Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Published Online August 18, 2005
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1116168

Reports

Submitted on June 15, 2005
Accepted on July 29, 2005

Bright X-ray Flares in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows

David N. Burrows 1*, Patrizia Romano 2, Abraham Falcone 1, Shiho Kobayashi 3, Bing Zhang 4, Alberto Moretti 2, Paul T. O'Brien 5, Michael R. Goad 5, Sergio Campana 2, Kim L. Page 5, Lorella Angelini 6, Scott Barthelmy 7, Andrew P. Beardmore 5, Milvia Capalbi 8, Guido Chincarini 9, Jay Cummings 7, Giancarlo Cusumano 10, Derek Fox 11, Paolo Giommi 8, J. E. Hill 1, J. A. Kennea 1, H. Krimm 7, Vanessa Mangano 10, Francis Marshall 7, Peter Mészáros 1, D. C. Morris 1, John A. Nousek 1, J. P. Osborne 5, Claudio Pagani 12, M. Perri 8, Gianpiero Tagliaferri 2, A. A. Wells 5, Stanley Woosley 13, Neils Gehrels 7

1 Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
2 INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Bianchi 46, 23807 Merate, Italy.
3 Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Center for Gravitational Wave Physics, 104 Davey Lab, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
4 Department of Physics, University of Nevada, Box 454002, Las Vegas, NV 89154-4002, USA.
5 Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.
6 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
7 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
8 ASI Science Data Center, Via Galileo Galilei, 00044 Frascati, Italy.
9 INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Bianchi 46, 23807 Merate, Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli studi di Milano-Bicocca, Piazza delle Scienze 3, 20126 Milan, Italy.
10 INAF- Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica Sezione di Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy.
11 Department of Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, MS 105-24, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
12 Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 525 Davey Lab, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Bianchi 46, 23807 Merate, Italy.
13 Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
David N. Burrows , E-mail: burrows{at}astro.psu.edu

Gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows have provided important clues to the nature of these massive explosive events, providing direct information on the nearby environment and indirect information on the central engine that powers the burst. We report the discovery of two bright X-ray flares in GRB afterglows, including a giant flare comparable in total energy to the burst itself, each peaking minutes after the burst. These strong, rapid X-ray flares imply that the central engines of the bursts have long periods of activity, with strong internal shocks continuing for hundreds of seconds after the gamma-ray emission has ended.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
The Swift satellite lives up to its name, revealing cosmic explosions as they happen.
R. L.C Starling (2008)
Phil Trans R Soc A 366, 4393-4404
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Properties of Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitor Stars.
P. Kumar, R. Narayan, and J. L. Johnson (2008)
Science 321, 376-379
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Swift observations of gamma-ray bursts.
N. Gehrels (2007)
Phil Trans R Soc A 365, 1119-1128
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Gamma-ray burst theory after Swift.
T. Piran and Y.-Z. Fan (2007)
Phil Trans R Soc A 365, 1151-1162
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Using Swift observations of prompt and afterglow emission to classify GRBs.
P. T O'Brien and R. Willingale (2007)
Phil Trans R Soc A 365, 1179-1188
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the collapsar model for early and late evolution of gamma-ray bursts.
D. Proga (2007)
Phil Trans R Soc A 365, 1207-1212
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
X-ray flares in early GRB afterglows.
D.N Burrows, A Falcone, G Chincarini, D Morris, P Romano, J.E Hill, O Godet, A Moretti, H Krimm, J.P Osborne, et al. (2007)
Phil Trans R Soc A 365, 1213-1226
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
X-ray Flares from Postmerger Millisecond Pulsars..
Z. G. Dai, X. Y. Wang, X. F. Wu, and B. Zhang (2006)
Science 311, 1127-1129
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)