An origin for short gamma-ray bursts unassociated with current star formation
(2005) In Nature 438. p.994-996- Abstract
- Two short (< 2 s) gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have recently been localized(1-4) and fading afterglow counterparts detected(2-4). The combination of these two results left unclear the nature of the host galaxies of the bursts, because one was a star-forming dwarf, while the other was probably an elliptical galaxy. Here we report the X-ray localization of a short burst (GRB 050724) with unusual gamma-ray and X-ray properties. The X-ray afterglow lies off the centre of an elliptical galaxy at a redshift of z = 0.258 (ref. 5), coincident with the position determined by ground-based optical and radio observations(6-8). The low level of star formation typical for elliptical galaxies makes it unlikely that the burst originated in a supernova... (More)
- Two short (< 2 s) gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have recently been localized(1-4) and fading afterglow counterparts detected(2-4). The combination of these two results left unclear the nature of the host galaxies of the bursts, because one was a star-forming dwarf, while the other was probably an elliptical galaxy. Here we report the X-ray localization of a short burst (GRB 050724) with unusual gamma-ray and X-ray properties. The X-ray afterglow lies off the centre of an elliptical galaxy at a redshift of z = 0.258 (ref. 5), coincident with the position determined by ground-based optical and radio observations(6-8). The low level of star formation typical for elliptical galaxies makes it unlikely that the burst originated in a supernova explosion. A supernova origin was also ruled out for GRB 050709 ( refs 3, 31), even though that burst took place in a galaxy with current star formation. The isotropic energy for the short bursts is 2 - 3 orders of magnitude lower than that for the long bursts. Our results therefore suggest that an alternative source of bursts - the coalescence of binary systems of neutron stars or a neutron star-black hole pair - are the progenitors of short bursts. (Less)
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- author
- organization
- publishing date
- 2005
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- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Nature
- volume
- 438
- pages
- 994 - 996
- publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- external identifiers
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- pmid:16355219
- wos:000233934600061
- scopus:30744479179
- pmid:16355219
- ISSN
- 0028-0836
- DOI
- 10.1038/nature04392
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 3f0b6a8f-e125-4690-9683-6920bbe1e2bf (old id 211089)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 11:45:50
- date last changed
- 2024-04-08 11:38:03
@article{3f0b6a8f-e125-4690-9683-6920bbe1e2bf, abstract = {{Two short (< 2 s) gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have recently been localized(1-4) and fading afterglow counterparts detected(2-4). The combination of these two results left unclear the nature of the host galaxies of the bursts, because one was a star-forming dwarf, while the other was probably an elliptical galaxy. Here we report the X-ray localization of a short burst (GRB 050724) with unusual gamma-ray and X-ray properties. The X-ray afterglow lies off the centre of an elliptical galaxy at a redshift of z = 0.258 (ref. 5), coincident with the position determined by ground-based optical and radio observations(6-8). The low level of star formation typical for elliptical galaxies makes it unlikely that the burst originated in a supernova explosion. A supernova origin was also ruled out for GRB 050709 ( refs 3, 31), even though that burst took place in a galaxy with current star formation. The isotropic energy for the short bursts is 2 - 3 orders of magnitude lower than that for the long bursts. Our results therefore suggest that an alternative source of bursts - the coalescence of binary systems of neutron stars or a neutron star-black hole pair - are the progenitors of short bursts.}}, author = {{Barthelmy, S D and Chincarini, G and Burrows, D N and Gehrels, N and Covino, S and Moretti, A and Romano, P and O'Brien, P T and Sarazin, C L and Kouveliotou, C and Goad, M and Vaughan, S and Tagliaferri, G and Zhang, B and Antonelli, L A and Campana, S and Cummings, J R and D'Avanzo, P and Davies, Melvyn B and Giommi, P and Grupe, D and Kaneko, Y and Kennea, J A and King, A and Kobayashi, S and Melandri, A and Meszaros, P and Nousek, J A and Patel, S and Sakamoto, T and Wijers, R A M J}}, issn = {{0028-0836}}, language = {{eng}}, pages = {{994--996}}, publisher = {{Nature Publishing Group}}, series = {{Nature}}, title = {{An origin for short gamma-ray bursts unassociated with current star formation}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature04392}}, doi = {{10.1038/nature04392}}, volume = {{438}}, year = {{2005}}, }