A contemporaneous infrared flash from a long gamma-ray burst: an echo from the central engine

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dc.creatorBlake, C. H.
dc.creatorBloom, J. S.
dc.creatorStarr, D. L.
dc.creatorFalco, E. E.
dc.creatorSkrutskie, M.
dc.creatorFenimore, E. E.
dc.creatorDuchene, G.
dc.creatorSzentgyorgyi, A.
dc.creatorHornstein, S.
dc.creatorProchaska, J. X.
dc.creatorMcCabe, C.
dc.creatorGhez, A.
dc.creatorKonopacky, Q.
dc.creatorStapelfeldt, K.
dc.creatorHurley, K.
dc.creatorCampbell, R.
dc.creatorKassis, M.
dc.creatorChaffee, F.
dc.creatorGehrels, N.
dc.creatorBarthelmy, S.
dc.creatorCummings, J. R.
dc.creatorHullinger, D.
dc.creatorKrimm, H. A.
dc.creatorMarkwardt, C. B.
dc.creatorPalmer, D.
dc.creatorParsons, A.
dc.creatorMcLean, K.
dc.creatorTueller, J.
dc.date2005-03-23
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T12:42:59Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T12:42:59Z
dc.descriptionThe explosion that results in a cosmic gamma-ray burst (GRB) is thought to produce emission from two physical processes -- the activity of the central engine gives rise to the high-energy emission of the burst through internal shocking and the subsequent interaction of the flow with the external environment produces long-wavelength afterglow. While afterglow observations continue to refine our understanding of GRB progenitors and relativistic shocks, gamma-ray observations alone have not yielded a clear picture of the origin of the prompt emission nor details of the central engine. Only one concurrent visible-light transient has been found and was associated with emission from an external shock. Here we report the discovery of infrared (IR) emission contemporaneous with a GRB, beginning 7.2 minutes after the onset of GRB 041219a. Our robotic telescope acquired 21 images during the active phase of the burst, yielding the earliest multi-colour observations of any long-wavelength emission associated with a GRB. Analysis of an initial IR pulse suggests an origin consistent with internal shocks. This opens a new possibility to study the central engine of GRBs with ground-based observations at long wavelengths.
dc.descriptionAccepted to Nature on March 1, 2005. 9 pages, 4 figures, nature12.cls and nature1.cls files included. This paper is under press embargo until print publication
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0503508
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0503508
dc.identifierNature 435:181-184,2005
dc.identifierdoi:10.1038/nature03520
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/220269
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleA contemporaneous infrared flash from a long gamma-ray burst: an echo from the central engine
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