GRB 010921: Discovery of the First High Energy Transient Explorer Afterglow
Date
2002
Authors
Price, Paul
Kulkarni, Shrinivas R
Berger, Edo
Djorgovski, S G
Frail, Dale A
Mahabal, A
Fox, Derek B
Harrison, F A
Bloom, J S
Yost, S A
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Abstract
We report the discovery of the optical and radio afterglow of GRB 010921, the first gamma-ray burst afterglow to be found from a localization by the High Energy Transient Explorer satellite. We present optical spectroscopy of the host galaxy, which we find to be a dusty and apparently normal star-forming galaxy at z = 0.451. The unusually steep optical spectral slope of the afterglow can be explained by heavy extinction, Av > 0.5 mag, along the line of sight to the GRB. Dust with similar Av for the host galaxy as a whole appears to be required by the measurement of a Balmer decrement in the spectrum of the host galaxy.
Description
Keywords
Keywords: Gamma rays: bursts
Citation
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Source
Astrophysical Journal, The
Type
Journal article