Gamma-ray Burst 111109A

(All information courtesy of the instrument teams.)

Previous IAU Circulars

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Results of Observations

GCN/BACODINE POSITION NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 09 Nov 11 02:58:39 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-BAT GRB Position
TRIGGER_NUM:     507342,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          118.196d {+07h 52m 47s} (J2000),
                 118.296d {+07h 53m 11s} (current),
                 117.773d {+07h 51m 06s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -41.599d {-41d 35' 54"} (J2000),
                 -41.630d {-41d 37' 46"} (current),
                 -41.468d {-41d 28' 04"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       3.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN:       16370 [cnts]    Image_Peak=429 [image_cnts]
TRIGGER_DUR:     4.096 [sec] 
TRIGGER_INDEX:   289     E_range: 15-50 keV
BKG_INTEN:       138508 [cnts]
BKG_TIME:        10608.44 SOD {02:56:48.44} UT
BKG_DUR:         40 [sec]
GRB_DATE:        15874 TJD;   313 DOY;   11/11/09
GRB_TIME:        10666.04 SOD {02:57:46.04} UT
GRB_PHI:          34.93 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        17.03 [deg]
SOLN_STATUS:     0x3
RATE_SIGNIF:     13.85 [sigma]
IMAGE_SIGNIF:    8.62 [sigma]
MERIT_PARAMS:     +1  +0  +0  +2  +1  -1  +0  +1  +0  +0 
SUN_POSTN:       223.88d {+14h 55m 32s}  -16.73d {-16d 43' 35"}
SUN_DIST:         90.07 [deg]   Sun_angle= 7.0 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:       24.32d {+01h 37m 16s}  +14.24d {+14d 14' 18"}
MOON_DIST:       102.34 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      97 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      256.29, -7.28 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:      136.05,-60.61 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-BAT GRB Coordinates.  
COMMENTS:        This is a rate trigger.  
COMMENTS:        A point_source was found.  
COMMENTS:        This does not match any source in the on-board catalog.  
COMMENTS:        This does not match any source in the ground catalog.  
COMMENTS:        This is a GRB.  
COMMENTS:        This trigger occurred at longitude,latitude = 136.31,-20.06 [deg].

red DSS finding chart ps-file

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 09 Nov 11 03:01:59 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-BAT GRB Lightcurve
TRIGGER_NUM:     507342,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          118.196d {+07h 52m 47s} (J2000),
                 118.296d {+07h 53m 11s} (current),
                 117.773d {+07h 51m 06s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -41.599d {-41d 35' 54"} (J2000),
                 -41.630d {-41d 37' 46"} (current),
                 -41.468d {-41d 28' 04"} (1950)
GRB_DATE:        15874 TJD;   313 DOY;   11/11/09
GRB_TIME:        10666.04 SOD {02:57:46.04} UT
TRIGGER_INDEX:   289
GRB_PHI:          34.93 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        17.03 [deg]
DELTA_TIME:      0.00 [sec]
TRIGGER_DUR:     4.096 [sec] 
SOLN_STATUS:     0x3
RATE_SIGNIF:     13.85 [sigma]
IMAGE_SIGNIF:    8.62 [sigma]
LC_URL:          sw00507342000msb.lc
SUN_POSTN:       223.89d {+14h 55m 33s}  -16.73d {-16d 43' 37"}
SUN_DIST:         90.07 [deg]   Sun_angle= 7.0 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:       24.34d {+01h 37m 22s}  +14.25d {+14d 14' 49"}
MOON_DIST:       102.32 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      97 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      256.29, -7.28 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:      136.05,-60.61 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-BAT GRB Lightcurve.  
COMMENTS:           
COMMENTS:        The next comments were copied from the BAT_POS Notice:  
COMMENTS:        This is a rate trigger.  
COMMENTS:        A point_source was found.  
COMMENTS:        This does not match any source in the on-board catalog.  
COMMENTS:        This does not match any source in the ground catalog.  
COMMENTS:        This is a GRB.  
COMMENTS:        This trigger occurred at longitude,latitude = 136.31,-20.06 [deg].

GCN Circular #12548
C. Pagani (U Leicester), S. D. Barthelmy (GSFC), N. Gehrels (NASA/GSFC), J. A. Kennea (PSU), C. B. Markwardt (NASA/GSFC), F. E. Marshall (NASA/GSFC), K. L. Page (U Leicester), D. M. Palmer (LANL), B. Sbarufatti (INAF-OAB/IASFPA), M. H. Siegel (PSU) and T. N. Ukwatta (MSU) report on behalf of the Swift Team:
At 02:57:46 UT, the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) triggered and located GRB 111109A (trigger=507342). Swift did not slew due an observing constraint. The BAT on-board calculated location is RA, Dec 118.196, -41.599, which is
```
   RA(J2000)  =  07h 52m 47s
   Dec(J2000) = -41d 35' 54"
```
with an uncertainty of 3 arcmin (radius, 90% containment, including systematic uncertainty). The BAT light curve shows a few peaks with a total duration of about 20 sec. The peak count rate was ~1500 counts/sec (15-350 keV), at ~1 sec after the trigger.
Due to an observing constraint, Swift will not slew until T0+49.2 minutes. There will be no XRT or UVOT data until this time.
Burst Advocate for this burst is C. Pagani (cp232 AT star.le.ac.uk). Please contact the BA by email if you require additional information regarding Swift followup of this burst. In extremely urgent cases, after trying the Burst Advocate, you can contact the Swift PI by phone (see Swift TOO web site for information: http://www.swift.psu.edu/too.html.)

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 09 Nov 11 03:49:31 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Nack-Position
TRIGGER_NUM:     507342,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        118.204d {+07h 52m 49s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -41.602d {-41d 36' 04"} (J2000)
IMG_START_DATE:  15874 TJD;   313 DOY;   11/11/09
IMG_START_TIME:  13754.92 SOD {03:49:14.92} UT,   3088.9 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
COUNTS:          1    Min_needed= 20
STD_DEV:         0.00   Max_StdDev_for_Good=28.44 [arcsec]
PH2_ITER:        0    Max_iter_allowed= 4
ERROR_CODE:      1
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Nack Position.  
COMMENTS:        No source found in the image.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 09 Nov 11 03:52:13 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Source List
TRIGGER_NUM:     507342,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        118.203d {+07h 52m 49s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -41.602d {-41d 36' 06"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL:      112.793d
IMG_START_DATE:  15874 TJD;   313 DOY;   11/11/09
IMG_START_TIME:  13760.72 SOD {03:49:20.72} UT,   3094.7 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          10, White
BKG_MEAN:        3.047
N_STARS:         190
X_OFFSET:        434 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        548 [pixels]
X_MAX:           1393 [pixels]
Y_MAX:           1507 [pixels]
DET_THRESH:      14
PHOTO_THRESH:    8
SL_URL:          sw00507342000msufc3094.fits
SUN_POSTN:       223.92d {+14h 55m 41s}  -16.74d {-16d 44' 13"}
SUN_DIST:         90.08 [deg]   Sun_angle= 7.0 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:       24.75d {+01h 39m 00s}  +14.37d {+14d 22' 22"}
MOON_DIST:       102.11 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      97 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      256.30, -7.28 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      136.06,-60.61 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Source List.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 09 Nov 11 03:52:40 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Processed Source List
TRIGGER_NUM:     507342,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        118.203d {+07h 52m 49s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -41.602d {-41d 36' 06"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL:      112.793d
IMG_START_DATE:  15874 TJD;   313 DOY;   11/11/09
IMG_START_TIME:  13760.72 SOD {03:49:20.72} UT,   3094.7 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          10, White
BKG_MEAN:        3.047
N_STARS:         190
X_OFFSET:        434 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        548 [pixels]
X_MAX:           1393 [pixels]
Y_MAX:           1507 [pixels]
DET_THRESH:      14
PHOTO_THRESH:    8
SL_URL:          sw00507342000msufc3094.fits
SUN_POSTN:       223.92d {+14h 55m 41s}  -16.74d {-16d 44' 13"}
SUN_DIST:         90.08 [deg]   Sun_angle= 7.0 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:       24.75d {+01h 39m 01s}  +14.37d {+14d 22' 26"}
MOON_DIST:       102.11 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      97 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      256.30, -7.28 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      136.06,-60.61 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Processed Source List.  
COMMENTS:        All 4 attachments are included.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 09 Nov 11 03:53:43 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Image
TRIGGER_NUM:     507342,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        118.203d {+07h 52m 49s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -41.602d {-41d 36' 06"} (J2000)
ROLL:            112.793d
IMG_START_DATE:  15874 TJD;   313 DOY;   11/11/09
IMG_START_TIME:  13760.72 SOD {03:49:20.72} UT,   3094.7 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          10, White
EXPOSURE_ID:     342503368
X_OFFSET:        753 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        867 [pixels]
WIDTH:           160 [pixels]
HEIGHT:          160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS:       913
Y_GRB_POS:       1027
BINNING_INDEX:   1
IM_URL:          sw00507342000msuni3102.fits
SUN_POSTN:       223.92d {+14h 55m 41s}  -16.74d {-16d 44' 14"}
SUN_DIST:         90.08 [deg]   Sun_angle= 7.0 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:       24.76d {+01h 39m 03s}  +14.38d {+14d 22' 36"}
MOON_DIST:       102.10 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      97 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      256.30, -7.28 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      136.06,-60.61 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Image.  
COMMENTS:        The GRB Position came from the Window Position in the Mode Command.  
COMMENTS:        The image has 2x2 binning (compression).

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 09 Nov 11 03:53:59 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Processed Image
TRIGGER_NUM:     507342,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        118.203d {+07h 52m 49s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -41.602d {-41d 36' 06"} (J2000)
ROLL:            112.793d
IMG_START_DATE:  15874 TJD;   313 DOY;   11/11/09
IMG_START_TIME:  13760.72 SOD {03:49:20.72} UT,   3094.7 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          10, White
EXPOSURE_ID:     342503368
X_OFFSET:        753 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        867 [pixels]
WIDTH:           160 [pixels]
HEIGHT:          160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS:       913
Y_GRB_POS:       1027
BINNING_INDEX:   1
IM_URL:          sw00507342000msuni3102.fits
SUN_POSTN:       223.92d {+14h 55m 41s}  -16.74d {-16d 44' 14"}
SUN_DIST:         90.08 [deg]   Sun_angle= 7.0 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:       24.76d {+01h 39m 03s}  +14.38d {+14d 22' 38"}
MOON_DIST:       102.10 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      97 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      256.30, -7.28 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      136.06,-60.61 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Processed Image.  
COMMENTS:        The GRB Position came from the Window Position in the Mode Command.  
COMMENTS:        The image has 2x2 binning (compression).  
COMMENTS:        All 4 attachments are included.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 09 Nov 11 03:56:21 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Position
TRIGGER_NUM:     507342,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          118.1748d {+07h 52m 41.95s} (J2000),
                 118.2750d {+07h 53m 05.98s} (current),
                 117.7524d {+07h 51m 00.57s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -41.6390d {-41d 38' 20.4"} (J2000),
                 -41.6702d {-41d 40' 12.7"} (current),
                 -41.5085d {-41d 30' 30.4"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       1.1 [arcsec radius, statistical only]
GRB_MAG:         17.71 +/- 0.40 [mag]
FILTER:          10, White
IMG_START_DATE:  15874 TJD;   313 DOY;   11/11/09
IMG_START_TIME:  13760.00 SOD {03:49:20.00} UT,   3094.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
SUN_POSTN:       223.92d {+14h 55m 42s}  -16.74d {-16d 44' 16"}
SUN_DIST:         90.09 [deg]   Sun_angle= 7.0 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:       24.78d {+01h 39m 08s}  +14.38d {+14d 22' 60"}
MOON_DIST:       102.08 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      97 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      256.32, -7.31 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:      136.05,-60.65 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
COMMENTS:        SWIFT UVOT Position Notice.  
COMMENTS:        This Notice was ground-generated -- not flight-generated.  
COMMENTS:        Result based on srclist data.  
COMMENTS:        Notice generated automatically.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 09 Nov 11 04:27:07 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Position
TRIGGER_NUM:     507342,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          118.2045d {+07h 52m 49.07s} (J2000),
                 118.3048d {+07h 53m 13.14s} (current),
                 117.7816d {+07h 51m 07.58s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -41.5840d {-41d 35' 02.4"} (J2000),
                 -41.6152d {-41d 36' 54.8"} (current),
                 -41.4533d {-41d 27' 11.9"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       4.2 [arcsec radius, statistical plus systematic, 90% containment]
GRB_INTEN:       1.00e-10 [erg/cm2/sec]
GRB_SIGNIF:      10.00 [sigma]
IMG_START_DATE:  15874 TJD;   313 DOY;   11/11/09
IMG_START_TIME:  13813.00 SOD {03:50:13.00} UT,   3147.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
TAM[0-3]:        100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
AMPLIFIER:       1
WAVEFORM:        31
SUN_POSTN:       223.95d {+14h 55m 47s}  -16.74d {-16d 44' 38"}
SUN_DIST:         90.10 [deg]   Sun_angle= 7.0 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:       25.03d {+01h 40m 08s}  +14.46d {+14d 27' 36"}
MOON_DIST:       101.96 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      98 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      256.28, -7.27 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
ECL_COORDS:      136.05,-60.59 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Coordinates.  
COMMENTS:        This Notice was ground-generated -- not flight-generated.  
COMMENTS:        TAM values, flux and significance fields are not valid.  
COMMENTS:        This position was automatically generated on the ground using  
COMMENTS:        Photon Counting data telemetered via TDRSS (SPER data).  
COMMENTS:        See http://www.swift.ac.uk/sper/docs.php for details.  
COMMENTS:        The probability that this is a serendipitous source in the  
COMMENTS:        SPER window is 15% < P(seren) < 100%.

GCN Circular #12549
D.N. Burrows (PSU), J.A. Kennea (PSU), M. Perri (ASDC), G. Tagliaferri (INAF-OAB), P.A. Evans (U. Leicester) and J.P. Osborne (U. Leicester) report on behalf of the Swift-XRT team:
The XRT began observing the field of GRB 111109A at 03:49:14.9 UT, 3088.9 seconds after the BAT trigger. No source was detected in 922 s of promptly downlinked data. We are waiting for the full dataset to detect and localise the XRT counterpart.
GCN Circular #12550
A.P. Beardmore, P.A. Evans, M.R. Goad and J.P. Osborne (U. Leicester) report on behalf of the Swift-XRT team.
Using 2557 s of XRT Photon Counting mode data and 1 UVOT images for GRB 111109A, we find an astrometrically corrected X-ray position (using the XRT-UVOT alignment and matching UVOT field sources to the USNO-B1 catalogue): RA, Dec = 118.20283, -41.58413 which is equivalent to:
```
RA (J2000): 07h 52m 48.68s
Dec (J2000): -41d 35' 02.9"
```
with an uncertainty of 2.4 arcsec (radius, 90% confidence).
This position may be improved as more data are received. The latest position can be viewed at http://www.swift.ac.uk/xrt_positions. Position enhancement is described by Goad et al. (2007, A&A, 476, 1401) and Evans et al. (2009, MNRAS, 397, 1177).
This circular was automatically generated, and is an official product of the Swift-XRT team.
GCN Circular #12551
W. H. Baumgartner (GSFC/UMBC), S. D. Barthelmy (GSFC), J. R. Cummings (GSFC/UMBC), N. Gehrels (GSFC), H. A. Krimm (GSFC/USRA), C. B. Markwardt (GSFC), C. Pagani (U Leicester), D. M. Palmer (LANL), T. Sakamoto (GSFC/UMBC), M. Stamatikos (OSU), J. Tueller (GSFC), T. N. Ukwatta (MSU) (i.e. the Swift-BAT team):
Using the data set from T-240 to T+645 sec from recent telemetry downlinks, we report further analysis of BAT GRB 111109A (trigger #507342) (Pagani, et al., GCN Circ. 12548). The BAT ground-calculated position is RA, Dec = 118.248, -41.588 deg, which is
```
   RA(J2000)  =  07h 52m 59.5s 
   Dec(J2000) = -41d 35' 18.3" 
```
with an uncertainty of 1.9 arcmin, (radius, sys+stat, 90% containment). The partial coding was 91%.
The mask-weighted light curve shows a couple overlapping peaks starting at ~T-5 sec, peaking at ~T+2 sec, and ending at ~T+20 sec. There is a hint of possible precursor activity (~2 sigma) at ~T-110 sec. We note that the burst location went out of the BAT FoV at ~T+120 sec (a slew due to an observing constraint). T90 (15-350 keV) is 13.0 +- 3.2 sec (estimated error including systematics).
The time-averaged spectrum from T-5.60 to T+8.40 sec is best fit by a simple power-law model. The power law index of the time-averaged spectrum is 1.86 +- 0.26. The fluence in the 15-150 keV band is 2.4 +- 0.4 x 10^-7 erg/cm2. The 1-sec peak photon flux measured from T+1.40 sec in the 15-150 keV band is 0.5 +- 0.1 ph/cm2/sec. All the quoted errors are at the 90% confidence level.
The results of the batgrbproduct analysis are available at http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/notices_s/507342/BA/
GCN Circular #12552
S. T. Holland (CRESST/USRA/GSFC) and C. Pagani (U Leicester) report on behalf of the Swift/UVOT team:
The Swift/UVOT observed the field of GRB 111109A starting 3074 s after the BAT trigger (Pagani et al., 2011, GCNC 12548). Settled observations started at 3095 s. The USNO-B1.0 source 0484-0114145 is seen in the UVOT-enhanced XRT error circle (Beardmore et al., 2011, GCNC 12550). Our preliminary photometry suggests that this source did not vary during the UVOT observations. We note that the position listed in the GCN/SWIFT_POSITION_NOTICE dated Wed 09 Nov 11 03:56:21 UT is incorrect due to it being inconsistent with the XRT position, and the presence of a nearby high proper motion star.
GCN Circular #12553
C. Pagani (U Leicester) reports on behalf of the Swift-XRT team:
We have analysed 10 ks of XRT data for GRB 111109A (Pagani et al. GCN Circ. 12548), from 3.1 ks to 51.8 ks after the BAT trigger. The data are entirely in Photon Counting (PC) mode. The enhanced XRT position for this burst was given by Beardmore et al. (GCN. Circ 12550).
The light curve can be modelled with a power-law decay with a decay index of alpha=0.5 (+/-0.3).
A spectrum formed from the PC mode data can be fitted with an absorbed power-law with a photon spectral index of 3.0 (+0.8, -0.7). The best-fitting absorption column is 6.1 (+3.1, -2.9) x 10^21 cm^-2, in excess of the Galactic value of 3.2 x 10^21 cm^-2 (Kalberla et al. 2005). The counts to observed (unabsorbed) 0.3-10 keV flux conversion factor deduced from this spectrum is 3.1 x 10^-11 (1.5 x 10^-10) erg cm^-2 count^-1.
A summary of the PC-mode spectrum is thus:
```
Total column:	     6.1 (+3.1, -2.9) x 10^21 cm^-2
Galactic foreground: 3.2 x 10^21 cm^-2
Excess significance: 3.5 sigma
Photon index:	     3.0 (+0.8, -0.7)
```
The results of the XRT-team automatic analysis are available at http://www.swift.ac.uk/xrt_products/00507342.
This circular is an official product of the Swift-XRT team.
GCN Report 364.1
GCN_Report 364.1 has been posted: http://gcn.gsfc.nasa.gov/reports/report_364_1.pdf by C. Pagani at U.Leicester titled: "Final Swift Observations of GRB 111109A"

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Jochen Greiner, last update: 10-Nov-2011 [Disclaimer]