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Ravasio ME, Salafia OS, Oganesyan G, Mei A, Ghirlanda G, Ascenzi S, Banerjee B, Macera S, Branchesi M, Jonker PG, Levan AJ, Malesani DB, Mulrey KB, Giuliani A, Celotti A, Ghisellini G. A mega-electron volt emission line in the spectrum of a gamma-ray burst. Science 2024; 385:452-455. [PMID: 39052811 DOI: 10.1126/science.adj3638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024]
Abstract
A long gamma-ray burst (GRB) is observed when the collapse of a massive star produces an ultrarelativistic outflow pointed toward Earth. Gamma-ray spectra of long GRBs are smooth, typically modeled by joint power-law segments describing a continuum, with no detected spectral lines. We report a significant (>6σ) narrow emission feature at ~10 mega-electron volts (MeV) in the spectrum of the bright GRB 221009A. Over 80 seconds, it evolves in energy (~12 to ~6 MeV) and in luminosity (~1.1 to <0.43 × 1050 erg second-1) but has a constant width of ~1 MeV. We interpret this feature as a blueshifted spectral line produced by the annihilation of electron-positron pairs, potentially in the same location responsible for emitting the brightest GRB pulses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Edvige Ravasio
- Department of Astrophysics, Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525 AJ, Netherlands
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Merate 23807, Italy
| | - Om Sharan Salafia
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Merate 23807, Italy
- Sezione di Milano-Bicocca, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Milan 20146, Italy
| | - Gor Oganesyan
- Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila I-67100, Italy
- Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, L'Aquila I-67100, Italy
| | - Alessio Mei
- Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila I-67100, Italy
- Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, L'Aquila I-67100, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Ghirlanda
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Merate 23807, Italy
- Sezione di Milano-Bicocca, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Milan 20146, Italy
| | - Stefano Ascenzi
- Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila I-67100, Italy
- Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, L'Aquila I-67100, Italy
- Institute of Space Sciences, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Campus Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona E-08193, Spain
- Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya, Barcelona E-08034, Spain
| | - Biswajit Banerjee
- Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila I-67100, Italy
- Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, L'Aquila I-67100, Italy
| | - Samanta Macera
- Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila I-67100, Italy
- Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, L'Aquila I-67100, Italy
| | - Marica Branchesi
- Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila I-67100, Italy
- Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, L'Aquila I-67100, Italy
| | - Peter G Jonker
- Department of Astrophysics, Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525 AJ, Netherlands
- Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Leiden 2333 CA, Netherlands
| | - Andrew J Levan
- Department of Astrophysics, Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525 AJ, Netherlands
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Daniele B Malesani
- Department of Astrophysics, Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525 AJ, Netherlands
- Cosmic Dawn Center, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen N 2200, Denmark
| | - Katharine B Mulrey
- Department of Astrophysics, Institute for Mathematics, Astrophysics and Particle Physics, Radboud University, Nijmegen 6525 AJ, Netherlands
- Nationaal Instituut voor Kernfysica en Hoge-Energiefysica, Amsterdam 1098 XG, Netherlands
| | - Andrea Giuliani
- Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Milan I-20133, Italy
| | - Annalisa Celotti
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Merate 23807, Italy
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Trieste I-34136, Italy
- Sezione di Trieste, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Trieste I-34127, Italy
| | - Gabriele Ghisellini
- Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Merate 23807, Italy
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Razzaque S, Mészáros P, Waxman E. High energy neutrinos from gamma-ray bursts with precursor supernovae. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2003; 90:241103. [PMID: 12857183 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.90.241103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2002] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The high energy neutrino signature from proton-proton and photo-meson interactions in a supernova remnant shell ejected prior to a gamma-ray burst provides a test for the precursor supernova, or supranova, model of gamma-ray bursts. Protons in the supernova remnant shell and photons entrapped from a supernova explosion or a pulsar wind from a fast-rotating neutron star remnant provide ample targets for protons escaping the internal shocks of the gamma-ray burst to interact and produce high energy neutrinos. We calculate the expected neutrino fluxes, which can be detected by current and future experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soebur Razzaque
- Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
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Reeves JN, Watson D, Osborne JP, Pounds KA, O'Brien PT, Short ADT, Turner MJL, Watson MG, Mason KO, Ehle M, Schartel N. The signature of supernova ejecta in the X-ray afterglow of the gamma-ray burst 011211. Nature 2002; 416:512-5. [PMID: 11932738 DOI: 10.1038/416512a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 170] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Now that gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been determined to lie at cosmological distances, their isotropic burst energies are estimated to be as high as 1054 erg (ref. 2), making them the most energetic phenomena in the Universe. The nature of the progenitors responsible for the bursts remains, however, elusive. The favoured models range from the merger of two neutron stars in a binary system to the collapse of a massive star. Spectroscopic studies of the afterglow emission could reveal details of the environment of the burst, by indicating the elements present, the speed of the outflow and an estimate of the temperature. Here we report an X-ray spectrum of the afterglow of GRB011211, which shows emission lines of magnesium, silicon, sulphur, argon, calcium and possibly nickel, arising in metal-enriched material with an outflow velocity of the order of one-tenth the speed of light. These observations strongly favour models where a supernova explosion from a massive stellar progenitor precedes the burst event and is responsible for the outflowing matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- J N Reeves
- X-ray Astronomy Group, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.
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Mészáros P. Gamma-Ray bursts: accumulating afterglow implications, progenitor clues, and prospects. Science 2001; 291:79-84. [PMID: 11141551 DOI: 10.1126/science.291.5501.79] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are sudden, intense flashes of gamma rays that, for a few blinding seconds, light up in an otherwise fairly dark gamma-ray sky. They are detected at the rate of about once a day, and while they are on, they outshine every other gamma-ray source in the sky, including the sun. Major advances have been made in the last 3 or 4 years, including the discovery of slowly fading x-ray, optical, and radio afterglows of GRBs, the identification of host galaxies at cosmological distances, and evidence showing that many GRBs are associated with star-forming regions and possibly supernovae. Progress has been made in understanding how the GRB and afterglow radiation arises in terms of a relativistic fireball shock model. These advances have opened new vistas and questions on the nature of the central engine, the identity of their progenitors, the effects of the environment, and their possible gravitational wave, cosmic ray, and neutrino luminosity. The debates on these issues indicate that GRBs remain among the most mysterious puzzles in astrophysics.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Mészáros
- Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16803, USA.
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Amati L, Frontera F, Vietri M, in 't Zand JJ, Soffitta P, Costa E, Del Sordo S, Pian E, Piro L, Antonelli LA, Fiume DD, Feroci M, Gandolfi G, Guidorzi C, Heise J, Kuulkers E, Masetti N, Montanari E, Nicastro L, Orlandini M, Palazzi E. Discovery of a transient absorption edge in the X-ray spectrum of GRB 990705. Science 2000; 290:953-5. [PMID: 11062120 DOI: 10.1126/science.290.5493.953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
We report the discovery of a transient equivalent hydrogen column density with an absorption edge at approximately 3.8 kiloelectron volts in the spectrum of the prompt x-ray emission of gamma-ray burst (GRB) 990705. This feature can be satisfactorily modeled with a photoelectric absorption by a medium located at a redshift of approximately 0.86 and with an iron abundance of approximately 75 times the solar one. The transient behavior is attributed to the strong ionization produced in the circumburst medium by the GRB photons. The high iron abundance points to the existence of a burst environment enriched by a supernova along the line of sight. The supernova explosion is estimated to have occurred about 10 years before the burst. Our results agree with models in which GRBs originate from the collapse of very massive stars and are preceded by a supernova event.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Amati
- Istituto di Tecnologie e Studio delle Radiazioni Extraterrestri, CNR, Via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy.
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