We report observations of the optical counterpart of the long gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A. Due to the extreme rarity of being both nearby (
Identifying the sites of r-process nucleosynthesis, a primary mechanism of heavy element production, is a key goal of astrophysics. The discovery of the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) to date, GRB 221009A, presented an opportunity to spectroscopically test the idea that r-process elements are produced following the collapse of rapidly rotating massive stars. Here we present James Webb Space Telescope observations of GRB 221009A obtained +168 and +170 rest-frame days after the gamma-ray trigger, and demonstrate that they are well described by a SN 1998bw-like supernova (SN) and power-law afterglow, with no evidence for a component from r-process emission. The SN, with a nickel mass of approximately 0.09
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10500235
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nature Astronomy
- ISSN:
- 2397-3366
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract z = 0.151) and highly energetic (E γ ,iso≥ 1054erg), GRB 221009A offers a unique opportunity to probe the connection between massive star core collapse and relativistic jet formation across a very broad range ofγ -ray properties. Adopting a phenomenological power-law model for the afterglow and host galaxy estimates from high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging, we use Bayesian model comparison techniques to determine the likelihood of an associated supernova (SN) contributing excess flux to the optical light curve. Though not conclusive, we find moderate evidence (K Bayes= 101.2) for the presence of an additional component arising from an associated SN, SN 2022xiw, and find that it must be substantially fainter (<67% as bright at the 99% confidence interval) than SN 1998bw. Given the large and uncertain line-of-sight extinction, we attempt to constrain the SN parameters (M Ni,M ej, andE KE) under several different assumptions with respect to the host galaxy’s extinction. We find properties that are broadly consistent with previous GRB-associated SNe:M Ni= 0.05–0.25M ⊙,M ej= 3.5–11.1M ⊙, andE KE= (1.6–5.2) × 1052erg. We note that these properties are weakly constrained due to the faintness of the SN with respect to the afterglow and host emission, but we do find a robust upper limit onM NiofM Ni< 0.36M ⊙. Given the tremendous range in isotropic gamma-ray energy release exhibited by GRBs (seven orders of magnitude), the SN emission appears to be decoupled from the central engine in these systems. -
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Abstract We present the first results study of the effects of the powerful gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A that occurred on 2022 October 9, and was serendipitously recorded by electron and proton detectors on board the four spacecraft of the NASA THEMIS mission. Long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are powerful cosmic explosions, signaling the death of massive stars, and, among them, GRB 221009A is so far the brightest burst ever observed due to its enormous energy (
E γ iso≈ 1055erg) and proximity (the redshift is z ≈ 0.1505). The THEMIS mission launched in 2008 was designed to study the plasma processes in the Earth’s magnetosphere and the solar wind. The particle flux measurements from the two inner magnetosphere THEMIS probes, THA and THE, and two outer probes (renamed ARTEMIS after 2010), THB and THC, orbiting the Moon captured the dynamics of GRB 221009A with a high time resolution of 4 (up to 8) measurements per second. This allowed us to resolve the fine structure of the GRB and determine the temporal scales of the two main bursts’ spiky structure, complementing the results from gamma-ray space telescopes and detectors.
