The afterglow of GRB 050709 and the nature of the short-hard γ-ray bursts

D. B. Fox (), D. A. Frail (), P. A. Price, S. R. Kulkarni, E. Berger, T. Piran, A. M. Soderberg, S. B. Cenko, P. B. Cameron, A. Gal-Yam, M. M. Kasliwal, D.-S. Moon, F. A. Harrison, E. Nakar, B. P. Schmidt, B. Penprase, R. A. Chevalier, P. Kumar, K. Roth, D. Watson, B. L. Lee, S. Shectman, M. M. Phillips, M. Roth, P. J. McCarthy, M. Rauch, L. Cowie, B. A. Peterson, J. Rich, N. Kawai, K. Aoki, G. Kosugi, T. Totani, H.-S. Park, A. MacFadyen and K. C. Hurley
Additional contact information
D. B. Fox: California Institute of Technology
D. A. Frail: National Radio Astronomy Observatory
P. A. Price: University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy
S. R. Kulkarni: California Institute of Technology
E. Berger: Carnegie Observatories
T. Piran: California Institute of Technology
A. M. Soderberg: California Institute of Technology
S. B. Cenko: California Institute of Technology
P. B. Cameron: California Institute of Technology
A. Gal-Yam: California Institute of Technology
M. M. Kasliwal: California Institute of Technology
D.-S. Moon: California Institute of Technology
F. A. Harrison: California Institute of Technology
E. Nakar: California Institute of Technology
B. P. Schmidt: The Australian National University
B. Penprase: Pomona College
R. A. Chevalier: University of Virginia
P. Kumar: University of Texas
K. Roth: Gemini Observatory
D. Watson: University of Copenhagen
B. L. Lee: University of Toronto
S. Shectman: Carnegie Observatories
M. M. Phillips: Carnegie Observatories
M. Roth: Carnegie Observatories
P. J. McCarthy: Carnegie Observatories
M. Rauch: Carnegie Observatories
L. Cowie: University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy
B. A. Peterson: The Australian National University
J. Rich: The Australian National University
N. Kawai: Tokyo Institute of Technology
K. Aoki: Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
G. Kosugi: Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
T. Totani: Kyoto University
H.-S. Park: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
A. MacFadyen: Institute for Advanced Study
K. C. Hurley: University of California

Nature, 2005, vol. 437, issue 7060, 845-850

Abstract: Abstract The final chapter in the long-standing mystery of the γ-ray bursts (GRBs) centres on the origin of the short-hard class of bursts, which are suspected on theoretical grounds to result from the coalescence of neutron-star or black-hole binary systems. Numerous searches for the afterglows of short-hard bursts have been made, galvanized by the revolution in our understanding of long-duration GRBs that followed the discovery in 1997 of their broadband (X-ray, optical and radio) afterglow emission. Here we present the discovery of the X-ray afterglow of a short-hard burst, GRB 050709, whose accurate position allows us to associate it unambiguously with a star-forming galaxy at redshift z = 0.160, and whose optical lightcurve definitively excludes a supernova association. Together with results from three other recent short-hard bursts, this suggests that short-hard bursts release much less energy than the long-duration GRBs. Models requiring young stellar populations, such as magnetars and collapsars, are ruled out, while coalescing degenerate binaries remain the most promising progenitor candidates.

Date: 2005
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DOI: 10.1038/nature04189

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