Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

An origin for short gamma-ray bursts unassociated with current star formation

Barthelmy, S D ; Chincarini, G ; Burrows, D N ; Gehrels, N ; Covino, S ; Moretti, A ; Romano, P ; O'Brien, P T ; Sarazin, C L and Kouveliotou, C , et al. (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)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Nature
volume
438
pages
994 - 996
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • 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
2023-01-02 23:02:29
@article{3f0b6a8f-e125-4690-9683-6920bbe1e2bf,
  abstract     = {{Two short (&lt; 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}},
}