Abstract
UKIRT is a powerful facility for GRB follow-up. The infrared capability allows us to search for dusty and distant afterglows and the integrated observing and data reduction systems are well suited to rapid observation and pipeline processing of results. UKIRT has operated a GRB target-of-opportunity programme for a number of years, which has localised and monitored many GRB afterglows; has provided critical observations of GRB-like phenomena, such as the SGR 0501+4516; and recently made the discovery of the afterglow of GRB 090423 at a record-breaking redshift of z = 8.2.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Allan, A., et al.: Autonomous software: myth or magic? Astronomische Nachrichten 329, 266 (2008)
Alvarez, M.A., et al.: Connecting reionization to the local universe. Astrophys. J. 703, L167 (2009)
Andersen, M.I., et al.: VLT identification of the optical afterglow of the gamma-ray burst GRB 000131 at z=4.50. Astron. Astrophys. 364, L54 (2000)
Barkana, R., Loeb, A.: Gamma-ray bursts versus quasars: Lyα signatures of reionization versus cosmological infall. Astrophys. J. 601, 64 (2004)
Barthelmy, S.D., et al.: New soft gamma repeater SGR 0501+4516. Astron. Telegr. 1676, 1 (2008)
Bolton, J.S., Haehnelt, M.G.: The observed ionization rate of the intergalactic medium and the ionizing emissivity at z <= 5: evidence for a photon-starved and extended epoch of reionization. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 382, 325 (2007)
Bromm, V., Loeb, A.: High-redshift gamma-ray bursts from population III progenitors. Astrophys. J. 642, 382 (2006)
Dhillon, V.S., et al.: The first observation of optical pulsations from a soft gamma repeater: SGR 0501+4516. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 416, L16 (2011)
Fynbo, J.P.U., et al.: Low-resolution spectroscopy of gamma-ray burst optical afterglows: biases in the swift sample and characterization of the absorbers. Astrophys. J. Suppl. 185, 526 (2009)
Greiner, J., et al.: GRB 080913 at Redshift 6.7. Astrophys. J 693, 1610 (2009)
Groot, P.J., et al.: A search for optical afterglow from GRB 970828. Astrophys. J 493, L27 (1998)
Haislip, J.B., et al.: A photometric redshift of z = 6.39 ± 0.12 for GRB 050904. Nature 440, 181 (2006)
Hurley, K., et al.: An exceptionally bright flare from SGR 1806–20 and the origins of short-duration γ-ray bursts. Nature 434, 1098 (2005)
Iye, M., et al.: A galaxy at a redshift z = 6.96. Nature 443, 186 (2006)
Jakobsson, P., et al.: A mean redshift of 2.8 for Swift gamma-ray bursts. Astron. Astrophys 447, 897 (2006)
Kawai, N., et al.: An optical spectrum of the afterglow of a γ-ray burst at a redshift of z = 6.295. Nature 440, 184 (2006)
Klebesadel, R., et al.: Observations of gamma-ray bursts of cosmic origin. Astrophys. J. 182, L85 (1973)
Komatsu, E., et al.: Five-year wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe observations: cosmological interpretation. Astrophys. J. Suppl. 180, 330 (2009)
Lamb, D.Q., Reichart, D.E.: Gamma-ray bursts as a probe of the very high redshift universe. Astrophys. J. 536, 1 (2009)
Levan, A.J., et al.: The first swift X-ray flash: the faint afterglow of XRF 050215B. Astrophys. J. 648, 1132 (2006a)
Levan, A.J., et al.: Short gamma-ray bursts in old populations: magnetars from white dwarf-white dwarf mergers. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 368, L1 (2006b)
Levan, A. J., et al.: Constraints on the nature of SGR 0501+4526 (2013, in prep)
McQuinn, M., et al.: Probing the neutral fraction of the IGM with GRBs during the epoch of reionization. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 388, 1101 (2008)
Mereghetti, S.: The strongest cosmic magnets: soft gamma-ray repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars. Astron. Astrophys. Rev. 15, 225 (2008)
Palmer, D.M., et al.: A giant γ-ray flare from the magnetar SGR 1806–20. Nature 434, 1107 (2005)
Salvaterra, R., et al.: GRB090423 at a redshift of z~8.1. Nature 461, 1258 (2009)
Tanvir, N.R., et al.: An origin in the local Universe for some short γ-ray bursts. Nature 438, 991 (2005)
Tanvir, N.R., Jakobsson, P.: Observations of GRBs at high redshift. R. Soc. Lond. Philos. Trans. A 365, 1377 (2007)
Tanvir, N.R., et al.: The extreme, red afterglow of GRB 060923A: distance or dust? Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 388, 1743 (2008)
Tanvir, N.R., et al.: A γ-ray burst at a redshift of z~8.2. Nature 461, 1254 (2009)
van Paradijs, J., et al.: Transient optical emission from the error box of the γ-ray burst of 28 February 1997. Nature 386, 686 (1997)
Vreeswijk, P.M., et al.: The host of GRB 030323 at z=3.372: a very high column density DLA system with a low metallicity. Astron. Astrophys. 419, 927 (2004)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this paper
Cite this paper
Tanvir, N. (2013). Observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts at UKIRT. In: Adamson, A., Davies, J., Robson, I. (eds) Thirty Years of Astronomical Discovery with UKIRT. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, vol 37. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7432-2_24
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7432-2_24
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-7431-5
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-7432-2
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)