A JET BREAK IN THE X-RAY LIGHT CURVE OF SHORT GRB 111020A: IMPLICATIONS FOR ENERGETICS AND RATES

We present broadband observations of the afterglow and environment of the short GRB 111020A. An extensive X-ray light curve from Swift/XRT, XMM-Newton, and Chandra, spanning ~100 s to 10 days after the burst, reveals a significant break at delta t [approximate] 2 days with pre- and post-break declin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astrophysical journal 2012-09, Vol.756 (2), p.1-12
Main Authors: FONG, W, BERGER, E, PODSIADLOWSKI, P, MARGUTTI, R, ZAUDERER, B. A, TROJA, E, CZEKALA, I, CHORNOCK, R, GEHRELS, N, SAKAMOTO, T, FOX, D. B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AFTERGLOW
Afterglows
Approximation
Astronomy
ASTROPHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
Break in
Broadband
Consistency
COSMIC GAMMA BURSTS
DENSITY
DIAGRAMS
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
GALAXIES
GAMMA ASTRONOMY
Gamma ray bursts
GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DETECTORS
GRAVITATIONAL WAVES
HYDROGEN
JETS
KEV RANGE
Light curve
RED SHIFT
VISIBLE RADIATION
X RADIATION
X-rays
XMM (spacecraft)
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Summary:We present broadband observations of the afterglow and environment of the short GRB 111020A. An extensive X-ray light curve from Swift/XRT, XMM-Newton, and Chandra, spanning ~100 s to 10 days after the burst, reveals a significant break at delta t [approximate] 2 days with pre- and post-break decline rates of alpha [sub x.1] [approximate] -0.78 and alpha [sub x.2] -1.7, respectively. Our observations demonstrate that a growing fraction of short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are collimated, which may lead to a true event rate of [> or ~]100-1000 Gpc[sup -3] yr[sup -1], in good agreement with the NS-NS merger rate of [approximate]200-3000 Gpc[sup -3] yr[sup -1]. The consistency is promising for coincident short GRB-gravitational wave searches in the forthcoming era of Advanced LIGO/VIRGO.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.1088/0004-637x/756/2/189