GRB 000926
GCN Circular 1091
Subject
GRB000926, Host Galaxy Observations
Date
2001-09-08T07:45:25Z (24 years ago)
From
Vladimir Sokolov at SAO RAS <sokolov@sao.ru>
S. Dodonov, T. Fatkhullin, V. Sokolov (SAO RAS), Andrew Fruchter (STScI),
V. Komarova, A. Moiseev (SAO RAS), A. Cherepashchuk, K. Postnov (SAI-MSU Moscow)
report:
"On July 24 and 25, 2001 UT, we have observed the field of the optical
transient of GRB 000926 (Fynbo et al., 2001, A&A, 373, 796).
We have obtained B, V, Rc, Ic images with the SCORPIO
(http://www.sao.ru/~moisav/scorpio/scorpio.html) at the
6-m telescope of SAO RAS. Photometric conditions were good and
the seeing was about 1.3 arcsec. Photometric calibration was
performed using Stetson standards in Landolt standard field PG1633.
At the position of the optical transient we have detected an object -
a host galaxy. At about 3" to the East from the OT position an extended
emission is clearly seen. This extended emission is most likely the galaxy
seen in early HST image (see Price et al., 2001, ApJ, 549, L7) and its
association with the host is unclear.
The exposure times and magnitudes of the object are:
Filter Exposure (sec.) Magnitude Aperture
---------------------------------------------------------
B 2500 26.13 +/- 0.17 2.0 arcsec
V 1500 25.85 +/- 0.22 2.0 arcsec
Rc 1260 26.31+/- 0.25 2.0 arcsec
Ic 1800 24.7 +/- 0.4 2.0 arcsec
---------------------------------------------------------
The faint R-band magnitude can be explained by a graphite band
as on the Galactic extinction curves. Indeed, for the redshift z=2.0369
(Castro et al., GCN #851) this band (2200A) goes to the observed R-band.
If so, then this is the second case of direct observations of this
feature (see Sokolov et al., 2001, A&A, 372, 438, the case of the HG
GRB 980703).
We also performed the photometry of entire system of the objects using
an aperture of 4.5 arcsec. Below we present the obtained magnitudes:
Filter Exposure (sec.) Magnitude Aperture
---------------------------------------------------------
B 2500 24.73 +/- 0.11 4.5 arcsec
V 1500 24.81 +/- 0.19 4.5 arcsec
Rc 1800* 24.38+/- 0.10 4.5 arcsec
Ic 1800 23.68 +/- 0.30 4.5 arcsec
---------------------------------------------------------
* The R-band data obtained on 25 Aug. are coadded.
Images can be seen at
http://www.sao.ru/~sokolov/GRB/HOSTS/GRB000926/GRB000926.html
This message may be cited".
-Vladimir Sokolov, on behalf of the RAS Special Astrophysical Observatory
GRB followup team.
GCN Circular 1088
Subject
GRB000926 Host Galaxy Observations
Date
2001-08-22T15:38:47Z (24 years ago)
From
Fiona Harrison at CalTech <fiona@srl.caltech.edu>
F. A. Harrison, T. J. Galama, J. S. Bloom, S. M. Castro,
S. R. Kulkarni (Caltech) report on behalf of the CIT-NRAO-CARA
collaboration:
"We have obtained HST WFPC2 images of the host of GRB 000926 in three
filters. The observations spanned from UT May 19 19.63 - 19.86 2001, 238
days after the event. The images reaveal a compact knot of emission the
center of which is consistent with the location of the optical transient.
We interpret this to be the host galaxy of GRB 000926. The knot is
reasonably bright, corresponding to about 25 mag in R, and appears to be
marginally extended, with a FWHM of 0.3 arcsec."
An image of the host may be found at:
http://www.srl.caltech.edu/~fiona/grb000926host.eps
This message may be cited.
GCN Circular 871
Subject
GRB000926: R-image of the host galaxy
Date
2000-11-01T17:23:20Z (25 years ago)
From
Johan U. Fynbo at ESO,Garching <jfynbo@eso.org>
J. P. U. Fynbo, P. Moller (ESO, Garching)
I. Burud (University of Liege), M. I. Andersen (University of Oulu),
J. Gorosabel (DSRI, Copenhagen),
J. Hjorth, B. L. Jensen, H. Pedersen (U. of Copenhagen) report :
"Using the ALFOSC on the 2.5m Nordic Optical Telescope, we have
obtained 4700sec of further R-band imaging of the Optical Transient
(OT) of GRB 000926 (GCN #801, #803, #804) on 2000 October 27.
The seeing was 1.1 arcsec.
Near the position of the OT we detect extended emission, which most
likely is from the host galaxy of GRB000926. There are several knots of
emission. One of these knots coincides with the precise position of the
OT. The magnitude of the galaxy measured in a circular aperture with
diameter 5.7 arcsec is about R=23.9 in good agreement with estimates
based on the flattening of the OT light-curve (GCN #840, #850).
A 10.5x10.5 arcsec^2 section of the combined R-band image centred on
the position of the OT (marked by a circle) can be seen at
http://www.astro.ku.dk/~brian_j/grb/grb000926"
GCN Circular 851
Subject
GRB 000926: Improved Absorber Redshift
Date
2000-10-14T23:58:55Z (25 years ago)
From
George Djorgovski at Caltech/Palomar <george@oracle.caltech.edu>
Sandra M. Castro, S. G. Djorgovski, S. R. Kulkarni, J. S. Bloom, T. J. Galama,
F. A. Harrison (Caltech), and D. A. Frail (NRAO), report on behalf of a
large collaboration:
We analysed high-resolution spectra of the optical afterglow of GRB 000926
kindly obtained at the WMKO Keck-II telescope by L. Cowie, A. Barger, et al.
on UT 2000 September 29.26, using the ESI instrument (an Echelle spectrograph).
Our preliminary analysis yields a single absorption system including the
following lines: Si II 1526.7, C IV 1548.2 and 1550.5, Al II 1670.8, Si II
1808.0, Al III 1854.7 and 1862.8, Zn II 2026.1, Fe II 2344.2, 2373.7, 2382.8,
2586.6, and 2600.2, Mg II 2796.3 and 2803.5, and Mg I 2853.0. The mean
redshift is z = 2.0369 +- 0.0007, presumably corresponding to the system
identified by Fynbo et al. (GCN 807) as having z ~ 2.066. However, we see
no evidence for any other absorption systems in these data; in particular,
the ostensible system at z = 1.378 proposed by Fynbo et al. is likely due to
line misidentifications.
We note that the line equivalent widths appear to be unusually strong in
comparison to the general population of metallic line absorbers seen in the
spectra of quasars, suggesting a high column density and/or metallicity of
the intervening gas. A more detailed analysis is in progress.
This note can be cited.
GCN Circular 850
Subject
V,R,I band observations of GRB000926
Date
2000-10-14T18:11:47Z (25 years ago)
From
Evert Rol at U.Amsterdam <evert@astro.uva.nl>
E. Rol, P. M. Vreeswijk (U. of Amsterdam) and N. Tanvir (U. of
Hertfordshire), on behalf of a larger collaboration, report:
We have obtained Sloan i and Harris R & V band images of the field of
GRB 000926 (GCN #801), using the Wide Field Camera on the 2.5m Isaac
Newton Telescope at La Palma. Using aperture photometry (with a radius
twice the FWHM), we find the magnitude of the OT, relative
to the reference star of Halpern et al. (GCN #824), to be as follows:
date (UT) filter rel-mag error exp-time
(Sept 2000) (secs)
- ------------------------------------------------
27.919 i 2.406 0.007 300
27.924 i 2.439 0.007 300
27.929 i 2.454 0.008 300
30.850 i 5.403 0.009 600
27.892 R 2.369 0.007 300
27.896 R 2.386 0.007 300
27.901 R 2.396 0.008 300
27.906 V 2.271 0.009 300
27.910 V 2.298 0.009 300
27.915 V 2.301 0.010 300
30.839 V 5.352 0.096 600
(errors are statistical only)
We have fitted the R band data, together with all published data (GCNs
#809, #814, #816, #819, #820, #824, #825, GCN #829, #831, #840), with a
smoothly broken power-law, and a constant flux (presumably from the
underlying host galaxy). The fitted function is
F(t) = { F_1^(-n) + F_2^(-n) }^(-1/n) + F_host,
with F_i = k_i t ^(-a_i), n > 0; i = 1, 2.
a_1 and a_2 correspond to the early and late time power-law indices,
respectively. The break time t_0 corresponds to the time when F_1 = F_2.
(see e.g. Beuermann, K., et al 1999, A&A, 352, L26-L30)
We obtain the following parameters for the R band data, with n fixed at 1:
a_1 = 1.1 +- 0.2
a_2 = 3.2 +- 0.4
t_0 = 2.0 +- 0.4
host: R = 24.2 +- 0.3
Errors are 1 sigma; chi^2/DOF = 69/31. Excluding the host,
we find a chi^2/DOF = 83/32.
The fit shows a rather large increase in the decay-rate of the OT flux
around two days after the burst (from a power-law index of 1.1 to
3.2). Fitting for n as well (which can be used to define the
sharpness of the break) gives the same results as above, with n = 1.1
+- 0.8.
Graphs of these fits can be found at
http://www.astro.uva.nl/~evert/grb000926/
We acknowledge the help of the observers Chris Blake and Steve Rawlings
(U. of Oxford), and the ING staff.
GCN Circular 844
Subject
GRB000926 - Amateur Optical Observations
Date
2000-10-11T00:54:03Z (25 years ago)
From
AAVSO GRB Network at AAVSO <aavso@aavso.org>
Janet A. Mattei, AAVSO Director, reports:
On the evening of September 28 UT, in response to an alert on the
AAVSO's GRB mailing list, Joe Dellinger, Fort Bend Astronomy Club
(FBAC), Texas, took a sequence of unfiltered CCD images of the
GRB000926 field. He used the FBAC's 46 cm reflector at the Houston
Museum of Natural Science's George Observatory, and an SBIG ST-9e
camera on generous loan from Rice University. He could not see any
optical transients on individual four-minute images when comparing
them with a DSS-derived finder chart.
Fellow FBAC member Bill Dillon combined the best seven of Joe's
four-minute images into an equivalent 28 minute image. The combined
image's UT mid-point time was 03:16:16. From positions and annotated
images reported by professional astronomers, he realized that the OT had
been imaged, near the threshold of detection. Using Astrometrica and
the USNO-A2.0 catalog, the OT's position was measured at:
RA 17h 04m 09.76s,
DEC +51d 47' 10.6"
with a magnitude of roughly 19.1.
On the evening of October 3 UT, Randy Pepper and Bill Dillon did
follow-up imaging of the GRB000926 field using the same telescope and
camera. The OT had faded below detectability on a image made by
combining 31 one-minute exposures.
Joe, Bill, and Randy are all members of the FBAC's Gamma Ray Burst
Extended Team, formed as the result of the NASA-MSFC/AAVSO High Energy
Astrophysics Workshop held this April in Huntsville, Alabama.
More information and imagery associated with this detection are
available at http://www.geocities.com/amicustellarum/grb/grb000926.html
This message may be cited.
GCN Circular 840
Subject
GRB 000926 : the host galaxy
Date
2000-10-09T17:12:45Z (25 years ago)
From
Johan U. Fynbo at ESO,Garching <jfynbo@eso.org>
J. P. U. Fynbo (ESO), M. I. Andersen (University of Oulu),
J. Gorosabel (DSRI, Copenhagen),
J. Hjorth, B. L. Jensen, H. Pedersen (University of Copenhagen),
T. Pursimo, M.T. Hanski (University of Turku),
R. Oestensen, J.-E. Solheim (University of Tromsoe) report:
"Using the ALFOSC on the 2.5m Nordic Optical Telescope we have obtained
further R-band imaging of the Optical Transient (OT) of GRB 000926
(GCN #801, #803, #804) on 2000 October 2.84 and 6.87 UT.
We find the following magnitudes of the OT using R = 17.06 for the
reference star of Halpern et al. (GCN #806, #824):
Date (UT) R
------------------------------
Oct 2.84 23.28 +- 0.13
Oct 6.87 23.87 +- 0.25
The emission at the position of the OT in the Oct 6.87 image is (although
at low signal-to-noise ratio) significantly elongated with a position angle
of about 90 degrees. This indicates a contribution from a galaxy, possibly
the GRB host. The light-curve shape also indicates a flattening consistent
with a late time decay slope of alpha=2.5+-0.15 and an underlying galaxy
with a magnitude of about R=24. An updated light-curve based on the NOT
points only can be found at:
http://www.ifa.au.dk/~jfynbo/grb/grb000926/GRB000926_lc.gif"
GCN Circular 836
Subject
GRB 000926 Chandra Observation
Date
2000-10-06T21:27:15Z (25 years ago)
From
Gordon Garmire at Penn State U <garmire@astro.psu.edu>
TITLE: GCN GRB OBSERVATION REPORT
NUMBER: GCN 836
SUBJECT: GRB000926: X-ray afterglow by Chandra X-ray Observatory
DATE: 00/10/06 22:29:00 GMT
FROM: G. Garmire at Penn State University <garmire@astro.psu.edu>
G. Garmire and A. Garmire (Penn State U), L. Piro (IAS/CNR Roma) and M. R. Garcia (CfA)
A Chandra X-ray Observatory TOO observation of the afterglow from GRB000926
began September 29.67375 and ended on 29.85125, but with a total good time
of observation of 9979s. The source position determined by CXO is:
RA(2000)=17h 04m 09.6s Decl. (2000)= +51 47' 8.6"
with an uncertainty of ~2", consistant with the optical position
by Gorosabel et al. GCN 803, Dall et al. GCN 804, Halpern et al. GCN 806.
The average flux of the source is (3.08+/-.017) 10^-2 cts/s, corresponding to a
flux F(1.6-10 keV)=(9.4+/-0.95)10^-14 erg/cm2/s.
The spectrum is found to fit a powerlaw with powerlaw index =(1.76+/-0.2)
consistant with the slope of Piro et al. GCN 832, and the absorption
by our Galaxy (NH=2.7 10^20 cm-2).
This very large decrease in flux in such a short time is unprecedented,
decreasing by a factor of ~3 in only ~12 hours from the BeppoSAX measurement!
To obtain a better measure of the slope with time for a law of the
form F=c(T-T0)^d_X with T0=26.99 will require a more refined analysis,
since taking average values leads to a slope of -5!
GCN Circular 834
Subject
Public availability of BeppoSAX data of GRB000926
Date
2000-10-06T14:57:41Z (25 years ago)
From
Luigi Piro at IAS/CNR Frascati <piro@ias.rm.cnr.it>
L. Piro (BeppoSAX Mission Scientist) reports:
The observation of the X-ray afterglow of GRB000926 reported by Piro et
al. in BeppoSAX mails n. 00/21, 00/22, 00/23 and GCN n. 812 , 832, 833 was
performed as a BeppoSAX Project TOO (i.e. the equivalent of Director
Discretionary Time) and as such falls under the responsibility of the
BeppoSAX Mission Scientist. These data are usually property of the
BeppoSAX team.
However, taking into account the considerable interest of this GRB, we
have decided to make these data immediately public to the scientific
community.
Reduced data sets (image, spectrum, light curve) and cleaned photon list
can be accessed through the BeppoSAX archive at:
http://www.sdc.asi.it/archive/00000059/
GCN Circular 833
Subject
GRB000926: X-ray afterglow by BeppoSAX: revised fluxes (fwd)
Date
2000-10-06T14:50:33Z (25 years ago)
From
Luigi Piro at IAS/CNR Frascati <piro@ias.rm.cnr.it>
L. Piro (BeppoSAX Mission Scientist, IAS/CNR Roma) & L. A. Antonelli (OaR)
report on behalf of the BeppoSAX team:
We have found an error in the application of a conversion factor which
underestimates the fluxes distributed in GCN n.832
The correct value of the average flux (at T=29.25) is
F(1.6-10 keV)= (2.6+\-0.6) 10^-13 erg/cm2/s
We have also carefully checked different background subtraction methods,
finding that the corresponding systematic effect amouts to less than about
15%. This has been included in the flux error quoted above.
All the other results on the fading behaviour and on the spectral
shape presented in GCN 832 remain unaffected.
GCN Circular 832
Subject
GRB000926: X-ray afterglow by BeppoSAX. Refined analysis
Date
2000-10-05T20:00:05Z (25 years ago)
From
Luigi Piro at IAS/CNR Frascati <piro@ias.rm.cnr.it>
L. Piro (BeppoSAX Mission Scientist, IAS/CNR Roma) & L. A. Antonelli (OaR)
report on behalf of the BeppoSAX team:
A BeppoSAX TOO observation of GB000926 started on Sept. 29.00, i.e.
2 days after the GRB and lasted for 12 hrs.
Effective exposure times were MECS(1.6-10 keV): 20 ksec, LECS(0.1-10
keV):5 ksec.
We confirm the relatively bright unknown source identified as the X-ray
afterglow by Piro (GCN 812