Abstract
We report the first detection of a time-dependent, dust-scattered X-ray halo around a gamma-ray burst. GRB3 031203 was observed by XMM-Newton starting six hours after the burst. The halo appeared as concentric ring-like structures centered on the GRB location. The radii of these structures increased with time as t(sup 1/2), consistent with small-angle X-ray scattering caused by a large column of dust along the line of sight to a cosmologically distant GRB. The rings are due to dust concentrated in two distinct slabs in the Galaxy located at distances of 880 and 1390 pc, consistent with known Galactic features. The halo brightness implies an initial soft X-ray pulse consistent with the observed GRB.
Highlights
It has long been realized that the small-angle scattering of X-rays by dust grains can result in a detectable X-ray “halo” around a distant X-ray source (Overbeck 1965), with a radial intensity distribution that depends on the dust properties and location
In the case of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the transient nature of the burst combined with the large initial X-ray flux means that X-ray scattering may be visible for a short period of time with a relatively high surface brightness
As the transient flux passes through a dust slab between the observer and the GRB, the scattering process introduces a time delay in which the Xrays at larger angles to the line of sight arrive increasingly delayed with respect to the nonscattered X-rays
Summary
It has long been realized that the small-angle scattering of X-rays by dust grains can result in a detectable X-ray “halo” around a distant X-ray source (Overbeck 1965), with a radial intensity distribution that depends on the dust properties and location. This phenomenon was first detected by Rolf (1983) using data from Einstein and confirmed by later observations (e.g., Mauche & Gorenstein 1986; Predehl et al 1991). The first observation revealed the first dust-scattered X-ray halo detected around a GRB
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