A Strong Limit on the Very-high-energy Emission from GRB 150323A

A. U. Abeysekara; A. Archer; W. Benbow; R. Bird; R. Brose; M. Buchovecky; V. Bugaev; M. P. Connolly; W. Cui; M. Errando; A. Falcone; Q. Feng; J. P. Finley; A. Flinders; L. Fortson; A. Furniss; G. H. Gillanders; M. Hütten; D. Hanna; O. Hervet; J. Holder; G. Hughes; T. B. Humensky; C. A. Johnson; P. Kaaret; P. Kar; N. Kelley-Hoskins; M. Kertzman; D. Kieda; M. Krause; F. Krennrich; M. J. Lang; T. T.Y. Lin; G. Maier; S. McArthur; P. Moriarty; R. Mukherjee; S. O'Brien; R. A. Ong; N. Park; J. S. Perkins; A. Petrashyk; M. Pohl; A. Popkow; E. Pueschel; J. Quinn; K. Ragan; P. T. Reynolds; G. T. Richards; E. Roache; C. Rulten; I. Sadeh; M. Santander; G. H. Sembroski; K. Shahinyan; J. Tyler; S. P. Wakely; O. M. Weiner; A. Weinstein; R. M. Wells; P. Wilcox; A. Wilhelm; D. A. Williams; B. Zitzer; Indrek Vurm; Andrei Beloborodov

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aab371

A Strong Limit on the Very-high-energy Emission from GRB 150323A

A. U. Abeysekara, A. Archer, W. Benbow, R. Bird, R. Brose, M. Buchovecky, V. Bugaev, M. P. Connolly, W. Cui, M. Errando, A. Falcone, Q. Feng, J. P. Finley, A. Flinders, L. Fortson, A. Furniss, G. H. Gillanders, M. Hütten, D. Hanna, O. HervetJ. Holder, G. Hughes, T. B. Humensky, C. A. Johnson, P. Kaaret, P. Kar, N. Kelley-Hoskins, M. Kertzman, D. Kieda, M. Krause, F. Krennrich, M. J. Lang, T. T.Y. Lin, G. Maier, S. McArthur, P. Moriarty, R. Mukherjee, S. O'Brien, R. A. Ong, N. Park, J. S. Perkins, A. Petrashyk, M. Pohl, A. Popkow, E. Pueschel, J. Quinn, K. Ragan, P. T. Reynolds, G. T. Richards, E. Roache, C. Rulten, I. Sadeh, M. Santander, G. H. Sembroski, K. Shahinyan, J. Tyler, S. P. Wakely, O. M. Weiner, A. Weinstein, R. M. Wells, P. Wilcox, A. Wilhelm, D. A. Williams, B. Zitzer, Indrek Vurm, Andrei Beloborodov

Physics and Astronomy (Twin Cities)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

On 2015 March 23, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) responded to a Swift-Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) detection of a gamma-ray burst, with observations beginning 270 s after the onset of BAT emission, and only 135 s after the main BAT emission peak. No statistically significant signal is detected above 140 GeV. The VERITAS upper limit on the fluence in a 40-minute integration corresponds to about 1% of the prompt fluence. Our limit is particularly significant because the very-high-energy (VHE) observation started only ∼2 minutes after the prompt emission peaked, and Fermi-Large Area Telescope observations of numerous other bursts have revealed that the high-energy emission is typically delayed relative to the prompt radiation and lasts significantly longer. Also, the proximity of GRB150323A (z=0.593) limits the attenuation by the extragalactic background light to ∼50% at 100-200 GeV. We conclude that GRB150323A had an intrinsically very weak high-energy afterglow, or that the GeV spectrum had a turnover below ∼100GeV. If the GRB exploded into the stellar wind of a massive progenitor, the VHE non-detection constrains the wind density parameter to be A3 ×10¹¹gcm^-1, consistent with a standard Wolf-Rayet progenitor. Alternatively, the VHE emission from the blast wave would be weak in a very tenuous medium such as the interstellar medium, which therefore cannot be ruled out as the environment of GRB150323A.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	33
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	857
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aab371
State	Published - Apr 10 2018

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
VERITAS is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution, and by NSERC in Canada. We acknowledge the excellent work of the technical support staff at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and at the collaborating institutions in the construction and operation of the instrument. The VERITAS Collaboration is grateful to Trevor Weekes for his seminal contributions and leadership in the field of VHE gamma-ray astrophysics, which made this study possible. I.V. acknowledges support from the Estonian Research Council grant PUT1112.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Keywords

gamma rays: general
gamma-ray burst: general
gamma-ray burst: individual (GRB 150323A)

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10.3847/1538-4357/aab371

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Abeysekara, A. U., Archer, A., Benbow, W., Bird, R., Brose, R., Buchovecky, M., Bugaev, V., Connolly, M. P., Cui, W., Errando, M., Falcone, A., Feng, Q., Finley, J. P., Flinders, A., Fortson, L., Furniss, A., Gillanders, G. H., Hütten, M., Hanna, D., ... Beloborodov, A. (2018). A Strong Limit on the Very-high-energy Emission from GRB 150323A. Astrophysical Journal, 857(1), [33]. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aab371

Abeysekara, AU, Archer, A, Benbow, W, Bird, R, Brose, R, Buchovecky, M, Bugaev, V, Connolly, MP, Cui, W, Errando, M, Falcone, A, Feng, Q, Finley, JP, Flinders, A, Fortson, L, Furniss, A, Gillanders, GH, Hütten, M, Hanna, D, Hervet, O, Holder, J, Hughes, G, Humensky, TB, Johnson, CA, Kaaret, P, Kar, P, Kelley-Hoskins, N, Kertzman, M, Kieda, D, Krause, M, Krennrich, F, Lang, MJ, Lin, TTY, Maier, G, McArthur, S, Moriarty, P, Mukherjee, R, O'Brien, S, Ong, RA, Park, N, Perkins, JS, Petrashyk, A, Pohl, M, Popkow, A, Pueschel, E, Quinn, J, Ragan, K, Reynolds, PT, Richards, GT, Roache, E, Rulten, C, Sadeh, I, Santander, M, Sembroski, GH, Shahinyan, K, Tyler, J, Wakely, SP, Weiner, OM, Weinstein, A, Wells, RM, Wilcox, P, Wilhelm, A, Williams, DA, Zitzer, B, Vurm, I & Beloborodov, A 2018, 'A Strong Limit on the Very-high-energy Emission from GRB 150323A', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 857, no. 1, 33. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aab371

@article{c5e6d06fe165469bbaa15fee1515df5b,

title = "A Strong Limit on the Very-high-energy Emission from GRB 150323A",

abstract = "On 2015 March 23, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) responded to a Swift-Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) detection of a gamma-ray burst, with observations beginning 270 s after the onset of BAT emission, and only 135 s after the main BAT emission peak. No statistically significant signal is detected above 140 GeV. The VERITAS upper limit on the fluence in a 40-minute integration corresponds to about 1% of the prompt fluence. Our limit is particularly significant because the very-high-energy (VHE) observation started only ∼2 minutes after the prompt emission peaked, and Fermi-Large Area Telescope observations of numerous other bursts have revealed that the high-energy emission is typically delayed relative to the prompt radiation and lasts significantly longer. Also, the proximity of GRB150323A (z=0.593) limits the attenuation by the extragalactic background light to ∼50% at 100-200 GeV. We conclude that GRB150323A had an intrinsically very weak high-energy afterglow, or that the GeV spectrum had a turnover below ∼100GeV. If the GRB exploded into the stellar wind of a massive progenitor, the VHE non-detection constrains the wind density parameter to be A3 ×1011gcm-1, consistent with a standard Wolf-Rayet progenitor. Alternatively, the VHE emission from the blast wave would be weak in a very tenuous medium such as the interstellar medium, which therefore cannot be ruled out as the environment of GRB150323A.",

keywords = "gamma rays: general, gamma-ray burst: general, gamma-ray burst: individual (GRB 150323A)",

author = "Abeysekara, {A. U.} and A. Archer and W. Benbow and R. Bird and R. Brose and M. Buchovecky and V. Bugaev and Connolly, {M. P.} and W. Cui and M. Errando and A. Falcone and Q. Feng and Finley, {J. P.} and A. Flinders and L. Fortson and A. Furniss and Gillanders, {G. H.} and M. H{\"u}tten and D. Hanna and O. Hervet and J. Holder and G. Hughes and Humensky, {T. B.} and Johnson, {C. A.} and P. Kaaret and P. Kar and N. Kelley-Hoskins and M. Kertzman and D. Kieda and M. Krause and F. Krennrich and Lang, {M. J.} and Lin, {T. T.Y.} and G. Maier and S. McArthur and P. Moriarty and R. Mukherjee and S. O'Brien and Ong, {R. A.} and N. Park and Perkins, {J. S.} and A. Petrashyk and M. Pohl and A. Popkow and E. Pueschel and J. Quinn and K. Ragan and Reynolds, {P. T.} and Richards, {G. T.} and E. Roache and C. Rulten and I. Sadeh and M. Santander and Sembroski, {G. H.} and K. Shahinyan and J. Tyler and Wakely, {S. P.} and Weiner, {O. M.} and A. Weinstein and Wells, {R. M.} and P. Wilcox and A. Wilhelm and Williams, {D. A.} and B. Zitzer and Indrek Vurm and Andrei Beloborodov",

note = "Funding Information: VERITAS is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution, and by NSERC in Canada. We acknowledge the excellent work of the technical support staff at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and at the collaborating institutions in the construction and operation of the instrument. The VERITAS Collaboration is grateful to Trevor Weekes for his seminal contributions and leadership in the field of VHE gamma-ray astrophysics, which made this study possible. I.V. acknowledges support from the Estonian Research Council grant PUT1112. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.",

year = "2018",

month = apr,

day = "10",

doi = "10.3847/1538-4357/aab371",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "857",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal",

issn = "0004-637X",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - A Strong Limit on the Very-high-energy Emission from GRB 150323A

AU - Abeysekara, A. U.

AU - Archer, A.

AU - Benbow, W.

AU - Bird, R.

AU - Brose, R.

AU - Buchovecky, M.

AU - Bugaev, V.

AU - Connolly, M. P.

AU - Cui, W.

AU - Errando, M.

AU - Falcone, A.

AU - Feng, Q.

AU - Finley, J. P.

AU - Flinders, A.

AU - Fortson, L.

AU - Furniss, A.

AU - Gillanders, G. H.

AU - Hütten, M.

AU - Hanna, D.

AU - Hervet, O.

AU - Holder, J.

AU - Hughes, G.

AU - Humensky, T. B.

AU - Johnson, C. A.

AU - Kaaret, P.

AU - Kar, P.

AU - Kelley-Hoskins, N.

AU - Kertzman, M.

AU - Kieda, D.

AU - Krause, M.

AU - Krennrich, F.

AU - Lang, M. J.

AU - Lin, T. T.Y.

AU - Maier, G.

AU - McArthur, S.

AU - Moriarty, P.

AU - Mukherjee, R.

AU - O'Brien, S.

AU - Ong, R. A.

AU - Park, N.

AU - Perkins, J. S.

AU - Petrashyk, A.

AU - Pohl, M.

AU - Popkow, A.

AU - Pueschel, E.

AU - Quinn, J.

AU - Ragan, K.

AU - Reynolds, P. T.

AU - Richards, G. T.

AU - Roache, E.

AU - Rulten, C.

AU - Sadeh, I.

AU - Santander, M.

AU - Sembroski, G. H.

AU - Shahinyan, K.

AU - Tyler, J.

AU - Wakely, S. P.

AU - Weiner, O. M.

AU - Weinstein, A.

AU - Wells, R. M.

AU - Wilcox, P.

AU - Wilhelm, A.

AU - Williams, D. A.

AU - Zitzer, B.

AU - Vurm, Indrek

AU - Beloborodov, Andrei

N1 - Funding Information: VERITAS is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution, and by NSERC in Canada. We acknowledge the excellent work of the technical support staff at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory and at the collaborating institutions in the construction and operation of the instrument. The VERITAS Collaboration is grateful to Trevor Weekes for his seminal contributions and leadership in the field of VHE gamma-ray astrophysics, which made this study possible. I.V. acknowledges support from the Estonian Research Council grant PUT1112. Publisher Copyright: © 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

PY - 2018/4/10

Y1 - 2018/4/10

N2 - On 2015 March 23, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) responded to a Swift-Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) detection of a gamma-ray burst, with observations beginning 270 s after the onset of BAT emission, and only 135 s after the main BAT emission peak. No statistically significant signal is detected above 140 GeV. The VERITAS upper limit on the fluence in a 40-minute integration corresponds to about 1% of the prompt fluence. Our limit is particularly significant because the very-high-energy (VHE) observation started only ∼2 minutes after the prompt emission peaked, and Fermi-Large Area Telescope observations of numerous other bursts have revealed that the high-energy emission is typically delayed relative to the prompt radiation and lasts significantly longer. Also, the proximity of GRB150323A (z=0.593) limits the attenuation by the extragalactic background light to ∼50% at 100-200 GeV. We conclude that GRB150323A had an intrinsically very weak high-energy afterglow, or that the GeV spectrum had a turnover below ∼100GeV. If the GRB exploded into the stellar wind of a massive progenitor, the VHE non-detection constrains the wind density parameter to be A3 ×1011gcm-1, consistent with a standard Wolf-Rayet progenitor. Alternatively, the VHE emission from the blast wave would be weak in a very tenuous medium such as the interstellar medium, which therefore cannot be ruled out as the environment of GRB150323A.

AB - On 2015 March 23, the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) responded to a Swift-Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) detection of a gamma-ray burst, with observations beginning 270 s after the onset of BAT emission, and only 135 s after the main BAT emission peak. No statistically significant signal is detected above 140 GeV. The VERITAS upper limit on the fluence in a 40-minute integration corresponds to about 1% of the prompt fluence. Our limit is particularly significant because the very-high-energy (VHE) observation started only ∼2 minutes after the prompt emission peaked, and Fermi-Large Area Telescope observations of numerous other bursts have revealed that the high-energy emission is typically delayed relative to the prompt radiation and lasts significantly longer. Also, the proximity of GRB150323A (z=0.593) limits the attenuation by the extragalactic background light to ∼50% at 100-200 GeV. We conclude that GRB150323A had an intrinsically very weak high-energy afterglow, or that the GeV spectrum had a turnover below ∼100GeV. If the GRB exploded into the stellar wind of a massive progenitor, the VHE non-detection constrains the wind density parameter to be A3 ×1011gcm-1, consistent with a standard Wolf-Rayet progenitor. Alternatively, the VHE emission from the blast wave would be weak in a very tenuous medium such as the interstellar medium, which therefore cannot be ruled out as the environment of GRB150323A.

KW - gamma rays: general

KW - gamma-ray burst: general

KW - gamma-ray burst: individual (GRB 150323A)

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DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aab371

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JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

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ER -

A Strong Limit on the Very-high-energy Emission from GRB 150323A

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