Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: The RAPid Telescopes for Optical Response (RAPTOR) system at Los Alamos National Laboratory observed GRB 050319 starting 25.4 s after γ-ray emission triggered the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) on board the Swift satellite. Our well-sampled light curve of the early optical afterglow is composed of 32 points (derived from 70 exposures) that measure the flux decay during the first hour after the GRB. The GRB 050319 light curve measured by RAPTOR can be described as a relatively gradual flux decline (power-law index α = -0.38) with a transition, at about ~400 s after the GRB, to a faster flux decay (α = -0.91). The addition of other available measurements to the RAPTOR light curve suggests that another emission component emerged after ~10 4 s. We hypothesize that the early afterglow emission is powered by extended energy injection or delayed reverse-shock emission followed by the emergence of forward-shock emission.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
DOI: 10.1086/431975
Authors: P. R. Woźniak, W. T. Vestrand, J. A. Wren, R. R. White, S. M. Evans, D. Casperson
Institution: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2073610560