GRB 221009A: Discovery of an Exceptionally Rare Nearby and Energetic Gamma-Ray Burst
Date Issued
2023
Author(s)
Williams, Maia A.
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Kennea, Jamie A.
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Dichiara, S.
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Kobayashi, Kohei
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Iwakiri, Wataru B.
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Beardmore, Andrew P.
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Evans, P. A.
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Heinz, Sebastian
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Lien, Amy
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Oates, S. R.
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Negoro, Hitoshi
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Cenko, S. Bradley
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Buisson, Douglas J. K.
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Hartmann, Dieter H.
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Jaisawal, Gaurava K.
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Kuin, N. P. M.
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Lesage, Stephen
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Page, Kim L.
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Parsotan, Tyler
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Pasham, Dheeraj R.
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Siegel, Michael H.
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Sugita, Satoshi
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Younes, George
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Arzoumanian, Zaven
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•
•
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Caputo, Regina
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•
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D'ELIA, Valerio
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De Pasquale, Massimiliano
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Eyles-Ferris, R. A. J.
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Ferrara, Elizabeth
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Gendreau, Keith C.
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Gropp, Jeffrey D.
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Kawai, Nobuyuki
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Klingler, Noel
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Laha, Sibasish
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Mihara, Tatehiro
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Moss, Michael
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O'Brien, Paul
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Osborne, Julian P.
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Palmer, David M.
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Serino, Motoko
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Sonbas, E.
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Stamatikos, Michael
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Starling, Rhaana
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Tohuvavohu, Aaron
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Zane, Silvia
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Ziaeepour, Houri
Abstract
We report the discovery of the unusually bright long-duration gamma-ray burst (GRB), GRB 221009A, as observed by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (Swift), Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image, and Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer Mission. This energetic GRB was located relatively nearby (z = 0.151), allowing for sustained observations of the afterglow. The large X-ray luminosity and low Galactic latitude (b = 4.°3) make GRB 221009A a powerful probe of dust in the Milky Way. Using echo tomography, we map the line-of-sight dust distribution and find evidence for significant column densities at large distances (≳10 kpc). We present analysis of the light curves and spectra at X-ray and UV-optical wavelengths, and find that the X-ray afterglow of GRB 221009A is more than an order of magnitude brighter at T 0 + 4.5 ks than that from any previous GRB observed by Swift. In its rest frame, GRB 221009A is at the high end of the afterglow luminosity distribution, but not uniquely so. In a simulation of randomly generated bursts, only 1 in 104 long GRBs were as energetic as GRB 221009A; such a large E γ,iso implies a narrow jet structure, but the afterglow light curve is inconsistent with simple top-hat jet models. Using the sample of Swift GRBs with redshifts, we estimate that GRBs as energetic and nearby as GRB 221009A occur at a rate of ≲1 per 1000 yr-making this a truly remarkable opportunity unlikely to be repeated in our lifetime....
Volume
946
Issue
1
Start page
L24
Issn Identifier
2041-8205
Rights
open.access
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