The host of GRB 060206: kinematics of a distant galaxy
Christina C. Thoene, Klaas Wiersema, Cedric Ledoux, Rhaana L. C. Starling, Antonio de Ugarte Postigo, Andrew J. Levan, Johan P. U. Fynbo, Peter A. Curran, Javie… 展开作者
Christina C. Thoene, Klaas Wiersema, Cedric Ledoux, Rhaana L. C. Starling, Antonio de Ugarte Postigo, Andrew J. Levan, Johan P. U. Fynbo, Peter A. Curran, Javier Gorosabel, Alexander J. van der Horst, Alvaro LLorente, Evert Rol, Nial R. Tanvir, Paul M. Vreeswijk, Ralph A. M. J. Wijers, Lisa J. Kewley
备注：
13 pages, 6 figures, submitted to A&A; revised version: accepted for publication in A&A, analysis of HST images and Subaru spectra for the intervening system added, text revised
We present early (starting 1.6h after the burst) WHT/ISIS optical spectroscopy of the afterglow of the gamma-ray burst GRB 060206 detecting a range of metal absorption lines and their fine-structure transitions. Additional information is provided by the afterglow lightcurve. The resolution and wavelength range of the spectra and the bright afterglow facilitate a detailed study and fitting of the absorption line systems in order to derive column densities. We also use deep imaging to detect the host galaxy and probe the nature of an intervening system at z = 1.48 seen in absorption in the afterglow spectra. We detect four discrete velocity systems in the resonant metal absorption lines, best explained by shells within and/or around the host created by starburst winds. The fine-structure lines have no less than three components with strengths decreasing from the redmost components. We therefore suggest that the fine-structure lines are best explained to be produced by UV pumping from which follows that the redmost component is the one closest to the burst where also NV was detected. The host is detected in deep HST imaging with F814W_AB = 27.48 +- 0.19 mag and a 3 sigma upper limit of H = 20.6 mag (Vega) is achieved. A candidate counterpart for the intervening absorption system is detected as well, which is quite exceptional for an absorber in the sightline towards a GRB afterglow. The intervening system shows no temporal evolution as claimed by Hao et al. (2007) which we prove from our WHT spectra taken before and Subaru spectra taken during the observations from Hao et al.
In the last years the research on GRB host galaxies has proceeded to more detailed studies both using high resolution afterglow spectroscopy and spatially resolved spectra of nearby hosts. High resolution spectra give a detailed picture of the kinematic properties of matter along the line-of-sight in the host. Two afterglow spectra show clear indications for outflows from their host, namely GRB 030329 and GRB 060206, derived from the position of absorption and host emission lines, nonvariability of Mg I and the radiation field calculated from fine-structure line detections. In nearby GRB hosts…
Long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) release copious amounts of energy across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, and so provide a window into the process of black hole formation from the collapse of a massive star. Over the last forty years, our understanding of the GRB phenomenon has progressed dramatically; nevertheless, fortuitous circumstances occasionally arise that provide access to a regime not yet probed. GRB 080319B presented such an opportunity, with extraordinarily bright prompt optical emission that peaked at a visual magnitude of 5.3, making it briefly visible with the naked ey…
We explore the extinction properties of the dust in the distant universe through the afterglows of high-redshifted GRBs based on the "Drude" model which, unlike previous studies, does not require a prior assumption of template extinction laws. We select GRB070802 at z~2.45 (which shows clear evidence for the 2175Åextinction bump) and GRB050904 at z~6.29, the 2nd most distant GRB observed to date. We fit their afterglow spectra to determine the extinction of their host galaxies. We find that (1) their extinction curves differ substantially from that of the Milky Way, the Small and Large Magella…
(Abridged) We study the impact of cluster environment on the evolution of spiral galaxies by examining their structure and kinematics. Rather than two-dimensional rotation curves, we observe complete velocity fields by placing three adjacent and parallel FORS2 MXU slits on each object, yielding several emission and absorption lines. The gas velocity fields are reconstructed and decomposed into circular rotation and irregular motions using kinemetry. To quantify irregularities in the gas kinematics, we define three parameters: sigma_{PA} (standard deviation of the kinematic position angle), Del…
We present optical spectra of the host galaxies of the short-duration gamma-ray burst GRB 070429B and the likely short-duration with extended emission GRB 070714B. In both cases, we find a single emission line that we identify as O II lambda 3727 at z ~ 0.9. Both events are more distant than any previous short-duration GRB with a secure host association from the sub-arcsecond position of an optical afterglow. GRBs 070429B and 070714B provide strong evidence in support of our previous claims in Berger et al. that a significant fraction of short-duration hosts (>~ 33%) reside at z > 0.7. We disc…
(Abridged) We use VLT/UVES high-resolution optical spectroscopy of seven GRB afterglows at z_GRB>2 to investigate circumburst and interstellar plasma in the host galaxies. Our sample consists of GRBs 021004, 050730, 050820, 050922C, 060607, 071031, and 080310. Four of these spectra were taken in rapid-response mode, within 30 minutes of the Swift GRB detection. We identify several distinct categories of high-ion absorption at velocities close to z_GRB: (i) Strong high-ion components at z_GRB itself are always seen in OVI, CIV, and SiIV, and usually (in 6 of 7 cases) in NV. We discuss circumbur…
GRB 080913 and GRB 090423 are the most distant gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) known to-date, with spectroscopically determined redshifts of z=6.7 and z=8.1, respectively. The detection of bursts at this early epoch of the Universe significantly constrains the nature of GRBs and their progenitors. We perform population synthesis studies of the formation and evolution of early stars, and calculate the resulting formation rates of short and long-duration GRBs at high redshift. The peak of the GRB rate from Population II stars occurs at z=7 for a model with efficient/fast mixing of metals, while it is fo…
Gamma-ray bursts are powerful probes of the early universe, but locating and identifying very distant GRBs remains challenging. We report here the discovery of the K-band afterglow of Swift GRB 060923A, imaged within the first hour post-burst, and the faintest so far found. It was not detected in any bluer bands to deep limits, making it a candidate very high redshift burst (z>11). However, our later-time optical imaging and spectroscopy reveal a faint galaxy coincident with the GRB position which, if it is the host, implies a more moderate redshift (most likely z<2.8) and therefore that dust …
Scattering by interstellar dust grains can produce time variable X-ray halos around gamma-ray bursts (GRB). In particular, an X-ray expanding ring is expected when a short pulse of X-ray radiation is scattered by a narrow layer of dust in our Galaxy. We present a new method to detect and analyze dust scattering expanding rings around gamma-ray bursts, using as an example XMM-Newton data of GRB 031203. Consistent with previous reports (Vaughan et al. 2004), we find that the two expanding rings observed in this burst are due to dust unevenly distributed in two layers at distances of 870 and 1384…
(abbreviated) We present the first results of the ESO large program, ``IMAGES'' which aims at obtaining robust measurements of the kinematics of distant galaxies using the multi-IFU mode of GIRAFFE on the VLT. 3D spectroscopy is essential to robustly measure the often distorted kinematics of distant galaxies (e.g., Flores et al. 2006). We derive the velocity fields and $σ$-maps of 36 galaxies at 0.4<z<0.75 from the kinematics of the [OII] emission line doublet, and generate a robust technique to identify the nature of the velocity fields based on the pixels of the highest signal-to-noise ratio…
The Swift discovered GRB080319B was by far the most distant source ever observed at naked eye brightness, reaching a peak apparent magnitude of 5.3 at a redshift of z=0.937. We present our late-time optical (HST, Gemini & VLT) and X-ray (Chandra) observations, which confirm that an achromatic break occurred in the power-law afterglow light curve at ~11 days post-burst. This most likely indicates that the gamma-ray burst (GRB) outflow was collimated, which for a uniform jet would imply a total energy in the jet E_{jet} \gsim 10^{52} erg. Our observations also show a late-time excess of red ligh…
We report on the detection by Swift of GRB 080913, and subsequent optical/near-infrared follow-up observations by GROND which led to the discovery of its optical/NIR afterglow and the recognition of its high-z nature via the detection of a spectral break between the i' and z' bands. Spectroscopy obtained at the ESO-VLT revealed a continuum extending down to lambda = 9400 A, and zero flux for 7500 A < lambda<9400 A, which we interpret as the onset of a Gunn-Peterson trough at z=6.695+-0.025 (95.5% conf. level), making GRB 080913 the highest redshift GRB to date, and more distant than the highes…
The optical flare and afterglow light curve of GRB 050904 at redshift z=6.29
GRB 050904非常有趣，因为它是迄今为止已知的最遥远的GRB事件（$z=6.29$）。据报道，在瞬发高能发射阶段，探测到一个非常明亮的光学耀斑，它与X射线耀斑在时间上是一致的。本文用两种模型来解释耀斑，一种是“晚期内激波模型”，其中耀斑是由晚期内激波加速的电子的同步辐射产生的，而X射线耀斑是由同步辐射自康普顿机制产生的。另一种是外部正-反激波模型，其中光学耀斑来自反激波发射，X射线耀斑归因于中心发动机活动。我们发现，在适当的参数，一个明亮的光学耀斑可以出现在这两个模型。我们认为“晚期内激波模型”更受青睐，因为在该模型中，闪光和X射线耀斑具有相同的起源，这为它们的时间重合提供了一个自然的解释。在前向-反向激波的情况下，对光学耀斑和后期余辉的拟合表明，反向激波的物理参数与前向激波的物理参数有很大的不同，正如先前在GRB 990123的光学闪光的模拟中所发现的那样。
