariance violation, arising from the phenomenon of vacuum birefringence.
- 1302.0560 from 5 Feb 13
A. Martin-Carrillo et al.: X-ray behaviour of GRBs detected by INTEGRAL/JEM-X
INTEGRAL's JEM-X instrument offers a very rare opportunity to observe the full prompt X-ray emission from GRBs and the transition to the
afterglow phase. A study of prompt X-ray flares in some bursts from the INTEGRAL GRB sample and the early X-ray post-GRB emission from 3-35 keV
is presented here. Significant post-GRB emission above 10 keV is observed for GRB 041219A and GRB 081003A.
- 1311.4313 from 19 Nov 13
Zhe Chang et al.: Gamma-ray burst polarization via Compton scattering process
Synchrotron radiation and Compton scattering are widely accepted as the most likely emission mechanisms of some astrophysical phenomena, such
as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The measurement on polarization of photons provides a useful tool to distinguish
different emission mechanisms and structures of the emission region. Based on the differential cross section of a polarized photon scattered by
an unpolarized electron of any initial momentum, we derive analytical formula of polarization for beamed photons scattered by isotropic
electrons with a power law distribution. Numerical calculations are carried out in four special cases: electrons at rest, Thomson limit,
head-on collision and monochromatic electrons. It is found that the maximum polarization can be as high as $100\%$ for low energy photons, if
the electrons are at rest. Although polarization is highly suppressed due to the isotropic electrons, a maximum value of $\sim 10\% - 20\%$ can
still be achieved. Compton scattering process can be used to explain the polarization of GRB 041219A and GRB 100826A.
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