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Published December 21, 2006 | public
Journal Article

A new big γ-ray burst classification scheme from GRB 060614

Abstract

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are known to come in two duration classes, separated at ~2 s. Long-duration bursts originate from star-forming regions in galaxies, have accompanying supernovae when these are near enough to observe and are probably caused by massive-star collapsars. Recent observations show that short-duration bursts originate in regions within their host galaxies that have lower star-formation rates, consistent with binary neutron star or neutron star–black hole mergers. Moreover, although their hosts are predominantly nearby galaxies, no supernovae have been so far associated with short-duration GRBs. Here we report that the bright, nearby GRB 060614 does not fit into either class. Its ~102-s duration groups it with long-duration GRBs, while its temporal lag and peak luminosity fall entirely within the short-duration GRB subclass. Moreover, very deep optical observations exclude an accompanying supernova, similar to short-duration GRBs. This combination of a long-duration event without an accompanying supernova poses a challenge to both the collapsar and the merging-neutron-star interpretations and opens the door to a new GRB classification scheme that straddles both long- and short-duration bursts.

Additional Information

© 2006 Nature Publishing Group. Received 30 August; accepted 20 October 2006.

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 23, 2023