Publication

An extremely luminous panchromatic outburst from the nucleus of a distant galaxy

Levan, A. J.
; 
Tanvir, N. R.
; 
Cenko, S. B.
; 
Perley, D. A.
; 
Wiersema, K.
; 
Bloom, J. S.
; 
Fruchter, A. S.
; 
Postigo, A. d. U.
; 
O'Brien, P. T.
; 
Butler, N.
... show 10 more
Identifiers
http://hdl.handle.net/10379/12431
https://doi.org/10.13025/27421
Repository DOI
10.1126/science.1207143
Publication Date
2011-06-16
Keywords
gamma-ray burst, swift-era
Type
Article
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Citation
Levan, A. J. Tanvir, N. R.; Cenko, S. B.; Perley, D. A.; Wiersema, K.; Bloom, J. S.; Fruchter, A. S.; Postigo, A. d. U.; O'Brien, P. T.; Butler, N.; van der Horst, A. J.; Leloudas, G.; Morgan, A. N.; Misra, K.; Bower, G. C.; Farihi, J.; Tunnicliffe, R. L.; Modjaz, M.; Silverman, J. M.; Hjorth, J.; Thone, C.; Cucchiara, A.; Ceron, J. M. C.; Castro-Tirado, A. J.; Arnold, J. A.; Bremer, M.; Brodie, J. P.; Carroll, T.; Cooper, M. C.; Curran, P. A.; Cutri, R. M.; Ehle, J.; Forbes, D.; Fynbo, J.; Gorosabel, J.; Graham, J.; Hoffman, D. I.; Guziy, S.; Jakobsson, P.; Kamble, A.; Kerr, T.; Kasliwal, M. M.; Kouveliotou, C.; Kocevski, D.; Law, N. M.; Nugent, P. E.; Ofek, E. O.; Poznanski, D.; Quimby, R. M.; Rol, E.; Romanowsky, A. J.; Sanchez-Ramirez, R.; Schulze, S.; Singh, N.; van Spaandonk, L.; Starling, R. L. C.; Strom, R. G.; Tello, J. C.; Vaduvescu, O.; Wheatley, P. J.; Wijers, R. A. M. J.; Winters, J. M.; Xu, D. (2011). An extremely luminous panchromatic outburst from the nucleus of a distant galaxy. Science 333 (6039), 199-202
Abstract
Variable x-ray and gamma-ray emission is characteristic of the most extreme physical processes in the universe. We present multiwavelength observations of a unique gamma-ray-selected transient detected by the Swift satellite, accompanied by bright emission across the electromagnetic spectrum, and whose properties are unlike any previously observed source. We pinpoint the event to the center of a small, star-forming galaxy at redshift z = 0.3534. Its high-energy emission has lasted much longer than any gamma-ray burst, whereas its peak luminosity was similar to 100 times higher than bright active galactic nuclei. The association of the outburst with the center of its host galaxy suggests that this phenomenon has its origin in a rare mechanism involving the massive black hole in the nucleus of that galaxy.
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Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland
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Externally hosted open access publications with University of Galway authors (2)