Work

An Estimation of the Gamma‐Ray Burst Afterglow Apparent Optical Brightness Distribution Function

Year: 2007

Type: article

Abstract: By using recent publicly available observational data obtained in conjunction with the NASA Swift gamma-ray burst (GRB) mission and a novel data analysis technique, we have been able to make some rough estimates of the GRB afterglow apparent optical brightness distribution function. The results suggest that 71% of all burst afterglows have optical magnitudes with m R < 22.1 at 1000 s after the burst onset, the dimmest detected object in the data sample. There is a strong indication that the apparent optical magnitude distribution function peaks at m R ≈ 19.5. Such estimates may prove useful in guiding future plans to improve GRB counterpart observation programs. The employed numerical techniques might find application in a variety of other data analysis problems in which the intrinsic distributions must be inferred from a heterogeneous sample.

Source: The Astrophysical Journal

DOI: 10.1086/523081

Authors: Carl W. Akerlof, Heather F. Swan

Institution: University of Michigan

Language: English

Topic: Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Michigan Space Grant Consortium, Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Awards: PROMPT OPTICAL OBSERVATIONS OF GRBS WITH ROTSE-III (FIRST YEAR), Optical Observations of GRBs: Early and Often, NSF/AFOSR Astronomy: Rapid deep observations of gamma-ray burst optical counterparts