Article

Prompt Optical Detection of GRB 050401 with ROTSE-IIIa

E. S. RykoffDepartment of Physics, 2477 Randall Laboratory, University of Michigan, 450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109S. A. YostDepartment of Physics, 2477 Randall Laboratory, University of Michigan, 450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109H. A. KrimmNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771F. AharonianMax-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, GermanyC. AkerlofDepartment of Physics, 2477 Randall Laboratory, University of Michigan, 450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109Katherine AlataloDepartment of Physics, 2477 Randall Laboratory, University of Michigan, 450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109M. C. B. AshleyDepartment of Astrophysics and Optics, School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, AustraliaA. P. BeardmoreNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771N. GehrelsNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771Ersin GöğüşFaculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabancı University, Orhanlı-Tuzla, 34958 Istanbul, TurkeyTolga GüverDepartment of Astronomy and Space Science, Faculty of Sciences, Istanbul University, 34119 Istanbul, TurkeyD. HornsMax-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, GermanyÜ. KıizıilogluDepartment of Physics, Middle East Technical University - 06531 Ankara, TurkeyTimothy A. McKayDepartment of Physics, 2477 Randall Laboratory, University of Michigan, 450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109M. E. ÖzelDepartment of Physics, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, 17020 Çanakkale, TurkeyA. PhillipsDepartment of Astrophysics and Optics, School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, AustraliaR. M. QuimbyDepartment of Astronomy, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, C1400, Austin, TX 78712W. RujopakarnDepartment of Physics, 2477 Randall Laboratory, University of Michigan, 450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109Bradley E. SchaeferDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, 202 Nicholson Hall, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803D. A. SmithDepartment of Physics, 2477 Randall Laboratory, University of Michigan, 450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109H. SwanDepartment of Physics, 2477 Randall Laboratory, University of Michigan, 450 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109W. T. VestrandSpace and Remote Sensing Sciences Group, Mail Stop D436, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545J. Craig WheelerDepartment of Physics, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, 17020 Çanakkale, TurkeyJ. WrenSpace and Remote Sensing Sciences Group, Mail Stop D436, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545

2005en

ABI

Abstract

The ROTSE-IIIa telescope at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia, detected prompt optical emission from Swift GRB 050401. We present observations of the early optical afterglow, first detected by the ROTSE-IIIa telescope 33 s after the start of γ-ray emission, contemporaneous with the brightest peak of this emission. This GRB was neither exceptionally long nor bright. This is the first prompt optical detection of a GRB of typical duration and luminosity. We find that the early afterglow decay does not deviate significantly from the power-law decay observable at later times and is uncorrelated with the prompt γ-ray emission. We compare this detection with the other two GRBs with prompt observations, GRB 990123 and GRB 041219a. All three bursts exhibit quite different behavior at early times. © 2005. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1086/497370

Citations and references

Cited by 30 references

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