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The First JWST Spectrum of a GRB Afterglow: No Bright Supernova in Observations of the Brightest GRB of all Time, GRB 221009A

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The First JWST Spectrum of a GRB Afterglow: No Bright Supernova in Observations of the Brightest GRB of all Time, GRB 221009A. / Levan, A. J.; Lamb, G. P.; Schneider, B. et al.
In: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 946, No. 1, 28.03.2023.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Levan, AJ, Lamb, GP, Schneider, B, Hjorth, J, Zafar, T, de Ugarte Postigo, A, Sargent, B, Mullally, SE, Izzo, L, D’Avanzo, P, Burns, E, Fernández, JFA, Barclay, T, Bernardini, MG, Bhirombhakdi, K, Bremer, M, Brivio, R, Campana, S, Chrimes, AA, D’Elia, V, Valle, MD, De Pasquale, M, Ferro, M, Fong, W, Fruchter, AS, Fynbo, JPU, Gaspari, N, Gompertz, BP, Hartmann, DH, Hedges, CL, Heintz, KE, Hotokezaka, K, Jakobsson, P, Kann, DA, Kennea, JA, Laskar, T, Le Floc’h, E, Malesani, DB, Melandri, A, Metzger, BD, Oates, SR, Pian, E, Piranomonte, S, Pugliese, G, Racusin, JL, Rastinejad, JC, Ravasio, ME, Rossi, A, Saccardi, A, Salvaterra, R, Sbarufatti, B, Starling, RLC, Tanvir, NR, Thöne, CC, van der Horst, AJ, Vergani, SD, Watson, D, Wiersema, K, Wijers, RAMJ & Xu, D 2023, 'The First JWST Spectrum of a GRB Afterglow: No Bright Supernova in Observations of the Brightest GRB of all Time, GRB 221009A', Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 946, no. 1. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acc2c1

APA

Levan, A. J., Lamb, G. P., Schneider, B., Hjorth, J., Zafar, T., de Ugarte Postigo, A., Sargent, B., Mullally, S. E., Izzo, L., D’Avanzo, P., Burns, E., Fernández, J. F. A., Barclay, T., Bernardini, M. G., Bhirombhakdi, K., Bremer, M., Brivio, R., Campana, S., Chrimes, A. A., ... Xu, D. (2023). The First JWST Spectrum of a GRB Afterglow: No Bright Supernova in Observations of the Brightest GRB of all Time, GRB 221009A. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 946(1). https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acc2c1

Vancouver

Levan AJ, Lamb GP, Schneider B, Hjorth J, Zafar T, de Ugarte Postigo A et al. The First JWST Spectrum of a GRB Afterglow: No Bright Supernova in Observations of the Brightest GRB of all Time, GRB 221009A. Astrophysical Journal Letters. 2023 Mar 28;946(1). doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/acc2c1

Author

Levan, A. J. ; Lamb, G. P. ; Schneider, B. et al. / The First JWST Spectrum of a GRB Afterglow: No Bright Supernova in Observations of the Brightest GRB of all Time, GRB 221009A. In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. 2023 ; Vol. 946, No. 1.

Bibtex

@article{c0d9da50f6ac48f7be2e1638b7fd3476,
title = "The First JWST Spectrum of a GRB Afterglow: No Bright Supernova in Observations of the Brightest GRB of all Time, GRB 221009A",
abstract = "We present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of the afterglow of GRB 221009A, the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever observed. This includes the first mid-IR spectra of any GRB, obtained with JWST/Near Infrared Spectrograph (0.6–5.5 micron) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (5–12 micron), 12 days after the burst. Assuming that the intrinsic spectral slope is a single power law, with F ν ∝ ν −β , we obtain β ≈ 0.35, modified by substantial dust extinction with A V = 4.9. This suggests extinction above the notional Galactic value, possibly due to patchy extinction within the Milky Way or dust in the GRB host galaxy. It further implies that the X-ray and optical/IR regimes are not on the same segment of the synchrotron spectrum of the afterglow. If the cooling break lies between the X-ray and optical/IR, then the temporal decay rates would only match a post-jet-break model, with electron index p < 2, and with the jet expanding into a uniform ISM medium. The shape of the JWST spectrum is near-identical in the optical/near-IR to X-SHOOTER spectroscopy obtained at 0.5 days and to later time observations with HST. The lack of spectral evolution suggests that any accompanying supernova (SN) is either substantially fainter or bluer than SN 1998bw, the proto-type GRB-SN. Our HST observations also reveal a disk-like host galaxy, viewed close to edge-on, that further complicates the isolation of any SN component. The host galaxy appears rather typical among long-GRB hosts and suggests that the extreme properties of GRB 221009A are not directly tied to its galaxy-scale environment.",
keywords = "330, High-Energy Phenomena and Fundamental Physics",
author = "Levan, {A. J.} and Lamb, {G. P.} and B. Schneider and J. Hjorth and T. Zafar and {de Ugarte Postigo}, A. and B. Sargent and Mullally, {S. E.} and L. Izzo and P. D{\textquoteright}Avanzo and E. Burns and Fern{\'a}ndez, {J. F. Ag{\"u}{\'i}} and T. Barclay and Bernardini, {M. G.} and K. Bhirombhakdi and M. Bremer and R. Brivio and S. Campana and Chrimes, {A. A.} and V. D{\textquoteright}Elia and Valle, {M. Della} and {De Pasquale}, M. and M. Ferro and W. Fong and Fruchter, {A. S.} and Fynbo, {J. P. U.} and N. Gaspari and Gompertz, {B. P.} and Hartmann, {D. H.} and Hedges, {C. L.} and Heintz, {K. E.} and K. Hotokezaka and P. Jakobsson and Kann, {D. A.} and Kennea, {J. A.} and T. Laskar and {Le Floc{\textquoteright}h}, E. and Malesani, {D. B.} and A. Melandri and Metzger, {B. D.} and Oates, {S. R.} and E. Pian and S. Piranomonte and G. Pugliese and Racusin, {J. L.} and Rastinejad, {J. C.} and Ravasio, {M. E.} and A. Rossi and A. Saccardi and R. Salvaterra and B. Sbarufatti and Starling, {R. L. C.} and Tanvir, {N. R.} and Th{\"o}ne, {C. C.} and {van der Horst}, {A. J.} and Vergani, {S. D.} and D. Watson and K. Wiersema and Wijers, {R. A. M. J.} and Dong Xu",
year = "2023",
month = mar,
day = "28",
doi = "10.3847/2041-8213/acc2c1",
language = "English",
volume = "946",
journal = "Astrophysical Journal Letters",
issn = "2041-8205",
publisher = "IOP Publishing Ltd",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - The First JWST Spectrum of a GRB Afterglow: No Bright Supernova in Observations of the Brightest GRB of all Time, GRB 221009A

AU - Levan, A. J.

AU - Lamb, G. P.

AU - Schneider, B.

AU - Hjorth, J.

AU - Zafar, T.

AU - de Ugarte Postigo, A.

AU - Sargent, B.

AU - Mullally, S. E.

AU - Izzo, L.

AU - D’Avanzo, P.

AU - Burns, E.

AU - Fernández, J. F. Agüí

AU - Barclay, T.

AU - Bernardini, M. G.

AU - Bhirombhakdi, K.

AU - Bremer, M.

AU - Brivio, R.

AU - Campana, S.

AU - Chrimes, A. A.

AU - D’Elia, V.

AU - Valle, M. Della

AU - De Pasquale, M.

AU - Ferro, M.

AU - Fong, W.

AU - Fruchter, A. S.

AU - Fynbo, J. P. U.

AU - Gaspari, N.

AU - Gompertz, B. P.

AU - Hartmann, D. H.

AU - Hedges, C. L.

AU - Heintz, K. E.

AU - Hotokezaka, K.

AU - Jakobsson, P.

AU - Kann, D. A.

AU - Kennea, J. A.

AU - Laskar, T.

AU - Le Floc’h, E.

AU - Malesani, D. B.

AU - Melandri, A.

AU - Metzger, B. D.

AU - Oates, S. R.

AU - Pian, E.

AU - Piranomonte, S.

AU - Pugliese, G.

AU - Racusin, J. L.

AU - Rastinejad, J. C.

AU - Ravasio, M. E.

AU - Rossi, A.

AU - Saccardi, A.

AU - Salvaterra, R.

AU - Sbarufatti, B.

AU - Starling, R. L. C.

AU - Tanvir, N. R.

AU - Thöne, C. C.

AU - van der Horst, A. J.

AU - Vergani, S. D.

AU - Watson, D.

AU - Wiersema, K.

AU - Wijers, R. A. M. J.

AU - Xu, Dong

PY - 2023/3/28

Y1 - 2023/3/28

N2 - We present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of the afterglow of GRB 221009A, the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever observed. This includes the first mid-IR spectra of any GRB, obtained with JWST/Near Infrared Spectrograph (0.6–5.5 micron) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (5–12 micron), 12 days after the burst. Assuming that the intrinsic spectral slope is a single power law, with F ν ∝ ν −β , we obtain β ≈ 0.35, modified by substantial dust extinction with A V = 4.9. This suggests extinction above the notional Galactic value, possibly due to patchy extinction within the Milky Way or dust in the GRB host galaxy. It further implies that the X-ray and optical/IR regimes are not on the same segment of the synchrotron spectrum of the afterglow. If the cooling break lies between the X-ray and optical/IR, then the temporal decay rates would only match a post-jet-break model, with electron index p < 2, and with the jet expanding into a uniform ISM medium. The shape of the JWST spectrum is near-identical in the optical/near-IR to X-SHOOTER spectroscopy obtained at 0.5 days and to later time observations with HST. The lack of spectral evolution suggests that any accompanying supernova (SN) is either substantially fainter or bluer than SN 1998bw, the proto-type GRB-SN. Our HST observations also reveal a disk-like host galaxy, viewed close to edge-on, that further complicates the isolation of any SN component. The host galaxy appears rather typical among long-GRB hosts and suggests that the extreme properties of GRB 221009A are not directly tied to its galaxy-scale environment.

AB - We present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of the afterglow of GRB 221009A, the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever observed. This includes the first mid-IR spectra of any GRB, obtained with JWST/Near Infrared Spectrograph (0.6–5.5 micron) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (5–12 micron), 12 days after the burst. Assuming that the intrinsic spectral slope is a single power law, with F ν ∝ ν −β , we obtain β ≈ 0.35, modified by substantial dust extinction with A V = 4.9. This suggests extinction above the notional Galactic value, possibly due to patchy extinction within the Milky Way or dust in the GRB host galaxy. It further implies that the X-ray and optical/IR regimes are not on the same segment of the synchrotron spectrum of the afterglow. If the cooling break lies between the X-ray and optical/IR, then the temporal decay rates would only match a post-jet-break model, with electron index p < 2, and with the jet expanding into a uniform ISM medium. The shape of the JWST spectrum is near-identical in the optical/near-IR to X-SHOOTER spectroscopy obtained at 0.5 days and to later time observations with HST. The lack of spectral evolution suggests that any accompanying supernova (SN) is either substantially fainter or bluer than SN 1998bw, the proto-type GRB-SN. Our HST observations also reveal a disk-like host galaxy, viewed close to edge-on, that further complicates the isolation of any SN component. The host galaxy appears rather typical among long-GRB hosts and suggests that the extreme properties of GRB 221009A are not directly tied to its galaxy-scale environment.

KW - 330

KW - High-Energy Phenomena and Fundamental Physics

U2 - 10.3847/2041-8213/acc2c1

DO - 10.3847/2041-8213/acc2c1

M3 - Journal article

VL - 946

JO - Astrophysical Journal Letters

JF - Astrophysical Journal Letters

SN - 2041-8205

IS - 1

ER -