Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/195481

Download PDF (Accepted manuscript) (Adobe Acrobat PDF, -1 bytes)

Title

An extremely luminous panchromatic outburst from the nucleus of a distant galaxy

Author(s)

Levan, A. J.;  Tanvir, N. R.;  Cenko, S. B.;  Perley, D. A.;  Wiersema, K.;  Bloom, J. S.;  Fruchter, A. S.;  de Ugarte Postigo, A.;  O’Brien, P. T.;  Butler, N.;  van der Horst, A. J.;  Leloudas, G.;  Morgan, A. N.;  Misra, K.;  Bower, G. C.;  Farihi, J.;  Tunnicliffe, R. L.;  Modjaz, M.;  Silverman, J. M.;  Hjorth, J.;  Thone, C.;  Cucchiara, A.;  Castro Ceron, J. M.;  Castro-Tirado, A. J.;  Arnold, J. A.;  Bremer, M.;  Brodie, J. P.;  Carroll, T.;  Cooper, M. C.;  Curran, P. A.;  Cutri, R. M.;  Ehle, J.;  Forbes, Duncan A.;  Fynbo, J.;  Gorosabel, J.;  Graham, J.;  Hoffman, D. I.;  Guziy, S.;  Jakobsson, P.;  Kamble, A.;  Kerr, T.;  Kasliwal, M. M.;  Kouveliotou, C.;  Kocesvki, D.;  Law, N. M.;  Nugent, P. E.;  Ofek, E. O.;  Poznanski, D.;  Quimby, R. M.;  Rol, E.;  Romanowsky, A. J.;  Sanchez-Ramirez, R.;  Schulze, S.;  Singh, N.;  van Spaandonk, L.;  Starling, R. L. C.;  Strom, R. G.;  Tello, J. C.;  Vaduvescu, O.;  Wheatley, P. J.;  Wijers, R. A. M. J.;  Winters, J. M.;  Xu, D.

Abstract

Variable x-ray and γ-ray emission is characteristic of the most extreme physical processes in the universe. We present multiwavelength observations of a unique γ-ray selected transient, detected by the Swift satellite and accompanied by bright emission across the electromagnetic spectrum, and whose properties are unlike any previously observed source. We pinpoint the event to the center of a small, star-forming galaxy at redshift z = 0.3534. Its high-energy emission has lasted much longer than any gamma-ray burst, while its peak luminosity was ∼100 times higher than bright active galactic nuclei. The association of the outburst with the center of its host galaxy suggests that this phenomenon has its origin in a rare mechanism involving the massive black hole in the nucleus of that galaxy.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies. Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing

Source

Science, Vol. 333, no. 6039 (Jul 2011), pp. 199-202

Publication year

2011

Keyword(s)

Black holes;  Galaxies;  Nuclei

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science

ISSN

0036-8075

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1207143

Publisher URL

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/amazing-rays-as-star-succumbs-to-dark-side-20110617-1g6hr.html

Copyright

Copyright © 2011 The authors. The authors grant the American Association for the Advancement of Science exclusive rights to use and authorize use of their Work, however, they retain copyright in the Work as well as rights to make certain uses of the Work. The accepted manuscript is reproduced in accordance with this policy.

Additional information

Supplementary material for this article, including tables and figures, is available from: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2011/06/15/science.1207143/suppl/DC1

Full text

Peer reviewed