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A nearby long gamma-ray burst from a merger of compact objects

Author

Listed:
  • E. Troja

    (University of Rome “Tor Vergata”
    Arizona State University)

  • C. L. Fryer

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

  • B. O’Connor

    (The George Washington University
    The George Washington University
    University of Maryland
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

  • G. Ryan

    (Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics)

  • S. Dichiara

    (The Pennsylvania State University)

  • A. Kumar

    (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES)
    Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University
    University of Warwick)

  • N. Ito

    (Tokyo Institute of Technology)

  • R. Gupta

    (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES)
    Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University)

  • R. T. Wollaeger

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

  • J. P. Norris

    (Boise State University)

  • N. Kawai

    (Tokyo Institute of Technology)

  • N. R. Butler

    (Arizona State University)

  • A. Aryan

    (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES)
    Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University)

  • K. Misra

    (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES))

  • R. Hosokawa

    (Tokyo Institute of Technology)

  • K. L. Murata

    (Tokyo Institute of Technology)

  • M. Niwano

    (Tokyo Institute of Technology)

  • S. B. Pandey

    (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES))

  • A. Kutyrev

    (University of Maryland
    NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

  • H. J. van Eerten

    (University of Bath)

  • E. A. Chase

    (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

  • Y.-D. Hu

    (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), CSIC)

  • M. D. Caballero-Garcia

    (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), CSIC)

  • A. J. Castro-Tirado

    (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), CSIC
    Universidad de Málaga)

Abstract

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are flashes of high-energy radiation arising from energetic cosmic explosions. Bursts of long (greater than two seconds) duration are produced by the core-collapse of massive stars1, and those of short (less than two seconds) duration by the merger of compact objects, such as two neutron stars2. A third class of events with hybrid high-energy properties was identified3, but never conclusively linked to a stellar progenitor. The lack of bright supernovae rules out typical core-collapse explosions4–6, but their distance scales prevent sensitive searches for direct signatures of a progenitor system. Only tentative evidence for a kilonova has been presented7,8. Here we report observations of the exceptionally bright GRB 211211A, which classify it as a hybrid event and constrain its distance scale to only 346 megaparsecs. Our measurements indicate that its lower-energy (from ultraviolet to near-infrared) counterpart is powered by a luminous (approximately 1042 erg per second) kilonova possibly formed in the ejecta of a compact object merger.

Suggested Citation

  • E. Troja & C. L. Fryer & B. O’Connor & G. Ryan & S. Dichiara & A. Kumar & N. Ito & R. Gupta & R. T. Wollaeger & J. P. Norris & N. Kawai & N. R. Butler & A. Aryan & K. Misra & R. Hosokawa & K. L. Murat, 2022. "A nearby long gamma-ray burst from a merger of compact objects," Nature, Nature, vol. 612(7939), pages 228-231, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:612:y:2022:i:7939:d:10.1038_s41586-022-05327-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05327-3
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