A very-high-energy component deep in the $\gamma$-ray burst afterglow

H. Abdalla; R. Adam; F. Aharonian; F. Ait Benkhali; E.O. Angüner; M. Arakawa; C. Arcaro; C. Armand; H. Ashkar; M. Backes; V. Barbosa Martins; M. Barnard; Y. Becherini; D. Berge; K. Bernlöhr; E. Bissaldi; R. Blackwell; M. Böttcher; C. Boisson; J. Bolmont; S. Bonnefoy; J. Bregeon; M. Breuhaus; F. Brun; P. Brun; M. Bryan; M. Büchele; T. Bulik; T. Bylund; M. Capasso; S. Caroff; A. Carosi; S. Casanova; M. Cerruti; T. Chand; S. Chandra; A. Chen; S. Colafrancesco; M. Curyło; I.D. Davids; C. Deil; J. Devin; P. Dewilt; L. Dirson; A. Djannati-Atai; A. Dmytriiev; A. Donath; V. Doroshenko; J. Dyks; K. Egberts; G. Emery; J.-P. Ernenwein; S. Eschbach; K. Feijen; S. Fegan; A. Fiasson; G. Fontaine; S. Funk; M. Füssling; S. Gabici; Y.A. Gallant; F. Gaté; G. Giavitto; L. Giunti; D. Glawion; J.F. Glicenstein; D. Gottschall; M.-H. Grondin; J. Hahn; M. Haupt; G. Heinzelmann; G. Henri; G. Hermann; J.A. Hinton; W. Hofmann; C. Hoischen; T.L. Holch; M. Holler; D. Horns; D. Huber; H. Iwasaki; M. Jamrozy; D. Jankowsky; F. Jankowsky; A. Jardin-Blicq; I. Jung-Richardt; M.A. Kastendieck; K. Katarzyński; M. Katsuragawa; U. Katz; D. Khangulyan; B. Khélifi; J. King; S. Klepser; W. Kluźniak; Nu. Komin; K. Kosack; D. Kostunin; M. Kreter; G. Lamanna; A. Lemière; M. Lemoine-Goumard; J.-P. Lenain; E. Leser; C. Levy; T. Lohse; I. Lypova; J. Mackey; J. Majumdar; D. Malyshev; V. Marandon; Alexandre Marcowith; A. Mares; C. Mariaud; G. Martí-Devesa; R. Marx; G. Maurin; P.J. Meintjes; A.M.W. Mitchell; R. Moderski; M. Mohamed; L. Mohrmann; C. Moore; E. Moulin; J. Muller; T. Murach; S. Nakashima; M. de Naurois; H. Ndiyavala; F. Niederwanger; J. Niemiec; L. Oakes; P. O'Brien; H. Odaka; S. Ohm; E. de Ona Wilhelmi; M. Ostrowski; I. Oya; M. Panter; R.D. Parsons; C. Perennes; P.-O. Petrucci; B. Peyaud; Q. Piel; S. Pita; V. Poireau; A. Priyana Noel; D.A. Prokhorov; H. Prokoph; G. Pühlhofer; M. Punch; A. Quirrenbach; S. Raab; R. Rauth; A. Reimer; O. Reimer; Q. Remy; Matthieu Renaud; F. Rieger; L. Rinchiuso; C. Romoli; G. Rowell; B. Rudak; E. Ruiz-Velasco; V. Sahakian; S. Sailer; S. Saito; D.A. Sanchez; A. Santangelo; M. Sasaki; R. Schlickeiser; F. Schüssler; A. Schulz; H.M. Schutte; U. Schwanke; S. Schwemmer; M. Seglar-Arroyo; M. Senniappan; A.S. Seyffert; N. Shafi; K. Shiningayamwe; R. Simoni; A. Sinha; H. Sol; A. Specovius; M. Spir-Jacob; R. Steenkamp; C. Stegmann; C. Steppa; T. Takahashi; T. Tavernier; A.M. Taylor; R. Terrier; D. Tiziani; M. Tluczykont; C. Trichard; M. Tsirou; N. Tsuji; R. Tuffs; Y. Uchiyama; D.J. van Der Walt; C. van Eldik; C. van Rensburg; B. van Soelen; George Vasileiadis; J. Veh; C. Venter; P. Vincent; J. Vink; H.J. Völk; T. Vuillaume; Z. Wadiasingh; S.J. Wagner; R. White; A. Wierzcholska; R. Yang; H. Yoneda; M. Zacharias; R. Zanin; A.A. Zdziarski; A. Zech; A. Ziegler; J. Zorn; N. Żywucka; F. de Palma; M. Axelsson; O.J. Roberts

doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1743-9

$A very-high-energy component deep in the $\gamma$-ray burst afterglow$

Journal article

A very-high-energy component deep in the $\gamma$-ray burst afterglow

H. Abdalla, R. Adam, F. Aharonian, F. Ait Benkhali, E.O. Angüner, M. Arakawa, C. Arcaro, C. Armand, H. Ashkar, M. Backes, …

Nature, Vol.575(7783), pp.464-467

2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1743-9

Abstract

gamma ray: burst

particle: energy

X-ray: flux

gamma ray: UHE

photon

VHE

synchrotron

brightness

electron

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are brief flashes of γ-rays and are considered to be the most energetic explosive phenomena in the Universe 1 . The emission from GRBs comprises a short (typically tens of seconds) and bright prompt emission, followed by a much longer afterglow phase. During the afterglow phase, the shocked outflow—produced by the interaction between the ejected matter and the circumburst medium—slows down, and a gradual decrease in brightness is observed 2 . GRBs typically emit most of their energy via γ-rays with energies in the kiloelectronvolt-to-megaelectronvolt range, but a few photons with energies of tens of gigaelectronvolts have been detected by space-based instruments 3 . However, the origins of such high-energy (above one gigaelectronvolt) photons and the presence of very-high-energy (more than 100 gigaelectronvolts) emission have remained elusive 4 . Here we report observations of very-high-energy emission in the bright GRB 180720B deep in the GRB afterglow—ten hours after the end of the prompt emission phase, when the X-ray flux had already decayed by four orders of magnitude. Two possible explanations exist for the observed radiation: inverse Compton emission and synchrotron emission of ultrarelativistic electrons. Our observations show that the energy fluxes in the X-ray and γ-ray range and their photon indices remain comparable to each other throughout the afterglow. This discovery places distinct constraints on the GRB environment for both emission mechanisms, with the inverse Compton explanation alleviating the particle energy requirements for the emission observed at late times. The late timing of this detection has consequences for the future observations of GRBs at the highest energies.

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Title: A very-high-energy component deep in the $\gamma$-ray burst afterglow
Creators - without role: H. Abdalla - North-West University
R. Adam - Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules
F. Aharonian - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
F. Ait Benkhali
E.O. Angüner - Aix-Marseille Université
M. Arakawa - Rikkyo University
C. Arcaro - North-West University
C. Armand - Laboratoire d’Annecy de Physique des Particules
H. Ashkar - Université Paris-Saclay
M. Backes - North-West University
V. Barbosa Martins
M. Barnard - North-West University
Y. Becherini - Linnaeus University
D. Berge - German Institute for Adult Education
K. Bernlöhr - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
E. Bissaldi - Polytechnic University of Bari
R. Blackwell - University of Adelaide
M. Böttcher - North-West University
C. Boisson - Délégation Paris 7
J. Bolmont - Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Énergies
S. Bonnefoy - German Institute for Adult Education
J. Bregeon - Université de Montpellier, Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier - LUPM
M. Breuhaus - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
F. Brun - CEA Paris-Saclay
P. Brun - CEA Paris-Saclay
M. Bryan - University of Amsterdam
M. Büchele - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
T. Bulik - University of Warsaw
T. Bylund - Linnaeus University
M. Capasso - University of Tübingen
S. Caroff - Sorbonne Paris Cité
A. Carosi - Université Savoie Mont Blanc
S. Casanova - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
M. Cerruti - Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Énergies
T. Chand - North-West University
S. Chandra - North-West University
A. Chen - University of the Witwatersrand
S. Colafrancesco - University of the Witwatersrand
M. Curyło - University of Warsaw
I.D. Davids - University of Namibia
C. Deil - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
J. Devin - Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules
P. Dewilt - University of Adelaide
L. Dirson - Universität Hamburg
A. Djannati-Atai - Sorbonne Paris Cité
A. Dmytriiev - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres
A. Donath - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
V. Doroshenko - University of Tübingen
J. Dyks - Polish Academy of Sciences
K. Egberts - University of Potsdam
G. Emery - Université Paris Cité
J.-P. Ernenwein - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
S. Eschbach - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
K. Feijen - University of Adelaide
S. Fegan - École Polytechnique
A. Fiasson - Laboratoire d’Annecy de Physique des Particules
G. Fontaine - Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet
S. Funk - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
M. Füssling
S. Gabici - Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives
Y.A. Gallant - Université de Montpellier, Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier - LUPM
F. Gaté - Laboratoire d’Annecy de Physique des Particules
G. Giavitto - German Institute for Adult Education
L. Giunti - Sorbonne Paris Cité
D. Glawion - Heidelberg University
J.F. Glicenstein - Université Paris-Saclay
D. Gottschall - University of Tübingen
M.-H. Grondin - Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules
J. Hahn - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
M. Haupt - German Institute for Adult Education
G. Heinzelmann - Universität Hamburg
G. Henri - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
G. Hermann - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
J.A. Hinton - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
W. Hofmann - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
C. Hoischen - University of Potsdam
T.L. Holch - Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
M. Holler - Universität Innsbruck
D. Horns - Universität Hamburg
D. Huber - Universität Innsbruck
H. Iwasaki - Rikkyo University
M. Jamrozy - Jagiellonian University
D. Jankowsky - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
F. Jankowsky - Heidelberg University
A. Jardin-Blicq - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
I. Jung-Richardt - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
M.A. Kastendieck - Universität Hamburg
K. Katarzyński - Nicolaus Copernicus University
M. Katsuragawa - Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe
U. Katz - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
D. Khangulyan - Rikkyo University
B. Khélifi - Université Paris Cité
J. King - Heidelberg University
S. Klepser - German Institute for Adult Education
W. Kluźniak - Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center
Nu. Komin - University of the Witwatersrand
K. Kosack - Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives
D. Kostunin - German Institute for Adult Education
M. Kreter - North-West University
G. Lamanna - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
A. Lemière - Sorbonne Paris Cité
M. Lemoine-Goumard - Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules
J.-P. Lenain - Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Énergies
E. Leser - German Institute for Adult Education
C. Levy - Sorbonne Paris Cité
T. Lohse - Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
I. Lypova - German Institute for Adult Education
J. Mackey - Dublin Institute For Advanced Studies
J. Majumdar - German Institute for Adult Education
D. Malyshev - University of Tübingen
V. Marandon - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
Alexandre Marcowith - Université de Montpellier, Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier - LUPM
A. Mares - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
C. Mariaud - Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet
G. Martí-Devesa - Universität Innsbruck
R. Marx - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
G. Maurin - Laboratoire d’Annecy de Physique des Particules
P.J. Meintjes - University of the Free State
A.M.W. Mitchell - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
R. Moderski - Polish Academy of Sciences
M. Mohamed - Heidelberg University
L. Mohrmann - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
C. Moore - University of Leicester
E. Moulin - Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives
J. Muller - Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules
T. Murach - German Institute for Adult Education
S. Nakashima - RIKEN
M. de Naurois - Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet
H. Ndiyavala - North-West University
F. Niederwanger - Universität Innsbruck
J. Niemiec - Institute of Nuclear Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences
L. Oakes - Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
P. O'Brien
H. Odaka - The University of Tokyo
S. Ohm - German Institute for Adult Education
E. de Ona Wilhelmi - German Institute for Adult Education
M. Ostrowski - Jagiellonian University
I. Oya
M. Panter - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
R.D. Parsons - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
C. Perennes - Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Énergies
P.-O. Petrucci - Université Grenoble Alpes
B. Peyaud - Université Paris-Saclay
Q. Piel - Laboratoire d’Annecy de Physique des Particules
S. Pita - Sorbonne Paris Cité
V. Poireau - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
A. Priyana Noel
D.A. Prokhorov - University of the Witwatersrand
H. Prokoph - German Institute for Adult Education
G. Pühlhofer - University of Tübingen
M. Punch - Université Paris Cité
A. Quirrenbach - Heidelberg University
S. Raab - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
R. Rauth - Universität Innsbruck
A. Reimer - Universität Innsbruck
O. Reimer - Universität Innsbruck
Q. Remy - Université de Montpellier, Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier - LUPM
Matthieu Renaud - Université de Montpellier, Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier - LUPM
F. Rieger - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
L. Rinchiuso - CEA Paris-Saclay
C. Romoli - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
G. Rowell - University of Adelaide
B. Rudak - Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center
E. Ruiz-Velasco - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
V. Sahakian - A. Alikhanyan National Laboratory
S. Sailer - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
S. Saito - Rikkyo University
D.A. Sanchez - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
A. Santangelo - University of Tübingen
M. Sasaki - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
R. Schlickeiser - Ruhr University Bochum
F. Schüssler - Institut de Recherches sur les lois Fondamentales de l'Univers
A. Schulz - German Institute for Adult Education
H.M. Schutte - North-West University
U. Schwanke - Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
S. Schwemmer - Heidelberg University
M. Seglar-Arroyo - Université Paris-Saclay
M. Senniappan - Linnaeus University
A.S. Seyffert - North-West University
N. Shafi - University of the Witwatersrand
K. Shiningayamwe - University of Namibia
R. Simoni - University of Amsterdam
A. Sinha - Sorbonne Paris Cité
H. Sol - Délégation Paris 7
A. Specovius - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
M. Spir-Jacob - Sorbonne Paris Cité
R. Steenkamp - University of Namibia
C. Stegmann - University of Potsdam
C. Steppa - University of Potsdam
T. Takahashi - Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe
T. Tavernier - Université Paris-Saclay
A.M. Taylor - German Institute for Adult Education
R. Terrier - Université Paris Cité
D. Tiziani - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
M. Tluczykont - Universität Hamburg
C. Trichard - Laboratoire Leprince-Ringuet
M. Tsirou - Université de Montpellier, Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier - LUPM
N. Tsuji - Rikkyo University
R. Tuffs - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
Y. Uchiyama - Rikkyo University
D.J. van Der Walt - North-West University
C. van Eldik - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
C. van Rensburg - North-West University
B. van Soelen - University of the Free State
George Vasileiadis - Université de Montpellier, Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier - LUPM
J. Veh - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
C. Venter - North-West University
P. Vincent - Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Énergies
J. Vink - University of Amsterdam
H.J. Völk - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
T. Vuillaume - Laboratoire d’Annecy de Physique des Particules
Z. Wadiasingh - North-West University
S.J. Wagner - Heidelberg University
R. White - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
A. Wierzcholska - Heidelberg University
R. Yang - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
H. Yoneda - Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe
M. Zacharias - North-West University
R. Zanin - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
A.A. Zdziarski - Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center
A. Zech - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres
A. Ziegler - Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
J. Zorn - Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics
N. Żywucka - North-West University
F. de Palma - Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino
M. Axelsson - Stockholm University
O.J. Roberts - Universities Space Research Association
Publication Details: Nature, Vol.575(7783), pp.464-467
Identifiers: 9933917909311
Academic Unit: Laboratoire Univers et Particules de Montpellier - LUPM
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article
Local Fields: hal-02381934