Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2006
Publication Title
The Astrophysical Journal
Department
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
We report the imaging and spectroscopic localization of GRB 060218 to a low-metallicity dwarf starburst galaxy at z = 0.03345 ± 0.00006. In addition to making it the second nearest gamma-ray burst known, optical spectroscopy reveals the earliest detection of weak, supernova-like Si II near 5720 Å (~0.1c), starting 1.95 days after the burst trigger. UBVRI photometry obtained between 1 and 26 days postburst confirms the early rise of supernova light, and suggests a short time delay between the gamma-ray burst and the onset of SN 2006aj if the early appearance of a soft component in the X-ray spectrum is understood as a "shock breakout." Together, these results verify the long-hypothesized origin of soft gamma-ray bursts in the deaths of massive stars.
DOI
10.1086/505177
Dartmouth Digital Commons Citation
Mirabal, N.; Halpern, J. P.; An, D.; Thorstensen, J. R.; and Terndrup, D. M., "GRB 060218/SN 2006aj: A Gamma-Ray Burst and Prompt Supernova atz= 0.0335" (2006). Dartmouth Scholarship. 2235.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/2235