Article

A nearby long gamma-ray burst from a merger of compact objects

E. TrojaDepartment of Physics, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy. [email protected]Chris L. FryerCenter for Theoretical Astrophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USABrendan O’ConnorAstronomy, Physics and Statistics Institute of Sciences (APSIS), The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USAGeoffrey RyanPerimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaS. DichiaraDepartment of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USAAmit KumarAryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, IndiaN. ItoDepartment of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, JapanRahul GuptaAryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, IndiaRyan WollaegerCenter for Theoretical Astrophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USAJ. P. NorrisDepartment of Physics, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USAN. KawaiDepartment of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, JapanN. ButlerSchool of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USAAmar AryanAryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, IndiaKuntal MisraAryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, IndiaR. HosokawaDepartment of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, JapanKatsuhiro L. MurataDepartment of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, JapanMasafumi NiwanoDepartment of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, JapanS. B. PandeyAryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, IndiaA. KutyrevAstrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USAHendrik van EertenPhysics Department, University of Bath, Bath, UKE. A. ChaseCenter for Theoretical Astrophysics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USAY. D. HuInstituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), CSIC, Granada, SpainM. D. Caballero‐GarcíaInstituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), CSIC, Granada, SpainA. J. Castro‐TiradoInstituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), CSIC, Granada, Spain

2022en

ABI

Abstract

Abstract Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are flashes of high-energy radiation arising from energetic cosmic explosions. Bursts of long (greater than two seconds) duration are produced by the core-collapse of massive stars 1 , and those of short (less than two seconds) duration by the merger of compact objects, such as two neutron stars 2 . A third class of events with hybrid high-energy properties was identified 3 , but never conclusively linked to a stellar progenitor. The lack of bright supernovae rules out typical core-collapse explosions 4–6 , but their distance scales prevent sensitive searches for direct signatures of a progenitor system. Only tentative evidence for a kilonova has been presented 7,8 . Here we report observations of the exceptionally bright GRB 211211A, which classify it as a hybrid event and constrain its distance scale to only 346 megaparsecs. Our measurements indicate that its lower-energy (from ultraviolet to near-infrared) counterpart is powered by a luminous (approximately 10 42 erg per second) kilonova possibly formed in the ejecta of a compact object merger.

Identifiers

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05327-3

Citations and references

Cited by 60 references

Metrics — AkademScholar · Coming soon