Abstract
We report the discovery of the optical and near-infrared counterparts to GRB 001011. The GRB 001011 error box determined by Beppo-SAX was simultaneously imaged in the near-infrared by the 3.58-m New Technology Telescope and in the optical by the 1.54-m Danish Telescope ~8 hr after the gamma-ray event. Here we implement the colour-colour discrimination technique proposed by Rhoads (2001) and extend it using near-IR data as well. We present the results provided by an automatic colour-colour discrimination pipe-line developed to discern the different populations of objects present in the GRB 001011 error box. Our software revealed three candidates based on single-epoch images. Second-epoch observations carried out ~3.2 days after the burst revealed that the most likely candidate had faded, thus identifying it with the counterpart to the GRB. In deep R-band images obtained 7 months after the burst a faint (R=25.38+/-0.25) elongated object, presumably the host galaxy of GRB 001011, was detected at the position of the afterglow. The GRB 001011 afterglow is the first discovered with the assistance of colour-colour diagram techniques. We discuss the advantages of using this method and its application to error boxes determined by future missions.
Highlights
Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) are intense flashes of high energy photons that occur uniformly distributed on the sky
We present the results provided by an automatic colour-colour discrimination pipe-line developed to discern the different populations of objects present in the GRB 001011 error box
Both objects can be seen in the upper left panel of Fig. 2 as the two closest open diamonds to the GRB 001011 colours and consistent with the shaded area
Summary
Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs) are intense flashes of high energy photons that occur uniformly distributed on the sky. They were discovered in 1967 (see Bonnell & Klebesadel 1996 for a discussion of the first GRB detections), but due to the lack of rapid and precise localisations, their emission at other wavelengths was not detected until 1997 (van Paradijs et al 1997; Frail et al 1997; Costa et al 1997). For 30 years they were not localised at longer wavelengths (X-ray, UV, optical, IR, radio) and their distances could not be measured. For an additional 8 GRBs, optical counterparts have been found, but with no conclusive published redshift determinations
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