- GCN/BACODINE POSITION NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 03 Jun 13 15:49:31 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Swift-BAT GRB Position
TRIGGER_NUM: 557310, Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA: 172.209d {+11h 28m 50s} (J2000),
172.384d {+11h 29m 32s} (current),
171.556d {+11h 26m 13s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +17.045d {+17d 02' 42"} (J2000),
+16.971d {+16d 58' 16"} (current),
+17.321d {+17d 19' 15"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 3.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN: 2806 [cnts] Image_Peak=470 [image_cnts]
TRIGGER_DUR: 0.032 [sec]
TRIGGER_INDEX: 10320 E_range: 25-100 keV
BKG_INTEN: 19560 [cnts]
BKG_TIME: 56941.36 SOD {15:49:01.36} UT
BKG_DUR: 8 [sec]
GRB_DATE: 16446 TJD; 154 DOY; 13/06/03
GRB_TIME: 56953.84 SOD {15:49:13.84} UT
GRB_PHI: 152.09 [deg]
GRB_THETA: 10.70 [deg]
SOLN_STATUS: 0x10503
RATE_SIGNIF: 242.44 [sigma]
IMAGE_SIGNIF: 17.27 [sigma]
MERIT_PARAMS: +1 +0 +0 -5 +2 +5 +0 +0 +4 +0
SUN_POSTN: 71.82d {+04h 47m 16s} +22.38d {+22d 23' 04"}
SUN_DIST: 92.93 [deg] Sun_angle= -6.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 15.15d {+01h 00m 35s} +9.29d {+09d 17' 20"}
MOON_DIST: 145.42 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 22 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 236.50, 68.42 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 166.04, 12.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: SWIFT-BAT GRB Coordinates.
COMMENTS: This is a rate trigger.
COMMENTS: A point_source was found.
COMMENTS: This position matches one of the nearby galaxy sources in the on-board catalog!
COMMENTS: This does not match any source in the on-board catalog.
COMMENTS: This matches a source in the ground catalog: NGC3691, delta=0.204 [deg].
COMMENTS: This is a GRB in nearby galaxy or it is noise.
COMMENTS: This trigger occurred at longitude,latitude = 68.96,-18.11 [deg].
COMMENTS:
COMMENTS: This trigger occured while the StarTracker had lost lock, so it is possibly bogus.
- GCN NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 03 Jun 13 15:49:46 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Swift-BAT Transient Position
TRIGGER_NUM: 557310, Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA: 172.209d {+11h 28m 50s} (J2000),
172.384d {+11h 29m 32s} (current),
171.556d {+11h 26m 13s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +17.045d {+17d 02' 42"} (J2000),
+16.971d {+16d 58' 16"} (current),
+17.321d {+17d 19' 15"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR: 3.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN: 2806 [cnts] Image_Peak=470 [image_cnts]
TRIGGER_DUR: 0.032 [sec]
TRIGGER_INDEX: 10320 E_range: 25-100 keV
BKG_INTEN: 19560 [cnts]
BKG_TIME: 56941.36 SOD {15:49:01.36} UT
BKG_DUR: 8 [sec]
GRB_DATE: 16446 TJD; 154 DOY; 13/06/03
GRB_TIME: 56953.84 SOD {15:49:13.84} UT
GRB_PHI: 152.09 [deg]
GRB_THETA: 10.70 [deg]
SOLN_STATUS: 0x10503
RATE_SIGNIF: 242.44 [sigma]
IMAGE_SIGNIF: 17.27 [sigma]
MERIT_PARAMS: +1 +0 +0 -5 +2 +5 +0 +0 +4 +0
SUN_POSTN: 71.82d {+04h 47m 16s} +22.38d {+22d 23' 04"}
SUN_DIST: 92.93 [deg] Sun_angle= -6.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 15.15d {+01h 00m 35s} +9.29d {+09d 17' 22"}
MOON_DIST: 145.41 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 22 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 236.50, 68.42 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 166.04, 12.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: SWIFT-BAT Transient Coordinates.
COMMENTS: This is a rate trigger.
COMMENTS: A point_source was found.
COMMENTS: This does not match any source in the on-board catalog.
COMMENTS: This matches a source in the ground catalog: NGC3691, delta=0.204 [deg].
COMMENTS: This is not a GRB -- it is a hard x-ray transient.
COMMENTS: This trigger occurred at longitude,latitude = 68.96,-18.11 [deg].
COMMENTS:
COMMENTS: This trigger occured while the StarTracker had lost lock, so it is possibly bogus.
- GCN NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 03 Jun 13 15:50:20 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Swift-XRT Nack-Position
TRIGGER_NUM: 557310, Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA: 172.199d {+11h 28m 48s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC: +17.055d {+17d 03' 20"} (J2000)
IMG_START_DATE: 16446 TJD; 154 DOY; 13/06/03
IMG_START_TIME: 57012.89 SOD {15:50:12.89} UT, 59.1 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
COUNTS: 42 Min_needed= 20
STD_DEV: 0.00 Max_StdDev_for_Good=28.44 [arcsec]
PH2_ITER: 4 Max_iter_allowed= 4
ERROR_CODE: 2
COMMENTS: SWIFT-XRT Nack Position.
COMMENTS: Algorithm did not converge; too many iterations.
- red DSS finding chart
ps-file
- GCN NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 03 Jun 13 15:52:59 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Swift-BAT GRB Lightcurve
TRIGGER_NUM: 557310, Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA: 172.209d {+11h 28m 50s} (J2000),
172.384d {+11h 29m 32s} (current),
171.556d {+11h 26m 13s} (1950)
GRB_DEC: +17.045d {+17d 02' 42"} (J2000),
+16.971d {+16d 58' 16"} (current),
+17.321d {+17d 19' 15"} (1950)
GRB_DATE: 16446 TJD; 154 DOY; 13/06/03
GRB_TIME: 56954.13 SOD {15:49:14.13} UT
TRIGGER_INDEX: 10320
GRB_PHI: 152.09 [deg]
GRB_THETA: 10.70 [deg]
DELTA_TIME: 3.00 [sec]
TRIGGER_DUR: 0.032 [sec]
SOLN_STATUS: 0x503
RATE_SIGNIF: 242.44 [sigma]
IMAGE_SIGNIF: 17.27 [sigma]
LC_URL: sw00557310000msb.lc
SUN_POSTN: 71.82d {+04h 47m 16s} +22.38d {+22d 23' 05"}
SUN_DIST: 92.92 [deg] Sun_angle= -6.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 15.17d {+01h 00m 42s} +9.30d {+09d 17' 53"}
MOON_DIST: 145.39 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 22 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 236.50, 68.42 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS: 166.04, 12.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS: SWIFT-BAT GRB Lightcurve.
COMMENTS:
COMMENTS: The next comments were copied from the BAT_POS Notice:
COMMENTS: This is a rate trigger.
COMMENTS: A point_source was found.
COMMENTS: This does not match any source in the on-board catalog.
COMMENTS: This matches a source in the ground catalog: NGC3691, delta=0.204 [deg].
COMMENTS: This is not a GRB.
COMMENTS: This trigger occurred at longitude,latitude = 68.96,-18.11 [deg].
COMMENTS:
COMMENTS: This trigger occured while the StarTracker had lost lock, so it is possibly bogus.
- GCN NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 03 Jun 13 15:53:18 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Swift-UVOT Source List
TRIGGER_NUM: 557310, Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA: 172.199d {+11h 28m 48s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC: +17.055d {+17d 03' 20"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL: 294.410d
IMG_START_DATE: 16446 TJD; 154 DOY; 13/06/03
IMG_START_TIME: 57016.17 SOD {15:50:16.17} UT, 62.3 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER: 10, White
BKG_MEAN: 2.884
N_STARS: 15
X_OFFSET: 364 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET: 547 [pixels]
X_MAX: 1323 [pixels]
Y_MAX: 1506 [pixels]
DET_THRESH: 14
PHOTO_THRESH: 7
SL_URL: sw00557310000msufc0062.fits
SUN_POSTN: 71.82d {+04h 47m 16s} +22.38d {+22d 23' 05"}
SUN_DIST: 92.91 [deg] Sun_angle= -6.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 15.18d {+01h 00m 42s} +9.30d {+09d 17' 56"}
MOON_DIST: 145.37 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 22 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 236.46, 68.41 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS: 166.02, 12.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS: SWIFT-UVOT Source List.
- GCN NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 03 Jun 13 15:53:48 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Swift-UVOT Processed Source List
TRIGGER_NUM: 557310, Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA: 172.199d {+11h 28m 48s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC: +17.055d {+17d 03' 20"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL: 294.410d
IMG_START_DATE: 16446 TJD; 154 DOY; 13/06/03
IMG_START_TIME: 57016.17 SOD {15:50:16.17} UT, 62.3 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER: 10, White
BKG_MEAN: 2.884
N_STARS: 15
X_OFFSET: 364 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET: 547 [pixels]
X_MAX: 1323 [pixels]
Y_MAX: 1506 [pixels]
DET_THRESH: 14
PHOTO_THRESH: 7
SL_URL: sw00557310000msufc0062.fits
SUN_POSTN: 71.82d {+04h 47m 16s} +22.38d {+22d 23' 05"}
SUN_DIST: 92.91 [deg] Sun_angle= -6.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 15.18d {+01h 00m 43s} +9.30d {+09d 18' 01"}
MOON_DIST: 145.37 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 22 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 236.46, 68.41 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS: 166.02, 12.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS: SWIFT-UVOT Processed Source List.
COMMENTS: All 4 attachments are included.
- GCN NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 03 Jun 13 15:54:38 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Swift-UVOT Image
TRIGGER_NUM: 557310, Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA: 172.199d {+11h 28m 48s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC: +17.055d {+17d 03' 20"} (J2000)
ROLL: 294.410d
IMG_START_DATE: 16446 TJD; 154 DOY; 13/06/03
IMG_START_TIME: 57016.17 SOD {15:50:16.17} UT, 62.3 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER: 10, White
EXPOSURE_ID: 391967426
X_OFFSET: 683 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET: 866 [pixels]
WIDTH: 160 [pixels]
HEIGHT: 160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS: 843
Y_GRB_POS: 1026
BINNING_INDEX: 1
IM_URL: sw00557310000msuni0073.fits
SUN_POSTN: 71.82d {+04h 47m 16s} +22.38d {+22d 23' 05"}
SUN_DIST: 92.91 [deg] Sun_angle= -6.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 15.19d {+01h 00m 45s} +9.30d {+09d 18' 09"}
MOON_DIST: 145.36 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 22 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 236.46, 68.41 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS: 166.02, 12.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS: SWIFT-UVOT Image.
COMMENTS: The GRB Position came from the Window Position in the Mode Command.
COMMENTS: The image has 2x2 binning (compression).
- GCN NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 03 Jun 13 15:54:52 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Swift-UVOT Processed Image
TRIGGER_NUM: 557310, Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA: 172.199d {+11h 28m 48s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC: +17.055d {+17d 03' 20"} (J2000)
ROLL: 294.410d
IMG_START_DATE: 16446 TJD; 154 DOY; 13/06/03
IMG_START_TIME: 57016.17 SOD {15:50:16.17} UT, 62.3 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER: 10, White
EXPOSURE_ID: 391967426
X_OFFSET: 683 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET: 866 [pixels]
WIDTH: 160 [pixels]
HEIGHT: 160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS: 843
Y_GRB_POS: 1026
BINNING_INDEX: 1
IM_URL: sw00557310000msuni0073.fits
SUN_POSTN: 71.82d {+04h 47m 17s} +22.38d {+22d 23' 05"}
SUN_DIST: 92.91 [deg] Sun_angle= -6.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 15.19d {+01h 00m 46s} +9.30d {+09d 18' 11"}
MOON_DIST: 145.36 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 22 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 236.46, 68.41 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS: 166.02, 12.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS: SWIFT-UVOT Processed Image.
COMMENTS: The GRB Position came from the Window Position in the Mode Command.
COMMENTS: The image has 2x2 binning (compression).
COMMENTS: All 4 attachments are included.
- GCN NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 03 Jun 13 15:59:48 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Swift-UVOT Source List
TRIGGER_NUM: 557310, Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA: 172.200d {+11h 28m 48s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC: +17.058d {+17d 03' 29"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL: 294.412d
IMG_START_DATE: 16446 TJD; 154 DOY; 13/06/03
IMG_START_TIME: 57228.82 SOD {15:53:48.82} UT, 275.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER: 7, U
BKG_MEAN: 0.829
N_STARS: 23
X_OFFSET: 124 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET: 307 [pixels]
X_MAX: 1563 [pixels]
Y_MAX: 1746 [pixels]
DET_THRESH: 8
PHOTO_THRESH: 4
SL_URL: sw00557310000msufc0274.fits
SUN_POSTN: 71.82d {+04h 47m 17s} +22.39d {+22d 23' 07"}
SUN_DIST: 92.91 [deg] Sun_angle= -6.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 15.23d {+01h 00m 56s} +9.32d {+09d 18' 58"}
MOON_DIST: 145.32 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 22 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 236.46, 68.42 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS: 166.02, 12.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS: SWIFT-UVOT Source List.
- GCN NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 03 Jun 13 16:00:07 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Swift-UVOT Processed Source List
TRIGGER_NUM: 557310, Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA: 172.200d {+11h 28m 48s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC: +17.058d {+17d 03' 29"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL: 294.412d
IMG_START_DATE: 16446 TJD; 154 DOY; 13/06/03
IMG_START_TIME: 57228.82 SOD {15:53:48.82} UT, 275.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER: 7, U
BKG_MEAN: 0.829
N_STARS: 23
X_OFFSET: 124 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET: 307 [pixels]
X_MAX: 1563 [pixels]
Y_MAX: 1746 [pixels]
DET_THRESH: 8
PHOTO_THRESH: 4
SL_URL: sw00557310000msufc0274.fits
SUN_POSTN: 71.82d {+04h 47m 17s} +22.39d {+22d 23' 07"}
SUN_DIST: 92.91 [deg] Sun_angle= -6.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 15.23d {+01h 00m 56s} +9.32d {+09d 19' 01"}
MOON_DIST: 145.32 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 22 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 236.46, 68.42 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS: 166.02, 12.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS: SWIFT-UVOT Processed Source List.
COMMENTS: All 4 attachments are included.
- GCN NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 03 Jun 13 16:01:09 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Swift-UVOT Image
TRIGGER_NUM: 557310, Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA: 172.200d {+11h 28m 48s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC: +17.058d {+17d 03' 29"} (J2000)
ROLL: 294.412d
IMG_START_DATE: 16446 TJD; 154 DOY; 13/06/03
IMG_START_TIME: 57228.82 SOD {15:53:48.82} UT, 275.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER: 7, U
EXPOSURE_ID: 391967639
X_OFFSET: 683 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET: 866 [pixels]
WIDTH: 160 [pixels]
HEIGHT: 160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS: 843
Y_GRB_POS: 1026
BINNING_INDEX: 1
IM_URL: sw00557310000msuni0285.fits
SUN_POSTN: 71.82d {+04h 47m 18s} +22.39d {+22d 23' 07"}
SUN_DIST: 92.91 [deg] Sun_angle= -6.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 15.24d {+01h 00m 58s} +9.32d {+09d 19' 11"}
MOON_DIST: 145.31 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 22 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 236.46, 68.42 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS: 166.02, 12.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS: SWIFT-UVOT Image.
COMMENTS: The GRB Position came from the Window Position in the Mode Command.
COMMENTS: The image has 2x2 binning (compression).
- GCN NOTICE
TITLE: GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE: Mon 03 Jun 13 16:01:23 UT
NOTICE_TYPE: Swift-UVOT Processed Image
TRIGGER_NUM: 557310, Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA: 172.200d {+11h 28m 48s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC: +17.058d {+17d 03' 29"} (J2000)
ROLL: 294.412d
IMG_START_DATE: 16446 TJD; 154 DOY; 13/06/03
IMG_START_TIME: 57228.82 SOD {15:53:48.82} UT, 275.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER: 7, U
EXPOSURE_ID: 391967639
X_OFFSET: 683 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET: 866 [pixels]
WIDTH: 160 [pixels]
HEIGHT: 160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS: 843
Y_GRB_POS: 1026
BINNING_INDEX: 1
IM_URL: sw00557310000msuni0285.fits
SUN_POSTN: 71.82d {+04h 47m 18s} +22.39d {+22d 23' 07"}
SUN_DIST: 92.91 [deg] Sun_angle= -6.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN: 15.24d {+01h 00m 59s} +9.32d {+09d 19' 13"}
MOON_DIST: 145.31 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM: 22 [%]
GAL_COORDS: 236.46, 68.42 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS: 166.02, 12.56 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS: SWIFT-UVOT Processed Image.
COMMENTS: The GRB Position came from the Window Position in the Mode Command.
COMMENTS: The image has 2x2 binning (compression).
COMMENTS: All 4 attachments are included.
- GCN Circular #14735
A. Melandri (INAF-OAB), W. H. Baumgartner (GSFC/UMBC),
D. N. Burrows (PSU), J. R. Cummings (NASA/UMBC),
N. Gehrels (NASA/GSFC), C. Gronwall (PSU), K. L. Page (U Leicester),
D. M. Palmer (LANL), R. L. C. Starling (U Leicester) and
T. N. Ukwatta (MSU) report on behalf of the Swift Team:
At 15:49:14 UT, the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) triggered and
located GRB 130603B (trigger=557310). Swift slewed immediately to the burst.
The BAT on-board calculated location is
RA, Dec 172.209, +17.045 which is
RA(J2000) = 11h 28m 50s
Dec(J2000) = +17d 02' 42"
with an uncertainty of 3 arcmin (radius, 90% containment, including
systematic uncertainty). The BAT light curve showed a single spike
structure with a duration of about 0.4 sec. The peak count rate
was 60000 counts/sec (15-350 keV), at ~0 sec after the trigger.
The XRT began observing the field at 15:50:12.8 UT, 59.0 seconds after
the BAT trigger. Using promptly downlinked data we find an uncatalogued
X-ray source with an enhanced position: RA, Dec 172.2006, 17.0719 which
is equivalent to:
RA(J2000) = 11h 28m 48.16s
Dec(J2000) = +17d 04' 18.8"
with an uncertainty of 2.7 arcseconds (radius, 90% containment). This
location is 101 arcseconds from the BAT onboard position, within the
BAT error circle. This position may be improved as more data are
received; the latest position is available at
http://www.swift.ac.uk/sper.
A power-law fit to a spectrum formed from promptly downlinked event
data gives a column density in excess of the Galactic value (1.93 x
10^20 cm^-2, Kalberla et al. 2005), with an excess column of 6.8
(+4.00/-3.31) x 10^21 cm^-2 (90% confidence).
UVOT took a finding chart exposure of 150 seconds with the White filter
starting 62 seconds after the BAT trigger. No credible afterglow candidate has
been found in the initial data products. The 2.7'x2.7' sub-image covers 25% of
the BAT error circle. The typical 3-sigma upper limit has been about 19.6 mag.
The 8'x8' region for the list of sources generated on-board covers 100% of the
BAT error circle. The list of sources is typically complete to about 18 mag. No
correction has been made for the expected extinction corresponding to E(B-V) of
0.02.
The Swift star trackers were not locked at the time of the
burst, so there may be some additional error in the position.
However the spike in the rates and the image detection is
unambiguously real.
We note that this bright short hard GRB is near (12 arcminutes)
the location of the nearby galaxy NGC 3691. At z=0.003566, this
corresponds to a nominal projected distance of about 50 kpc.
Burst Advocate for this burst is A. Melandri (andrea.melandri AT brera.inaf.it).
Please contact the BA by email if you require additional information
regarding Swift followup of this burst. In extremely urgent cases, after
trying the Burst Advocate, you can contact the Swift PI by phone (see
Swift TOO web site for information: http://www.swift.psu.edu/too.html.)
- GCN Circular #14739
P.A. Evans, M.R. Goad, J.P. Osborne and A.P. Beardmore (U. Leicester)
report on behalf of the Swift-XRT team.
Using 712 s of XRT Photon Counting mode data and 1 UVOT
images for GRB 130603B, we find an astrometrically corrected X-ray
position (using the XRT-UVOT alignment and matching UVOT field sources
to the USNO-B1 catalogue): RA, Dec = 172.20070, +17.07112 which is equivalent
to:
RA (J2000): 11h 28m 48.17s
Dec (J2000): +17d 04' 16.0"
with an uncertainty of 2.0 arcsec (radius, 90% confidence).
This position may be improved as more data are received. The latest
position can be viewed at http://www.swift.ac.uk/xrt_positions. Position
enhancement is described by Goad et al. (2007, A&A, 476, 1401) and Evans
et al. (2009, MNRAS, 397, 1177).
This circular was automatically generated, and is an official product of the
Swift-XRT team.
- GCN Circular #14741
S. D. Barthelmy (GSFC), W. H. Baumgartner (GSFC/UMBC), J. R. Cummings (GSFC/UMBC),
E. E. Fenimore (LANL), N. Gehrels (GSFC), H. A. Krimm (GSFC/USRA),
A. Y. Lien (NASA/GSFC/ORAU), C. B. Markwardt (GSFC), A. Melandri (INAF-OAB),
D. M. Palmer (LANL), T. Sakamoto (AGU), G. Sato (ISAS),
M. Stamatikos (OSU), J. Tueller (GSFC), T. N. Ukwatta (MSU)
(i.e. the Swift-BAT team):
Using the data set from T-61 to T+242 sec from the recent telemetry downlink,
we report further analysis of BAT GRB 130603B (trigger #557310)
(Melandri, et al., GCN Circ. 14735). The BAT ground-calculated position is
RA, Dec = 172.222, 17.063 deg, which is
RA(J2000) = 11h 28m 53.2s
Dec(J2000) = +17d 03' 48.2"
with an uncertainty of 1.0 arcmin, (radius, sys+stat, 90% containment).
The partial coding was 100%.
The mask-weighted light curve shows a single FRED-like spike starting
at ~T_0.000, peaking at ~T+0.012 sec, and returning to baseline at~T+0.2sec.
There is a smaller pulse ridding on the tail of the initial pulse.
T90 (15-350 keV) is 0.18 +- 0.02 sec (estimated error including systematics).
The time-averaged spectrum from T+0.01 to T+0.26 sec is best fit by a simple
power-law model. The power law index of the time-averaged spectrum is
0.82 +- 0.07. The fluence in the 15-150 keV band is 6.3 +- 0.3 x 10^-7 erg/cm2.
The 1-sec peak photon flux measured from T-0.36 sec in the 15-150 keV band
is 6.4 +- 0.3 ph/cm2/sec. All the quoted errors are at the 90% confidence
level.
The results of the batgrbproduct analysis are available at
http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/notices_s/557310/BA/
- GCN Circular #14742
A.J. Levan (U. Warwick), N.R. Tanvir, K. Wiersema (U. Leicester), O. Hartoog (Amsterdam), K. Kolle, J. Mendez (ING) and T. Kupfer (Nijmegan) report for a larger collaboration:
We observed the location of GRB 130603B (Melandri et al. GCN 14735) with the William Herschel Telescope, beginning at 21:39 UT approximately 5.8 hours after the burst. In our z and r-band observations we identify a galaxy present in the SDSS DR9 observations of the field with a magnitude of r=20.94. In addition we identify a point-like source, offset approximately 1" to the SW of this source, with an approximate (+/- 1") position of;
RA(J2000) 11 28 48.16
DEC(J2000) +17:04:18.0
This source is blended with the SDSS galaxy, but appears to be brighter. We suggest this is likely to be the optical afterglow of GRB 130603B."
- GCN Circular #14743
A. de Ugarte Postigo (IAA-CSIC, DARK/NBI), D. Malesani (DARK/NBI), D. Xu (DARK/NBI), P. Jakobsson (U. Iceland) and S. Geier (NOT and DARK/NBI) report on behalf of a larger collaboration:
We observed the field of the short GRB 130603B (Melandri et al., GCN 14735) using the 2.5m NOT telescope beginning on 2013 Jun 3 at 21:22 UT. Observations consisted of 5x360 s in the r band. As noted by Levan et al. (GCN 14742), the refined XRT position (Evans et al., GCN 14739) straddles a galaxy detected in the SDSS, which has a photometric redshift z=0.39+/-0.11.
Our images reveal a point source superimposed over this galaxy, and consistent with the XRT posion, at the following coordinates (J2000+/-0.5"):
R.A.: 11:28:48.15
Dec.: +17:04:18.0
This source is not visible in the SDSS and it is the afterglow of GRB 130603B. We obtain a preliminary magnitude of r = 20.9 calibrated against SDSS (DR9). The afterglow is located ~0.8" SW of the host galaxy nucleus.
Our results are consistent with those of Levan et al. (GCN 14742).
- GCN Circular #14744
C. C. Thoene (IAA-CSIC), A. de Ugarte Postigo (IAA-CSIC/DARK),
J. Gorosabel (IAA-CSIC/UPV-EUH), N. Tanvir (U. Leicester), and
J. P. U. Fynbo (DARK/NBI) report:
We obtained spectroscopy of the afterglow (GCN 14742, Levan et al,
GCN 14743, de Ugarte Postigo et al.) of the short GRB 130603B (GCN 14735,
Melandri et al.) with OSIRIS/GTC starting at 23:05 UT. Three spectra of 900s
were obtained with grism R1000B. The afterglow lies on top of an SDSS
galaxy as noted in Levan et al.
The spectrum shows a strong trace of the afterglow with absorption lines
of the Ca II doublet as well as MgII and MgI. Superimposed are emission
lines from the host galaxy of [OII], [OIII], Hbeta and Hgamma extended in
the spatial direction. Absorption and emission lines lie at a common
redshift of z=3D0.356. We therefore determine this to be the redshift of the
short GRB and its host galaxy.=20
We acknowledge the excellent support by the GTC staff, in particular Rene
Rutten and David Garcia.
- GCN Circular #14745
R. J. Foley, R. Chornock, W. Fong, E. Berger (Harvard), S. Jha (Rutgers)
report:
We observed the field of the short-duration GRB 130603B (Melandri et
al., GCN 14735) with the Inamori Magellan Areal Camera and
Spectrograph (IMACS) mounted on the Magellan/Baade 6.5-m telescope
starting on 2013 Jun 04.004 UT (8.3-hr after the BAT trigger). In
600-s of r-band imaging, we detect the optical afterglow and host
galaxy (Levan et al., GCN 14742; de Ugarte Postigo et al., GCN
14743). A 1200-s spectrum reveals several nebular emission lines from the host
galaxy at a common redshift of 0.356, confirming the results of Thoene et al.
(GCN 14744).
- GCN Circular #14746
J. Norris (BSU), N. Gehrels (GSFC), S. D. Barthelmy (GSFC), T. Sakamoto (AGU)
We report the spectral lag analysis for GRB 130603B (GCN Circ. 14735 & 14740)
based on the BAT data. Using 2-ms binned light curves, the spectral lag
for the 15-25 keV to 50-100 keV bands is 0.6 +-0.7 ms, and -2.5 +-0.7 mc
for the 25-50 keV to 100-350 keV bands for both peaks combined.
These lag values and the hard spectrum (GCN Circ. 14741) place
this burst in the short burst category. There is no evidence
for extended emission at the 0.005 cnts/det/sec level.
- GCN Circular #14747
R. S=E1nchez-Ram=EDrez, A. J. Castro-Tirado (IAA-CSIC), J. Gorosabel
(IAA-CSIC, UPV-EHU), F. J. Aceituno (IAA-CSIC), E. Sonbas (Adiyaman
Univ.), E. Gogus, T. G=FCver (Sanbaci Univ.), H. Kirbiyik (TUG) and D.
Garc=EDa-Alv=E1rez (GTC) on behalf of a larger collaboration, report:
=93We have observed the optical afterglow of the short-duration GRB 13060=
3B
(Melandri et al. GCNC 14735, Norris et al. GCNC 14746). Optical images
have been obtained with the 1.0m telescope at the T=FCbitak National
Observatory (Antalya, Turkey) in the R-band and with the 1.5m telescope a=
t
Observatorio de Sierra Nevada (Granada, Spain) in the I-band, starting on
June 3. 771 and June 3.854 UT (2.69 hr and 4.69 hr post burst)
respectively. Spectra covering the range 3500-10000 A were obtained wit=
h
the 10.4m GTC (+OSIRIS) starting on June 3.993 UT (i.e. 8 hr post burst).=
=20
At the position of the optical afterglow (Levan et al. GCNC 14742) the
afterglow spectrum shows Ca II in absorption, and we detect significant
contribution of the underlying host galaxy (eg. [OII], [OIII], H-beta and
H-alpha emission lines about 1=94 off), implying altogether a redshift of=
z
=3D 0.356, consistent with the values provided by Thoene et al. (GCNC=20
14744) and Foley et al. (GCNC 14745)=93.
- GCN Circular #14748
A. Cucchiara (UCSC/UCO Lick), D. Perley (Caltech), and
S. B. Cenko (GSFC) report on behalf of a larger collaboration:
On June 3.97 UT we start observing the optical afterglow
of the Short GRB 130603B (Melandri et al. GCN 14735,
Evans et al., GCN 14739, Levan et al. GCN 14742, and
de Ugarte Postigo et al. GCN 14743) with the Gemini-South
telescope equipped with the GMOS camera.
The observation sequence consists of a series of 8x3min
exposures in the g',r' and i' filters.
The OT is clearly detected in individual exposures.
Using the coadded frames and a 0.7" aperture,
we estimate the following magnitudes:
g = 21.7 +/- 0.2
r = 21.2 +/- 0.1
i = 20.7 +/- 0.2
These are not corrected for Galactic extinction or for
contribution of the host galaxy, which is likely significant.
An RGB image of the field showing the optical transient has been
posted to:
http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~dperley/gcn/130603b/130603b_gmos.png
Also, a spectroscopic sequence was obtained: based on CaHK lines and
several emission lines we confirm the redshift of GRB 130603B to be
z=0.356 (as also reported by Thoene et al. GCN. 14744, Foley
et al. 14745).
We thank the Gemini South Staff, in particular A. Cardwell, J. Turner
and Mischa Schirmer, for the excellent support.
- GCN Circular #14749
J.A. Kennea (PSU), M.C. Stroh (PSU), D.N. Burrows (PSU), A.P. Beardmore
(U. Leicester), P.A. Evans (U. Leicester), B.P. Gompertz (U.
Leicester), G. Stratta (ASDC), P. D'Avanzo (INAF-OAB), V. D'Elia (ASDC)
and A. Melandri report on behalf of the Swift-XRT team:
We have analysed 6.6 ks of XRT data for GRB 130603B (Melandri et al.
GCN Circ. 14735), from 43 s to 28.2 ks after the BAT trigger. The
data comprise 378 s in Windowed Timing (WT) mode (the first 9 s were
taken while Swift was slewing) with the remainder in Photon Counting
(PC) mode. The enhanced XRT position for this burst was given by Evans
et al. (GCN. Circ 14739).
The light curve can be modelled with an initial power-law decay with an
index of alpha=0.35 (+0.08, -0.09), followed by a break at T+2404 s to
an alpha of 1.46 (+0.13, -0.12).
A spectrum formed from the WT mode data can be fitted with an absorbed
power-law with a photon spectral index of 1.97 (+0.23, -0.22). The
best-fitting absorption column is 2.8 (+1.0, -0.8) x 10^21 cm^-2, in
excess of the Galactic value of 1.9 x 10^20 cm^-2 (Kalberla et al.
2005). The PC mode spectrum has a photon index of 2.21 (+0.18, -0.17)
and a best-fitting absorption column of 2.5 (+/-0.5) x 10^21 cm^-2. The
counts to observed (unabsorbed) 0.3-10 keV flux conversion factor
deduced from this spectrum is 3.6 x 10^-11 (6.2 x 10^-11) erg cm^-2
count^-1.
A summary of the PC-mode spectrum is thus:
Total column: 2.5 (+/-0.5) x 10^21 cm^-2
Galactic foreground: 1.9 x 10^20 cm^-2
Excess significance: 7.7 sigma
Photon index: 2.21 (+0.18, -0.17)
If the light curve continues to decay with a power-law decay index of
1.46, the count rate at T+24 hours will be 4.7 x 10^-3 count s^-1,
corresponding to an observed (unabsorbed) 0.3-10 keV flux of 1.7 x
10^-13 (2.9 x 10^-13) erg cm^-2 s^-1.
The results of the XRT-team automatic analysis are available at
http://www.swift.ac.uk/xrt_products/00557310.
This circular is an official product of the Swift-XRT team.
- GCN Circular #14751
W. Fong, B. A. Zauderer and E. Berger (Harvard) report:
"We observed the position of the short-duration GRB 130630B (Melandri
et al., GCN 14735) with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA)
beginning on 2013 June 03.98 UT (7.6 hr post-burst) at a mean
frequency of 5.8 GHz. In 1 hour of observations, we detect a ~0.2 mJy
radio source in coincidence with the reported optical afterglow (Levan
et al., GCN 14742; de Ugarte Postigo et al., GCN 14743; Foley et al.,
GCN 14745; Cucchiara et al., GCN 14748).
We note that this is only the fourth detection of radio emission from
a short GRB, of which one case (GRB 120804A; Berger et al., 2013, ApJ,
765, 121) was due to host galaxy emission.
Further observations are planned. We thank the VLA staff for quickly
executing these observations."
- GCN Circular #14757
D. Xu (DARK/NBI), A. de Ugarte Postigo (IAA-CSIC, DARK/NBI), D.
Malesani (DARK/NBI), S. Schulze (PUC and MCSS), J. P. U. Fynbo, D. J.
Watson (DARK/NBI), V. D'Elia (ASI-SDC, INAF OAR), P. Goldoni (APC,
CEA/Irfu), M. Vestergaard (DARK/NBI) report on behalf of the X-shooter
GRB GTO collaboration:
We observed the optical afterglow of the short-duration GRB 130603B
(Melandri et al., GCN 14735; Levan et al., GCN 14742; de Ugarte
Postigo et al., GCN 14743) using the ESO VLT equipped with the
X-shooter spectrograph. The observations started on 2013-06-04 at
00:00:28 UT (i.e., 8.187 hr after the burst). A total exposure of
4x600 s was obtained, covering the spectral range from ~300 to ~2100
nm.
A continuum is detected in all the UVB/VIS/NIR arms of the spectra. We
identify several absorption features which we interpret as Ca II H & K
and Mg II from the optical afterglow, as well as emission lines such
as the [O II] doublet, [O III], H-alpha, H-beta, and [S II] from the
host galaxy, all at a common redshift of z=0.3564+/-0.0002, fully
consistent with the measurements by Thoene et al. (GCN 14744), Foley
et al. (GCN 14745), and Sanchez-Ramirez et al. (GCN 14747).
We thank the Paranal staff for enthusiastic support, in particular
Cedric Ledoux and Alex Correa.
- GCN Circular #14759
M. De Pasquale (MSSL-UCL) and A. Melandri (INAF-OAB)
report on behalf of the Swift/UVOT team:
The Swift/UVOT began settled observations of the field of GRB 130603B
62 s after the BAT trigger (Melandri et al., GCN Circ. 14735).
A source 2'' from the centre of the XRT error circle (Evans et al. GCN Circ.
14739) and coincident with the optical afterglow detected by WHT
(Levan et al., GCN circ. 14742) and NOT (de Ugarte Postigo et al., GCN circ.
14743) is detected in UVOT exposures.
The source, in UVOT images, shows no clear fading behaviour between the
first and the latest exposures.
Preliminary detections and 3-sigma upper limits using the UVOT=20
photometric system
(Breeveld et al. 2011, AIP Conf. Proc. 1358, 373) for the early=20
exposures are:
Filter T_start(s) T_stop(s) Exp(s) Mag
white 62 4981 383 20.81 =B10.17
v 605 5393 225 >19.8
b 530 6212 432 21.14 =B10.45 (2.5 sigma)
u 275 6007 659 20.87 =B10.39 (2.8 sigma)
w1 654 5802 413 >20.6
m2 3960 5597 393 >20.4
w2 580 6555 365 20.69 =B10.39 (2.8 sigma)
The magnitudes in the table are not corrected for the Galactic extinction
due to the reddening of E(B-V) =3D 0.02 in the direction of the burst
(Schlegel et al. 1998).
- GCN Circular #14761
S. B. Cenko (GSFC) and D. A. Perley (Caltech) report on behalf of a larger
collaboration:
We have imaged the field of the short-hard GRB 130603B (Melandri et al.,
GCN 14735) with the robotic Palomar 60 inch telescope. Images were
obtained in the r' and i' filters beginning at 04:00 on 2013 June 4 (~
12.2 hr after the Swift trigger).
At the location of the optical afterglow (Levan et al., GCN 14742), we
detect a source mildly blended with the presumed host galaxy. Using a
large aperture to include both objects, we measure a magnitude of r' =
20.8 at this time (calibrated with respect to several nearby point sources
from SDSS).
- GCN Circular #14764
Eleonora Troja (GSFC), Nat Butler (ASU), Alan M. Watson (UNAM),
Alexander Kutyrev (GSFC), William H. Lee (UNAM), Michael G. Richer (UNAM)=
,
Chris Klein (UCB), Ori Fox (UCB) J. Xavier Prochaska (UCSC), Josh Bloom
(UCB), Antonino Cucchiara (UCSC), Owen Littlejohns (ASU), Enrico
Ramirez-Ruiz (UCSC), Jos=E9 A. de Diego (UNAM), Leonid Georgiev (UNAM),
Jes=FAs Gonz=E1lez (UNAM), Carlos Rom=E1n-Z=FA=F1iga (UNAM), Neil Gehrels=
(GSFC),
and Harvey Moseley (GSFC) report:
We observed the field of GRB 130603B (Melandri, et al., GCN 14735) with t=
he
Reionization and Transients Infrared Camera (RATIR;www.ratir.org=20
<http://www.ratir.org>) on the
1.5m Harold Johnson Telescope at the Observatorio Astron=F3mico Nacional
on
Sierra San Pedro M=E1rtir from 2013/06 4.16 to 2013/06 4.27 UTC (12.01
to 14.78 hours after the BAT trigger), obtaining a total of 1.93 hours
exposure in the r' and i' bands and 0.81 hours exposure in the Z,
Y, J, and H bands.
At the location of the optical afterglow (Levan et al., GCN 14742),
in comparison with SDSS DR8 and 2MASS, we obtain the following detections
:
r' 20.78 +/- 0.03
i' 20.52 +/- 0.03
Z 20.20 +/- 0.05
Y 19.94 +/- 0.05
J 19.97 +/- 0.06
H 19.55 +/- 0.06
These magnitudes are in the AB system and not corrected for Galactic
extinction in the direction of the GRB.
Photometry was performed adopting a large aperture which includes both th=
e
afterglow and its host galaxy.
We thank the staff of the Observatorio Astron=F3mico Nacional in San Pedr=
o
M=E1rtir.
- GCN Circular #14769
T.D. Staley, G.E. Anderson, R.P. Fender (U. of Southampton),
A. Rowlinson, A.J. van der Horst (U. of Amsterdam), D.J. Titterington,
C. Rumsey (MRAO) report on behalf of the 4 Pi Sky / AMI team:
We have observed the position of the GRB 130603B afterglow at multiple
epochs with the AMI Large Array at 15 GHz. Our initial observation was
for one hour starting at 15:53:42 UT on June 3rd, just under 5 minutes
after the GRB trigger time (GCN 14735). We also made longer observations,
at 3.12 and 22.8 hours post-burst. We do not detect the afterglow
in our preliminary reductions.
Preliminary analysis gives 3-sigma upper limits as follows:
Start (Hrs post burst) | Duration (hrs) | 3-sigma upper limit
---------------------------------------------------------------------
0.08 | 1 | 0.6 mJy
3.12 | 3 | 0.21 mJy
22.8 | 3 | 0.3 mJy
Further observations are scheduled.
These observations were initially triggered via the system described in
Staley et. al (2013, MNRAS, 428, 3114).
- GCN Circular #14770
Maria Pruzhinskaya, D.Denisenko, E. Gorbovskoy, V. Lipunov, V.Kornilov,
D.Kuvshinov, N.Tyurina, N.Shatskiy, P.Balanutsa, D.Zimnukhov, A.Kuznetsov,
V.V.Chazov
Sternberg Astronomical Institute, Lomonosov Moscow State University
K.Ivanov, S.Yazev, N.M.Budnev, O.Gres, O.Chuvalaev, V.A.Poleshchuk
Irkutsk State University, Irkutsk
V.Yurkov, Yu.Sergienko, D.Varda, E.Sinyakov, A.Gabovich
Blagoveschensk Educational State University, Blagoveschensk
A. Tlatov, A.V. Parhomenko, D. Dormidontov, V.Sennik
Kislovodsk Solar Station of the Pulkovo Observatory
V.Krushinski, I.Zalozhnih, A. PopovUral Federal University, Kourovka
Hugo Levato and Carlos Saffe
Instituto de Ciencias Astronomicas, de la Tierra y del Espacio (ICATE)
Claudio Mallamaci, Carlos Lopez and Federico Podest
Observatorio Astronomico Felix Aguilar (OAFA)
MASTER II robotic telescope (MASTER-Net: http://observ.pereplet.ru)
located in Tunka was pointed to GRB130603B 35 sec after Notice time
and 52 sec after Trigger time (Melandri et al., GCN 14735) in two
mutually perpendicular polarizations.
We didn't find OT at the position reported by Levan et al., GCN 14742
and A. de Ugarte Postigo et al., GCN 14743.
Our photometry (upper limits) during the first 20 minutes until the
clouds started coming in is as follows:
t_UT Exp T-T_trig Limit Filter Tube
-------------------------------------------------------
2013-06-03 15:50:06 10 52 15.4 P| EAST
2013-06-03 15:50:07 10 53 15.1 P- WEST
2013-06-03 15:51:06 20 112 15.9 P| EAST
2013-06-03 15:51:07 20 113 15.8 P- WEST
2013-06-03 15:52:08 30 174 16.2 P| EAST
2013-06-03 15:52:08 30 174 16.1 P- WEST
2013-06-03 15:53:18 50 244 16.7 P| EAST
2013-06-03 15:53:19 50 245 16.7 P- WEST
2013-06-03 15:55:01 70 348 16.7 P| EAST
2013-06-03 15:55:02 70 349 16.6 P- WEST
2013-06-03 15:56:48 90 454 17.2 P| EAST
2013-06-03 15:56:49 90 455 16.9 P- WEST
2013-06-03 15:58:57 120 583 17.6 P| EAST
2013-06-03 15:58:58 120 584 17.5 P- WEST
2013-06-03 16:01:43 150 749 18.0 P| EAST
2013-06-03 16:01:43 150 749 17.6 P- WEST
2013-06-03 16:04:54 180 940 18.0 P| EAST
2013-06-03 16:04:54 180 940 17.5 P- WEST
The OT upper limit available on the plot :
http://master.sai.msu.ru/static/OT/grb130306B.gif
We have tried to compare our data with the photometry from the large
telescopes in the filters similar to ours. In fact, we have used the
observations in r filter.
The following data have been published so far.
Afterglow:
t+5.8 hours r=20.94 WHT Levan et al., GCN 14742
t+5.8 hours r=20.9 NOT A. de Ugarte Postigo et al., GCN 14743
t+7.5 hours r=21.2 Gemini-South Cucchiara et al., GCN 14748
Large aperture to include both objects:
t+12.2 hours r'=20.8 P60 (Palomar 60 inch) Cenko et al., GCN 14761
t+14.78 hours r'=20.78 RATIR (1.5m Harold Johnson) Eleonora Troja et
al., GCN 14764
We were not able to use the Swift UVOT data in the white light (De
Pasquale et al., GCN 14759) since their exact times of mid-exposures
are not easy to determine.
Obviously, the last two points involve the host galaxy.
In order to constrain the slope we have used the data from WHT, NOT
and Gemini South.
The results are presented here:
http://master.sai.msu.ru/static/OT/grb130306B_all.gif
Thus, supposing the power law of the fading afterglow
F ~ t^-alpha
we are providing the following limitation:
alpha < 0.84.
The message may be cited.
- GCN Circular #14771
S. Golenetskii, R.Aptekar, D. Frederiks, E. Mazets, V. Pal'shin,
P. Oleynik, M. Ulanov, D. Svinkin, and T. Cline on behalf
of the Konus-Wind team, report:
The bright short-duration hard GRB 130603B
(Swift-BAT trigger 557310: Melandri, et al., GCN 14735;
Barthelmy et al., GCN 14741)
triggered Konus-Wind at T0=3D56956.448s UT (15:49:16.448)
The light curve shows a multi-peaked structure
from ~T0-0.008 s to ~T0+0.082 s.
The total duration of the burst is ~0.090 s
The Konus-Wind light curve of this GRB is available at
http://www.ioffe.ru/LEA/GRBs/GRB130603_T56956/
As observed by Konus-Wind, the burst
had a fluence of (6.6 =B1 0.7)x10-6 erg/cm2,
and a 16-ms peak flux, measured from T0,
of (1.0 =B1 0.2)x10-4 erg/cm2/s
(both in the 20 keV - 10 MeV energy range).
The spectrum of the burst (measured from T0 to T0+0.128 s)
is best fit in the 20 keV - 15 MeV range
by the cutoff power law with the following model parameters:
the photon index alpha =3D -0.73 =B1 0.15,
the peak energy Ep =3D 660 =B1 100 keV,
chi2 =3D 67/69 dof.
All the quoted results are preliminary.
- GCN Circular #14772
D. Frederiks, on behalf of the Konus-Wind team, report:
Assuming z=3D0.356 (Th=C3=B6ne et al., GCN 14744),
and a standard cosmology model with H_0 =3D 70 km/s/Mpc,
Omega_M =3D 0.27, and Omega_Lambda =3D 0.73,
we estimate the following rest-frame parameters of GRB 130603B
from the Konus-Wind observation of the burst (Golenetskii et al., GCN 147=
71):
the isotropic energy release E_iso is (2.1 =C2=B1 0.2)x10^51 erg,
the peak luminosity (L_iso)_max is (4.4 =C2=B1 0.8)x10^52 erg/s,
and the rest-frame peak energy Ep,i =3D (900 =C2=B1 140) keV
- 1306.2028 from 11 Jun 13
A. Cucchiara et al.: Gemini Spectroscopy of the Short GRB 130603B Afterglow and Host
We present early optical photometry and spectroscopy of the afterglow and host galaxy of the bright short-duration gamma-ray burst \grb. Using
our target-of-opportunity program on the Gemini South telescope, our prompt optical spectra reveal a strong trace from the afterglow
superimposed on continuum and emission lines from the $z = 0.3568 \pm 0.0005$ host galaxy. The combination of a relatively bright optical
afterglow ($r^{\prime} = 21.52$ at $\Delta t = 8.4$\,hr), together with an observed offset of 0\farcs9 from the host nucleus (4.8 kpc projected
distance at $z = 0.3568$), allow us to extract a relatively clean spectrum dominated by afterglow light -- the first \textit{bona fide}
short-duration GRB for which this has been possible. Furthermore, the spatially resolved spectrum allows us to constrain the properties of the
explosion site directly, and compare these with the host galaxy nucleus, as well as other short-duration GRB host galaxies. We find that while
the host is a relatively luminous ($L \approx 0.8 L^{*}_{B}$), star-forming (SFR $\gtrsim 1.3$\,M${_\odot}$\,yr$^{-1}$) galaxy with almost
solar metallicity, the spectrum of the afterglow exhibits neither emission nor absorption features. The explosion site therefore appears to
lack evidence of recent star formation, consistent with the relatively long delay time distribution expected in a compact binary merger
scenario. The star formation rate (both in an absolute sense and normalized to the luminosity) and metallicity of the host are both consistent
with the known sample of short-duration GRB hosts.
- GCN Circular #14865
Poonam Chandra (NCRA-TIFR) reports:
We carried out Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observations of
GRB 130427A at 1390 GHz band on 2013 June 07.38 UT. We don't detect the
GRB in our radio observations. The 3-sigma upper limit at the GRB afterglow
position (Levan et al., GCN 14742; de Ugarte Postigo et al., GCN 14743;
Foley et al., GCN 14745; Cucchiara et al., GCN 14748) is 273 uJy.
We thank GMRT staff for making these observations possible.
- GCN Circular #14893
N. R. Tanvir (U. Leicester), A. J. Levan (U. Warwick), A. S. Fruchter (STScI),
J. Hjorth (DARK/NBI) and K. Wiersema (U. Leicester) report:
We observed the location of GRB 130603B with HST/ACS and
WFC3/IR. The host galaxy is clearly resolved as a disturbed spiral,
and it appears that the GRB occurred close to a spiral
arm that seems to have been tidally distorted or drawn out
by interaction with a smaller neighbour.
Our provisional analysis finds a point-source limit of F606W>27.6,
corresponding to M_V~-14.3, at the location of the GRB. This is
approaching a factor ~100 below what would be expected if there
were a rising supernova comparable to SN1998bw, ruling out such an
association for this burst. It also rules out some part of the parameter
space of other radioactively-powered transients that have been
proposed may accompany short GRBs.
The position of the GRB lands on a region of extended emission in
the F160W (H') filter of WFC3/IR. Another epoch scheduled for a
few weeks from now will allow a deeper search for a counterpart
through image subtraction.
We thank the STScI director and staff for rapidly expediting
these observations.
- GCN Circular #14895
E. Berger and W. Fong (Harvard) report:
"We obtained the public Hubble Space Telescope ACS/F606W and WFC3/F160W
images of GRB 130603B (Tanvir et al. GCN #14893) from MAST and performed an
astrometric tie of these images relative to our afterglow images from
Magellan/IMACS (Foley et al. GCN #14745). The resulting total rms of the
astrometic fit is 33 mas. At the location of the optical afterglow we
identify an apparent point source in the WFC3/F160W image, with no
corresponding counterpart in the ACS/F606W image (the circles marking the
afterglow position have a radius of 10-sigma):
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~eberger/GRB130603B_HST.tif
PSF-matched photometry indicates m(F160W)=25.8+/-0.2 AB mag and
m(F606W)>27.5 mag (3-sigma; the limit is consistent with Tanvir et al. GCN
#14893). At the redshift of GRB 130603B (z=0.356) these values correspond
to absolute magnitudes of M(F160W)=-15.2 mag and M(F606W)>-13.5 mag.
The red V-H>1.7 mag color is potentially in good agreement with the
afterglow g/r/i colors at early time (8.4 hr), which indicate a spectral
index of beta~-1.7 (Cucchiara et al. arXiv:1306.2028). Based on this
spectral index and the g/r/i magnitudes from Cucchiara et al., the
interpolated/extrapolated magnitudes in the HST filters at 8.4 hr are
m(F160W)=20.0 mag and m(F606W)=21.9 mag, or V-H~1.9 mag. Therefore, it is
possible that the source detected in WFC3/F160W is the fading afterglow,
indicating a decline rate of alpha_NIR~-1.6 between 8.4 hr and 9.4 days.
Incidentally, this decline rate is in good agreement with the Swift/XRT
decline rate of alpha_X~-1.6 at about 1 hr to 1 day (
http://www.swift.ac.uk/xrt_live_cat/00557310/)
Alternatively, the red V-H color and the absolute magnitude of
M(F160W)=-15.2 mag can be explained as emission from an r-process powered
"kilonova", along the recent models by Barnes & Kasen arXiv:1303.5787. For
their fiducial model (with M_ej=0.01 Msun and v_ej=0.1c), the expected
absolute magnitude in the rest-frame J-band (corresponding to observed
H-band) at an observed time of 9.4 days is about -15 mag, while the
expected magnitude in the rest-frame B-band (corresponding to observed
V-band) is exceedingly low (about -3 mag). Thus, it is possible that the
red source we detected in the WFC3/F160W image represents the first
detection of an r-process powered transient associated with a short GRB,
thereby strengthening their association with NS-NS/NS-BH mergers.
As noted by Tanvir et al. (GCN #14893) additional observations to determine
variability are essential."
- GCN Circular #14913
R. Ruffini, C.L. Bianco, M. Enderli, M. Muccino, A.V. Penacchioni, G.B.
Pisani, J.A. Rueda, N. Sahakyan, Y. Wang report:
After a rest-frame time of 5000 sec from the BAT trigger (Melandri et
al., GCN 14735), the late X-ray rest-frame luminosity of GRB 130603B
overlaps the one of GRB 090510A (see the figure at:
<http://www.icra.it/temp/GCN/20130614.png>). This match occurs
irrespectively of their isotropic energies, which differ by a factor of
~50 (GRB 130603B: E_iso = 2.1 * 10^51 erg, Frederiks et al., GCN 14772;
GRB 090510A: E_iso = 1.1 * 10^53 erg, Muccino et al. 2013, ApJ, in
press, arXiv:1306.3467).
According to Muccino et al. 2013, GRB 090510A is a long GRB exploded in
a high density enviroment (10^3 particles/cm^3). The similarity shown
in the plot indicates that also GRB 130603B could be a long duration
GRB observed at closer distance (z~0.35). Therefore the detection (or
not detection) of a supernova associated to GRB 130603B between
20th-23rd of June, becomes a crucial test.
Observations are strongly encouraged.
- 1306.3960 from 18 Jun 13
E. Berger et al.: Smoking Gun or Smoldering Embers? A Possible r-process Kilonova Associated with the Short-Hard GRB 130603B
We present Hubble Space Telescope optical and near-IR observations of the short-hard GRB 130603B (z=0.356) obtained 9.4 days post-burst. At the
position of the burst we detect a red point source with m(F160W)=25.8+/-0.2 AB mag and m(F606W)>27.5 AB mag (3-sigma), corresponding to
rest-frame absolute magnitudes of M_J -15.2 mag and M_B>-13.5 mag. A comparison to the early optical afterglow emission requires a decline rate
of alpha_opt<-1.6 (F_nu t^alpha), consistent with the observed X-ray decline at about 1 hr to about 1 day. The observed red color of V-H>1.7
mag is also potentially consistent with the red optical colors of the afterglow at early time (F_nu nu^-1.6 in gri). Thus, an afterglow
interpretation is feasible. Alternatively, the red color and faint absolute magnitude are due to emission from an r-process powered transient
("kilonova") produced by ejecta from the merger of an NS-NS or NS-BH binary, the most likely progenitors of short GRBs. In this scenario, the
observed brightness implies an outflow with M_ej 0.01 Msun and v_ej 0.1c, in good agreement with the results of numerical merger simulations
for roughly equal mass binary constituents (i.e., NS-NS). If true, the kilonova interpretation provides the strongest evidence to date that
short GRBs are produced by compact object mergers, and places initial constraints on the ejected mass. Equally important, it demonstrates that
gravitational wave sources detected by Advanced LIGO/Virgo will be accompanied by optical/near-IR counterparts with unusually red colors,
detectable by existing and upcoming large wide-field facilities (e.g., Pan-STARRS, DECam, Subaru, LSST).
- 1306.4971 from 21 Jun 13
N. R. Tanvir et al.: A search for kilonova emission associated with GRB 130603B: the smoking gun signature of a compact binary merger event
The nature of short duration gamma-ray bursts (S-GRBs) represents one of the great unsolved mysteries of astrophysics today. While a favoured
model for their origin is the merger of two compact objects (e.g., neutron stars) this lacks a smoking gun signature to date. However, these
mergers are expected to create radioactive species, including heavy r-process elements, which should result in a faint, fast transient in the
days following the burst, a so-called kilonova. Recent calculations suggest much energy comes out in the near-infrared in the days following
the initial burst. Here we report a search for such an event accompanying GRB 130603B, the first S-GRB to have a firm redshift established
directly from the afterglow. At z=0.36 the faint transient is expected to peak a few days after the burst at an H-band magnitude of ~25.
Observing with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) nine days post-burst, we indeed find a source at the location of the burst, with these
properties, although we cannot yet say whether the light is transient in nature. If it is kilonova emission, then it provides both strong
support for the binary neutron star merger theory of short-GRBs and an alternative, un-beamed electromagnetic signature of the most promising
gravitational wave sources.
We note that we felt compelled to submit this provisional report of our work, despite our HST DDT program being incomplete, due to other
- GCN Circular #14922
W. Fong, G. Migliori, R. Margutti, and E. Berger (Harvard) report:
"We observed the short-duration GRB 130603B (Melandri et al., GCN 14735)
with XMM-Newton + EPIC-pn starting on 2013 June 06.22 UT (2.57 d after the
burst) for a total of 24 ksec. We clearly detect the X-ray afterglow at the
position of the enhanced XRT error circle (Evans et al., GCN 14739) at a
significance level of about 6-sigma.
Taken together with the Swift/XRT afterglow light curve for t>4000 sec
(Kennea et al., GCN 14749), these observations indicate a single power-law
decline with index alpha_X=-1.83+/-0.15. Therefore, the XMM observations
rule out the presence of a break at t~4000 sec to 2.57 d, in contrast to
the suggested X-ray and optical break at ~8 hr (Tanvir et al., arXiv:
1306.4971)."
- GCN Report 442.1
GCN_Report 442.1 has been posted:
http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/reports/report_442_1.pdf
by A. Melandri
at INAF-OAB
titled: "Swift Observations of GRB 130603B"
- 1307.2943 from 12 Jul 13
Doron Grossman et al.: The longterm evolution of neutron star merger remnants II: radioactively powered transients
We use 3D hydrodynamic simulations of the longterm evolution of neutron star merger ejecta to predict the light curves of electromagnetic
transients that are powered by the decay of freshly produced r-process nuclei. For the dynamic ejecta that are launched by tidal and
hydrodynamic interaction we adopt gray opacities of 10 cm$^2$/g, as suggested by recent studies. For our reference case of a 1.3-1.4 $m_\odot$
merger we find a broad IR peak 2-4 days after the merger. The peak luminosity is $\approx 2\times 10^{40}$ erg/s for an average orientation,
but increased by up to a factor of 4 for more favorable binary parameters and viewing angles. These signals are rather weak and hardly
detectable within the large error box (~100 deg$^2$) of a GW trigger. A second electromagnetic transient results from neutrino-driven winds.
These winds produce "weak" r-process material with 50 GCN Circular #15060
W. Fong and E. Berger (Harvard) report:
"We inspected the second epoch of HST WFC3/F160W imaging of the short GRB
130603B obtained on 2013 July 3.24 UT. Digital image subtraction relative
the first epoch (on 2013 June 13.15 UT) reveals that the near-IR point
source coincident with the afterglow position has faded away, confirming
our original suggestion that it is associated with GRB 130603B (Berger et
al. 2013 arXiv:1306.3960). The subtraction also confirms our brightness
measurement, with m(F160W)=25.8 AB mag. Coupled with an early steep
decline in the optical band based on additional Magellan/IMACS observations
at 32.2 hr post-burst, with r>24.8 AB mag (see also Cucchiara et al. 2013,
arXiv:1306.2028; Tanvir et al. 2013, arXiv:1306.4971) this confirms the
likely kilonova origin of this source."
- 1308.2984 from 15 Aug 13
A. de Ugarte Postigo et al.: The host galaxy and environment of a neutron star merger
The mergers of neutron stars have been predicted to cause an r-process supernova - a luminous near-infrared transient powered by the
radioactive decay of freshly formed heavy metals. An r-process supernova, or kilonova, has recently been discovered coincident with the
short-duration gamma-ray burst GRB 130603B, simultaneously confirming the widely-held theory of the origin of most short-durations GRBs in
neutron star mergers. We report here the absorption spectrum of the afterglow of this GRB. From it we determine the redshift of the burst and
the properties of the host galaxy and the environment in which the merger occurred. The merger is not associated with the most star-forming
region of the galaxy; however, it did occur in a dense region, implying a rapid merger or a low natal kick velocity for the neutron star
binary.
- 1309.7479 from 1 Oct 13
Wen-fai Fong et al.: Short GRB 130603B: Discovery of a jet break in the optical and radio afterglows, and a mysterious late-time X-ray excess
We present radio, optical/NIR, and X-ray observations of the afterglow of the short-duration 130603B, and uncover a break in the radio and
optical bands at 0.5 d after the burst, best explained as a jet break with an inferred jet opening angle of 4-8 deg. GRB 130603B is only the
third short GRB with a radio afterglow detection to date, and the first time that a jet break is evident in the radio band. We model the
temporal evolution of the spectral energy distribution to determine the burst explosion properties and find an isotropic-equivalent kinetic
energy of (0.6-1.7) x 10^51 erg and a circumburst density of 5 x 10^-3-30 cm^-3. From the inferred opening angle of GRB 130603B, we calculate
beaming-corrected energies of Egamma (0.5-2) x 10^49 erg and EK (0.1-1.6) x 10^49 erg. Along with previous measurements and lower limits we
find a median short GRB opening angle of 10 deg. Using the all-sky observed rate of 10 Gpc^-3 yr^-1, this implies a true short GRB rate of 20
yr^-1 within 200 Mpc, the Advanced LIGO/VIRGO sensitivity range for neutron star binary mergers. Finally, we uncover evidence for significant
excess emission in the X-ray afterglow of GRB 130603B at >1 d and conclude that the additional energy component could be due to fall-back
accretion or spin-down energy from a magnetar formed following the merger.
- 1310.1623 from 8 Oct 13
Kenta Hotokezaka et al.: Progenitor models of the electromagnetic transient associated with the short GRB 130603B
An electromagnetic transient powered by the radioactive decay of r-process elements, a so-called kilonova/macronova, is one of the possible
observable consequences of compact binary mergers including at east one neutron star. Recent observations strongly suggest the first discovery
of the electromagnetic transient, which is associated with the short GRB 130603B. We explore a possible progenitor of this event combining the
numerical-relativity simulations and radiative transfer simulations of the dynamical ejecta of binary neutron star and black hole - neutron
star mergers. We show that the ejecta models within a realistic parameter range consistently reproduce the observed near-infrared excess. We
also show that the soft equation of state models for binary neutron star mergers and the stiff equation of state models for black hole -
neutron star mergers are favored to reproduce the observed luminosity.
- 1310.3008 from 14 Oct 13
Zhi-Ping Jin et al.: Is the late near-infrared bump in short-hard GRB 130603B due to the Li-Paczynski kilonova?
Short-hard gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are widely believed to be produced by the merger of two binary compact objects, specifically by two neutron
stars or by a neutron star orbiting a black hole. According to the Li-Paczynski kilonova model, the merger would launch sub-relativistic ejecta
and a near-infrared/optical transient would then occur, lasting up to days, which is powered by the radioactive decay of heavy elements
synthesized in the ejecta. The detection of a late bump using the {\em Hubble Space Telescope} ({\em HST}) in the near-infrared afterglow light
curve of the short-hard GRB 130603B is indeed consistent with such a model. However, as shown in this Letter, the limited {\em HST}
near-infrared lightcurve behavior can also be interpreted as the synchrotron radiation of the external shock driven by a wide mildly
relativistic outflow. In such a scenario, the radio emission is expected to peak with a flux of $\sim 100 \mu$Jy, which is detectable for
current radio arrays. Hence, the radio afterglow data can provide complementary evidence on the nature of the bump in GRB 130603B. It is worth
noting that good spectroscopy during the bump phase in short-hard bursts can test validity of either model above, analogous to spectroscopy of
broad-lined Type Ic supernova in long-soft GRBs.
- 1311.1519 from 8 Nov 13
Brian D. Metzger et al.: Optical and X-ray emission from stable millisecond magnetars formed from the merger of binary neutron stars
The coalescence of binary neutron stars (NSs) may in some cases produce a stable massive NS remnant rather than a black hole. Due to the
substantial angular momentum from the binary, such a remnant is born rapidly rotating and likely acquires a strong magnetic field (a
`millisecond magnetar'). Magnetic spin-down deposits a large fraction of the rotational energy from the magnetar behind the small quantity of
mass ejected during the merger. This has the potential for creating a bright transient that could be useful for determining whether a NS or
black hole was formed in the merger. We investigate the expected signature of such an event, including for the first time the important impact
of electron/positron pairs injected by the millisecond magnetar into the surrounding nebula. These pairs cool via synchrotron and inverse
Compton emission, producing a pair cascade and hard X-ray spectrum. A fraction of these X-rays are absorbed by the ejecta walls and re-emitted
as thermal radiation, leading to an optical/UV transient peaking at a luminosity of ~1e43-1e44 erg/s on a timescale of several hours to days.
This is dimmer than predicted by simpler analytic models because the large optical depth of electron/positron pairs across the nebula
suppresses the efficiency with which the magnetar spin down luminosity is thermalized. Nevertheless, the optical/UV emission is more than two
orders of magnitude brighter than a radioactively powered `kilonova.' In some cases nebular X-rays are sufficiently luminous to re-ionize the
ejecta, in which case non-thermal X-rays escape the ejecta unattenuated with a similar peak luminosity and timescale as the optical radiation.
We discuss the implications of our results for the temporally extended X-ray emission that is observed to follow some short gamma-ray bursts
(GRBs), including the kilonova candidates GRB 080503 and GRB 130603B.
- 1311.7185 from 2 Dec 13
Yi-Zhong Fan et al.: A supra-massive magnetar central engine for short GRB 130603B
We show that the peculiar early optical and in particular X-ray afterglow emission of the short duration burst GRB 130603B can be explained by
continuous energy injection into the blastwave from a supra-massive magnetar central engine. The observed energetics and temporal/spectral
properties of the late infrared bump (i.e., the "kilonova") are also found consistent with emission from the ejecta launched during an NS-NS
merger and powered by a magnetar central engine. The isotropic-equivalent kinetic energies of both the GRB blastwave and the kilonova are about
$E_{\rm k}\sim 10^{51}$ erg, consistent with being powered by a near-isotropic magnetar wind. However, this relatively small value demands that
most of the initial rotational energy of the magnetar $(\sim {\rm a~ few \times 10^{52}~ erg})$ is carried away by gravitational wave
radiation. Our results suggest that (i) the progenitor of GRB 130603B would be a NS-NS binary system, whose merger product would be a
supra-massive neutron star that lasted for about $\sim 1000$ seconds; (ii) the equation-of-state of nuclear matter would be stiff enough to
allow survival of a long-lived supra-massive neutron star, so that it is promising to detect bright electromagnetic counterparts of
gravitational wave triggers without short GRB associations in the upcoming Advanced LIGO/Virgo era.
- 1401.2166 from 13 Jan 14
Tsvi Piran et al.: Implications of GRB 130603B and its macronova for r-process nucleosynthesis
The tentative identification of a Li-Paczynski macronova following the short GRB 130603B indicated that a few hundredths of a solar mass of
neutron star matter were ejected and that this ejected mass has radioactively decayed into heavy r-process elements. If correct, this confirms
long standing predictions (Eichler, Livio, Piran and Schramm 1989) that on the one hand, sGRBs are produced in compact binary mergers (CBMs)
and on the other hand that these events are significant and possibly dominant sources of the heavy (A>130) r-process nuclei. Assuming that this
interpretation is correct we obtain a lower limit of 0.02 m_sun on the ejected mass. Using the current estimates of the rate of sGRBs and with
a beaming factor of 50, mergers associated with sGRBs can produce all the observed heavy r-process material in the Universe. We confront this
conclusion with cosmochemistry and show that even though such events are rare, mixing is sufficient to account for the current homogeneous
distribution of r-process material in the Galaxy. However, the appearance of significant amounts of Eu in some very low metallicity stars
requires that some mergers took place very early on, namely with a very short time delay after the earliest star formation episodes.
Alternatively, an additional early r-processsource may have contributed at that early stage. Finally, we note that evidence for short lived
{244}^Pu in the very early solar system suggests that a merger of this kind took place within the vicinity of the solar system shortly (a few
hundred million years) before its formation.
- 1402.5542 from 25 Feb 14
Shlomo Dado et al.: GRB 130603B: No Compelling Evidence For Neutron Star Merger
Near infrared (NIR) flare/rebrightening in the afterglow of the short hard gamma ray burst (SHB) 130603B measured with the Hubble Space
Telescope (HST) and an alleged late-time X-ray excess were interpreted as possible evidence of a neutron-star merger origin of this SHB.
However, the X-ray afterglow that was measured with the Swift-XRT and Newton XMM have the canonical behaviour of a synchrotron afterglow
produced by a highly relativistic jet. The H-band flux observed with HST 9.41 days after burst is that expected from the measured late-time
X-ray afterglow. A late-time flare/re-brightening of a NIR-Optical afterglow of SHB can be produced by jet collision with an interstellar
density bump, or by a kilonova, but jet plus kilonova can be produced also by the collapse of compact stars (neutron star, strange star, or
quark star) to a more compact object due to cooling, loss of angular momentum, or mass accretion.
- 1403.0956 from 6 Mar 14
Hiroki Nagakura et al.: Jet collimation in the ejecta of double neutron star merger: new canonical picture of short gamma-ray bursts
The observations of jet breaks in the afterglows of short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) indicate that the jet has a small opening angle of <
10{\deg}. The collimation mechanism of the jet is a longstanding theoretical problem. We numerically analyze the jet propagation in the
material ejected by double neutron star merger, and demonstrate that if the ejecta mass is > 10^{-2} M_{sun}, the jet is well confined by the
cocoon and emerges from the ejecta with the required collimation angle. Our results also suggest that there are some populations of choked
(failed) SGRBs or low-luminous new types of event. By constructing a model for SGRB 130603B, which is associated with the first
kilonova/macronova can- didate, we infer that the equation-of-state of neutron stars would be soft enough to provide sufficient ejecta to
collimate the jet, if this event was associated with a double neutron star merger.
- 1403.5872 from 25 Mar 14
Hajime Takami et al.: Dust formation in macronovae
We examine dust formation in macronovae (as known as kilonovae), which are the bright ejecta of neutron star binary mergers and one of the
leading sites of r-process nucleosynthesis. We find that dust grains of r-process elements are difficult to form because of the low number
density of the r-process atoms even with their high abundances, while carbon or elements lighter than irons can condense into dust if they are
abundant. Dust grains absorb emission from ejecta with opacity even greater than that of the r-process elements, and re-emit photons in
infrared bands. Such dust emission can potentially account for the first macronova candidate associated with GRB 130603B, and pose an
alternative model without r-process nucleosynthesis in macronovae. This dust scenario predicts a more featureless spectrum than the r-process
model and day-scale optical-to-ultraviolet emission.
- 1410.0966 from 7 Oct 14
Shota Kisaka et al.: Energy Sources and Light Curves of Macronovae
A macronova (kilonova) was discovered with short gamma-ray burst, GRB 130603B, which is widely believed to be powered by the radioactivity of
$r$-process elements synthesized in the ejecta of a neutron star binary merger. As an alternative, we propose that macronovae are energized by
the central engine, i.e., a black hole or neutron star, and the injected energy is emitted after the adiabatic expansion of ejecta. This engine
model is motivated by extended emission of short GRBs. In order to compare the theoretical models with observations, we analytically formulate
the light curves of macronovae. The engine model allows a wider parameter range, especially smaller ejecta mass, and better fit to observations
than the $r$-process model. Future observations of electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational waves should distinguish energy sources and
constrain the activity of central engine and $r$-process nucleosynthesis.
- 1503.06791 from 25 Mar 15
Shota Kisaka et al.: Long-Lasting Black-Hole Jets in Short Gamma-Ray Bursts
Whether a short gamma-ray burst (GRB) is caused by a black hole (BH) or a neutron star (NS) after the merger of a NS binary is a crucial
problem. We propose a BH model that explains short GRBs with long-lasting activities such as extended emission and plateau emission up to
$\sim10000$ s. To extract the BH rotational energy, the topological evolution of the magnetic field should accompany the mass ejection, mass
fallback, and magnetic field reconnection. The observations suggest the magnetic field decay from $\sim10^{14}$ G to $\sim10^{13} - 10^{11}$ G
at the BH, bounded below by the pre-merger strength and kept constant while the luminosity is constant, and the fallback mass of $\sim10^{-4} -
10^{-2} M_{\odot}$, comparable to the ejecta mass implied by the macronova in GRB 130603B. The BH model has implications for gravitational
waves and the equation of state of NS matter.
- 1506.02030 from 9 Jun 15
Shota Kisaka et al.: Isotropic Detectable X-ray Counterparts to Gravitational Waves from Neutron Star Binary Mergers
Neutron star binary mergers are strong sources of gravitational waves (GWs). Promising electromagnetic counterparts are short gamma-ray bursts
(GRBs) but the emission is highly collimated. We propose that the scattering of the long-lasting plateau emission in short GRBs by the merger
ejecta produces nearly isotropic emission for $\sim 10^4$ s with flux $10^{-10}-10^{-13}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ in X-ray. This is detectable
by wide field X-ray detectors such as ISS-Lobster, eROSITA and WF-MAXI, which are desired by the infrared and optical follow-ups to localize
and measure the distance to the host galaxy. The scattered X-rays obtain linear polarization, which correlates with the jet direction, X-ray
luminosity and GW polarizations. The activity of plateau emission is also a natural energy source of a macronova (or kilonova) detected in
short GRB 130603B without the $r$-process radioactivity.
- 1508.05093 from 24 Aug 15
Shota Kisaka et al.: X-ray-powered macronovae
A macronova (or kilonova) was observed as an infrared excess several days after short gamma-ray burst, GRB 130603B. Although the $r$-process
radioactivity is widely discussed as an energy source, it requires huge mass of ejecta from a neutron star (NS) binary merger. We propose that
the X-ray excess simultaneously observed with the infrared excess can naturally heat the ejecta, leading to the thermal re-emission as observed
in infrared. This X-ray-powered model explains both the X-ray and infrared excesses with a single energy source by the central engine like a
black hole, and allows for broader parameter region, in particular smaller ejecta mass $\sim10^{-3}-10^{-2}M_{\odot}$ with iron mixed as
suggested by general relativistic simulations for typical NS-NS mergers, than the previous models. We also discuss the other macronova
candidates in GRB 060614 and GRB 080503, and implications for the search of electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational waves.
- 1601.01692 from 11 Jan 16
Assaf Horesh et al.: Testing the Magnetar Model via Late Time Radio Observations of Two Macronova Candidates
Compact binary mergers may have already been observed as they are the leading model for short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs). Radioactive decay
within the ejecta from these mergers is expected to produce an infra-red flare, dubbed macronova (or kilonova), on a time scale of a week.
Recently two such macronova candidates were identified in followup observations of sGRBs, strengthening the possibility that those indeed arise
from mergers. The same ejecta will also produce a long term (months to years) radio emission due to its interaction with the surrounding ISM.
In search for this emission, we observed the two macronova candidates, GRB 130603B and GRB 060614 with the Jansky very large array (VLA) and
the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). Our observations resulted in null-detections, putting strong upper limits on the kinetic energy
and mass of the ejecta. A possible outcome of a merger is a highly magnetized neutron star (a magnetar), which has been suggested as the
central engine for GRBs. Such a magnetar will deposit a significant fraction of its energy into the ejecta leading to a brighter radio flare.
Our results, therefore, rule out magnetars in these two events.
- 1601.07711 from 29 Jan 16
Kyohei Kawaguchi et al.: Models of Kilonova/macronova emission from black hole-neutron star mergers
Black hole-neutron star mergers are among the promising gravitational-wave sources for ground-based detectors, and gravitational waves from
black hole-neutron mergers are expected to be detected in the next few years. Simultaneous detection of electromagnetic counterparts with
gravitational-wave detection provides rich information about the merger events. Among the possible electromagnetic counterparts from the black
hole-neutron merger, the emission powered by the decay of radioactive r-process nuclei, so called kilonova/macronova, is one of the best
targets for follow-up observation. We derive fitting formulas for the mass and the velocity of ejecta from a generic black hole-neutron merger
based on recently performed numerical relativity simulations. We combined these fitting formulas with a new semi-analytic model for a black
hole-neutron kilonova/macronova lightcurve which reproduces the results of radiation-transfer simulations. Specifically, the semi-analytic
model reproduces the result of each band magnitude obtained by the radiation transfer simulations within ~1 mag. By using this semi-analytic
model, we found that, at 400 Mpc, the kilonova/macronova is as bright as 22-24 mag for the cases with a small chirp mass and a high black hole
spin, and >28 mag for a large chirp mass and a low black hole spin. We also apply our model to GRB130603B as an illustration, and show that a
black hole-neutron merger with a rapidly spinning black hole and a large neutron star radius is favored.
- 1603.07869 from 28 Mar 16
Zhi-Ping Jin et al.: The 050709 macronova and the GRB/macronova connection
We reanalyzed the publicly-available optical/near-infrared afterglow observations of GRB 050709, the first short GRB from which an optical
afterglow was detected. The $I$-band/F814W-band light curve is significantly shallower than the $R$-band light curve. This additional
low-luminosity soft component can be a signature of a Li-Paczy\'{n}ski macronova (also known as kilonova) arising from $\sim 0.05~M_\odot$
r-process material launched by a compact binary merger. As macronovae are relatively weak and soft they can be identified only within the
afterglows of relatively nearby ($z<0.4$) bursts that have sufficient near-infrared/optical data. There are five such events: GRBs 050709,
060505, 060614, 061201 and 130603B. However, the redshift of 061201 is unclear and there is doubt concerning the origin of GRB 060505.
Remarkably, evidence for a macronova signature is found in the afterglow of each one of the remaining three events. This demonstrates that
macronovae are ubiquitous. The significant mass ejection supports the suggestion that these events are significant and possible main sites of
heavy r-process nucleosynthesis. The identification of two of the three macronova candidates in the $I$-band implies a more promising detection
prospect for the ground-based survey.
- 1605.07218 from 25 May 16
Jennifer Barnes et al.: Radioactivity and thermalization in the ejecta of compact object mergers and their impact on kilonova light curves
One of the most promising electromagnetic signatures of compact object mergers are kilonovae: approximately isotropic radioactively-powered
transients that peak days to weeks post-merger. Key uncertainties in modeling kilonovae include the emission profiles of the radioactive decay
products---non-thermal beta- and alpha-particles, fission fragments, and gamma-rays---and the efficiency with which they deposit their energy
in the ejecta. The total radioactive energy and the efficiency of its thermalization sets the luminosity budget and is therefore necessary for
predicting kilonova light curves. We outline the uncertainties in r-process decay, describe the physical processes by which the energy of the
decay products is absorbed in the ejecta, and present time-dependent thermalization efficiencies for each particle type. We determine the net
heating efficiency and explore its dependence on r-process yields---in particular, the production of translead nuclei that undergo
alpha-decay---and on the ejecta's mass, velocity, composition, and magnetic field configuration. We incorporate our results into new
time-dependent, multi-wavelength radiation transport simulations, and calculate updated predictions of kilonova light curves. Thermalization
has a substantial effect on kilonova photometry, reducing the luminosity by a factor of roughly 2 at peak, and by an order of magnitude or more
at later times (15 days or more after explosion). We present simple analytic fits to time-dependent net thermalization efficiencies, which can
easily be used to improve light curve models. We briefly revisit the putative kilonova that accompanied gamma ray burst 130603B, and offer new
estimates of the mass ejected in that event. We find that later-time kilonova light curves can be significantly impacted by alpha-decay from
translead isotopes; data at these times may therefore be diagnostic of ejecta abundances.
- 1605.07235 from 25 May 16
Masaomi Tanaka: Kilonova/Macronova Emission from Compact Binary Mergers
We review current understanding of kilonova/macronova emission from compact binary mergers (mergers of two neutron stars or a neutron star and
a black hole). Kilonova/macronova is optical and near-infrared emission powered by radioactive decays of r-process nuclei. Emission from the
dynamical ejecta with ~0.01 Msun is likely to have a luminosity of ~10^{40}-10^{41} erg s^{-1} with a characteristic timescale of about 1 week.
The spectral peak is located in red optical or near-infrared wavelengths. A subsequent accretion disk wind may provide an additional
luminosity, or an earlier/bluer emission if it is not absorbed by the precedent dynamical ejecta. The detection of near-infrared excess in the
afterglow of short GRB 130603B and possible optical excess in GRB 060614 supports the concept of the kilonova/macronova scenario. At 200 Mpc
distance, a typical brightness of kilonova/macronova with 0.01 Msun ejecta is expected to be about 22 mag and the emission rapidly fades to >24
mag within ~10 days after the merger. Kilonova/macronova candidates can be distinguished from supernovae by (1) the faster time evolution, (2)
fainter absolute magnitudes, and (3) redder colors. To effectively search for such objects, follow-up survey observations with multiple visits
within <10 days and with multiple filters will be important. Since the high expansion velocity (v ~ 0.1-0.2c) is a robust outcome of compact
binary mergers, the detection of smooth spectra will be the smoking gun to conclusively identify the GW source.
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