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The Afterglow, Energetics, and Host Galaxy of the Short-Hard Gamma-Ray Burst 051221a

, , , , , , , , , , , and

© 2006. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
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1 Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, 105-24, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125

2 Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101

3 Princeton University Observatory, Peyton Hall, Ivy Lane, Princeton, NJ 08544

4 Hubble Fellow

5 National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, NM 87801

6 Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822

7 Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Mount Stromlo Observatory, via Cotter Road, Weston Creek, ACT 2611, Australia

8 Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, 525 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802

9 Space Radiation Laboratory, MS 220-47, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125

10 Theoretical Astrophysics, 130-33 California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125

11 Gemini Observatory, 670 N. Aohoku Place Hilo, HI 96720

Dates

Received 2006 January 20
Accepted 2006 June 2

Citation

A. M. Soderberg et al 2006 ApJ 650 261

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DOI

https://doi.org/10.1086/506429

Keywords

gamma rays: bursts

Journal RSS feed

0004-637X/650/1/261

Abstract

We present detailed optical, X-ray, and radio observations of the bright afterglow of the short gamma-ray burst 051221a obtained with Gemini, Swift XRT, and the Very Large Array, as well as optical spectra from which we measure the redshift of the burst, z = 0.5464. At this redshift the isotropic-equivalent prompt energy release was about 1.5 × 1051 ergs, and using a standard afterglow synchrotron model, we find that the blast wave kinetic energy is similar, EK,iso ≈ 8.4 × 1051 ergs. An observed jet break at t ≈ 5 days indicates that the opening angle is θj ≈ 7° and the total beaming-corrected energy is therefore ≈2.5 × 1049 ergs, comparable to the values inferred for previous short GRBs. We further show that the burst experienced an episode of energy injection by a factor of 3.4 between t = 1.4 and 3.4 hr, which was accompanied by reverse shock emission in the radio band. This result provides continued evidence that the central engines of short GRBs may be active significantly longer than the duration of the burst and/or produce a wide range of Lorentz factors. Finally, we show that the host galaxy is actively forming stars at a rate of about 1.6 M☉ yr-1, yet exhibits evidence for an appreciable population of old stars (~1 Gyr) and near-solar metallicity. These properties are intermediate between those of long GRB hosts and previous short burst hosts. The lack of bright supernova emission and the low circumburst density (n ~ 10-3 cm-3), however, continue to support the idea that short bursts are not related to massive stellar death. Given that the total energy release is larger than the predicted yield for a neutrino annihilation mechanism, this suggests that magnetohydrodynamic processes may be required to power the burst.

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