Gamma-ray Burst 150513A

(All information courtesy of the instrument teams.)

Previous IAU Circulars

none

Results of Observations

GCN/BACODINE POSITION NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 13 May 15 20:31:53 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-BAT GRB Position
TRIGGER_NUM:     640584,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:           49.058d {+03h 16m 14s} (J2000),
                  49.227d {+03h 16m 55s} (current),
                  48.506d {+03h 14m 02s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -22.913d {-22d 54' 45"} (J2000),
                 -22.857d {-22d 51' 24"} (current),
                 -23.096d {-23d 05' 45"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       3.00 [arcmin radius, statistical only]
GRB_INTEN:       6437 [cnts]    Image_Peak=213 [image_cnts]
TRIGGER_DUR:     2.048 [sec] 
TRIGGER_INDEX:   262     E_range: 25-100 keV
BKG_INTEN:       65867 [cnts]
BKG_TIME:        73842.42 SOD {20:30:42.42} UT
BKG_DUR:         24 [sec]
GRB_DATE:        17155 TJD;   133 DOY;   15/05/13
GRB_TIME:        73879.73 SOD {20:31:19.73} UT
GRB_PHI:         -28.46 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        35.23 [deg]
SOLN_STATUS:     0x3
RATE_SIGNIF:     14.24 [sigma]
IMAGE_SIGNIF:    7.43 [sigma]
MERIT_PARAMS:     +1  +0  +0  +1  +2  -2 -100  +0 -75  +0 
SUN_POSTN:        50.36d {+03h 21m 27s}  +18.46d {+18d 27' 41"}
SUN_DIST:         41.33 [deg]   Sun_angle= 0.1 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      354.73d {+23h 38m 56s}   -1.00d {-00d 59' 58"}
MOON_DIST:        57.19 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      24 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      213.73,-57.04 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:       38.70,-39.34 [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 = 213.12,-15.17 [deg].

red DSS finding chart ps-file

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 13 May 15 20:33:39 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Fermi-GBM Flight Position
RECORD_NUM:      44
TRIGGER_NUM:     453241998
GRB_RA:           46.017d {+03h 04m 04s} (J2000),
                  46.184d {+03h 04m 44s} (current),
                  45.471d {+03h 01m 53s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -25.317d {-25d 19' 00"} (J2000),
                 -25.257d {-25d 15' 26"} (current),
                 -25.511d {-25d 30' 39"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       14.68 [deg radius, statistical plus systematic]
GRB_INTEN:       187 [cnts/sec]
DATA_SIGNIF:     10.10 [sigma]
INTEG_TIME:      2.048 [sec]
GRB_DATE:        17155 TJD;   133 DOY;   15/05/13
GRB_TIME:        73995.25 SOD {20:33:15.25} UT
GRB_PHI:           7.00 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        50.00 [deg]
DATA_TIME_SCALE: 2.0480 [sec]
HARD_RATIO:      1.38
LOC_ALGORITHM:   3 (version number of)
MOST_LIKELY:      92%  GRB
2nd_MOST_LIKELY:   6%  Solar Flare
SUN_POSTN:        50.36d {+03h 21m 27s}  +18.46d {+18d 27' 42"}
SUN_DIST:         43.91 [deg]   Sun_angle= 0.3 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      354.75d {+23h 39m 00s}   -0.99d {-00d 59' 38"}
MOON_DIST:        55.17 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      24 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      217.04,-60.29 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:       34.20,-40.62 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
LC_URL:          http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/FTP/fermi/data/gbm/triggers/2015/bn150513856/quicklook/glg_lc_medres34_bn150513856.gif
COMMENTS:        Fermi-GBM Flight-calculated Coordinates.  
COMMENTS:        The LC_URL file will not be created until ~15 min after the trigger.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 13 May 15 20:34:08 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Fermi-GBM Ground Position
RECORD_NUM:      57
TRIGGER_NUM:     453241998
GRB_RA:           54.610d {+03h 38m 26s} (J2000),
                  54.765d {+03h 39m 04s} (current),
                  54.106d {+03h 36m 25s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -30.980d {-30d 58' 47"} (J2000),
                 -30.931d {-30d 55' 49"} (current),
                 -31.142d {-31d 08' 31"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       9.46 [deg radius, statistical only]
DATA_SIGNIF:     11.40 [sigma]
DATA_INTERVAL:   2.048 [sec]
GRB_DATE:        17155 TJD;   133 DOY;   15/05/13
GRB_TIME:        73995.25 SOD {20:33:15.25} UT
GRB_PHI:         357.00 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        44.00 [deg]
E_RANGE:         44.032 - 279.965 [keV]
LOC_ALGORITHM:   4153 (Gnd S/W Version number)
SUN_POSTN:        50.36d {+03h 21m 28s}  +18.46d {+18d 27' 42"}
SUN_DIST:         49.57 [deg]   Sun_angle= -0.3 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      354.75d {+23h 39m 01s}   -0.99d {-00d 59' 33"}
MOON_DIST:        64.05 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      24 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      229.19,-53.51 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:       41.32,-48.61 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
LC_URL:          http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/FTP/fermi/data/gbm/triggers/2015/bn150513856/quicklook/glg_lc_medres34_bn150513856.gif
COMMENTS:        Fermi-GBM Ground-calculated Coordinates.  
COMMENTS:        In the LAT Field-of-view.  
COMMENTS:        This Notice was ground-generated -- not flight-generated.  
COMMENTS:        The LC_URL file will not be created/available until ~15 min after the trigger.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 13 May 15 20:34:58 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Fermi-GBM Ground Position
RECORD_NUM:      0
TRIGGER_NUM:     453241998
GRB_RA:           55.380d {+03h 41m 31s} (J2000),
                  55.543d {+03h 42m 10s} (current),
                  54.851d {+03h 39m 24s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -25.990d {-25d 59' 23"} (J2000),
                 -25.942d {-25d 56' 28"} (current),
                 -26.149d {-26d 08' 56"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       8.30 [deg radius, statistical only]
DATA_SIGNIF:     9.20 [sigma]
DATA_INTERVAL:   6.144 [sec]
GRB_DATE:        17155 TJD;   133 DOY;   15/05/13
GRB_TIME:        73995.25 SOD {20:33:15.25} UT
GRB_PHI:         356.00 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        49.00 [deg]
E_RANGE:         44.032 - 279.965 [keV]
LOC_ALGORITHM:   41531 (Gnd S/W Version number)
SUN_POSTN:        50.37d {+03h 21m 28s}  +18.46d {+18d 27' 43"}
SUN_DIST:         44.69 [deg]   Sun_angle= -0.3 [hr] (East of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      354.76d {+23h 39m 03s}   -0.99d {-00d 59' 23"}
MOON_DIST:        63.48 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      24 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      221.17,-52.13 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:       44.64,-44.13 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
LC_URL:          http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/FTP/fermi/data/gbm/triggers/2015/bn150513856/quicklook/glg_lc_medres34_bn150513856.gif
COMMENTS:        Fermi-GBM Ground-calculated Coordinates.  
COMMENTS:        In the LAT Field-of-view.  
COMMENTS:        This is likely a Long GRB.  
COMMENTS:        This Notice was ground-generated -- not flight-generated.  
COMMENTS:        The LC_URL file will not be created/available until ~15 min after the trigger.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/FERMI NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 13 May 15 20:35:24 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Fermi-GBM Ground Position
RECORD_NUM:      1
TRIGGER_NUM:     453241998
GRB_RA:          334.780d {+22h 19m 07s} (J2000),
                 334.805d {+22h 19m 13s} (current),
                 334.692d {+22h 18m 46s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         +77.980d {+77d 58' 48"} (J2000),
                 +78.057d {+78d 03' 27"} (current),
                 +77.728d {+77d 43' 42"} (1950)
GRB_ERROR:       2.99 [deg radius, statistical only]
DATA_SIGNIF:     8.60 [sigma]
DATA_INTERVAL:   13.312 [sec]
GRB_DATE:        17155 TJD;   133 DOY;   15/05/13
GRB_TIME:        73995.25 SOD {20:33:15.25} UT
GRB_PHI:          29.00 [deg]
GRB_THETA:       160.00 [deg]
E_RANGE:         44.032 - 279.965 [keV]
LOC_ALGORITHM:   41531 (Gnd S/W Version number)
SUN_POSTN:        50.37d {+03h 21m 28s}  +18.46d {+18d 27' 43"}
SUN_DIST:         68.98 [deg]   Sun_angle= 5.0 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      354.77d {+23h 39m 04s}   -0.99d {-00d 59' 18"}
MOON_DIST:        79.77 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      24 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      115.19, 17.46 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:       58.52, 68.85 [deg] ecliptic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
LC_URL:          http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/FTP/fermi/data/gbm/triggers/2015/bn150513856/quicklook/glg_lc_medres34_bn150513856.gif
COMMENTS:        Fermi-GBM Ground-calculated Coordinates.  
COMMENTS:        This is likely a Long GRB.  
COMMENTS:        This Notice was ground-generated -- not flight-generated.  
COMMENTS:        The LC_URL file will not be created/available until ~15 min after the trigger.

GCN NOTICE

TITLE:           GCN/SWIFT NOTICE
NOTICE_DATE:     Wed 13 May 15 20:35:07 UT
NOTICE_TYPE:     Swift-BAT GRB Lightcurve
TRIGGER_NUM:     640584,   Seg_Num: 0
GRB_RA:           49.058d {+03h 16m 14s} (J2000),
                  49.227d {+03h 16m 55s} (current),
                  48.506d {+03h 14m 02s} (1950)
GRB_DEC:         -22.913d {-22d 54' 45"} (J2000),
                 -22.857d {-22d 51' 24"} (current),
                 -23.096d {-23d 05' 45"} (1950)
GRB_DATE:        17155 TJD;   133 DOY;   15/05/13
GRB_TIME:        73879.73 SOD {20:31:19.73} UT
TRIGGER_INDEX:   262
GRB_PHI:         -28.46 [deg]
GRB_THETA:        35.23 [deg]
DELTA_TIME:      -51.00 [sec]
TRIGGER_DUR:     2.048 [sec] 
SOLN_STATUS:     0x3
RATE_SIGNIF:     14.24 [sigma]
IMAGE_SIGNIF:    7.43 [sigma]
LC_URL:          sw00640584000msb.lc
SUN_POSTN:        50.37d {+03h 21m 28s}  +18.46d {+18d 27' 43"}
SUN_DIST:         41.33 [deg]   Sun_angle= 0.1 [hr] (West of Sun)
MOON_POSTN:      354.76d {+23h 39m 03s}   -0.99d {-00d 59' 21"}
MOON_DIST:        57.17 [deg]
MOON_ILLUM:      24 [%]
GAL_COORDS:      213.73,-57.04 [deg] galactic lon,lat of the burst (or transient)
ECL_COORDS:       38.70,-39.34 [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 = 213.12,-15.17 [deg].

GCN Circular #17810
D. Kocevski (NASA/GSFC/ORAU), J. A. Kennea (PSU), A. Y. Lien (GSFC/UMBC), K. L. Page (U Leicester) and J. L. Racusin (NASA/GSFC) report on behalf of the Swift Team:
At 20:31:19 UT, the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) triggered and located GRB 150513A (trigger=640584). Swift slewed immediately to the burst. The BAT on-board calculated location is RA, Dec 49.058, -22.913 which is
```
   RA(J2000) = 03h 16m 14s
   Dec(J2000) = -22d 54' 45"
```
with an uncertainty of 3 arcmin (radius, 90% containment, including systematic uncertainty). The BAT light curve showed a multi-peaked structure with a duration of about 140 sec. The peak count rate was ~2000 counts/sec (15-350 keV), at ~4 sec after the trigger.
Due to a Sun observing constraint, Swift cannot slew to the BAT position until 11:32 UT on 2015 May 28. There will thus be no XRT or UVOT data for this trigger before this time.
Burst Advocate for this burst is D. Kocevski (dankocevski AT gmail.com). 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 Circular #17812
GRB 150513A: Fermi-LAT detection
D. Kocevski (NASA/GSFC), G. Vianello (Stanford), and M. Arimoto (Tokyo Tech), report on behalf of the Fermi-LAT team:
At 20:33:15.25 on May 05, 2015, Fermi-LAT detected high-energy emission from GRB 150513A, which was also detected by Fermi-GBM (trigger 453241998) and Swift-BAT (Kocevski et al. 2015, GCN 17810).
The best LAT on-ground location is found to be
RA, Dec 49.2, -23.2 (J2000)
with an error radius of 0.4 deg (90% containment, statistical error only). This position was 50 deg from the LAT boresight at the time of the trigger and consistent with the position found by Swift-BAT.
The data from the Fermi-LAT show a significant increase in the event rate that is spatially and temporally correlated with the GBM emission with high significance. The highest-energy event is a 2.1 GeV event detected at T0 + 60 s. The GRB was observable from T0 to T0 + 385 s, before the spacecraft entered the South Atlantic Anomaly, where data gathering is disabled.
The Fermi-LAT point of contact for this burst is Makoto Arimoto (arimoto@hp.phys.titech.ac.jp).
The Fermi-LAT is a pair conversion telescope designed to cover the energy band from 20 MeV to greater than 300 GeV. It is the product of an international collaboration between NASA and DOE in the U.S. and many scientific institutions across France, Italy, Japan and Sweden.
GCN Circular #17813
Younes G. (USRA at GWU) and Meegan C. (UAH) report on behalf of the Fermi GBM Team:
"At 20:33:15.25 UT, on 2015 May 13, the Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor triggered and located GRB 150513A (trigger 453241998 / 150513856) which was also detected by Swift (Kocevski et al. 2015, GCN 17810) and Fermi/LAT (Kocevski et al. 2015, GCN 17812). The GBM on-ground location is consistent with the Swift position. The angle from the Fermi LAT boresight is about 45 degrees.
The GBM light curve shows two peaks separated by about 150 s with a duration (T90) of 165 s (50-300 keV). The time-averaged spectrum from T0-161.5 s to T0+4.3 s is well fit by a BAND function with Epeak = 252 +/- 63 keV, alpha = -0.9 +/- 0.1, and beta = -1.69 +/- 0.06.
The event fluence (10-1000 keV) in this time interval is (1.36 +/- 0.04)E-05 erg/cm^2. The 1 second peak photon flux measured starting from T0+0.2 s in the 10-1000 keV band is 4.1 +/- 0.3 ph/s/cm^2.
The spectral analysis results presented above are preliminary; final results will be published in the GBM GRB Catalog."
GCN Circular #17814
GRB 150513A: Swift-BAT refined analysis
A. Y. Lien (GSFC/UMBC), S. D. Barthelmy (GSFC), W. H. Baumgartner (GSFC/UMBC), J. R. Cummings (GSFC/UMBC), N. Gehrels (GSFC), H. A. Krimm (GSFC/USRA), C. B. Markwardt (GSFC), D. M. Palmer (LANL), T. Sakamoto (AGU), M. Stamatikos (OSU), T. N. Ukwatta (LANL) (i.e. the Swift-BAT team):
Using the data set from T-239 to T+963 sec from the recent telemetry downlink, we report further analysis of BAT GRB 150513A (trigger #640584) (Kocevski, et al., GCN Circ. 17810). The BAT ground-calculated position is RA, Dec = 49.044, -22.868 deg which is
```
    RA(J2000)  =  03h 16m 10.6s
    Dec(J2000) = -22d 52' 03.3"
```
with an uncertainty of 1.0 arcmin, (radius, sys+stat, 90% containment). The partial coding was 64%.
The mask-weighted light curve shows multiple peaks with a return to background levels in between them. T90 (15-350 keV) is 162 +- 5 sec (estimated error including systematics).
The time-averaged spectrum from T-54.33 to T+129.36 sec is best fit by a simple power-law model. The power law index of the time-averaged spectrum is 1.40 +- 0.07. The fluence in the 15-150 keV band is 5.4 +- 0.2 x 10^-06 erg/cm2. The 1-sec peak photon flux measured from T+115.41 sec in the 15-150 keV band is 2.9 +- 0.3 ph/cm2/sec. All the quoted errors are at the 90% confidence level.
GCN Circular #17871
R. Ruffini, C. L. Bianco, M. Enderli, M. Kovacevic, M. Muccino, G. B. Pisani, J. A. Rueda, Y. Wang reports:
The observation of high-energy emission from GRB 150513A by Fermi-LAT [1] clearly points to a binary-driven hypernova (BdHN) nature of the source [2], in spite of the missing follow-up from Swift/XRT and UVOT due to a Sun observing constraint which will last until the 28th of May [3].
BdHNe have a standard behavior in the late X-ray luminosity [4,5,6], thus we expect the X-ray emission of GRB 150513A to follow such a behavior as well.
Assuming that the X-ray luminosity of GRB 150513A is comparable with the BdHN prototypical one of GRB 090618 (GRB 130427A), a detection by Swift/XRT of GRB 150513A on the 28th of May implies an upper limit for its redshift z<0.8 (z<2).
Therefore, we strongly encourage observation by Swift/XRT of GRB 150513A from the 28th of May on. This would give a fundamental information on the nature of this source, despite the absence of data between May 13th and May 28th.
References:
```
[1] Kocevski et al. 2015, GCN 17812
[2] Ruffini et al. 2015, ApJ, 798, 10R
[3] Kocevski et al. 2015, GCN 17810
[4] Ruffini et al. 2014, A&A, 565, L10
[5] Pisani et al. 2013, A&A, 552, L5
[6] Ruffini et al. 2014, A&A, 569, A39
```
GCN Circular #17886
A. Maselli (INAF-IASFPA), A. Melandri (INAF-OAB), P. D'Avanzo (INAF-OAB), D.N. Burrows (PSU), J.A. Kennea (PSU), B. Sbarufatti (INAF-OAB/PSU), J.P. Osborne (U. Leicester), K.L. Page (U. Leicester), C. Pagani (U. Leicester) and A. Y. Lien (GSFC/UMBC) report on behalf of the Swift-XRT team:
We have analysed of XRT data for the Swift/BAT-detected burst GRB 150513A (Lien et al. GCN Circ. 17814), collecting 5.0 ks of Photon Counting (PC) mode data between T0+1309.8 ks and T0+1322.8 ks.
No X-ray sources have been detected inside or close to the Swift/BAT error region. The 3-sigma upper limit at the Swift/BAT position is 0.001 ct s^-1, corresponding to a 0.3-10 keV observed flux of 5.8e-14 to erg cm^-2 s^-1 (assuming a typical GRB spectrum).
The results of the XRT-team automatic analysis of the XRT observations, including a position-specific upper limit calculator, are available at http://www.swift.ac.uk/ToO_GRBs/00640584.
This circular is an official product of the Swift-XRT team.

Back to JG's homepage

Jochen Greiner, last update: 29-May-2015 [Disclaimer]