title   
  

Prompt optical detection of GRB 050401 with ROTSE-IIIa

Rykoff, E. S. and Yost, S. A. and Krimm, H. A and Aharonian, F. and Akerlof, C. W. and Alatalo, K. and Ashley, M. C. B. and Barthelmy, S. D. and Gehrels, N. and Göğüş, Ersin and Güver, Tolga and Horns, D. and Kızıloğlu, Ü. and McKay, T. A. and Özel, M. and Phillips, A. and Quimby, R. M. and Rujopakarn, W. and Schaefer, B. E. and Smith, D. A. and Swan, H. F. and Vestrand, W. T. and Wheeler, J. C. and Wren, J. (2005) Prompt optical detection of GRB 050401 with ROTSE-IIIa. The Astrophysical journal, 631 (2). L121-L124. ISSN 0004-637X

[thumbnail of 3011800001138.pdf] PDF
3011800001138.pdf
Restricted to Repository staff only
Download (425kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

The ROTSE-IIIa telescope at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia, detected prompt optical emission from Swift GRB 050401. We present observations of the early optical afterglow, first detected by the ROTSE-IIIa telescope 33 s after the start of -ray emission, contemporaneous with the brightest peak of this emission. This GRB was neither exceptionally long nor bright. This is the first prompt optical detection of a GRB of typical duration and luminosity. We find that the early afterglow decay does not deviate significantly from the power-law decay observable at later times and is uncorrelated with the prompt -ray emission. We compare this detection with the other two GRBs with prompt observations, GRB 990123 and GRB 041219a. All three bursts exhibit quite different behavior at early times.
Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: gamma rays : bursts
Subjects: Q Science > QC Physics
Divisions: Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences
Depositing User: Ersin Göğüş
Date Deposited: 21 Dec 2005 02:00
Last Modified: 26 Apr 2022 08:12
URI: https://research.sabanciuniv.edu/id/eprint/674

Actions (login required)

View Item
View Item