Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Gendre, B.
• Stratta, G.
• Atteia, J. L.
• Basa, S.
• Boër, M.
• Coward, D. M.
• Cutini, S.
• D'Elia, V.
• Howell, E. J
• Klotz, A.
• Piro, L.

Titel

THE ULTRA-LONG GAMMA-RAY BURST 111209A: THE COLLAPSE OF A BLUE SUPERGIANT?

Ist Teil von

• The Astrophysical journal, 2013-03, Vol.766 (1), p.30

Ort / Verlag

United States: American Astronomical Society

Erscheinungsjahr

2013

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• We present optical, X-ray and gamma-ray observations of GRB 111209A, at a redshift of z = 0.677. We show that this event was active in its prompt phase for about 25000 seconds, making it the longest burst ever observed. This rare event could have been detected up to z ~ 1.4. Compared to other long GRBs, GRB 111209A is a clear outlier in the energy-fluence and duration plane. The high-energy prompt emission shows no sign of a strong black body component, as expected if the event was caused by a tidal disruption event or a supernova shock breakout. Given the extreme longevity of this event, and a lack of a supernova signature, we propose that GRB 111209A is a relatively rare stellar collapse of a low metallicity blue super giant star. Only this progenitor can supply mass to the central engine over a duration of thousands of seconds. Hence, GRB 111209A could have more in common with population III stellar explosions, rather than normal long gamma ray bursts.