GRB 991216 joins the jet set: Discovery and monitoring of its optical afterglow

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dc.contributor.authorHalpern, JP
dc.contributor.authorUglesich, R
dc.contributor.authorMirabal, N
dc.contributor.authorKassin, S
dc.contributor.authorThorstensen, J
dc.contributor.authorKeel, WC
dc.contributor.authorDiercks, A
dc.contributor.authorBloom, JS
dc.contributor.authorHarrison, F
dc.contributor.authorMattox, J
dc.contributor.authorEracleous, M
dc.contributor.otherColumbia University
dc.contributor.otherUniversity System of Ohio
dc.contributor.otherOhio State University
dc.contributor.otherDartmouth College
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Alabama Tuscaloosa
dc.contributor.otherCalifornia Institute of Technology
dc.contributor.otherBoston University
dc.contributor.otherPennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE)
dc.contributor.otherPennsylvania State University
dc.contributor.otherPennsylvania State University - University Park
dc.date.accessioned2018-09-20T18:10:01Z
dc.date.available2018-09-20T18:10:01Z
dc.date.issued2000-11-10
dc.description.abstractThe optical light curve of the energetic gamma -ray burst GRB 991216 is consistent with jetlike behavior in which a power-law decay steepens from t(-1.22+/-0.04) at early times to t(-1.53+/-0.05) in a gradual transition at around 2 days. The derivation of the late-time decay slope takes into account the constant contribution of a host or intervening galaxy, which was measured 110 days after the event at R = 24.56 +/- 0.14, although the light curve deviates from a single power law whether or not a constant term is included. The early-time spectral energy distribution of the afterglow can be described as F-nu proportional to nu (-0.74+/-0.05) or flatter between optical and X-ray, which, together with the slow initial decay, is characteristic of standard adiabatic evolution in a uniformly dense medium. Assuming that a reported absorption-line redshift of 1.02 is correct, the apparent isotropic energy of 6.7 x 10(53) ergs is reduced by a factor of approximate to 200 in the jet model, and the initial half-opening angle is approximate to 6 degrees. GRB 991216 is the third good example of a jetlike afterglow (following GRB 990123 and GRB 990510), supporting a trend in which the apparently most energetic gamma -ray events have the narrowest collimation and a uniform interstellar medium environment. This, plus the absence of evidence for supernovae associated with jetlike afterglows, suggests that these events may originate from a progenitor in which angular momentum plays an important role but a massive stellar envelope or wind does not, e.g., in the coalescence of a compact binary.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationHalpern, J., et al. (2000): GRB 991216 Joins the Jet Set: Discovery and Monitoring of Its Optical Afterglow. The Astrophysical Journal, 543(2). DOI: 10.1086/317134
dc.identifier.doi10.1086/317134
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7777-216X
dc.identifier.orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7021-5838
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/3917
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Chicago Press
dc.subjectgamma rays : bursts
dc.subjectGAMMA-RAY BURST
dc.subject14 DECEMBER 1997
dc.subjectLAMBDA-ORIONIS
dc.subjectDUST
dc.subjectGRB-990510
dc.subjectPHOTOMETRY
dc.subjectREDSHIFT
dc.subjectEMISSION
dc.subjectGALAXY
dc.subjectAstronomy & Astrophysics
dc.titleGRB 991216 joins the jet set: Discovery and monitoring of its optical afterglowen_US
dc.typetext
dc.typeArticle

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