GRB 081203A: Swift UVOT captures the earliest ultraviolet spectrum of a gamma-ray burst
We present the earliest ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) as observedwith the Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT). The GRB 081203A spectrum wasobserved for 50 s with the UV-grism starting 251 s after the Swift-Burst-Alert-Telescope(BAT) trigger. During this time, the GRB w...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
2009
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| Online Access: | http://mnrasl.oxfordjournals.org/content/395/1/L21.full.pdf+html http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10158 |
| _version_ | 1848746155192614912 |
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| author | Kuin, N. Landsman, W. Page, M. Schady, P. Still, M. Breeveld, A. De Pasqualea, M. Roming, P. Brown, P. carter, M. James, C. Curran, Peter Cucchiara, A. Gronwall, C. Holland, S. Hoversten, E. Hunsberger, S. Kennedy, T. Koch, S. Lamoureux, H. Marshall, F. Oates, S. Parsons, A. Palmer, D. Smith, P. |
| author_facet | Kuin, N. Landsman, W. Page, M. Schady, P. Still, M. Breeveld, A. De Pasqualea, M. Roming, P. Brown, P. carter, M. James, C. Curran, Peter Cucchiara, A. Gronwall, C. Holland, S. Hoversten, E. Hunsberger, S. Kennedy, T. Koch, S. Lamoureux, H. Marshall, F. Oates, S. Parsons, A. Palmer, D. Smith, P. |
| author_sort | Kuin, N. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | We present the earliest ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) as observedwith the Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT). The GRB 081203A spectrum wasobserved for 50 s with the UV-grism starting 251 s after the Swift-Burst-Alert-Telescope(BAT) trigger. During this time, the GRB was ˜13.4 mag (u filter) and was still rising to itspeak optical brightness. In the UV-grism spectrum, we find a damped Lya line, Lyß and theLyman continuum break at a redshift z = 2.05 ± 0.01. A model fit to the Lyman absorptionimplies a gas column density of log NHI = 22.0 ± 0.1 cm-2, which is typical of GRB hostgalaxies with damped Lya absorbers. This observation of GRB 081203A demonstrates thatfor brighter GRBs (v ˜ 14 mag) with moderate redshift (0.5 < z < 3.5) the UVOT is able toprovide redshifts, and probe for damped Lya absorbers within 4–6 min from the time of theSwift-BAT trigger. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:28:45Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-10158 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:28:45Z |
| publishDate | 2009 |
| publisher | Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-101582017-02-28T01:32:00Z GRB 081203A: Swift UVOT captures the earliest ultraviolet spectrum of a gamma-ray burst Kuin, N. Landsman, W. Page, M. Schady, P. Still, M. Breeveld, A. De Pasqualea, M. Roming, P. Brown, P. carter, M. James, C. Curran, Peter Cucchiara, A. Gronwall, C. Holland, S. Hoversten, E. Hunsberger, S. Kennedy, T. Koch, S. Lamoureux, H. Marshall, F. Oates, S. Parsons, A. Palmer, D. Smith, P. instrumentation: spectrographs gamma-rays: bursts We present the earliest ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) as observedwith the Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope (UVOT). The GRB 081203A spectrum wasobserved for 50 s with the UV-grism starting 251 s after the Swift-Burst-Alert-Telescope(BAT) trigger. During this time, the GRB was ˜13.4 mag (u filter) and was still rising to itspeak optical brightness. In the UV-grism spectrum, we find a damped Lya line, Lyß and theLyman continuum break at a redshift z = 2.05 ± 0.01. A model fit to the Lyman absorptionimplies a gas column density of log NHI = 22.0 ± 0.1 cm-2, which is typical of GRB hostgalaxies with damped Lya absorbers. This observation of GRB 081203A demonstrates thatfor brighter GRBs (v ˜ 14 mag) with moderate redshift (0.5 < z < 3.5) the UVOT is able toprovide redshifts, and probe for damped Lya absorbers within 4–6 min from the time of theSwift-BAT trigger. 2009 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10158 http://mnrasl.oxfordjournals.org/content/395/1/L21.full.pdf+html Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. restricted |
| spellingShingle | instrumentation: spectrographs gamma-rays: bursts Kuin, N. Landsman, W. Page, M. Schady, P. Still, M. Breeveld, A. De Pasqualea, M. Roming, P. Brown, P. carter, M. James, C. Curran, Peter Cucchiara, A. Gronwall, C. Holland, S. Hoversten, E. Hunsberger, S. Kennedy, T. Koch, S. Lamoureux, H. Marshall, F. Oates, S. Parsons, A. Palmer, D. Smith, P. GRB 081203A: Swift UVOT captures the earliest ultraviolet spectrum of a gamma-ray burst |
| title | GRB 081203A: Swift UVOT captures the earliest ultraviolet spectrum of a gamma-ray burst |
| title_full | GRB 081203A: Swift UVOT captures the earliest ultraviolet spectrum of a gamma-ray burst |
| title_fullStr | GRB 081203A: Swift UVOT captures the earliest ultraviolet spectrum of a gamma-ray burst |
| title_full_unstemmed | GRB 081203A: Swift UVOT captures the earliest ultraviolet spectrum of a gamma-ray burst |
| title_short | GRB 081203A: Swift UVOT captures the earliest ultraviolet spectrum of a gamma-ray burst |
| title_sort | grb 081203a: swift uvot captures the earliest ultraviolet spectrum of a gamma-ray burst |
| topic | instrumentation: spectrographs gamma-rays: bursts |
| url | http://mnrasl.oxfordjournals.org/content/395/1/L21.full.pdf+html http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10158 |