Gamma-ray Burst 131103A

(All information courtesy of the instrument teams.)

Previous IAU Circulars

none

Results of Observations

GCN/BACODINE POSITION NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:07:43 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-BAT GRB Position
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          348.954d {+23h 15m 49s} (J2000),
                 349.146d {+23h 16m 35s} (current),
                 348.259d {+23h 13m 02s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -44.670d {-44d 40' 11"} (J2000),
                 -44.594d {-44d 35' 39"} (current),
                 -44.943d {-44d 56' 34"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       3.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN:       4351 [cnts]    Image_Peak=150 [image_cnts]
TRIGGER_DUR:     1.024 [sec] 
TRIGGER_INDEX:   147     E_range: 25-100 keV
BKG_INTEN:       28190 [cnts]
BKG_TIME:        79628.76 SOD {22:07:08.76} UT
BKG_DUR:         8 [sec]
GRB_DATE:        16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
GRB_TIME:        79645.79 SOD {22:07:25.79} UT
GRB_PHI:         118.96 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        33.00 [deg]
SOLN_STATUS:     0x3
RATE_SIGNIF:     13.41 [sigma]
IMAGE_SIGNIF:    7.39 [sigma]
MERIT_PARAMS:     +1  +0  +0  +0  +2  -3  +0  +0 +25  +0 
SUN_POSTN:       219.21d {+14h 36m 51s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 37"}
SUN_DIST:        104.79 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.38d {+14h 57m 31s}  -16.11d {-16d 06' 40"}
MOON_DIST:       101.26 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.13,-64.05 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:      329.90,-36.21 [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 = 231.40,-20.51 [deg].

red DSS finding chart ps-file

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:09:17 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Position
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          348.9193d {+23h 15m 40.63s} (J2000),
                 349.1111d {+23h 16m 26.66s} (current),
                 348.2241d {+23h 12m 53.77s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -44.6386d {-44d 38' 18.9"} (J2000),
                 -44.5630d {-44d 33' 46.6"} (current),
                 -44.9115d {-44d 54' 41.3"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       5.4 [arcsec radius, statistical plus systematic, 90% containment]
GRB_INTEN:       1.31e-09 [erg/cm2/sec]
GRB_SIGNIF:      7.21 [sigma]
IMG_START_DATE:  16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
IMG_START_TIME:  79722.05 SOD {22:08:42.05} UT,   76.3 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
TAM[0-3]:        327.64 237.20 261.55 243.26
AMPLIFIER:       2
WAVEFORM:        134
SUN_POSTN:       219.22d {+14h 36m 52s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 38"}
SUN_DIST:        104.79 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.40d {+14h 57m 35s}  -16.11d {-16d 06' 51"}
MOON_DIST:       101.25 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.22,-64.05 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
ECL_COORDS:      329.89,-36.18 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Coordinates.  
COMMENTS:        The XRT position is 2.40 arcmin from the BAT position.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:09:26 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Image
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          348.9193d {+23h 15m 40.6s} (J2000),
                 349.1111d {+23h 16m 26.6s} (current),
                 348.2241d {+23h 12m 53.7s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -44.6386d {-44d 38' 18.9"} (J2000),
                 -44.5630d {-44d 33' 46.6"} (current),
                 -44.9115d {-44d 54' 41.3"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       5.0 [arcsec, radius, statistical plus systematic]
GRB_INTEN:       52 [cnts]
IMG_START_DATE:  16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
IMG_START_TIME:  79722.05 SOD {22:08:42.05} UT,   76.3 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
CENTROID_X:      327.73,  raw= 328  [pixels]
CENTROID_Y:      247.40,  raw= 247  [pixels]
ROLL:            229.98 [deg]
GAIN:            1
MODE:            3, Long Image mode
WAVEFORM:        134
EXPO_TIME:       2.50 [sec]
GRB_POS_XRT_Y:   -119.25
GRB_POS_XRT_Z:   56.64
IMAGE_URL:       sw00576562000msxps_rw.img
SUN_POSTN:       219.22d {+14h 36m 52s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 39"}
SUN_DIST:        104.79 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.40d {+14h 57m 36s}  -16.11d {-16d 06' 52"}
MOON_DIST:       101.25 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.22,-64.05 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
ECL_COORDS:      329.89,-36.18 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Image.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:09:31 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Processed Image
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          348.9193d {+23h 15m 40.6s} (J2000),
                 349.1111d {+23h 16m 26.6s} (current),
                 348.2241d {+23h 12m 53.7s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -44.6386d {-44d 38' 18.9"} (J2000),
                 -44.5630d {-44d 33' 46.6"} (current),
                 -44.9115d {-44d 54' 41.3"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       5.0 [arcsec, radius, statistical plus systematic]
GRB_INTEN:       52 [cnts]
IMG_START_DATE:  16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
IMG_START_TIME:  79722.05 SOD {22:08:42.05} UT,   76.3 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
CENTROID_X:      327.73,  raw= 328  [pixels]
CENTROID_Y:      247.40,  raw= 247  [pixels]
ROLL:            229.98 [deg]
GAIN:            1
MODE:            3, Long Image mode
WAVEFORM:        134
EXPO_TIME:       2.50 [sec]
GRB_POS_XRT_Y:   -119.25
GRB_POS_XRT_Z:   56.64
IMAGE_URL:       sw00576562000msxps_rw.img
SUN_POSTN:       219.22d {+14h 36m 52s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 39"}
SUN_DIST:        104.79 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.40d {+14h 57m 36s}  -16.11d {-16d 06' 52"}
MOON_DIST:       101.25 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.22,-64.05 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
ECL_COORDS:      329.89,-36.18 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Processed Image.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:11:05 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-BAT GRB Lightcurve
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          348.954d {+23h 15m 49s} (J2000),
                 349.146d {+23h 16m 35s} (current),
                 348.259d {+23h 13m 02s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -44.670d {-44d 40' 11"} (J2000),
                 -44.594d {-44d 35' 39"} (current),
                 -44.943d {-44d 56' 34"} (1950)
GRB_DATE:        16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
GRB_TIME:        79645.79 SOD {22:07:25.79} UT
TRIGGER_INDEX:   147
GRB_PHI:         118.96 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        33.00 [deg]
DELTA_TIME:      57.00 [sec]
TRIGGER_DUR:     1.024 [sec] 
SOLN_STATUS:     0x3
RATE_SIGNIF:     13.41 [sigma]
IMAGE_SIGNIF:    7.39 [sigma]
LC_URL:          sw00576562000msb.lc
SUN_POSTN:       219.22d {+14h 36m 52s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 40"}
SUN_DIST:        104.79 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.41d {+14h 57m 40s}  -16.12d {-16d 07' 03"}
MOON_DIST:       101.24 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.13,-64.05 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:      329.90,-36.21 [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 = 231.40,-20.51 [deg].

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:13:59 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Source List
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        348.932d {+23h 15m 44s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -44.674d {-44d 40' 26"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL:      229.979d
IMG_START_DATE:  16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
IMG_START_TIME:  79732.54 SOD {22:08:52.54} UT,   86.8 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          10, White
BKG_MEAN:        7.393
N_STARS:         19
X_OFFSET:        476 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        819 [pixels]
X_MAX:           1435 [pixels]
Y_MAX:           1778 [pixels]
DET_THRESH:      24
PHOTO_THRESH:    14
SL_URL:          sw00576562000msufc0086.fits
SUN_POSTN:       219.22d {+14h 36m 52s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 42"}
SUN_DIST:        104.77 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.44d {+14h 57m 47s}  -16.12d {-16d 07' 24"}
MOON_DIST:       101.20 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.14,-64.04 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      329.88,-36.21 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Source List.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:14:39 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Processed Source List
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        348.932d {+23h 15m 44s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -44.674d {-44d 40' 26"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL:      229.979d
IMG_START_DATE:  16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
IMG_START_TIME:  79732.54 SOD {22:08:52.54} UT,   86.8 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          10, White
BKG_MEAN:        7.393
N_STARS:         19
X_OFFSET:        476 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        819 [pixels]
X_MAX:           1435 [pixels]
Y_MAX:           1778 [pixels]
DET_THRESH:      24
PHOTO_THRESH:    14
SL_URL:          sw00576562000msufc0086.fits
SUN_POSTN:       219.22d {+14h 36m 53s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 43"}
SUN_DIST:        104.77 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.45d {+14h 57m 48s}  -16.12d {-16d 07' 28"}
MOON_DIST:       101.19 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.14,-64.04 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      329.88,-36.21 [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:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:16:26 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Image
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        348.932d {+23h 15m 44s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -44.674d {-44d 40' 26"} (J2000)
ROLL:            229.979d
IMG_START_DATE:  16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
IMG_START_TIME:  79732.54 SOD {22:08:52.54} UT,   86.8 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          10, White
EXPOSURE_ID:     405209343
X_OFFSET:        796 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        1139 [pixels]
WIDTH:           160 [pixels]
HEIGHT:          160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS:       956
Y_GRB_POS:       1299
BINNING_INDEX:   1
IM_URL:          sw00576562000msuni0098.fits
SUN_POSTN:       219.22d {+14h 36m 53s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 44"}
SUN_DIST:        104.77 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.47d {+14h 57m 53s}  -16.13d {-16d 07' 41"}
MOON_DIST:       101.18 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.14,-64.04 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      329.88,-36.21 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Image.  
COMMENTS:        The GRB Position came from the XRT Position Command.  
COMMENTS:        The image has 2x2 binning (compression).

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:16:43 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Processed Image
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        348.932d {+23h 15m 44s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -44.674d {-44d 40' 26"} (J2000)
ROLL:            229.979d
IMG_START_DATE:  16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
IMG_START_TIME:  79732.54 SOD {22:08:52.54} UT,   86.8 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          10, White
EXPOSURE_ID:     405209343
X_OFFSET:        796 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        1139 [pixels]
WIDTH:           160 [pixels]
HEIGHT:          160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS:       956
Y_GRB_POS:       1299
BINNING_INDEX:   1
IM_URL:          sw00576562000msuni0098.fits
SUN_POSTN:       219.22d {+14h 36m 53s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 44"}
SUN_DIST:        104.77 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.47d {+14h 57m 53s}  -16.13d {-16d 07' 43"}
MOON_DIST:       101.18 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.14,-64.04 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      329.88,-36.21 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Processed Image.  
COMMENTS:        The GRB Position came from the XRT Position Command.  
COMMENTS:        The image has 2x2 binning (compression).  
COMMENTS:        All 4 attachments are included.

GCN Circular #15440
J. R. Cummings (NASA/UMBC), S. D. Barthelmy (GSFC), D. N. Burrows (PSU), V. D'Elia (ASDC), N. Gehrels (NASA/GSFC), J. A. Kennea (PSU), C. B. Markwardt (NASA/GSFC), F. E. Marshall (NASA/GSFC), C. Pagani (U Leicester), K. L. Page (U Leicester) and D. M. Palmer (LANL) report on behalf of the Swift Team:
At 22:07:25 UT, the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) triggered and located GRB 131103A (trigger=576562). Swift slewed immediately to the burst. The BAT on-board calculated location is RA, Dec 348.954, -44.670 which is
```
   RA(J2000) = 23h 15m 49s
   Dec(J2000) = -44d 40' 11"
```
with an uncertainty of 3 arcmin (radius, 90% containment, including systematic uncertainty). The BAT light curve showed a complex structure with a duration of at least 20 sec with possible emission on a longer timescale. The peak count rate was ~2000 counts/sec (15-350 keV), at ~1 sec after the trigger.
The XRT began observing the field at 22:08:42.0 UT, 76.3 seconds after the BAT trigger. Using promptly downlinked data we find a bright, uncatalogued X-ray source located at RA, Dec 348.92161, -44.63816 which is equivalent to:
```
   RA(J2000)  = 23h 15m 41.19s
   Dec(J2000) = -44d 38' 17.4"
```
with an uncertainty of 3.6 arcseconds (radius, 90% containment). This location is 141 arcseconds from the BAT onboard position, within the BAT error circle. This position may be improved as more data are received; the latest position is available at http://www.swift.ac.uk/sper.
A power-law fit to a spectrum formed from promptly downlinked event data gives a column density in excess of the Galactic value (1.11 x 10^20 cm^-2, Kalberla et al. 2005), with an excess column of 4 (+2.09/-1.83) x 10^21 cm^-2 (90% confidence).
The initial flux in the 2.5 s image was 1.31e-09 erg cm^-2 s^-1 (0.2-10 keV).
UVOT took a finding chart exposure of 150 seconds with the White filter starting 86 seconds after the BAT trigger. No credible afterglow candidate has been found in the initial data products. The 2.7'x2.7' sub-image covers 100% of the XRT error circle. The typical 3-sigma upper limit has been about 19.6 mag. The 8'x8' region for the list of sources generated on-board covers 100% of the XRT error circle. The list of sources is typically complete to about 18 mag. No correction has been made for the expected extinction corresponding to E(B-V) of 0.01.
Burst Advocate for this burst is J. R. Cummings (jayc AT milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov). 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:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:22:42 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Source List
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        348.929d {+23h 15m 43s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -44.674d {-44d 40' 26"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL:      229.982d
IMG_START_DATE:  16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
IMG_START_TIME:  79944.81 SOD {22:12:24.81} UT,   299.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          7, U
BKG_MEAN:        1.660
N_STARS:         12
X_OFFSET:        476 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        819 [pixels]
X_MAX:           1435 [pixels]
Y_MAX:           1778 [pixels]
DET_THRESH:      11
PHOTO_THRESH:    5
SL_URL:          sw00576562000msufc0299.fits
SUN_POSTN:       219.22d {+14h 36m 54s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 49"}
SUN_DIST:        104.76 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.53d {+14h 58m 08s}  -16.14d {-16d 08' 25"}
MOON_DIST:       101.13 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.14,-64.04 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      329.88,-36.21 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Source List.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:23:16 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Processed Source List
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        348.929d {+23h 15m 43s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -44.674d {-44d 40' 26"} (J2000)
POINT_ROLL:      229.982d
IMG_START_DATE:  16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
IMG_START_TIME:  79944.81 SOD {22:12:24.81} UT,   299.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          7, U
BKG_MEAN:        1.660
N_STARS:         12
X_OFFSET:        476 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        819 [pixels]
X_MAX:           1435 [pixels]
Y_MAX:           1778 [pixels]
DET_THRESH:      11
PHOTO_THRESH:    5
SL_URL:          sw00576562000msufc0299.fits
SUN_POSTN:       219.23d {+14h 36m 54s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 49"}
SUN_DIST:        104.76 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.54d {+14h 58m 09s}  -16.14d {-16d 08' 29"}
MOON_DIST:       101.13 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.14,-64.04 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      329.88,-36.21 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Processed Source List.  
COMMENTS:        If you have elected to receive attachments:  
COMMENTS:        The uvot_catalog_srclist.fits.gz file does not exist; skipping the attachment.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:24:07 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Image
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        348.929d {+23h 15m 43s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -44.674d {-44d 40' 26"} (J2000)
ROLL:            229.982d
IMG_START_DATE:  16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
IMG_START_TIME:  79944.81 SOD {22:12:24.81} UT,   299.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          7, U
EXPOSURE_ID:     405209556
X_OFFSET:        796 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        1139 [pixels]
WIDTH:           160 [pixels]
HEIGHT:          160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS:       956
Y_GRB_POS:       1299
BINNING_INDEX:   1
IM_URL:          sw00576562000msuni0311.fits
SUN_POSTN:       219.23d {+14h 36m 54s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 50"}
SUN_DIST:        104.76 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.55d {+14h 58m 11s}  -16.14d {-16d 08' 35"}
MOON_DIST:       101.12 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.14,-64.04 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      329.88,-36.21 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Image.  
COMMENTS:        The GRB Position came from the XRT Position Command.  
COMMENTS:        The image has 2x2 binning (compression).

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 03 Nov 13 22:24:32 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-UVOT Processed Image
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
POINT_RA:        348.929d {+23h 15m 43s} (J2000)
POINT_DEC:       -44.674d {-44d 40' 26"} (J2000)
ROLL:            229.982d
IMG_START_DATE:  16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
IMG_START_TIME:  79944.81 SOD {22:12:24.81} UT,   299.0 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
FILTER:          7, U
EXPOSURE_ID:     405209556
X_OFFSET:        796 [pixels]
Y_OFFSET:        1139 [pixels]
WIDTH:           160 [pixels]
HEIGHT:          160 [pixels]
X_GRB_POS:       956
Y_GRB_POS:       1299
BINNING_INDEX:   1
IM_URL:          sw00576562000msuni0311.fits
SUN_POSTN:       219.23d {+14h 36m 54s}  -15.33d {-15d 19' 50"}
SUN_DIST:        104.76 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.55d {+14h 58m 12s}  -16.14d {-16d 08' 38"}
MOON_DIST:       101.12 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.14,-64.04 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the pointing direction
ECL_COORDS:      329.88,-36.21 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the pointing direction
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-UVOT Processed Image.  
COMMENTS:        The GRB Position came from the XRT Position Command.  
COMMENTS:        The image has 2x2 binning (compression).  
COMMENTS:        If you have elected to receive attachments:  
COMMENTS:        The uvot_catalog_image.fits.gz file does not exist; skipping the attachment.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Sun 03 Nov 13 23:02:09 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-XRT Position UPDATE
TRIGGER_NUM:     576562,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:          348.9215d {+23h 15m 41.15s} (J2000),
                 349.1133d {+23h 16m 27.19s} (current),
                 348.2263d {+23h 12m 54.30s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -44.6383d {-44d 38' 17.8"} (J2000),
                 -44.5627d {-44d 33' 45.5"} (current),
                 -44.9112d {-44d 54' 40.2"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       3.5 [arcsec radius, statistical plus systematic, 90% containment]
GRB_INTEN:       1.00e-10 [erg/cm2/sec]
GRB_SIGNIF:      10.00 [sigma]
IMG_START_DATE:  16599 TJD;   307 DOY;   13/11/03
IMG_START_TIME:  79782.00 SOD {22:09:42.00} UT,   136.2 [sec] since BAT Trigger Time
TAM[0-3]:        100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
AMPLIFIER:       1
WAVEFORM:        31
SUN_POSTN:       219.25d {+14h 37m 00s}  -15.34d {-15d 20' 19"}
SUN_DIST:        104.76 [deg]   Sun_angle= -8.7 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      224.93d {+14h 59m 44s}  -16.22d {-16d 13' 01"}
MOON_DIST:       100.86 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      0 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      344.22,-64.05 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst
ECL_COORDS:      329.89,-36.18 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst
COMMENTS:        SWIFT-XRT Coordinates.  
COMMENTS:        This Notice was ground-generated -- not flight-generated.  
COMMENTS:        This is an Update Notice -- the RA,Dec values herein supersede the previous XRT_POS Notice.  
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 0.58% < P(seren) < 1.1%.

GCN Circular #15441
D.N. Burrows (PSU), J.A. Kennea (PSU), V. Mangano (PSU), J.P. Osborne (U. Leicester), K.L. Page (U. Leicester), C. Pagani (U. Leicester), B. Sbarufatti (INAF-OAB/PSU), P. D'Avanzo (INAF-OAB), V. D'Elia (ASDC) and J.R. Cummings report on behalf of the Swift-XRT team:
We have analysed 9.1 ks of XRT data for GRB 131103A (Cummings et al. GCN Circ. 15440), from 82 s to 25.5 ks after the BAT trigger. The data comprise 793 s in Windowed Timing (WT) mode with the remainder in Photon Counting (PC) mode. The refined XRT position is RA, Dec = 348.9213, -44.6377 which is equivalent to:
```
RA (J2000): 23 15 41.11
Dec(J2000): -44 38 15.7
```
with an uncertainty of 3.5 arcsec (radius, 90% confidence).
The late-time light curve (from T0+5.9 ks) can be modelled with a power-law decay with a decay index of alpha=1.16 (+/-0.26).
A spectrum formed from the WT mode data can be fitted with an absorbed power-law with a photon spectral index of 2.76 (+0.27, -0.25). The best-fitting absorption column is 4.0 (+0.8, -0.7) x 10^21 cm^-2, in excess of the Galactic value of 1.1 x 10^20 cm^-2 (Kalberla et al. 2005). The PC mode spectrum has a photon index of 2.15 (+0.18, -0.17) and a best-fitting absorption column of 3.5 (+0.7, -0.6) x 10^21 cm^-2. The counts to observed (unabsorbed) 0.3-10 keV flux conversion factor deduced from this spectrum is 4.0 x 10^-11 (7.2 x 10^-11) erg cm^-2 count^-1.
A summary of the PC-mode spectrum is thus:
```
Total column:	     3.5 (+0.7, -0.6) x 10^21 cm^-2
Galactic foreground: 1.1 x 10^20 cm^-2
Excess significance: 8.9 sigma
Photon index:	     2.15 (+0.18, -0.17)
```
If the light curve continues to decay with a power-law decay index of 1.16, the count rate at T+24 hours will be 6.4 x 10^-3 count s^-1, corresponding to an observed (unabsorbed) 0.3-10 keV flux of 2.6 x 10^-13 (4.6 x 10^-13) erg cm^-2 s^-1.
The results of the XRT-team automatic analysis are available at http://www.swift.ac.uk/xrt_products/00576562.
This circular is an official product of the Swift-XRT team.
GCN Circular #15442
M.R. Goad, J.P. Osborne, A.P. Beardmore and P.A. Evans (U. Leicester) report on behalf of the Swift-XRT team.
Using 7277 s of XRT Photon Counting mode data and 8 UVOT images for GRB 131103A, 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 = 348.91855, -44.64060 which is equivalent to:
```
RA (J2000): 23h 15m 40.45s
Dec (J2000): -44d 38' 26.1"
```
with an uncertainty of 1.4 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 #15443
N. P. M. Kuin (UCL-MSSL), F. E. Marshall (NASA/GSFC), and J. R. Cummings (NASA/UMBC) report on behalf of the Swift/UVOT team:
The Swift/UVOT began settled observations of the field of GRB 131103A 87 s after the BAT trigger (Cummings et al., GCN Circ. 15440). A decaying source consistent with the XRT position (Goad et al. GCN Circ. 15442) is detected in the initial UVOT exposures.
The preliminary UVOT position is:
```
    RA  (J2000) =  23:15:40.55 = 348.91894 (deg.)
    Dec (J2000) = -44:38:25.4  = -44.64040 (deg.)
```
with an estimated uncertainty of 0.60 arc sec. (radius, 90% confidence).
Preliminary detections and 3-sigma upper limits using the UVOT photometric system (Breeveld et al. 2011, AIP Conf. Proc. 1358, 373) for the early exposures are:
```
Filter         T_start(s)   T_stop(s)      Exp(s)           Mag

white               87          237          147         19.41 +/- 0.13
white            19290        19893          599         21.45 +/- 0.17
v                  629        12543         1173        >20.0
b                  554        25509         1664         21.64 +/- 0.23
u                  299          549          246         18.93 +/- 0.13
w1                 678        24073         1116        >20.6
w2                6741         6941          197        >19.8
```
The magnitudes in the table are not corrected for the Galactic extinction due to the reddening of E(B-V) = 0.01 in the direction of the burst (Schlegel et al. 1998).
GCN Circular #15445
Z. Cano (U Iceland), S. Schulze (PUC, MCSS), D. Malesani (DARK/NBI), P. Jakobsson (U Iceland), D. J. Watson (DARK/NBI), N. R. Tanvir (U Leicester), D. Xu, J. P. U. Fynbo (DARK/NBI) and M. Hayes (Stockholm University) report on behalf of a larger collaboration:
We observed the field of GRB 131103A (Cummings et al., GCN Circ. 15440) with the 2.5-m Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) equipped with ALFOSC, and subsequently with the ESO VLT using the optical acquisition camera of the X-shooter spectrograph, as well as with the HAWK-I near-infrared imager. A brief summary of our observations is reported below. For the NOT observation, the object was very low on the horizon (airmass = 4.56), hence we could only achieve a poor S/N.
At the position of the UVOT afterglow (Kuin et al., GCN Circ. 15443), a source is detected in all our images. It is clearly elongated in both R and J as seen in the VLT data, and we thus suggest that this is the host galaxy, though some afterglow contribution cannot be excluded. We note that a marginally significant object is visible in the DSS (R band) at the same position.
```
Instrument    Time (hr)  Filter  Magnitude
NOT/ALFOSC    1.29       R       20.07 +/- 0.12
VLT/X-shooter 5.84       R       20.48 +/- 0.01
VLT/HAWK-I    5.94       J       19.63 +/- 0.02
```
While the comparison of the two R-band magnitudes provides some evidence for fading, we note that both R-band measurements have an uncertain calibration, since no common star is available between the ALFOSC and X-shooter images. The two measurements are therefore tied to different USNO stars, which can introduce an error of ~0.1-0.2 mag. Specifically, we used the R1 magnitudes of stars 0453-0803362 and 0453-0803335 for ALFOSC and X-shooter, respectively. The HAWK-I observation was calibrated against five nearby 2MASS stars.
We kindly acknowledge excellent support by the observing staff at the VLT, in particular Claudia Reyes, Dimitri Gadotti, Julien Girard and Roger Wesson.
GCN Circular #15451
D. Xu, D. Malesani (DARK/NBI), S. Schulze (PUC, MCSS), A. de Ugarte Postigo (IAA-CSIC, DARK/NBI), P. Jakobsson, Z. Cano(U Iceland), N. R. Tanvir (U. Leicester), J. P. U. Fynbo, D. Watson (DARK/NBI), P. Goldoni (APC, CEA/Irfu), S. Vergani (CNRS/GEPI), R. Wijers (U Amsterdam) report on behalf of the X-shooter GRB collaboration:
We have obtained further observations of the afterglow of GRB 131103A (Cummings et al., GCN Circ. 15440; Cano et al., GCN 15445) using the ESO VLT equipped with the X-shooter spectrograph, covering the wavelength range 3000-20000 AA.
The spectrum was secured on Nov. 5.2 with a total exposure time of 4x600 s. We detect a rich emission line spectrum from the underlying host galaxy at a common redshift z = 0.599. We also detect strong absorption lines from FeII and MgII at the same redshift in the blue part of the spectrum implying that there is significant afterglow light superimposed on the host light.
We acknowledge excellent support from the observing staff at Paranal, in particular Dimitri Gadotti, Roger Wesson, and Claudia Reyes.
GCN Circular #15457
S. D. Barthelmy (GSFC), W. H. Baumgartner (GSFC/UMBC), J. R. Cummings (GSFC/UMBC), N. Gehrels (GSFC), H. A. Krimm (GSFC/USRA), A. Y. Lien (NASA/UMBC), C. B. Markwardt (GSFC), D. M. Palmer (LANL), T. Sakamoto (AGU), M. Stamatikos (OSU), J. Tueller (GSFC), T. N. Ukwatta (MSU) (i.e. the Swift-BAT team):
Using the data set from T-60 to T+243 sec from recent telemetry downlinks, we report further analysis of BAT GRB 131103A (trigger #576562) (Cummings, et al., GCN Circ. 15440). The BAT ground-calculated position is RA, Dec = 348.948, -44.645 deg which is
```
   RA(J2000)  =  23h 15m 47.5s 
   Dec(J2000) = -44d 38' 42.3" 
```
with an uncertainty of 1.8 arcmin, (radius, sys+stat, 90% containment). The partial coding was 30%.
The mask-weighted light curve shows a 2 or 3 overlapping peaks starting at ~T-8 sec, peaking at ~T+0 sec, and ending at ~T+15 sec. T90 (15-350 keV) is 17.3 +- 4.8 sec (estimated error including systematics).
The time-averaged spectrum from T-9.5 to T+13.5 sec is best fit by a simple power-law model. The power law index of the time-averaged spectrum is 1.97 +- 0.19. The fluence in the 15-150 keV band is 8.2 +- 1.0 x 10^-7 erg/cm2. The 1-sec peak photon flux measured from T+0.62 sec in the 15-150 keV band is 1.5 +- 0.3 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/576562/BA/

Back to JG's homepage

Jochen Greiner, last update: 05-Nov-2013 [Disclaimer]