An optical spectrum of the afterglow of a γ-ray burst at a redshift of z = 6.295

N. Kawai; G. Kosugi; K. Aoki; T. Yamada; T. Totani; K. Ohta; M. Iye; T. Hattori; W. Aoki; H. Furusawa; K. Hurley; K. S. Kawabata; N. Kobayashi; Y. Komiyama; Y. Mizumoto; K. Nomoto; J. Noumaru; R. Ogasawara; R. Sato; K. Sekiguchi; Y. Shirasaki; M. Suzuki; T. Takata; T. Tamagawa; H. Terada; J. Watanabe; Y. Yatsu; A. Yoshida

doi:10.1038/nature04498

An optical spectrum of the afterglow of a γ-ray burst at a redshift of z = 6.295

N. Kawai, G. Kosugi, K. Aoki, T. Yamada, T. Totani, K. Ohta, M. Iye, T. Hattori, W. Aoki, H. Furusawa, K. Hurley, K. S. Kawabata, N. Kobayashi, Y. Komiyama, Y. Mizumoto, K. Nomoto, J. Noumaru, R. Ogasawara, R. Sato, K. SekiguchiY. Shirasaki, M. Suzuki, T. Takata, T. Tamagawa, H. Terada, J. Watanabe, Y. Yatsu, A. Yoshida

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Abstract

The prompt γ-ray emission from γ-ray bursts (GRBs) should be detectable out to distances of z > 10 (ref. 1), and should therefore provide an excellent probe of the evolution of cosmic star formation, reionization of the intergalactic medium, and the metal enrichment history of the Universe ^1-4. Hitherto, the highest measured redshift for a GRB has been z = 4.50 (ref. 5). Here we report the optical spectrum of the afterglow of GRB 050904 obtained 3.4 days after the burst; the spectrum shows a clear continuum at the long-wavelength end of the spectrum with a sharp cut-off at around 9,000 Å due to Lyman α absorption at z ≈ 6.3 (with a damping wing). A system of absorption lines of heavy elements at z = 6.295 ± 0.002 was also detected, yielding the precise measurement of the redshift. The Si II fine-structure lines suggest a dense, metal-enriched environment around the progenitor of the GRB.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	184-186
Number of pages	3
Journal	Nature
Volume	440
Issue number	7081
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04498
Publication status	Published - 2006 Mar 9
Externally published	Yes

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Kawai, N., Kosugi, G., Aoki, K., Yamada, T., Totani, T., Ohta, K., Iye, M., Hattori, T., Aoki, W., Furusawa, H., Hurley, K., Kawabata, K. S., Kobayashi, N., Komiyama, Y., Mizumoto, Y., Nomoto, K., Noumaru, J., Ogasawara, R., Sato, R., ... Yoshida, A. (2006). An optical spectrum of the afterglow of a γ-ray burst at a redshift of z = 6.295. Nature, 440(7081), 184-186. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04498

Kawai, N, Kosugi, G, Aoki, K, Yamada, T, Totani, T, Ohta, K, Iye, M, Hattori, T, Aoki, W, Furusawa, H, Hurley, K, Kawabata, KS, Kobayashi, N, Komiyama, Y, Mizumoto, Y, Nomoto, K, Noumaru, J, Ogasawara, R, Sato, R, Sekiguchi, K, Shirasaki, Y, Suzuki, M, Takata, T, Tamagawa, T, Terada, H, Watanabe, J, Yatsu, Y & Yoshida, A 2006, 'An optical spectrum of the afterglow of a γ-ray burst at a redshift of z = 6.295', Nature, vol. 440, no. 7081, pp. 184-186. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04498

@article{f18ebde72f8542fc961c76c94dd4bf12,

title = "An optical spectrum of the afterglow of a γ-ray burst at a redshift of z = 6.295",

abstract = "The prompt γ-ray emission from γ-ray bursts (GRBs) should be detectable out to distances of z > 10 (ref. 1), and should therefore provide an excellent probe of the evolution of cosmic star formation, reionization of the intergalactic medium, and the metal enrichment history of the Universe 1-4. Hitherto, the highest measured redshift for a GRB has been z = 4.50 (ref. 5). Here we report the optical spectrum of the afterglow of GRB 050904 obtained 3.4 days after the burst; the spectrum shows a clear continuum at the long-wavelength end of the spectrum with a sharp cut-off at around 9,000 {\AA} due to Lyman α absorption at z ≈ 6.3 (with a damping wing). A system of absorption lines of heavy elements at z = 6.295 ± 0.002 was also detected, yielding the precise measurement of the redshift. The Si II fine-structure lines suggest a dense, metal-enriched environment around the progenitor of the GRB.",

author = "N. Kawai and G. Kosugi and K. Aoki and T. Yamada and T. Totani and K. Ohta and M. Iye and T. Hattori and W. Aoki and H. Furusawa and K. Hurley and Kawabata, {K. S.} and N. Kobayashi and Y. Komiyama and Y. Mizumoto and K. Nomoto and J. Noumaru and R. Ogasawara and R. Sato and K. Sekiguchi and Y. Shirasaki and M. Suzuki and T. Takata and T. Tamagawa and H. Terada and J. Watanabe and Y. Yatsu and A. Yoshida",

note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgements This work is based on data collected at the Subaru Telescope, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. We are grateful for support by the observatory. N.K. acknowledges support by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan and the Tokyo Tech COE-21 programme {\textquoteleft}Nanometer-scale Quantum Physics{\textquoteright}. We thank S. Barthelmy for maintaining the GRB Coordinates Network, and the Swift team for providing rapid GRB localizations.",

year = "2006",

month = mar,

day = "9",

doi = "10.1038/nature04498",

language = "English",

volume = "440",

pages = "184--186",

journal = "Nature",

issn = "0028-0836",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

number = "7081",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - An optical spectrum of the afterglow of a γ-ray burst at a redshift of z = 6.295

AU - Kawai, N.

AU - Kosugi, G.

AU - Aoki, K.

AU - Yamada, T.

AU - Totani, T.

AU - Ohta, K.

AU - Iye, M.

AU - Hattori, T.

AU - Aoki, W.

AU - Furusawa, H.

AU - Hurley, K.

AU - Kawabata, K. S.

AU - Kobayashi, N.

AU - Komiyama, Y.

AU - Mizumoto, Y.

AU - Nomoto, K.

AU - Noumaru, J.

AU - Ogasawara, R.

AU - Sato, R.

AU - Sekiguchi, K.

AU - Shirasaki, Y.

AU - Suzuki, M.

AU - Takata, T.

AU - Tamagawa, T.

AU - Terada, H.

AU - Watanabe, J.

AU - Yatsu, Y.

AU - Yoshida, A.

N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgements This work is based on data collected at the Subaru Telescope, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. We are grateful for support by the observatory. N.K. acknowledges support by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan and the Tokyo Tech COE-21 programme ‘Nanometer-scale Quantum Physics’. We thank S. Barthelmy for maintaining the GRB Coordinates Network, and the Swift team for providing rapid GRB localizations.

PY - 2006/3/9

Y1 - 2006/3/9

N2 - The prompt γ-ray emission from γ-ray bursts (GRBs) should be detectable out to distances of z > 10 (ref. 1), and should therefore provide an excellent probe of the evolution of cosmic star formation, reionization of the intergalactic medium, and the metal enrichment history of the Universe 1-4. Hitherto, the highest measured redshift for a GRB has been z = 4.50 (ref. 5). Here we report the optical spectrum of the afterglow of GRB 050904 obtained 3.4 days after the burst; the spectrum shows a clear continuum at the long-wavelength end of the spectrum with a sharp cut-off at around 9,000 Å due to Lyman α absorption at z ≈ 6.3 (with a damping wing). A system of absorption lines of heavy elements at z = 6.295 ± 0.002 was also detected, yielding the precise measurement of the redshift. The Si II fine-structure lines suggest a dense, metal-enriched environment around the progenitor of the GRB.

AB - The prompt γ-ray emission from γ-ray bursts (GRBs) should be detectable out to distances of z > 10 (ref. 1), and should therefore provide an excellent probe of the evolution of cosmic star formation, reionization of the intergalactic medium, and the metal enrichment history of the Universe 1-4. Hitherto, the highest measured redshift for a GRB has been z = 4.50 (ref. 5). Here we report the optical spectrum of the afterglow of GRB 050904 obtained 3.4 days after the burst; the spectrum shows a clear continuum at the long-wavelength end of the spectrum with a sharp cut-off at around 9,000 Å due to Lyman α absorption at z ≈ 6.3 (with a damping wing). A system of absorption lines of heavy elements at z = 6.295 ± 0.002 was also detected, yielding the precise measurement of the redshift. The Si II fine-structure lines suggest a dense, metal-enriched environment around the progenitor of the GRB.

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U2 - 10.1038/nature04498

DO - 10.1038/nature04498

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AN - SCOPUS:33644859765

VL - 440

SP - 184

EP - 186

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

SN - 0028-0836

IS - 7081

ER -

An optical spectrum of the afterglow of a γ-ray burst at a redshift of z = 6.295

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