THE AFTERGLOW AND ENVIRONMENT OF THE SHORT GRB 111117A
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
- Max-Planck-Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik, D-85740 Garching (Germany)
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)
- Thueringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg, Sternwarte 5, D-07778 Tautenburg (Germany)
We present multi-wavelength observations of the afterglow of the short GRB 111117A, and follow-up observations of its host galaxy. From rapid optical and radio observations, we place limits of r {approx}> 25.5 mag at {delta}t Almost-Equal-To 0.55 days and F{sub {nu}}(5.8 GHz) {approx}< 18 {mu}Jy at {delta}t Almost-Equal-To 0.50 days, respectively. However, using a Chandra observation at {delta}t Almost-Equal-To 3.0 days we locate the absolute position of the X-ray afterglow to an accuracy of 0.''22 (1{sigma}), a factor of about six times better than the Swift/XRT position. This allows us to robustly identify the host galaxy and to locate the burst at a projected offset of 1.''25 {+-} 0.''20 from the host centroid. Using optical and near-IR observations of the host galaxy we determine a photometric redshift of z = 1.3{sup +0.3}{sub -0.2}, one of the highest for any short gamma-ray burst (GRB), leading to a projected physical offset for the burst of 10.5 {+-} 1.7 kpc, typical of previous short GRBs. At this redshift, the isotropic {gamma}-ray energy is E{sub {gamma},iso} Almost-Equal-To 3.0 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 51} erg (rest-frame 23-2300 keV) with a peak energy of E{sub pk} Almost-Equal-To 850-2300 keV (rest-frame). In conjunction with the isotropic X-ray energy, GRB 111117A appears to follow our recently reported E{sub x,iso}-E{sub {gamma},iso}-E{sub pk} universal scaling. Using the X-ray data along with the optical and radio non-detections, we find that for a blastwave kinetic energy of E{sub K,iso} Almost-Equal-To E{sub {gamma},iso} erg, the circumburst density is n{sub 0} Almost-Equal-To 3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -4} - 1 cm{sup -3} (for a range of {epsilon}{sub B} = 0.001-0.1). Similarly, from the non-detection of a break in the X-ray light curve at {delta}t {approx}< 3 days, we infer a minimum opening angle for the outflow of {theta}{sub j} {approx}> 3-10 Degree-Sign (depending on the circumburst density). We conclude that Chandra observations of short GRBs are effective at determining precise positions and robust host galaxy associations in the absence of optical and radio detections.
- OSTI ID:
- 22092450
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 756, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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