EP250404a, GRB 250404A
GCN Circular 41787
R.-Z. Li, B.-T. Wang, F.-F. Song, J. Mao, H.-C. Feng and J.-M. Bai (YNAO, CAS) and D. B. Malesani (DAWN/NBI and Radboud) report:
We carried out a full reduction of the spectrum of GRB 250404A / EP250404a observed with the GMG-2.4m telescope (Li et al., GCN 40084) using the most up-to-date calibrations and complete pipeline procedures.
A Ly-alpha absorption feature at ~4400 AA was reported by the Xinglong-2.16 m telescope (Zhu et al., GCN 40061).
In the GMG spectrum, the region around ~4400 AA exhibits a smooth continuum, and no typical Ly-alpha absorption feature is identified. However, we identified multiple metal absorption features, including Si IV at 1394 AA, Si IV at 1403 AA, Si II at 1527 AA, C IV at 1549 AA, Fe II at 1608 AA, Al II at 1671 AA, Al III at 1855 AA, Al III at 1863 AA, Zn II/Cr II at 2026 AA, Zn II/Cr II at 2062 AA, Fe II at 2344 AA, Fe II at 2374 AA, and Fe II at 2383 AA. These features consistently indicate a redshift of z = 1.88.
In summary, we conclude that the redshift of the transient is z = 1.88 (see Figure B1 of Yin et al., 2025; doi:10.3847/2041-8213/adf552).
We are grateful to D. B. Malesani for kindly pointing out the issue with the redshift determination.
We apologize for any confusion that our preliminary report may have caused.
GCN Circular 40236
M. Dafcikova, J. Ripa (Masaryk U.), A. Pal (Konkoly Observatory), N. Werner (Masaryk U.), M. Ohno, H. Takahashi (Hiroshima U.), L. Meszaros, B. Csak (Konkoly Observatory), N. Husarikova, F. Munz , M. Topinka, M. Duriskova, M. Kolar, L. Szakszonova, J.-P. Breuer, F. Hroch (Masaryk U.), T. Urbanec, M. Kasal, A. Povalac (Brno U. of Technology), J. Hudec, J. Kapus, M. Frajt (Spacemanic s.r.o), R. Laszlo, M. Koleda (Needronix s.r.o), M. Smelko, P. Hanak, P. Lipovsky (Technical U. of Kosice), G. Galgoczi (Wigner Research Center/Eotvos U.), Y. Uchida, H. Poon, H. Matake (Hiroshima U.), N. Uchida (ISAS/JAXA), T. Bozoki (Eotvos U.), G. Dalya (Eotvos U.), T. Enoto (Kyoto U.), Zs. Frei (Eotvos U.), G. Friss (Eotvos U.), Y. Fukazawa, K. Hirose (Hiroshima U.), S. Hisadomi (Nagoya U.), Y. Ichinohe (Rikkyo U.), K. Kapas (Eotvos U.), L. L. Kiss (Konkoly Observatory), T. Mizuno (Hiroshima U.), K. Nakazawa (Nagoya U.), H. Odaka (Univ of Tokyo), J. Takatsy (Eotvos U.), K. Torigoe (Hiroshima U.), N. Kogiso, M. Yoneyama (Osaka Metropolitan U.), M. Moritaki (U. Tokyo), T. Kano (U. Michigan) -- the GRBAlpha collaboration.
The long-duration GRB 250404A / EP250404a (Fermi/GBM detection: GCN 40050; EP/WXT detection: GCN 40051; Wind/Konus detection: GCN 40087) was observed by the GRBAlpha 1U CubeSat (Pal et al. 2023, A&A, 677, 40; https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023A%26A...677A..40P/abstract).
The detection was confirmed at the peak time 2025-04-04 14:20:37.4 UTC. The T90 duration measured by GRBAlpha is 67 s and the overall significance during T90 reaches 19 sigma.
The light curve obtained by GRBAlpha is available here: https://grbalpha.konkoly.hu/static/share/GRB250404A_GCN.pdf
All GRBAlpha detections are listed at: https://monoceros.physics.muni.cz/hea/GRBAlpha/
GRBAlpha, launched on 2021 March 22, is a demonstration mission for a future CubeSat constellation (Werner et al. Proc. SPIE 2018). The detector of GRBAlpha consists of a 75 x 75 x 5 mm3 CsI scintillator read out by a SiPM array, covering the energy range from ~50 keV to ~1000 keV. To increase the duty cycle and the downlink rate, the upgrade of the on-board data acquisition software stack is in progress. The ground segment is also supported by the radio amateur community and it takes advantage of the SatNOGS network for increased data downlink volume.
GCN Circular 40141
S. Yaqup, J.Z. Liu, A. Iskandar, Y. Zhang, A. Esamdin, C.H. Bai, T.H. Zhong (XAO) report on behalf of optical group of the XAO:
We observed the field of the EP250404a (Einstein Probe mission, Trigger ID 01709133918) with the 0.43m telescope at Nanshan Station of Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory (XAO). The observations were started at 2025-04-04T14:54:21(UTC), and obtained a series of gri band images.
The optical afterglow (Jiang et al., GCN 40052; Perez-Garcia et al., GCN 40053; Du et al., GCN 40058;
Zhu et al., GCN 40061; Konno et al., GCN 40063; Odeh et al, GCN 40064; He et al., GCN 40069;
Perez-Fournon et al., GCN 40071; Jelinek et al., GCN 40072; Rakotondrainibe et al, GCN 40073;
Taguchi et al., GCN 40074; Ruocco et al., GCN 40076; Martin-Carrillo et al., GCN 40080; Pavoni et al.,
GCN 40083; Li et al., GCN 40084; Yin et al., GCN 40085; Pankov et al., GCN 40086; Chu Chen et al.,
GCN 40088 and Chen et al., GCN 40089) was clearly detected at position R.A. = 125.0606 deg, DEC = 35.5282 deg J2000.
The preliminary photometric magnitudes are below:
Observation Start-Time T-T0(hr) Exposure Filter Mag. Err.
2025-04-04 14:54:21 0.583 060s g 16.914 0.106
2025-04-04 14:55:56 0.604 060s r 16.067 0.076
2025-04-04 14:57:12 0.626 060s i 15.610 0.080
2025-04-04 14:58:29 0.648 060s g 17.090 0.108
2025-04-04 14:59:48 0.669 060s r 16.294 0.072
2025-04-04 15:01:05 0.690 060s i 15.940 0.105
2025-04-04 15:02:22 0.712 060s g 17.484 0.108
2025-04-04 15:03:41 0.734 060s r 16.398 0.071
2025-04-04 15:04:58 0.755 060s i 15.965 0.099
2025-04-04 15:11:08 0.858 120s i 16.388 0.067
2025-04-04 15:13:25 0.897 120s g 17.690 0.106
2025-04-04 15:15:44 0.934 120s r 17.066 0.077
2025-04-04 15:18:01 0.972 120s i 16.496 0.074
2025-04-04 15:20:19 1.011 120s g 17.735 0.096
2025-04-04 15:22:38 1.049 120s r 17.030 0.059
2025-04-04 15:24:54 1.087 120s i 16.736 0.061
2025-04-04 15:27:12 1.126 120s g 18.184 0.105
2025-04-04 15:29:31 1.164 120s r 17.407 0.070
2025-04-04 15:31:48 1.202 120s i 17.033 0.067
2025-04-04 15:34:27 1.247 200s g 18.252 0.090
2025-04-04 15:52:56 1.554 200s r 17.719 0.085
2025-04-04 15:56:33 1.615 200s i 17.332 0.088
2025-04-05 16:00:10 1.676 200s g 18.508 0.116
2025-04-05 16:03:50 1.736 200s r 18.121 0.087
2025-04-05 16:07:27 1.796 200s i 17.742 0.101
2025-04-05 16:11:04 1.857 200s g 18.335 0.093
2025-04-05 16:14:43 1.917 200s r 17.924 0.070
2025-04-05 16:18:19 1.978 200s i 17.569 0.090
2025-04-05 16:25:36 2.099 200s r 18.261 0.081
2025-04-05 16:36:30 2.280 200s r 18.681 0.117
2025-04-05 16:40:06 2.341 200s i 18.319 0.136
2025-04-05 16:43:45 2.402 200s g 18.815 0.129
2025-04-05 16:47:42 2.467 300s g 18.713 0.123
2025-04-05 16:52:59 2.555 300s r 18.799 0.132
2025-04-05 16:58:16 2.643 300s i 17.798 0.094
2025-04-05 17:03:34 2.732 300s g 19.368 0.188
2025-04-05 17:08:52 2.820 300s r 18.608 0.111
The photometric calibration was performed using nearby stars from the PanSTARRS catalog and the magnitudes are not corrected for Galactic extinction.
GCN Circular 40097
Qiang-Xi (UCAS), Yiming-Mao (NAOC), Xinxiang-Sun (NAOC), Ningchen-Sun (NAOC), Junjie-Jin (NAOC), Min-He (NAOC) report:
We detected an optical counterpart for the field of EP 250404A using two independent facilities: the 70 cm telescope UCAS-70 and the 35 cm telescope XL-C14. The optical counterpart was observed at the coordinates:
RA = 08h20m14.54s, Dec = +35°31′42.2″.
Stacked imaging of the field has revealed a clear optical transient. The photometric measurements derived from the stacked images are summarized below. In our analysis, the photometry in the Johnson band was calibrated from APASS data converted using the Lupton (2005) equations, while the SDSS band data were calibrated against the SDSS star catalog. The observation time reported corresponds to the median of the individual exposure times.
| Median Time (UT) | Telescope | Exposure (s) | Filter | Magnitude | Err |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-04-04 15:42:35.500 | UCAS-70 | 6×180 | B | 18.73 | 0.24 |
| 2025-04-04 15:45:44.199 | UCAS-70 | 6×180 | V | 17.89 | 0.12 |
| 2025-04-04 15:48:52.780 | UCAS-70 | 6×180 | R | 17.18 | 0.14 |
| 2025-04-04 15:52:01.952 | UCAS-70 | 6×180 | I | 16.76 | 0.13 |
| 2025-04-04 16:04:43.721 | XL-C14 | 11×120 | g | >18.71( 3-sigma limit) | |
| 2025-04-04 16:17:19.682 | XL-C14 | 13×120 | r | 17.59 | 0.19 |
| 2025-04-04 16:15:12.716 | XL-C14 | 13×120 | i | 17.15 | 0.20 |
| 2025-04-04 15:58:22.729 | XL-C14 | 8×120 | z | >17.41( 3-sigma limit) |
This measurement has not been corrected for galaxy extinction.
Our observations are consistent with other already reported Jiang et al. (GCN 40052