1. Early‐Time Observations of the GRB 050319 Optical Transient
- Author
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R. M. Quimby, E. Goegues, Timothy A. McKay, Michael C. B. Ashley, David Smith, Dieter Horns, Andrew C. Phillips, Ue. Kiziloglu, John C Wheeler, Katherine Alatalo, T. Guever, S. A. Yost, W. T. Vestrand, H. F. Swan, B. E. Schaefer, M. Oezel, Carl W. Akerlof, Robert Kehoe, Felix Aharonian, J. Wren, and E. S. Rykoff
- Subjects
Physics ,Astrophysics (astro-ph) ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Astrophysics ,Light curve ,01 natural sciences ,Afterglow ,Space and Planetary Science ,0103 physical sciences ,QB Astronomy ,Start time ,Transient (computer programming) ,010306 general physics ,Gamma-ray burst ,010303 astronomy & astrophysics - Abstract
We present the unfiltered ROTSE-III light curve of the optical transient associated with GRB 050319 beginning 4 s after the cessation of gamma-ray activity. We fit a power-law function to the data using the revised trigger time given by Chincarini et al. (2005), and a smoothly broken power-law to the data using the original trigger disseminated through the GCN notices. Including the RAPTOR data from Wozniak et al. (2005), the best fit power-law indices are alpha=-0.854 (+/- 0.014) for the single power-law and alpha_1=-0.364 (+/- 0.020), alpha_2= -0.881 (+/- 0.030), with a break at t_b = 418 (+/- 30) s for the smoothly broken fit. We discuss the fit results with emphasis placed on the importance of knowing the true start time of the optical transient for this multi-peaked burst. As Swift continues to provide prompt GRB locations, it becomes more important to answer the question, "when does the afterglow begin" to correctly interpret the light curves., 14 pages including 2 figures; Accepted for publication in ApJ
- Published
- 2006
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