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Title: The high-redshift gamma-ray burst GRB 140515A

Journal Article · · Astronomy and Astrophysics
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [1];  [1];  [8];  [1];  [9];  [1];  [10];  [11];  [2];  [9];  [12] more »;  [13];  [7];  [14];  [15];  [1] « less
  1. INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico Brera, Merate (Italy)
  2. Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (IAA-CSIC), Granada (Spain); Univ. del Pais Vasco (UPV/EHU), Bilbao (Spain); Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao (Spain)
  3. INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico Brera, Merate (Italy); Univ. degli Studi dell'Insubria, Como (Italy)
  4. The Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem, Jerusalem (Israel)
  5. Univ. of Ljubljana, Ljubljana (Slovenia)
  6. Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (IAA-CSIC), Granada (Spain); Univ. of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark)
  7. Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (IAA-CSIC), Granada (Spain)
  8. ASI - Science Data Center, Roma (Italy); INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Monte Porzio Catone (Italy)
  9. Stockholm Univ., Stockholm (Sweden)
  10. Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States)
  11. Univ. Paris Diderot, Paris (France)
  12. Univ. of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark)
  13. INAF - IASF Milano, Milano (Italy)
  14. INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico Brera, Merate (Italy); Univ. Paris Diderot, Meudon (France)
  15. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China); Univ. of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark)
+ Show Author Affiliations

High-redshift gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) offer several advantages when studying the distant Universe, providing unique information about the structure and properties of the galaxies in which they exploded. Spectroscopic identification with large ground-based telescopes has improved our knowledge of this kind of distant events. We present the multi-wavelength analysis of the high-zSwift GRB GRB 140515A (z = 6.327). The best estimate of the neutral hydrogen fraction of the intergalactic medium towards the burst is xHI ≤ 0.002. The spectral absorption lines detected for this event are the weakest lines ever observed in GRB afterglows, suggesting that GRB 140515A exploded in a very low-density environment. Its circum-burst medium is characterised by an average extinction (AV ~ 0.1) that seems to be typical of z ≥ 6 events. The observed multi-band light curves are explained either with a very hard injected spectrum (p = 1.7) or with a multi-component emission (p = 2.1). In the second case a long-lasting central engine activity is needed in order to explain the late time X-ray emission. Furthermore, the possible origin of GRB 140515A in a Pop III (or in a Pop II star with a local environment enriched by Pop III) massive star is unlikely.

Research Organization:
Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-07CH11359
OSTI ID:
1212678
Report Number(s):
FERMILAB-PUB-15-294-A; arXiv eprint number arXiv:1506.03079
Journal Information:
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Vol. 581, Issue 9; ISSN 0004-6361
Publisher:
EDP SciencesCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 20 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (12)

The X-shooter GRB afterglow legacy sample (XS-GRB) journal March 2019
X-shooting GRBs at high redshift: probing dust production history* journal July 2018
The fraction of ionizing radiation from massive stars that escapes to the intergalactic medium journal December 2018
A Comparative Study of long and Short Grbs. i. Overlapping Properties journal November 2016
Modeling the Multiband Afterglows of GRB 060614 and GRB 060908: Further Evidence for a Double Power-law Hard Electron Energy Spectrum journal April 2018
The Properties of GRB 120923A at a Spectroscopic Redshift of z ≈ 7.8 journal September 2018
A Metal-poor Damped Ly α System at Redshift 6.4 journal October 2019
The properties of GRB 120923A at a spectroscopic redshift of z=7.8 text January 2017
Modeling the Multi-band Afterglows of GRB 060614 and GRB 060908: Further Evidence for a Double Power-Law Hard Electron Energy Spectrum text January 2018
The X-shooter GRB afterglow legacy sample (XS-GRB) text January 2018
The fraction of ionizing radiation from massive stars that escapes to the intergalactic medium text January 2018
X-shooting GRBs at high redshift: probing dust production history text January 2018

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Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
gamma-ray burst: general
gamma-ray burst: individual: GRB 140515A
galaxies: high-redshift
intergalactic medium